SOUTH DEERFIELD — After a national search, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has found a new executive director right here in the Pioneer Valley.

The agency has chosen Jennifer Core, a Warwick resident and farmer with a background in agriculture, as its newest executive director. Her first day will be on Jan. 13.

Jenny Ladd, president of CISA’s board of directors, said Core’s previous experience, which includes fundraising and implementing national projects, as well as her warm personality, will allow her to be a strong leader for the agency.

“We’re excited about having her. We’re really looking forward to it,” Ladd said. “She has the qualities of being visionary and thinking strategically. … I think Jennifer will be a great person to collaboratively lead.”

Core brings a wide variety of agricultural experience to CISA, as she is joining the agency from the Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment in Freeport, Maine, where she served as operations director of national programs. That work, according to CISA’s newsletter, saw her integrate a $35 million U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded, nationwide Action for Climate-Smart Agriculture project into the center’s on-the-ground work.

She also previously served as the director of agriculture for the Massachusetts-based Trustees of Reservations and has worked with her husband on Hettie Belle Farm, their family business in Warwick, for the last 15 years.

As the board of directors and staff at CISA help onboard Core, Ladd said the agency, like many industries, will be keeping an eye on the new presidential administration assuming office and what changes might come with that, such as tweaks to the farm bill. A main priority includes looking at CISA’s strategic plan and its focus areas.

“We’ll totally review that in the face of the current times, what Jennifer brings and what our farmers are experiencing,” Ladd said, adding that the agency is committed to issues of climate change and equity “no matter what.”

Core will join CISA about four months after Philip Korman stepped down on Aug. 30 after 16 years as executive director. Korman, who joined the agency in the throes of the 2008 Great Recession and then helped steward it through the pandemic, left the position to give himself time to “recalibrate” and figure out his next steps.

The timing, he added in an interview over the summer, was perfect because he feels CISA is in a great position with a strong 20-person staff. During his tenure, the agency went from just being known for its “Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown” campaign to branching out into farm policy and climate resilience work, as well as increased efforts to inform people on where they can buy local food. In 2023, CISA also launched a Growing Resilience Campaign to provide money for a variety of programs and services, including supporting farmers’ infrastructure projects, deepening equity and diversity, and providing technical assistance to farmers in the region.

In the wake of Korman’s departure, longtime Deputy Director Kelly Coleman stepped up as the interim executive director. Coleman said her focus over the last several months has been to “keep the ship sailing in the right direction” by continuing to provide programs and support to the Pioneer Valley’s farmers.

With Core joining the team, Coleman said they’ll have someone on board who is already familiar with CISA’s work, and still actively working on their family farm.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Coleman, who will be returning to her role as deputy director. “Phil left the organization in a strong place, so we’re now in the process of implementing a lot of the additional activities that we have spent the last two or so years fundraising for with our Growing Resilience Campaign.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.