Kathryn J Draeger

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Statewide Director, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships
[email protected]
612-625-3148
315 Hayes Hall
https://extension.umn.edu/regional-partnerships
Education

PhD, University of Minnesota, Water Resources Science
MS Soil, Water, and Climate
BS Life Sciences and Rhetoric

Areas of Interest

Sustainable Agriculture, Clean Energy, Resilient Rural Communities, Rural Grocery Stores, Supply Chains

Biography

Kathryn Draeger is Statewide Director for the U of M Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and adjunct professor of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. She oversees statewide programming in sustainable development, including clean energy and sustainable ag and food systems. Dr. Draeger is currently principle investigator on USDA-AFRI-NIFA grant to develop innovative supply chains for locally produced food as well as other sustainable ag related efforts. She has been a Bush Leadership Fellowship and a MacArthur Scholar. She served as an Environmental Protection Commissioner in Iowa and was appointed to the Governor's Roundtable for Sustainable Development in Minnesota. Before joining the U she founded two successful corporations Sustainability International, Inc. and Environmental Ground, Inc. In 2007, Kathy and her family moved to rural Big Stone County MN to live and farm sustainably. Kathy holds a doctorate in water resources and master's in Soil Science from the University of Minnesota.

Teaching

Grand Challenges course: Transitioning Minnesota to a Carbon Neutral Economy
Honor Course: First Principles in Sustainability

Research

Supply Chains, Rural Grocery Stores, Sustainable Agriculture

Select Publications

Draeger, Kathryn; Olive, Ren; Kim, Hye-Young; Hanawa Peterson, Hikaru; Jarvi, Monica; Park, Dojin; Jorgenson, Alma. (2020). 2019-2020 Minnesota Rural Grocery Survey Report. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/217207.

Kagen, A., Draeger, K., & Olive, R. (2020) Halal and Kosher Minnesota Meat Market Analysis. https://hdl.handle.net/11299/210220.

Draeger, Kathryn; Gold, Abby; Olive, Ren. (2020). COVID-19/Emergency 14-Day Meal Kit for Rural Grocery Stores. UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/212116.

Draeger, Kathryn; Olive, Ren. (2020). Tips for Small Town Stores: Curbside Pickup and Delivery Model. UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/212246.

Olive, Ren; Jewett, Jane; Draeger, Kathryn; Lanthier, Karen. (2020). Farm to Grocery Toolkit: Opening New Farm to Grocery Market Channels to Help Increase Access to Minnesota Specialty Crops and Local Foods. UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/212328.

Draeger, K., & Olive, R. (2018). Farm to Rural Grocery to Wholesale Backhaul Project Regulatory Considerations. University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. Retrieved from http://z.umn.edu/3qvr.

Honors and Awards

2020 Dean's Outstanding Leadership Award, University of Minnesota Extension