Georgine Yorgey: a Decade of Leadership
This story is part of the 2024–2025 CSANR Biennial Report.
Now leading the WSU Energy Program, Georgine Yorgey continues to shape CSANR’s statewide work through research, extension, and collaboration.
Georgine joined CSANR in 2009 and quickly established herself as an innovative leader in Extension programming and outreach. Her success stems not only from her remarkable productivity but also from her ability to engage producer associations, public agencies, policymakers, and industry leaders to build the consensus and partnerships needed to tackle major challenges.
After nearly ten years of serving as associate director of CSANR, Georgine Yorgey started a new leadership role as director of the WSU Energy Program. She continues to bring her expertise to CSANR initiatives like the Dairy Roadmap and Apple Lifecycle Assessment projects as an affiliate.
Real-world impact
As Associate Director of CSANR, Georgine led many high-impact projects that engaged both traditional and non-traditional Extension audiences. For example, she directed the multimedia Climate Resilience Case Studies project, co-edited and managed the 39-author Extension handbook Advances in Dryland Farming in the Inland Pacific Northwest, oversaw the Anaerobic Digestion Systems series of Extension publications, and launched the Carbon and Cow$ podcast, which had at least 400 listeners.
Georgine’s reputation is such that many state agencies and non-governmental organizations recognize her as a trusted conduit to the best available science on climate solutions, organic waste management, and water resources. She is frequently sought out as an Extension collaborator by WSU researchers and has served as principal investigator or co-PI for ten large, multi-disciplinary, federally funded projects over the past decade. Georgine is central to the leadership and design of most of these projects, and her collaborators credit her for helping them understand how their research ideas can translate into real-world actions.
Georgine has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, 35 peer-reviewed Extension publications, and numerous technical and multimedia resources. Over her career, Georgine has secured over $5 million in funding to support her programs.
Leadership in action
AgSymbiosis and resource recovery
Georgine’s leadership helped support the 25 farm-based digesters in the Northwest with policy work, extension, and exploration of other complementary technologies that can be used alongside digesters. These farm-based digesters produce an estimated 126M kWh of renewable energy annually while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She also supported state-level frameworks, like Washington’s Sustainable Farms and Fields Program, to incentivize sustainable waste practices and attracted millions in funding for innovative solutions.
Water for agriculture
Georgine led or contributed to extension efforts for three Columbia River water forecasts (2011, 2016, and 2021), fostering dialogue among agricultural, environmental, and residential stakeholders. Her work supported the Office of Columbia River in the development of water projects delivering 516,641 acre-feet of instream and out-of-stream water with agricultural benefits exceeding $100 million annually, helping establish more sustainable water use.
Looking ahead
Since stepping into her new role as director of the WSU Energy Program in October 2024, Georgine has made an immediate impact.
Chad Kruger, who worked closely with Georgine as director of CSANR, shared “Georgine is talented and productive in unprecedented ways. She has already blown away expectations in her new role.”
In her new role, Georgine leads a unit that is helping Washington transition to a more sustainable energy future.
The Energy Program is supporting the electrification of public fleets, testing in-window heat pumps for renters, and working on issues related to agriculture, such as least-conflict solar siting and facilitating a pilot installation of a heat pump water heater on a regional dairy.
Despite these additional responsibilities, Georgine remains deeply engaged at CSANR, continuing to bridge research, extension, and leadership to address the challenges of food, energy, and water sustainability.
CSANR’s Stellar Team
CSANR fellows, faculty leadership, and affiliates received numerous CAHNRS Awards in 2024 and 2025.
- Georgine Yorgey, Faculty Excellence in Extension
- Kirti Rajagopalan, Early Career Excellence Award
- Soil to Society Team, Team Interdisciplinary Award
- Manuel Garcia-Perez, Faculty Excellence in Research Award
- Meijun Zhu, Land Grant Mission Award
- Troy Peters, Faculty Excellence in Extension Award
- Chad Kruger, Faculty Administrator Award