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Trent Preszler

Trent Preszler

  • Professor of Practice

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Faculty Area

Interdisciplinary Theme

Faculty Expertise

  • Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics and Policy
  • Sustainable Business
  • Farm and Agribusiness Management

Contact

Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

tlp24@cornell.edu

Cornell Directory Entry

Website

Biography

Trent Preszler is professor of practice and director of the Dyson Leadership Program, a rigorous immersion in systems thinking that empowers students to confront the complex societal challenges they have inherited. He was awarded the 2024 Henry David Thoreau Foundation Faculty Grant in recognition of his visionary work to foster leadership at the intersection of business and the environment, with undergraduate students as catalysts for change.

Preszler's research focuses on sustainable business practices within the agriculture and forestry sectors and has been featured by Wall Street Journal Magazine, The New York Times, Esquire, and CBS Sunday Morning. His memoir, Little and Often, published by the William Morrow imprint of HarperCollins, hit #1 on the Amazon books best sellers list and was a Best Book of 2021 in USA Today. His forthcoming book, Evergreen, will be published in 2025 by the Algonquin Books imprint of Little, Brown (Hachette).

Animating his classrooms with a mix of theory and practical life experiences, Preszler teaches several required electives in the Dyson Grand Challenges core. His portfolio includes a sophomore writing course in climate-smart agribusiness, and two senior project courses in social impact consulting that involve international field trips with students: South Africa over winter break and Peru over spring break. He also teaches AEM 1101: Design Your Dyson, the introductory course required of all first-year Dyson students.

Before joining the Cornell faculty, Preszler was CEO of Bedell Cellars, a sustainably farmed vineyard and winery on Long Island, NY. During his 20-year career in the wine business, he also served as board chairman for both the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Wine America, the national association of wineries.

Having grown up on a cattle ranch on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in SD, Preszler secured his first job after college: a White House internship for President Bill Clinton. He also holds the world record for building the most expensive wooden canoe ever sold ($100,000). A documentary film about Preszler's life won an Emmy Award in 2017.

Selected Publications

Awards and Honors

  • 2024 Faculty Grant Award (2024 - 2027) Henry David Thoreau Foundation
  • National Book Festival: “Little and Often” (2024) Library of Congress

Recent Courses

  • AEM 2816 - Climate-Smart Agribusiness
  • AEM 1101 - Design Your Dyson
  • AEM 2815 - Forest Bioeconomy
  • AEM 4001 - Grand Challenges Abroad I
  • AEM 3600 - Impact Learning: Field Study Prep Experience
  • AEM 3601 - Impact Learning: Project Reflection, Completion and Presentation
  • AEM 4940 - Undergraduate Special Topics in Applied Economics and Management

Academic Degrees

  • PhD Cornell University, 2012
  • MS Cornell University, 2002
  • Post-Graduate Diploma University of Edinburgh, 1999
  • BS Iowa State University, 1998

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