Amber Beseli, PhD
Bio
Amber Beseli is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Agricultural and Human Sciences. Prior to joining the AHS department, Amber worked in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) as the Program Director of CALS Global Academy, a specialized office dedicated to designing custom technical and leadership trainings for international agricultural professionals. Through this role, Amber hosted 20 training programs with professionals from 21 different countries.
Amber has a passion for introducing NC State students to the international side of agriculture. One way she accomplished this is through the two courses she has created and teaches: “Global Issues in Agriculture,” which is designed to introduce students to international agricultural issues and development projects; and “Trends and Culture of the Agricultural Workforce,” which is designed to to introduce students to cultural diversity, the value it adds to the agricultural workplace, and how to increase, improve, and support cultural diversity in the workplace. Amber also has a strong passion for study abroad. She developed and co-directed a new program titled “Germany and Czech Republic: Food, Energy, and Society” and co-directed a new program titled “Netherlands: Agricultural Innovations, Agritourism, & Agri-food Products.”
Amber’s passion for agricultural education started to develop during her time in high school FFA and on the family farm in Western, NC. Her introduction to other cultures and international agriculture came from her experiences studying abroad at The Prague Institute, on CALS faculty-led programs, and on international horticultural field trips.
Programs and Initiatives
- Germany and Czech Republic: Food, Energy, and Society study abroad program
- Netherlands: Agricultural Innovations, Agritourism, & Agri-food Products study abroad program
- The Agricultural Institute’s Agricultural Operations Management certificate program
Primary Teaching Responsibilities
- AGI 134: Trends and Culture of the Agricultural Workforce
- ALS 495: Global Issues in Agriculture
Contributing Websites
Professional Honors/Offices/Recognitions
- 2020: Manuscript research highlighted in the Crop Science Society of America’s News Magazine: Volume 65, Issue 5. Page 16
- 2017: Completed the NC State Preparing the Professoriate Program
- 2015: Awarded Distinguished Manuscript at the Sothern Association Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Education
Selected Publications
- Beseli, A.L., Shekoofa, A., Mujahid, A., & Sinclair, T.R. (2020) Temporal water use by two maize lines differing in leaf osmotic potential. Crop Science, 2020;1–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20062
- Beseli, A.L., Hall, A.J., Manandhar, A., & Sinclair, T.R. (2019) Root osmotic potential and length for two maize lines differing in leaf osmotic potential. Journal of Crop Improvement, 33(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/15427528.2019.1607642
- Beseli, A., & Park, T. D. (2020). University professors’ content and delivery to develop an understanding of climate change. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Las Cruces, NM. Available at https://julnet.swoogo.com/nacta2020/Orals?i=aV0DmE-5LwCUiHaDYs5plxpJdBqqQbZX
- Beseli, A.L. & Park, T.D. (2019) University Professors’ Assumptions about Students Understanding of Climate Change. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture.
- Beseli, A.L., Warner, W.J., Kirby, B.M., & Jones, D.W.W. (2016) Motivations to Study Abroad: A Case Study of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Agribusiness Short-Term Study Abroad Program. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 23 (1). https://doi.org/10.5191/jiaee.2016.23104
Education
BS Agricultural Education with a Minor in Horticultural Sciences NC State University
MS Agricultural and Extension Education NC State University
PhD Crop Science with a Minor in Agricultural Education NC State University
Area(s) of Expertise
- Developing customized training programs for international agricultural professionals
- Teaching international agriculture and global agricultural market development
- Agricultural study abroad programs
- Grant writing
Grants
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Egypt and Jordan at North Carolina State University for a training titled ????????????????U.S. Management Practices in Dairy and Livestock Operations.??????????????? The objective of this program is to educate the Fellows on bovine and/or dairy genetics, livestock management practices, and livestock nutritional inputs in the Egyptian and Jordanian markets. The goal of this program is to increase sales of dairy cow and livestock genetics, yellow corn, distillers dried grains, corn gluten and soybean, and increasing the Fellows?????????????????? capacity for agricultural research, extension, and improve the knowledge of U.S. livestock genetics in Egypt and Jordan.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Turkey at North Carolina State University for a training titled ????????????????Overview of Enzyme Regulation.??????????????? The objective of this program is to train Turkish officials, academia, and industry representatives involved in the legislative policy-making processes on best practices on the regulation of food and feed ingredients, with a focus on enzymes. The goal of this training is to increase the Fellows?????????????????? capacity for food and agricultural research, extension, and teaching; assist Turkey in implementing transparent, predictable, and science-based regulations for enzymes used as food and feed ingredients; and discuss potential for regulatory pathways for all food and feed ingredients derived from biotechnology.