Kate Baldwin, Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC) Theme 1 Manager since 2007, retires at the end of June 2016. She leaves the NSRC with a tremendous legacy of Northern Forest public outreach, many creative accomplishments, and the numerous products of her attention to detail.
“Kate Baldwin has been an invaluable asset to the Northeastern States Research Cooperative for nearly 10 years. Kate’s attention to detail and knowledge of the program have been essential to me as the Director of Theme 1,” acknowledges Breck Bowden. “However, Kate’s real contribution to the NSRC has been her personal passion for the environment and the people of the Northern Forest lands. As a life-long Vermonter, Kate is intimately familiar with the challenges and opportunities to maintain the sort of working landscape that has defined Vermont. But her knowledge and experience extends far beyond Vermont, encompassing the entire region. Her deep compassion for the people and places that define the Northern Forest lands will be missed in the NSRC. It is reassuring, however, to know that her good work on behalf of the NSRC will continue into the future.”
As a manager for the NSRC, Kate scrupulously administered Theme 1 research grant proposals and resulting project awards, budgets, and reports; coordinated proposal review panels; communicated with principal investigators; and submitted detailed yearly final reports to the USDA Forest Service, the supporting organization for NSRC. Above and beyond her Theme 1 responsibilities, Kate often oversaw the yearly preparation and review of the NSRC’s annual Request for Proposals for all four themes.
In response to the findings of an external review of the NSRC, Kate took the lead to initiate an NSRC program of outreach. She worked closely with Shari Halik, NSRC web editor, to develop a website that showcases the impacts of NSRC research for the public, natural resource practitioners, and other stakeholders in the Northern Forest region. Teaming up with the Mike Wilson of the Northern Forest Center, Kate was instrumental in the production of two “Ways of the Woods” videos that highlight the research of NSRC principal investigators and its impacts on Northern Forest communities.
Working with a graduate student assistant each year, Kate developed an on-going, increasingly popular series of webinars given by NSRC principal investigators to bring NSRC research findings into the offices of other researchers and practitioners in the field. In conjunction with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Kate launched a successful Brown Bag Lunch series that brings NSRC principal investigators to Agency offices in Montpelier, Vermont to present their research and engage with state personnel.
“Working with the NSRC has been a rewarding and challenging experience,” shares Kate, who had never before worked in forest research. “I enjoyed learning about new topics, collaborating with colleagues, researchers, and professionals in the field, and disseminating research findings that make a difference for natural resource managers and policy makers in Vermont and the Northern Forest region.”
Kate worked at the University of Vermont (UVM) for 30 years in various capacities of public and alumni relations and outreach and as a liaison with boards of advisors. She directed the Vermont Council in the UVM President’s Office and Vermont Relations in the UVM Office of Public Relations. She became Advancement Officer for the UVM Division of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension and then for the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, while managing NSRC Theme 1, first with the then Dean of the School, Don DeHayes, and later with current Theme 1 Director Breck Bowden.
With Kate’s retirement, Elissa Schuett will take on the duties of NSRC Theme 1 Manager.