Member Spotlight: Tina Sullivan, Graduate Research Assistant and ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Member

What project are you currently working on that excites you the most?

The projects I am involved in are looking at traditional and nontraditional drought defense options in the Intermountain West. Outdoor cannabis, soil wetting agents, and soil biologicals are some of the nontraditional options I have been working with, and I lead a multisite irrigation and crop management study spanning roughly 60 acres and 1,600 plots in total.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

Find a mentor and be a mentor.

Do you have a mentor that has helped you in your professional career? How have they helped you?

I have been honored and lucky to be surrounded by numerous mentors throughout my life, not just in my professional career. While growing up, I watched the struggles of my windowed mother raising me, juggling her own career, and going to school for three degrees. Her determination sparked my drive to dive into research, while my late father planted the seed of an agricultural love that blooms today. In every facet of education and career opportunities thus far, I have had someone in my corner to support me.

As a woman, what is a challenge/obstacle you have faced in your career?

The main challenge I have faced is being taken seriously and not talked over when I am presenting in academic, extension, or grower level. Many have been surprised by the fact I have a CCA certification and pursued graduate school with a large field work requirement.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you? How does it fall into the context of your industry?

Women’s History Month means bringing women together as a united front to uplift one another and celebrate triumphs and struggles together.