KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Student Staff Member
- Worker
- Undergraduate Student Assistant
Ashlynn Hartman is a part-time student worker for the Rural Grocery Initiative. Ashlynn is an undergraduate at Kansas State University studying Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, and Global Food Systems Leadership. Upon graduating from Kansas State, she plans to pursue a career as an agronomist and eventually find a role in agricultural policy. Ashlynn grew up on a grain farm in southeast Nebraska and has been heavily involved in the agriculture industry her whole life. Her interests include protecting family farms, aiding rural communities, and helping advance the future of agriculture.
Job Titles:
- Project Consultant With the
Carly Whorton is a part-time Project Consultant with the Rural Grocery Initiative. Carly earned her Master of Agribusiness from Kansas State University in 2011. Prior to that, she earned a Bachelor's in Agricultural Economics, also from KSU, in 2009. After school, Carly spent 5.5 years in Dallas, Texas, working for a software company where she earned her certification as a Project Management Professional. In 2017, she joined forces with her cousin and opened Cecil K's Hometown Market in Holton, Kansas, in February 2018. Carly has served in a grocery consulting capacity since 2021 and opened their 2 nd store, Westmoreland Hometown Market, in December 2022. Carly enjoys discovering new ways to combine her passions for communications, education, and nourishing those around her. Carly joined the RGI team in 2022 to lead our Rural Grocery Specialist Certificate project.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Retired Faculty and Staff
Chandra Ruthstrom officially retired from Kansas State University on June 14, 2020 after 40 years of service. Chandra began employment with K-State in 1980 when she worked for Animal Sciences Extension. In 1983, she took a position with the 4-H state office. From 1985 to 2006, Chandra served as the Administrative Assistant in the Department of Speech Communication, Theatre, and Dance. In this position, Chandra served as the Fiscal Officer and Human Resources Representative in the department working with all the academic sub-units as well as the Debate and Forensic programs. In 2006, Chandra was hired as the Administrative Assistant/Project Coordinator for the newly formed Center for Engagement and Community Development where she worked with innumerable campus/community partnerships, assisted with two Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement classification applications, supported three campus-wide engagement surveys, helped organize and host seven national Rural Grocery Summits and a multitude of projects and programs. She received K-State's Award of Excellence and Employee of the Year Award in 2018.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Retired Faculty and Staff
David Procter officially retired from Kansas State University at the end of 2021. Since arriving at K-State in 1987, he worked in partnership with communities across the state on issues of community strategic planning, facilitation of community dialogue, and strategies for sustaining rural grocery stores. In 2007, he and a number of campus and community partners launched the nationally-recognized Rural Grocery Initiative. This initiative has received multiple awards, including the "Outstanding Community Development Program" by the International Community Development Society (2010) and the "W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award" by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (2018). Procter has authored numerous book chapters on rural grocery operations and presented his work at national and international conferences. Read more detail on his distinguished career.
Erica Blair is an Extension Specialist with K-State Research and Extension and a Program Manager for both the Rural Grocery Initiative and Kansas Healthy Food Initiative. In this role, she supports healthy food retail across the state and nation by providing technical assistance on a range of topics, including grocery ownership models, financial resources, and e-commerce, among others. Erica earned her B.F.A. in Intermedia and Certificate in Sustainability from the University of Iowa, and her M.S. in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan. Her previous experience includes conducting research on cover crop adoption in the Midwest, working on a diverse vegetable farm, and organizing campaigns with local communities to support sustainable agriculture.
Hannah Jenkins is an Extension Specialist with K-State Research and Extension and a Program Administrator for the Rural Grocery Initiative. Hannah leads the communications, outreach and promotion of the program. Prior to joining K-State, she served nearly a decade with University of Missouri Extension in their Agricultural Business & Policy and Regional Economic and Entrepreneurial Development programs. Hannah grew up on a beef cattle farm in central Missouri and has also spent time working on a diversified vegetable farm in western Wisconsin. She has a longtime passion of agriculture development and working on issues of food and hunger. Hannah earned a bachelor's in Agricultural Economics and a master's in Public Affairs and Nonprofit Management from the University of Missouri.
Job Titles:
- Student Staff Member
- Graduate Research Assistant
Jacob, a sociology PhD student, has been a research assistant for RGI since September 2022. He works on case studies, the 2021 Kansas rural grocery survey, data cleaning and analysis for a community survey, and grocers sourcing local producers. Personal website
Rial Carver is a Rural Grocery Extension Specialist with K-State Research and Extension. Rial earned her Master of Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University in 2019. Prior to moving to Kansas, Rial worked as the Sustainability Coordinator at Virginia Tech Dining Services where she increased local food sourcing, implemented composting initiatives, and initiated a reusable to-go container program. She received a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning with a minor in Civic Agriculture and Food Systems from Virginia Tech. Rial and her husband enjoy exploring the great outdoors with their pup, Cora, and gardening at the Manhattan Community Gardens. Rial has worked with the RGI team in various capacities since 2017.