Anna Claire Tilley, a Rhodes College senior from Fort Smith, AR, has been awarded The Steve and Riea Lainoff Crop Trust Fellowship in Honor of Cary Fowler ’71. The fellowship is made possible through the generosity of Steve and Riea Lainoff, parents of Rhodes graduates Brian Lainoff ’11 and Mark Lainoff ’15.
Tilley, who is pursuing a major in urban studies and a minor in environmental studies, will support the work of the resource mobilization and communications teams of the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Bonn, Germany, in August 2025.
The 12-month fellowship provides the opportunity for a recent graduate to develop an understanding of the Crop Trust’s work and the issues associated with agricultural biodiversity conservation. Previous fellows have assisted in planning conferences and events, developing communications materials, and even accompanying deposits to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
“My Rhodes education has equipped me with the necessary critical thinking and creativity skills to be a strong Crop Trust Fellow. Blending the classroom with internships has been the most enriching part of my college career. With Memphis as a classroom, I have been able to merge my education with real-world initiatives,” said Tilley. “A special thank you to all my professors. I am grateful for learning from their wealth of knowledge and expertise.”
As president and head gardener of ROOTS Gardening Club, a student organization at Rhodes, Tilley has had experience coordinating and executing composting initiatives at the Rhodes College dining hall; co-organizing events, crop rotations, and weekly gardening needs with the ROOTS executive board; and designing and building garden beds, trellises, a shed, and various garden components.
In addition, Tilley is a Rhodes Student Associate for The Lynne & Henry Turley Memphis Center for Community Engagement and a Turley Fellow, working with Memphis Native Tree Works to develop edible landscaping services. She also has created virtual tours of the company’s tree nursery and urban farm as well as educational material for consumers about native edibles, including harvesting practices, maintenance, recipes, flavor profiles, and food pairings. Through the Turley Fellowship, two fruit-bearing tree species have been added to the Rhodes campus, which is certified as a Level IV Arboretum.
Tilley’s other activities include serving as a Rhodes College Diplomat Tour Guide and a Rhodes Radio show host.
After completing the fellowship at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, “I intend to dedicate my life career to connecting urbanites with their food systems and building stronger, more resilient food networks based on local markets and native availability,” said Tilley. “A little farm with goats and chickens is in the 10-year plan.”