Nicole's full job title is Senior Advisor to the Administrator for the Risk Management Agency in the Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. Although we don't have space for it on the home page of the blog, we are very happy to give it plenty of breathing room here! We're also excited that our Education page, where you can find out more on the University of Arkansas School of Law's Agriculture and Food Law program, is what connected us with Nicole, proving that there is always something (or someone) to learn more about. 

When did you know that you wanted to work in food? 

I "studied" food and agriculture for years, as personal passions. I knew I wanted to meld my personal passions with my professional goals when I realized that my skills and experience as an attorney could be used to help support people and organizations doing work in food and agriculture that I feel is valuable.

How did you get your current good food job? 

I got the opportunity for my current position, through a recommendation from the Director of the LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. There are alumnus from the program working in all aspects of food and agriculture around the globe, so it's wonderful to be connected to all of those potential opportunities.

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job? 

All of my years gaining as much knowledge and experience as possible about the food and agricultural industries, whether it was through research and volunteer work connected with my particular personal interests like cooking, health and nutrition, sustainability and the environment and food justice, or through professional experiences like practicing in corporate and commercial law (and for me especially, insurance law) or getting my Masters of Law (LL.M.) in Food and Agricultural Law and Policy, as well as waiting tables and working in bake shops in high school and college, have all helped to prepare me for finding the work that I want to do in good food.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream? 

The greatest obstacle might be not realizing that there are lots of opportunities to apply a wide variety of skills, talents and experiences to finding and getting your dream good food job. For me, it took me a while to connect my personal passions with my professional work. But once I did, everything really came together for me. I am so much more energized in all parts of my life now that I am able to pursue professional goals that are also personally meaningful to me.

Name one positive thing that a former employer taught you that you continue to appreciate?

I have had the great fortune to have wonderful people mentor me throughout my career. The people who helped me the most are the ones who always had an open door and an open ear to listen to my questions. And I ask a lot of questions! Time really is the most valuable thing that a boss can give his or her employees. But, providing the space and time for employees to learn in their jobs pays off in rewards for both the employee and the employer!

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now? 

There are many! This is really an exciting time in food, across the globe, especially for entrepreneurs. We are seeing lots of ingenious solutions to problems like sustainability, food safety, food security and health and nutrition coming from people with experience in all realms of science and technology as well as the culinary arts and agriculture. And the best ideas are coming from the companies and organizations that combine knowledge from all three.

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

Powerlifting training sessions with Boris Sheiko, vegan cooking lessons with each of my favorite vegan chefs (of which I have several) and mushroom forays around the world guided by local mushroom gurus.