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IL NRCS Announces Acting State Conservationist

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Illinois NRCS welcomes Tammy Willis!

With the retirement of State Conservationist Ivan Dozier, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) would like to announce that Tammy Willis has been selected to serve a 120-detail as the Acting State Conservationist for Illinois until the position is filled permanently. Willis began her detail on February 27 and has assumed all duties of the Illinois State Conservationist position. Her bio follows.

Tammy Willis is the NRCS Illinois Acting State Conservationist, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, and has worked for the agency for 28 years.

illinois acting state conservationist

Tammy began her career with USDA Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) in 1995. She has worked in multiple states throughout her career which has afforded her a diverse conservation experience and knowledge.

She started as a Soil Conservationist trainee in Jonesboro, Arkansas and continued to Freeport and Sycamore, IL. She later moved to Wynne, Arkansas in 2003 as a District Conservationist to continue providing technical assistance and farm bill program delivery to farmers, livestock producers and other customers. In 2007, she was selected as an Area Resource Conservationist in Dayton, Ohio. After four years, in 2011, Tammy became the Assistant State Conservationist for Programs in Syracuse, NY. For a decade, she provided leadership, guidance, and direction for NY’s Financial Assistance and Easement Programs to internal and external customers. In 2021, she was selected as the first Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships for NY. She successfully completed the Strategic Leadership Development Program (SLDP) through George Washington University in 2021.

During Tammy’s career she completed two Acting State Conservationist detail opportunities: New York, 2018 and South Carolina, 2017. In 2022, Tammy served on a detail to the new Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Office (UAIP), helping to establish the office in her role as the UAIP Advisory Committee Coordinator. 

Tammy and her husband of 24 years have a son and daughter.