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Cape May Court House – Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) of Cape May County is proud to announce that Dr. Claudia Gil Arroyo joined our staff as the new Agriculture Agent for Cape May County in July 2022.
Dr. Gil Arroyo comes to us from North Carolina State, where she completed her PhD in May 2022, with her dissertation “The contributions of craft beverage tourism to sustainable development and destination image formation.” Dr. Gil Arroyo earned a master’s degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism from the University of Missouri, and has a bachelor’s in science in Tourism Management from Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru.
In her position as County Agent III in Cape May County, Dr. Gil Arroyo will be expanding educational programming, outreach, and research related to the commercial agricultural industries in Cape May County and throughout the southern region of New Jersey, with specific emphasis in “destination ag”: agritourism and retail marketing; wineries and craft beverages; and risk and financial management.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Dr. Claudia Gil Arroyo to Rutgers Cooperative Extension and specifically the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. As our newest faculty member, her expertise and Extension-related experience in agritourism will be invaluable to the growers and producers not only in Cape May County, but across NJ,” said Nick Polanin, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department Chair. Dr. Gil Arroyo brings with her keen insights to the craft beverage industry and creating ‘Destination Ag’ tourism opportunities. This will greatly expand our capacity and expertise in serving the needs of NJ’s agricultural industries while also building on the strong tourism industry Cape May County is famous for,” added Polanin.
Dr. Gil Arroyo was born and raised in Lima, Peru where she worked in the tourism industry before coming to the United States to continue her education. After graduating from the University of Missouri, she returned to Peru and worked for 5 years at her alma mater in the Tourism Management program in different capacities including professor. During her tenure there, she developed an interest in community-based tourism, experiential tourism, and food tourism. Her experience in the tourism industry and in academia, along with her interest in research motivated her move back to the United States in 2018 to pursue a doctoral degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University.
Allen Carter, Cape May County Board of Agriculture and a member of the Search Committee for the Ag Agent for Cape May County, said, “The committee wanted someone not only familiar with agriculture, but also Ag Tourism. Dr. Gil Arroyo was selected in part because of her outstanding work with Ag Tourism and Marketing at NC State Extension. While visiting Cape May County for her interview, I could feel the passion and excitement for opportunities Dr. Gil Arroyo was seeing. I believe Dr. Gil Arroyo will help the agricultural and aquacultural communities capitalize on the visitors to our County.”
For more information about Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County and the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, please visit our website capemay.njaes.rutgers.edu or call 609-465-5115.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County educational programs are offered to all without regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
