Kortni Blalock

Kortni Blalock is from Covington, Georgia. She completed her undergraduate studies at North Carolina A&T State University where she majored in agricultural and environmental sciences with a concentration in agribusiness. After her sophomore year of college, the Foreign Agricultural Service selected her as a USDA 1890 National Scholar to train as an intern and future employee committed to public service. During her 2022 internship with the FAS, she wrote and presented an international agricultural trade report titled “Opportunities for Expanding U.S. Pet Food Exports to Canada” that was published on the FAS webpage on December 1st, 2022. In her final semester of senior year, she became an inaugural FAS International Agricultural Fellow, a fellowship that includes a domestic and international internship to receive developmental opportunities and mentorship throughout her graduate semesters. Her passion for agricultural economics, which she intends to pursue as a graduate major, has grown because of the opportunities provided by her dedicated university staff, mentors, and colleagues. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the Women in Agriculture Conference 2022 and upcoming conferences such as the MANRRS Agricultural Policy Summit and Future Leaders in Agriculture Program to continue training and developing her knowledge in the field of agriculture. Through the IAFP Fellowship, Kortni did an internship in the Office of Global Marketing Analysis at FAS and is pursuing a master’s in Agricultural Economics at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Carina Gaz

Carina Gaz is excited and honored to join the inaugural cohort of the Foreign Agricultural Service International Agricultural Fellows (IAFP). Carina joins with more than ten years of community development and agriculture work experience having served in AmeriCorps, Peace Corps in Timor Leste, local non-profit organizations, and regional farms. Carina completed her undergraduate studies in international business at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, CA. She was a leader of the Cal Poly Model United Nations team at the first international conference in Xi’an, China. Carina has farmed in Oregon, Colorado and now in Washington state, as the farm manager at Central Washington University. As a producer, she has had first-hand experience with agricultural management and policy. Through the IAFP Fellowship, Carnina did an internship in the Office of Trade Policy and Geographical Affairs in the Multilateral Affairs Division. She is pursuing a master’s in agriculture at the Virginia Tech University.