2026 Agri-Food Finance Fellows

Check back often! We’ll be adding more information about our new cohort soon.

Zach Cooper
  • Class: Junior
  • Major: Agribusiness with a minor in Horticulture
  • Hometown: Woodstock, Virginia
  • LinkedIn profile

"I chose this Fellowship because it presents a rare opportunity to develop practical business and finance expertise while tackling real-world problems. Unlike traditional classroom learning, this position will immerse me in financial decision-making within the agriculture sector, allowing me to apply what I learn in the classroom to real-world challenges. This Fellowship will provide invaluable hands-on experience that will strengthen my analytical skills and deepen my understanding of how financial strategies impact agricultural operations."

Melissa Jacobucci
  • Class year: Junior
  • Major: Dual Degree - Integrated Agriculture Technology and Environmental Economics, Management, and Policy
  • Hometown: St. Charles, Illinois
  • LinkedIn profile

"I am extremely excited for this opportunity, especially regarding utilizing AI and data-driven tools in relation to finances in agriculture. I am also looking forward to networking with industry professionals and hopefully gaining a better insight into how to solve real-world problems within this sector."

Abby Johnson

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Elisabeth McFee
  • Class year: Junior
  • Major: Environmental Economics, Management, and Policy with a minor in Spanish
  • Hometown: Waxhaw, North Carolina
  • LinkedIn profile 

"I chose to apply because I’m genuinely excited about the work being done through this Fellowship and the tangible impact it creates. What especially drew me in is the opportunity to explore areas of study and problem-solving that I don’t typically encounter in my day-to-day coursework. I’m motivated by experiences that push me outside my comfort zone and allow me to learn through hands-on involvement rather than just theory. This Fellowship feels like a chance to challenge myself in a new environment, gain practical experience with AI-driven financial analysis, and better understand how innovative tools can support real-world applications." 

Lucia Salvato

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Adam Sarnovsky

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Alumni Fellows

Allison Crittenden ’16
Allison Crittenden earned a bachelor’s degree in applied economics management from the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Photo courtesy of Allison Crittenden.

Allison Crittenden '16
Kohl Insights spotlight

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Alex Brandon
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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Alex Brandon
Studying agriculture business with a minor in global food security and health has equipped me with skills to solve challenges relating to businesses in sustainable food systems and agricultural innovation. This fellowship will provide me with experience in utilizing Artificial Intelligence for financial applications.

Colby Crutchfield
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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Colby Crutchfield
This fellowship will provide the opportunity to broaden my connections and understanding of the industry. I am excited to work with industry partners and other fellows to reach their goals.

Diego Cuadra
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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Diego Cuadra
I am looking forward to this fellowship since it offers the opportunity to work alongside faculty and industry leaders while developing my financial analysis skills and exploring the cutting-edge technology of AI/ML-powered tools. I also want to make the most of this opportunity by engaging in professional development and connecting with new people in the agricultural industry.

McKenzie Marker
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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McKenzie Marker
I am excited about this fellowship and the opportunities it will give me to collaborate with industry leaders, faculty, and peers to work on impactful projects. I am also looking forward to gaining a practical understanding of parts of the industry that would not be available to me in a normal classroom setting.

Michele Mickelwait
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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Michele Mickelwait
As someone passionate about the agriculture industry and supporting farmers, I want to learn practical agribusiness and financial skills that I can use to help better serve the communities I hope to serve one day. I am excited for the opportunity to work with my peers and industry leaders through this fellowship.

Miru Yim
Agri-Food Finance Fellow

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miru yim
As an AAEC student approaching the final year of the accelerated MS program, I have been seeking an opportunity to fill essential knowledge gaps that this fellowship addresses directly. I’ve spent over three years working in sales and marketing for a start-up in the food sector, with my more recent academic experiences focused on global food systems and economics. A challenge across these sectors is financial decision-making and analysis. This fellowship, with its emphasis on financial modeling, AI-driven tools, and real-world application, is a rare chance to build these essential skills.

Maryam Rehmatulla
“This summer, I had the chance to lead the development of an interactive R Shiny dashboard through Virginia Tech’s Data Science for the Public Good Program. It was incredibly rewarding to turn complex agricultural data into visuals that help Virginia farmers better understand crop progress, yield trends, and market patterns. I especially loved explaining the why behind the data and connecting satellite insights and field conditions to real decisions. Maryam is now continuing her work as a junior fellow by developing a soybean dashboard and expanding the project to make it even more useful for producers and researchers.

Maryam Rehmatulla

Capstone project: Corn Dashboard

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Julia Brady
"My project involves finding the optimal location for a dairy processing facility in Virginia based on factors such as milk production, labor availability, and locations of consumer markets. This fall, I'm continuing the work I did over the summer during the Data Science for the Good Program by expanding the area under study to adjacent states to Virginia and incorporating everything into an interactive dashboard that can be used by farmers and dairy stakeholders."

Julia Brady

Capstone project: Dairy Dashboard

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