Sydney Smith-Ransom joined CLBL as the SLEWS Program Coordinator in June 2023.Sydney was born and raised in Salida, California. Growing up she was an active member of the Gregori Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter where she attended many leadership conferences, raised swine for the Stanislaus County Fair, and developed a love for agriculture as well as education.In 2017 Sydney graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s degree in international agriculture and rural development and a minor in education.After college, she joined the Peace Corps and served as an education volunteer in the Southwest region of Rwanda. Throughout her 2 years, Sydney worked as a 4th and 5th grade teacher and worked with the environmental club at her school to build community gardens to increase access to fresh vegetables within the community. While she loved her time as a Peace Corps volunteer, the experience came to an end and she was inspired to fuse her two loves of agriculture and education by pursuing a credential in agriculture education. She attended UC Davis and earned her credential in agricultural education in 2021 and her Master’s in Education in 2022.For two years, Sydney taught Introduction and Advanced Floral Design as well as Agriculture and Soil Chemistry at Cordova High School. She loved working with students and creating hands-on instruction that encouraged students to think critically about the world and develop an inquiry-based mindset. The love for hands-on instruction and exposing students to real world experiences is what led Sydney to the Center for Land-Based Learning where she has the opportunity to teach students about land stewardship and restoration outside the traditional classroom.In her free time, Sydney loves hiking with her husband, Mike, walking their dog, Mokha, and traveling to new places.