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Vietnam at North Carolina State University to receive training on Availability and Marketing of U.S. Tree Nuts and Dried Fruits. The program??????????????????s objective is to generate more interest among Vietnamese industry representatives to source tree nuts and dried fruits from the United States. The training program??????????????????s goal is to enhance market development and Fellows?????????????????? capacity for participation in international trade.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Algeria at North Carolina State University for a training on Risk Management for U.S. Livestock. The objective of this program is to increase the Fellows knowledge of the U.S. livestock industry certifications, standards, and disease management system to support U.S. ?????????????????? Algeria negotiations on livestock. The goal of this program is to increase Algeria??????????????????s capacity for agricultural research, extension, participation in international trade, and to improve the U.S. Algeria bilateral relationship.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Thailand and Laos at North Carolina State University to receive training on the ????????????????Overview of US Agricultural Policy and Regulations." The ??????????????????objective of this program is to train regulators to take a more balanced approach in the formulation of new policies and regulations, considering the needs of business and the effect that new policies have on trade, and for the Fellows to develop better regulations in their countries to create a better environment for U.S. exports. The goal of this training program is to increase?????????????????? ??????????????????participants?????????????????? capacities for agricultural research, extension, and participation in international?????????????????? ??????????????????trade.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Myanmar at North Carolina State University to receive training on Animal Nutrition and Improved Feed Mill Efficiency. The training program will introduce Fellows to: quality, energy-conversion efficacy, price competitiveness, and reliable supply of U.S. feed products focus on the capacity building of solvent industry and feed mill managers and professionals. The program will also expose Fellows to U.S. industry in different U.S. states and help enhance their business efficiency in Myanmar. The program will help further develop Myanmar demand for U.S. products including soybeans, DDGS and corn-products through education and familiarity with quality and variety of U.S. exports. The goal of the program is to improve the awareness of Fellows about products availability, processing and marketing infrastructure in the U.S, increase connectivity of Myanmar trade professionals with their counterparts in the United States, and to increase their capacity for agricultural research, extension, and participation in international trade.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Colombia at North Carolina State University to receive training on Gene Editing Policy and Regulation. The objective of the program is to enhance the Fellows knowledge of gene editing advancements in the agricultural and livestock sector and to provide an understanding of U.S. government regulations and the role of U.S. regulatory agencies with regards to genome edited products. The goal of this training is three-fold: 1) to increase the capacity for agricultural research, extension, and training of Colombia??????????????????s gene editing capabilities; 2) to assist the development of Colombia??????????????????s regulatory programs and agencies; 3) to help Colombians improve their technological capabilities for gene editing plants; and 4) to facilitate a better understanding of GMOs for Colombian producers and consumers.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Algeria at North Carolina State University to receive training on U.S. Feed Formulation for Poultry Industry. The objective of this training program is to improve efficiency in feed production based on the U.S. poultry production system to create future market access for U.S. chicks and hatching eggs. The goal of this program is to encourage the development of safe poultry processing to increase demand for U.S. feed grains and technologies in Algeria and to increase their capacity for agricultural research, extension, and participation in international trade.
The two-week training program will provide the Fellows with a thorough background and history of the U.S. National School Lunch Program and how it is managed from procurement, storage and handling, food safety, and health and sanitation. The goal of this program is to enhance each Fellow??????????????????s understanding of how both U.S. and international school meals programs function to combat childhood nutrition. During this program the Fellows will learn about the policy, legislative framework, and the role of the national government plays when working with local governments to implement a school meals program; monitoring and evaluating the school lunch program; U.S. nutritional standards in the school meals; allocation of financial resources to support the school lunch programs.
We are submitting this Cochran Fellowship Program proposal to host a group of professionals from Turkey at North Carolina State University to receive training on Agricultural Innovation and Safety. The objective of this program is to empower opinion leaders in Turkey to speak to the opportunities offered by new technologies and dispel common myths and misperceptions about their safety. The goal of this activity is to increase their capacity for agricultural research, extension, and participation in international trade; and to help change the narrative in Turkey about new technologies and build support for a more science-based, innovation-friendly regulatory system, which will also improve market access for U.S. agricultural products to Turkey.