Huron, SD (Press Release) — ­­Valeree DeVine, of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in South Dakota (SD) was recently awarded NRCS’s national Mentor of the Year from Chief Terry Cosby. This award comes after a year of dedicated work as DeVine onboarded seven new employees and two USDA Pathways’ students in fiscal year (FY) 2024. Not only did Valeree onboard, train, and mentor nine individuals, she also put on numerous district-level conservation trainings for new and existing employees. Joining NRCS in the summer of 2005, DeVine started with the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) completing rangeland inventories in Western SD, she returned to college to finish her degree and then started her career in Northeast SD and today is the Upper James Regional Unit Conservationist.

“I am passionate about mentoring because those who did so for me, at the beginning of my career, helped shape me and set me on the right path. One of the most rewarding parts of my job is seeing people grow in confidence and take on additional leadership roles and responsibilities,” says Valeree.

State Conservationist, Tony Sunseri, expressed his gratitude to DeVine stating, “We are extremely fortunate to have such dedicated and valuable team members at NRCS, Valeree has done an impeccable job of showcasing and working in our mission of helping people help the land by preparing and expanding the knowledge of current and future conservationists in this agency.”