Kyleigh Hilburn-Walker is an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Communication in the department of Agricultural and Extension Education. She is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She obtained her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Animal Science in 2021 and Master of Science (M.S.) in 2023, both from Oklahoma State University. She then completed her Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida. During her master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, Dr. Hilburn-Walker focused on the experiences Native Americans have at land-grant institutions.

Dr. Hilburn-Walker is originally from Southeast Oklahoma, where she grew up on a small cow-calf operation. Growing up, Dr. Hilburn showed beef cattle across the state of Oklahoma. She knew from a young age that she loved connecting the production of agriculture to the consumers of agriculture. Before knowing what Agricultural Communications was, Dr. Hilburn had her sights set on becoming a large animal veterinarian who would return to rural Oklahoma. However, she quickly learned she loved talking aboutagriculture more than anything. Dr. Hilburn now hopes to continue to tell the stories of production agriculture and of the many different people in agriculture. She has also found a passion in policy communication.

Dr. Hilburn-Walker’s research interest focuses on the storytelling of agriculture. Not only the science behind the agriculture, but the people involved in agriculture. One of her biggest goals is to further understand the lived experiences of Native Americans in higher education and in agriculture.

View full Hilburn-Walker CV