Whistleblower’s is presented in coordination with Marcel Reid and the Annual Whistleblower’s Summit  in Washington D.C.

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Melody Mobley with Dr. Stephanie Freeman will be our guests.

Originally from Champaign-Urbana Illinois, Dr. Stephanie Freeman worked for the USDA Forest Service for six years. She was selected for the USDA Forest Service Chief’s Scholars program. The program was a leadership development program aimed at enhancing diversity within the USDA Forest Service. Her professional education includes a BS in Ornamental Horticulture from University of Illinois Urbana, a Master’s degree in Forestry from North Carolina State University, a Master of Professional Studies, Agriculture and Horticulture from Cornell University, and a PhD in Plant and Soil Science from Alabama A&M. As an African American woman, Dr. Freeman is breaking down barriers by choosing a profession that has typically been the purview of White males. She also broke through some stereotypes held by her own family saying, “My family would have preferred that I become a doctor or lawyer.” Forestry to them was linked to horticulture and agriculture, and that was linked to the stigma of slavery in their minds.”

Dr. Freeman received the outstanding scientific achievement award for Region 9 of the Forest Service. She was featured in the Forest Service’s “Women in Forest Service” series in honor of Women’s History Month. Her pictures were used for minority recruitment events for the USDA Forest Service.

She created a mapping project to visualize harassment, discrimination, and other incidents located in the USDA Forest Service.