Michelle Grainger

Michelle L. Grainger joined the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission as Executive Director in the summer of 2020. With over 20 years of innovation management and programmatic experience to draw from, serving most recently as Managing Director of NC State University’s Executive Farm Management Program. One of Michelle’s passions is advocacy for agriculture. She continues her passion for “AGvocacy”, supporting the 400+ members of the commission and educating consumers on where their sweetpotatoes come from and all of the reasons why they should eat more, including how versatile it is in so many dishes!

Of Michelle’s many accomplishments, one of the most recent and prestigious was to deliver a TEDx talk at the TedxCaryWomen event in December 2019, where she shared the importance of both agriculture and the farmer and makes the connection that without them – our country would not have the level of national security that it has been able to provide to its people. Michelle was born and raised in Cary, NC, and is a proud alumnus of NC State University.

About North Carolina SweetPotato Commission, Inc.

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission Inc. is a nonprofit corporation made up of over 400 sweet potato growers along with the packers, processors, and business associates that support them. The sole purpose of the Commission is to increase sweet potato consumption through education, promotional activities, research, and honorable horticultural practices among its producers.