Rebecca Fudge

Rebecca Fudge is the Upper Mississippi project specialist for The Nature Conservancy’s North America Agriculture program. In this role, she functions as the lead scientist and project manager for the Upper Mississippi Foodscape, a project focused on transitioning 50% of row crop acres in the foodscape geography—parts of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin—to  regenerative practices through policy, market development and coalition building.  Rebecca works across state and national programs at TNC and with external partners to translate scientific data into strategies to advance regenerative agriculture across the project area.

Prior to joining TNC in 2024, Rebecca earned a Ph.D. in plant and microbial biology at the University of Minnesota, where she was the recipient of an AFRI Predoctoral Fellowship for her dissertation on nitrogen cycling by cover crops in the Upper Midwest. Rebecca also holds a B.A. in biological sciences and environmental policy from Northwestern University. She lives in Minneapolis and enjoys cross-country skiing, knitting and cooking in her free time.