ITHACA, N.Y. -- Erica Pagel, a master's degree student in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been named an agricultural fellow for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). For a six-month term, Pagel will be working with the senator's Agricultural Advisory Council and will provide expertise on the federal agricultural policy process.

As a member of Clinton's legislative staff, Pagel will follow legislation and appropriations related to New York agriculture and serve as a liaison between constituents and the legislative staff. She will return to Cornell at the end of her term to complete her thesis and degree.

Through her work in the agricultural industry in Wisconsin, Pagel has become well-versed on the economics of dairy, coarse-grain production and such government programs as direct payments, deficiency loans and crop insurance.

Pagel is earning her master's degree in the Department of Applied Economics and Management. She is examining the changing structure of agriculture and the complex interactions between the biological systems of milk production and the economic environment that induces production behavior.

Before attending Cornell, Pagel graduated summa cum laude from St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis., in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics. As an undergraduate, she interned in Washington as an associate policy analyst for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

In 1996 Pagel graduated from Oconto Falls High School in Oconto Falls, Wis., where she had been a drum major, captain of the cheerleading squad, a member of the math team and president of the Future Business Leaders of America club.

-30-