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U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS NWIAA CHAIRPERSON
DIANA E. COLLINGWOOD, MA, BSc Assistant Commissioner, Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture (VIDA)
Diana E. Collingwood is currently the Assistant Commissioner at the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture. Prior to that she served as a teacher for eight years with M-DCPS, specifically at South Dade Senior High. As lead teacher of the Vocational Department and teacher/manager of a 21-acre production land lab facility; 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.
In 2001 Ms. Collingwood was selected as a M-DCPS District Instructional Supervisor and until May 2019 served as the middle school/high school/adult programs coordinator for AgriScience, Criminal Justice/Legal/E911 Dispatch, Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Education, K-12 Teaching, Fashion Design Services and the Career Pathway initiatives. She began her career as a middle school agriculture teacher on St. Croix, after earning an A.A. Degree in Agriculture from the then College of the Virgin Islands.
Diana E. Collingwood
Following her U.S.V.I. tenure, Diana relocated to Hawaii and worked as an After-School Care Programs coordinator while studying Hawaiian cultures and communities. During that time, she cultivated a deep appreciation for the horticultural and environmental sciences. The combined experiences in Hawaii and the Virgin Islands led Diana to the University of Florida where she earned a B.S. in Agriculture & Extension Education followed by a M.A. in Agriculture Education and Communications; with minors in Educational Leadership and concentrations in Exceptional Student Education & Counseling.
Diana’s core belief in inspiring and motivating students and providing them with direction and support to pursue excellence has inspired District recognition, increased program development and workforce engagement across areas, generated millions of dollars in program funding, and has resulted in a high level of student and teacher success.
To remain grounded in the Sustainable Agriculture arena she loves so much, Diana founded P.E.A.C.E. International in 2008. Peoples’ Environmental & Agricultural Consulting Enterprises Int’l is the consulting vehicle Ms. Collingwood utilizes – 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 successfully conducted sustainable agriculture projects in Trinidad, Haiti, Ghana, The US Virgin Islands and most recently Nigeria.
The range of critical skills and partnerships developed and mastered by working across career clusters, interacting with related industry and educational partners, identifying and sourcing funds to create model academies, and integrating new and varied approaches to problem solving are critically valuable when applied specifically to her passion “to provide agricultural and environmental solutions to sustain us all”.