Leadership

Faculty and staff leading research and extension initiatives of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas

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Our center is the administrative office for District IV of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. For general inquiries and assistance from AgriLife Extension experts, please contact your county office.

Center Leadership

Daniel Leskovar, Ph.D.

Center Director, Professor, Urban Agriculture and Forestry
Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Dr. Leskovar serves as director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas. As a researcher, his vegetable physiology program focuses development of integrated sustainable vegetable cropping systems and understanding plant morphological and physiological adaptation mechanisms to environmental stresses. 

Ben DeBusk

Center Administrator

Texas A&M AgriLife Research

AgriLife Extension Regional Leadership

Dr. Hurley Miller

District Extension Administrator, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972.952.9263

Larry W. Pierce Jr.

Regional Program Leader, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

903.834.6191

Paula Butler

Regional Program Leader, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972.952.9229

Programmatic Leadership

Urban Agriculture and Forestry

Daniel Leskovar, Ph.D.

Professor, Controlled Environment Agriculture Principle Investigator, Center Director

Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Turfgrass and Urban Landscapes

Ambika Chandra, Ph.D.

Professor, Principal Investigator
Texas A&M AgriLife Research

972.952.9218

Healthy Living

Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, Ph.D., RDN

Healthy Living Lead, Principal Investigator

979.845.2142

Urban Ecological Engineering

Fouad Jaber, Ph.D.

Professor, Principal Investigator, Extension Agricultural Engineering Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension

972.952.9672

Water and Land Resources

Wendy Jepson, Ph.D.

Professor, Associate Director, Texas Water Resources Institute

979.458.2224

Urban Horticulture

Genhua Niu, Ph.D.

Professor, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

972.952.9226

Joseph G. Masabni, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Extension Vegetable Specialist,
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972.952.9653

Lead Research Faculty

Breeding for Controlled Environments

Krishna Bhattarai, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

972-952-9257

Controlled Environment Agricultural Engineering

Azlan Zahid, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

972-231-5362

Plant Immunity

Junqi Song, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

972-952-9244

Controlled Environment Entomology

Arash Kheirodin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Freshwater Ecosystem

Charles Randklev, Ph.D.

Research Scientist, Principal Investigator, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute

972.952.9657

Lead Extension Faculty

School Integrated Pest Management

Janet Hurley

Extension Program Specialist III, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972-952-9213

Agricultural Economics

Blake Bennett, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Extension Economist,
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972.952.9273

Urban Forestry

Courtney Blevins

Regional Urban Forester, Fort Worth, Texas A&M Forest Service

817-531-3119

Parks and Recreation

Jamie Rae Walker, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist,
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972-952-9214

4-H Youth Development

Derrick Bruton

Extension Program Specialist,
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

972.952.9264