Laura Lengnick is an award-winning soil scientist who has explored agricultural sustainability for more than 30 years as a researcher, policy-maker, educator, and farmer. Her work in sustainable farming systems was nationally-recognized with a USDA Secretary’s Honor Award and she contributed to the 3rd National Climate Assessment as a lead author of the USDA report Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture: Effects and Adaptation. Laura led the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College for more than a decade, where she also served as the Director of Sustainability Education, conducted research in sustainability assessment and holistic management, led energy descent action planning, and developed an innovative sustainable dining policy for the college. In 2015, Laura left the college to launch Cultivating Resilience, LLC, a private consulting firm offering ecosystem-based climate risk management services to business and government. She is Vice President of Resilience at Climate Optimize, Inc,,serves as an advisor to the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance, and holds a research position in the Resilient Landscapes Program at the Stockholm Resilience Center. Laura is the author of the 2015 award-winning book, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate
