Candiss Williams

Candiss Williams has spent the last 15 years with the USDA evaluating and documenting conservation effects on soil and water quality. She joined the Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Health Division in 2023 as the National Soil Health Specialist. In this role, she is responsible for the national leadership of NRCS soil health technology, development, and associated conservation and soil health policy development, implementation, and coordination. Prior, she was a Natural Resource Specialist and Soil Scientist for the NRCS Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP) Cropland and Modeling Team and Outcomes Team, where she evaluated emerging computational techniques and research to improve conservation program effects on soil and water quality. She has held positions with USDA-ARS and NRCS as a Research Soil Scientist evaluating and documenting conservation effects on soil and water quality. Candiss holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy from Purdue University with a focus on soil and water chemistry and a master’s degree in soil chemistry from Tuskegee University.In 2022, NRCS released Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 336 Soil Carbon Amendments, which provides technical and financial assistance to participants to improve or maintain soil organic matter, sequester carbon and enhance soil carbon stocks, improve soil aggregate stability, and improve habitat for soil organisms. In October 2023, CPS 336 was added to the USDA Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Mitigation List of conservation practices and activities eligible for Inflation Reduction Act funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship program (CSP).