Kristen Saacke Blunk, of Penn State's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, has been appointed senior extension associate and director of the newly established Agriculture and Environment Science and Policy Center. As director, Kristen is charged with effectively and visibly engaging the breadth of Penn State's expertise in agriculture and environmental sciences to assist decision makers (farmers, legislators, county commissioners, township supervisors, etc.) in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region in solving environmental issues involving agriculture. During the next three to five years, the focus of the center will be on air and water quality issues associated with livestock. She will report to Daney Jackson, the associate vice president for outreach and director for Cooperative Extension and associate dean, College of Agricultural Sciences.

Since June 2006, Kristen has been serving as an extension associate with the department's Agricultural and Environmental Policy Program conducting Pennsylvania extension program on policy issues related to agriculture and the environment. During her first year, Kristen collaboratively developed the Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Program's "Primer on Water Quality Credit Trading in the Mid-Atlantic Region" and related educational materials, presented at the 2007 USDA CSREES Water Conference in Savannah, collaboratively wrote and edited articles and publications, and participated on state and regional committees and task forces. Prior to this position, Kristen served as the environmental education and outreach coordinator for the Penns Valley Conservation Association where she developed multiple grant proposals for environmental programming ensuring program continuation.

Kristen earned a B.S. degree in biology from Virginia Tech and a M.F.R. in fisheries and wildlife from Penn State.