Principal Investigator
Ronnie Coffman
In addition to his role as Principal Investigator of the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat (DRRW) project, Ronnie
Coffman serves as International Professor of Plant Breeding and Director of International Programs of the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Previous positions include Associate Dean for Research and Director,
Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station; Chair of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, and Plant
Breeder at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Coffman's work has been important to the development of
improved rice varieties grown on several million hectares throughout the world. He has collaborated extensively with
institutions in the developing world and has served as a board member for several international institutes. His Ph.D.
is from Cornell and undergraduate work was done at the University of Kentucky, his home state.
Senior Associate Director
Rick Ward
Prior to joining the DRRW project, Rick Ward was the coordinator of the Global Rust Initiative (now called the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative), where
he was responsible for project development and resource mobilization, donor and press communication, and the establishment of a stem rust phenotyping
shuttle site in Kenya. He organized the first International Global Rust Initiative Workshop in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2006 and played a major role in the
development of the DRRW proposal. From 1989 to 2005, he was a professor and wheat breeder at Michigan State University. Before that, he worked as a maize
breeder at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), where he established the CIMMYT Zimbabwe research station. He obtained his B.S. and
M.S. from Colorado State University and his Ph.D. in agronomy from Kansas State University.
Associate Director
Gordon Cisar
Gordon Cisar obtained his B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, his M.Sc. in Agronomy from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He spent twenty years
developing hybrid wheat for eastern U.S. and Great Plains markets while working for Rahm & Haas Seeds, Inc. and HybriTech Seed International.
He also worked with Cargill’s Goertzen Seed Research. Most recently, he work on grain and forage triticale varietal development with Resource Seeds, Inc.
As associate director of the DRRW project, he oversees the project’s wheat breeding work. Gordon is based out of Loveland, Colorado.
Assistant Director
Jenny Nelson
Jenny Nelson has worked in communications for international agricultural development since 2000, first as a publicist for social causes, then as
an assistant in the CIMMYT Publications Department, and later as the communications manager of the Generation Challenge Programme. Most recently, she was
the communications and outreach manager at Ecoagriculture Partners, a Washington DC-based non-profit organization. Jenny obtained her B.A. from Columbia
University in 2000. She joined the DRRW project in May 2008 and is responsible for communications, event planning, and networking.
IT Coordinator
Stefan Einarson
Stefan Einarson is the Director of Transnational Learning and the head of IT for International Programs within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at
Cornell University. He has extensive experience in IT issues and the developing world with a particular focus on Africa and India. He has a B.S. from Union College in
Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Research Analyst
Sarah Davidson
Sarah Davidson received a B.A. in Biology from Reed College. Her doctoral work fused the fields of science communication, plant science, and international agriculture.
In addition to teaching writing courses in the sciences, she has written extensively on the controversy around genetically modified papaya in developing countries.
Following completion of her Ph.D. research at Cornell, she joined the DRRW project as the Research Analyst and is responsible for developing content for the web
resources of the project.
Business Administrator
Tammy Thomas
Tammy Thomas has worked with finance and human resources at Cornell University for over 20 years and has been involved with International Programs
for the past 6 years. Tammy is responsible for the financial management of the DRRW project.
Finance Administrator
Angie Smith
Angie Smith has worked with finance at Cornell University for over 18 years and has been involved with International Programs for the past 5 ½ years.
Angie is responsible for financial processing and updating of all DRRW project transactions.
