Dawn Thilmany

As associate director of the Regional Economic Development Institute at Colorado State University, Thilmany’s interests lie in agribusiness management and rural economic development, as well as food systems, consumer behavior and supply-chain innovations.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Thilmany concentrated on the effects on small food producers’ local distribution systems, providing input to the federal stimulus bill of 2020.

Thilmany, also the outreach coordinator for Extension Economist-Labor and Agribusiness Management. and her team have partnered with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to explore new marketing strategies, including Colorado Proud and Colorado MarketMaker, and, through a Western region partnership, have helped institute Building Farmer short courses throughout Colorado and the intermountain region. She also headed the Colorado Hemp Advancement Management Plan.

Thilmany holds a B.S. with honors from Iowa State University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis.