On December 5, 2025, during the 2025 Purdue Extension Professional Development Conference, the PUCESA section of the Indiana Extension Professionals Association (IEPA) announced their award winners (more information here about PUCESA awards).
We’re pleased to announce that Ashley Adair, Extension Organic Agriculture Specialist, and the Purdue Extension Master Gardener (EMG) Program were award winners representing the department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture! Ashley Adair was presented with the PUCESA Leadership Award, and the Purdue EMG Program, the PUCESA Team Award.
Ashley Adair, Extension Organic Agriculture Specialist, and Renee Wiatt, Purdue Ag Economics and PUCESA Awards Chair.
The PUCESA Leadership Award recognizes an individual’s leadership and contribution to a specific and highly effective Extension program. The recipient of the 2025 PUCESA Leadership Award is Ashley Adair.
Ashley leads the planning and execution of extension and outreach activities under the Indiana Organic Network (ION) umbrella. She provides event planning strategy, trusted connections to farmers and speakers, and subject matter expertise to craft events that are meaningful to organic stakeholders across Indiana and the eastern corn belt. Ashley has served multiple roles as the extension and outreach lead for ION – presenter, facilitator, organizer, and connector.
Ashley has leveraged her network of organic farmers, relationships with Purdue Extension County educators across Indiana, and ties with partner institutions to attract participants and high-quality speakers to ION-led programs. The ION event portfolio includes the Indiana Organic Grain Farmer Meeting, the 2025 ION Webinar Series (which can be found on Purdue Extension’s YouTube channel), field days such as the Farmer to Farmer Organic Field Day for grain growers and Northern Indiana Organic Forage Field Day for organic forage and dairy producers, and collaborative events with other projects and organizations, such as the 2025 Indiana Diverse Farm Tours, which featured 4 organic farms in west-central and northwest Indiana this summer in partnership with Diverse Corn Belt, and Organic University, an organic transition workshop and collaboration with Marbleseed. ION also supports the Indiana Small Farm Conference/Horticulture Conference. These events are far from individual efforts – they would not be possible without dedicated Purdue Extension personnel and motivated external partners.
Ashley’s recent event successes, connections to growers, and ties to programming partners are expected to continue to position ION as a leading outreach and education effort for organic farmers in Indiana.
Karen Mitchell, Home Horticulture Extension Specialist, Purdue HLA; Renee Wiatt, Purdue AgEcon and PUCESA Awards Chair; and John Orick, Purdue EMG State Coordinator, Purdue HLA
The PUCESA Team Award objective is to recognize innovative Extension Programming by a team of Specialists and their allied partners. The recipient of the 2025 PUCESA Team Award is the Purdue Extension Master Gardener Program.
Since its founding in 1978, the Purdue Extension Master Gardener Program has trained thousands of volunteers to bring trusted, research-based horticulture education to Indiana communities. In 2024 alone, more than 2,750 volunteers donated nearly 175,000 hours of service—valued at over $5.3 million—and reached over 378,000 people through educational programs, gardens, and outreach.
Through collaboration among over 60 Extension Educators and Specialists, the program connects disciplines across agriculture, health, and nutrition to meet statewide needs—from pollinator protection and invasive species management to food security initiatives like the Growing Together project. Innovations such as the Purdue EMG Manager system and statewide virtual trainings have expanded access and streamlined operations.
Together, this remarkable team continues to strengthen communities, and cultivate a greener, healthier Indiana.
Other PUCESA awards winners included the following:
Early-Career – Elizabeth Long, Department of Entomology
Mid-Career – Amanda Deering, Department of Food Science
Career – Ken Foster, Department of Agricultural Economics
We offer congratulations to all the PUCESA award winners!