Mario Ortez named James A. and Renae C. Pearson Collegiate Faculty Fellow
Mario Ortez, collegiate assistant professor of agribusiness and entrepreneurship in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, has been named the James A. and Renae C. Pearson Collegiate Faculty Fellow by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The fellowship was endowed in 2017 by Virginia Tech alumni J. and Renae Pearson to bring expertise from industry and academia into the classroom to provide students with greater experiential learning opportunities within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The position is tied to the Kohl Centre, a visionary experiential learning program named after Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus Dave Kohl, one of J. Pearson’s role models and mentors.
Grounded in the food and agricultural sector, Ortez has worked in academia, the private sector, and as an entrepreneur and farm owner. His professional journey covers significant sectors of the U.S. food and agricultural economy including meat manufacturing, investment management, and coffee production and commercialization.
His research has been broadcast in a variety of outlets beyond academic journals, including Hoards Dairyman, Food Technology & Manufacturing, and Med India, and in industry magazines and podcasts such as “Farming the Future” and “The Grower and the Economist.” Ortez has served as guest and lead editor of the Purdue Agricultural Economics, which is Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics' flagship communication review channel with the food and agriculture industry.
Ortez’s goal is to inspire and guide future agribusiness practitioners, supporting them in their learning journeys at Virginia Tech and preparing them as leaders once they graduate.
He earned a Ph.D. from Purdue University, a master’s degree from Kansas State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Panamerican Agricultural School Zamorano in Honduras.
Written by Anja Hemesath, a senior and a student writer for Virginia Tech Communications and Marketing
