About the Creator: Natalie Daily Federer
My name is Natalie Daily Federer and I was graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural communication (minors in history and English) and a master of arts in American history. I am currently engaged in studies for a PhD in Education at Purdue.
I am passionate about history. I think that most people are interested in some dimension of history whether it be sports history, military history, the history of fashion to the history of agriculture. I am also very interested in agricultural communication and general agriculture. Thus, pulling on oral history as a method into the realm of agricultural communication sounded intriguing and exciting. I think of my research as a hybrid of sorts, bridging the social sciences and humanities. I have found the people I have interviewed and worked with to be inspiring. They have a story to tell about many aspects of agricultural communication. From ACE meetings to the varying uses of technology in professional communications over the years, their stories are filled with dignity, knowledge and interesting perspectives on what agricultural communications was and is today.
I am currently an Extension Educator in Pulaski County. Previously, I was the academic advisor and instructor for the Agricultural Communication Program at Purdue for 4 ½ years. The move from a campus position to an extension position was a hard decision to make, but with a family (husband Josh and a very active 2 year-old son, Kale), I needed to spend more time with them and also be able to devote more time to my research. I am also enjoying getting to work in my local community where I was born and raised. I serve as a director on two boards, the Winamac Town Chamber and the Pulaski County Historical Society. I coordinate and care for the Pulaski County Historical Museum and also recently taught a local history class at Winamac High School.
Within ACE, I serve as the vice-chair elect for the International Special Interest Group and have truly enjoyed working with this group. I hope to become more engaged in ACE. I also want to thank ACE members for their support of this project through professional development grants and associates in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC) for all their time and support.