Dr. Maria Elisa Christie will deliver a keynote lecture, “Integrating gender equity in international agricultural research for development,” to help celebrate International Women in Agriculture Day in Dolezal Auditorium (0127 Curtiss Hall) on Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. A social hour will begin at 6 p.m. in Harl Commons with sandwiches and beverages provided.

Christie is the director of Women and Gender in International Development (WGD) at Virginia Tech. She has more than 25 years of experience in international development. Throughout her career, she has worked with a variety of development, research, and non-governmental agencies around the developing world, along with local, state, and federal governments in the United States and Mexico. Christie has played a key role in launching new projects that support international collaboration. 

As the director for WGD, Christie’s primary role is to provide leadership to ensure that all projects and programs are gender-sensitive and will have a positive effect on the most disadvantaged beneficiaries, many of whom are women. She has extensive experience holding gender and participatory research workshops in the United States and in French-, Spanish-, and English-speaking countries.

Sponsor: Corteva Agriscience; IAAS at ISU - International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences; Committee on Lectures