Southern Rural Sociological Association
...an educational and scientific organization established to foster the study, understanding, and application of rural sociology in the South.
SRSA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
February 2025-February 2026
President 2025-2026
Russ Garner
Director of Community Sustainability
Communities Unlimited
(479) 445-2950
Program Chair 2025-2026
Ryan Thomson
Assistant Professor, Rural Sociology
Auburn University
Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology
313 Comer Hall
Auburn, AL 36849
(334) 844-5631
President-Elect 2025-2026
Kara Woods
Research Analyst
SDFR Policy Research Center
Office of the President, Alcorn State University
1000 ASU Drive #449
Lorman, Mississippi 39096
601-786-1505
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Program Chair Elect 2025-2026
Kelli Russell
Assistant Extension Professor
Auburn University
Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology
301 Comer Hall
Auburn, AL 36849
(334) 844-4800
Non-Voting Committee Members
Journal Editor 2018-Present
John J. Green
Director, Southern Rural Development Center
Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics
P.O. Box 5187
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: 662.325.0595
Email: john.green@msstate.edu
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Website Manager 2020-Present
Eleanor M. Green
Co-Director, Delta Scholars Program, Shackouls Honors College
Mississippi State University
118 Twin Gum Road
Starkville, MS 39759
Phone: 662-402-4451
ecmgreen@gmail.com​
Past-President 2025-2026
Marcus Bernard
Dean of the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources
Director of Land Grant Programs
Kentucky State University
Cooperative Extension Building, Suite 231C
105 University Drive
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 597-5758
Graduate Student Representative
Meikah Dado, Texas A & M University
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Meikah is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications Department. She is a graduate research assistant at the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture where she works on the Africa Team. Her research interests are in international agricultural development involving women and youth.
Undergraduate Student Representative
Open Position
Secretary-Treasurer 2018-Present
Robert Zabawa
Research Professor of Agricultural Social Sciences
Tuskegee University
207 Campbell Hall
1210 W. Montgomery Rd.
Tuskegee, AL 36088
Phone: 334-727-8114
Email: rzabawa@tuskegee.edu