FLIPPABLE: Jenna Wadsworth for NC State Agriculture Commissioner
Jenna was born in Raleigh, but she grew up off a dirt road on her grandparents' farm in Johnston County which raised corn, soybeans, tobacco, cattle, cotton, and hogs. She proudly graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in Durham in 2007. In December 2011, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from North Carolina State University with majors in Political Science—with a concentration in American Politics—and Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in English.
In November 2010—at the age of 21—Jenna made history with her election to a four-year term on the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors by becoming the youngest woman ever elected to public office in North Carolina.
As a Supervisor, Jenna has voted to provide financial assistance to land owners and land users who qualify for crucial technical assistance necessary to protect water quality, properly manage agricultural resources, and conserve the county’s natural resources and wildlife. She has been an advocate for and a volunteer with the District’s environmental education programs for grades K-12. Having grown up on a family farm, it was important to her to focus on farmland preservation and local foods enhancement in this role. With her leadership, the District secured its first ever conservation easement and entered into a Market Based Conservation Initiative (MBCI) program with the U.S. Marine Corps and the NAVY. The MBCI program preserves open space and restricts development under a vital military flight path.
Jenna is the Co-Founder and former Co-Director of a progressive nonprofit called New Leaders Council – North Carolina. She serves on the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, is an active member of both the Young Elected Officials Network and Local Progress, and she speaks to international delegations for the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program and US AID--resulting in her recent appointment to the North Carolina chapter of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. She became a small business owner in 2017 and works as the Managing Partner of her political and fundraising consulting firm Elevated Prospects, LLC.
Jenna was re-elected to the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors in November 2018. She was elected Vice-Chair of the Board in Spring 2015. She formerly represented the 11-county Area IV on the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation District's Water Resources Committee, and previously served as the alternate to the Legislative Committee from Area IV.
She is a card-carrying Farm Bureau member and actively gardens on several acres of her family farm. Jenna enjoys gourmet cooking, especially when using produce she grew herself or that she found at the NC Farmer's Market. She has a black lab named Lucy.
She is running for North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture in 2020.
https://www.jennawadsworth.com/
