Diana Collingwood is the current Assistant Commissioner of the US Virgin Islands  Department of Agriculture, and Chair/Founder of the VI Women in Agriculture Association. A  former Agriculture Educator/FFA Advisor, School District CTE Supervisor, and student/teacher  mentor, Ms. Collingwood attended High School on St. Croix, VI and was the first female  graduate of the A.A. Degree in Agriculture program in 1985 at the then College of the Virgin  Islands (CVI). Diana began her agriculture professional career as a Middle School agriculture  teacher on St. Croix and served from1985 to 1989.  

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Ms. Collingwood is also a University of Florida graduate with a B.S. in Agriculture &  Extension Education and an M.A. in Agriculture Education and Communications, with minors in  Educational Leadership and concentrations in Exceptional Student Education & Counseling. She was the agriculture teacher/manager/FFA Advisor of a 24-acre production land lab facility at  South Dade Senior High in the heart of the rural Homestead, Fl. farming community. She  successfully implemented a shared community vision, which resulted in federal funding to  develop an academically integrated plant tissue culture program that received national  recognition. 

 

From 2001-2019 Diana served as the M-DCPS District Instructional Supervisor and  provided countywide supervision for middle, high, and adult programs in Agriculture & Natural  Resources Ed., Criminal Justice Operations, Early Childhood Ed., Culinary Arts, Fashion Design, Firefighting, Private Security Officer, Public Safety/Law Studies, and Secondary Teacher Education programs. 

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Diana’s core belief in inspiring and motivating others and providing them with direction  and support to pursue excellence in preparation for the workforce has inspired District and  national recognition, increased program development in all the areas she supervised, and resulted  in a high level of student success. Membership in professional organizations, completing in-service courses and working  closely with local, state, regional, national, and international AG industry professionals keeps  Ms. Collingwood immersed in cutting edge technology and adept in agricultural and educational  trends. Through her experiences and training Ms. Collingwood has developed a clear vision for  success in Career & Technical Education, and specifically the agricultural sciences, her area of  passion. 

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Diana founded PEACE International LLC. in 2008 (PEOPLES’ ENVIRONMENTAL &  AGRICULTURAL CONSULTING ENTERPRISES) with the mission to “foster agricultural and  environmental literacy and positive growth using education and communication initiatives, global entertainment activities, and leadership development strategies; to meet global, community and industry needs”. Since PEACE International’s initiation, Diana has been  involved in agriculture and education projects in Trinidad, Haiti, Ghana, The US Virgin Islands  and most recently Nigeria. Since her relocation to the VI she has re-established PEACE  International as a USVI entity.  

The UVI School of Agriculture was reestablished in June of 2020 and Ms. Collingwood  is proud to serve as a member of the board and as an instructor of the Introduction to Agriculture  Course, Spring 2024, to mentor and support next-generation agriculture industry professionals. An avid grant writer, Diana has been instrumental in securing over $9mil in federal funding for  agricultural & environmental initiatives for the Virgin Islands territory since serving in the role  of Assistant Commissioner.  
 

Diana is an aspiring author whose first body of work, a children’s book (for all ages) entitled “The Boy Who Loves Plants”, will be released in May 2024, on the Amazon platform.