Dear colleagues,
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Claudia Gil Arroyo as she has joined us here in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department of Rutgers Cooperative Extension as the County Agent III in Cape May County, effective last Friday July 1, 2022.
Claudia joins us from NC State, where she just completed her PhD (2022) under the guidance of Dr. Whitney Knollenberg & Dr. Carla Barbieri (co-advisors), with her dissertation “The contributions of craft beverage tourism to sustainable development and destination image formation.” Claudia earned her Master’s in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism from the University of Missouri (2012), “What is agritourism? Reconciling farmers, residents, and extension faculty perspectives,” and her BS in Tourism Management (2006) from Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Lima, Peru).
In this position Claudia will be significantly expanding our educational programming, outreach, and research related to the commercial agricultural industries in Cape May County and throughout the southern region of NJ, with specific emphasis in “destination ag”: agritourism and retail marketing; wineries and craft beverages; and risk and financial management.
Best regards,
Nick Polanin
