The Storied Joshua

Hommage pour Josh april 2012, Etienne Landais

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:41:57 -0400

Je m’appelle Etienne Landais, j’ai 63 ans et je dirige le Centre international d’études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro). My name is Etienne Landais. I am 63 and I am the director of the International Center for Studies in Agronomic Sciences in Montpellier, France.

I spent the first part of my career in West Africa (1975-86) doing research in agronomy. My wife Dominique and I were in Korhogo in the north of the Ivory Coast for our first assignment overseas as were Josh and Jill .We got there several years after the Posner’s had left. Later, he and I discussed this experience: the contact with the Senoufo farmers was for me, as it was for him, a decisive life experience.

After the Ivory Coast, Dominique and I went to Senegal in 1983 where we met the Posner family: Josh, who was working for the same research program as I was, Jill, their daughter Jessica, three at the time, and soon Matthew, born a few months later: practically the same ages as our two older children.

The Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research was setting up a multidisciplinary team in farming systems with technical support from both an American team and a French one. Josh was the specialist for cropping systems and I was the specialist for livestock systems. Our teams quickly melded into one, and for a few years we enjoyed a rare and unforgettable experience. Josh and I have never lost touch since that time.

As all of us know, Josh’s professional life was built on humanistic values and strong social convictions. We shared them to such an extent that we hardly felt the need to discuss them.

Josh possessed, what Claude Lévi-Strauss, (a famous French anthropologist) called, “le gout de l’autre—or “a taste for others”. His empathy, curiosity, and respect for his partners, was the basis of his ability to interact so productively with the farmers of Africa and Latin America. His success in exploring new technologies which were compatible with their resources improved production.

Three years ago, Josh took advantage of a sabbatical year offered by his university, and chose to come to France to the school in Montpellier where we train engineers in agronomy who often work in developing countries. Josh put a lot into his classes and we could see what a wonderful teacher he was: his vast knowledge, his passion for teaching, and the strength of his convictions made him the kind of professor, students truly came to love. The values that inspired him throughout his life, the noble objectives he pursued, and his steadfast perseverance are an inspiration to me and his many French colleagues as well as those all over the world who knew him.

I could go on much longer Josh’s career and the 30 years of friendship that have linked our two families—the fact that Jill and Josh are great friends of France, where they visited often and have many friends here. It was a privilege to have them with us in Montpellier. That year was a period when one our “amitié lumineuse” flowered. We will always treasure it.

Josh aimait à dire qu’il avait eu de la chance dans la vie, mais en vérité c’est lui qui était une chance dans la vie des autres. (Josh liked to say that he had a lot of luck in life, but in truth, we were the lucky ones to have had Josh in our lives.)

Joshua L. Posner Memorial Service, June 9, 2012 New Rochelle, NY Tribute by Eric W. Crawford

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:38:22 -0400

My wife Mary and I have been friends with Jill and Josh and their family since we were in graduate school together at Cornell in the late 1970s, where we were all working on Ph.D. degrees. Agricultural economics was my field. Josh’s larger-than-life persona was apparent from the first time I saw him. As I was leaving at the end of a lecture in soil science I noticed a stir in the back of the room as this large guy was talking and joking and greeting other students, and generally being received as a semi-celebrity back after a lengthy absence.

My wife Mary’s definite opinions and high standards made a strong impression on Josh. He would shake his head and say he felt sorry that I had such a tough woman for a wife. (As if Jill was a pushover!) One time when Josh and Jill were visiting us in Ithaca, Mary was talking about having to clean bathrooms as a young girl, and hating it when her five brothers would pee all over and generally make a mess. So after dinner, Josh leaves Jill with us and walks into town to meet a friend. After several beers, walking back to our house, Josh feels a call of nature. But he says to himself, “I’ll get into trouble if I mess up Mary’s bathroom.” So he decides to just pee along the way. But he chooses the wrong place (under a street light) and the wrong time (as the town police drive by). You can picture this encounter between Josh and the police, with Josh explaining how he just got back from Honduras, where peeing by the road is routine, how he was visiting a friend with a very hygiene-conscious wife whose bathroom he’s afraid to mess up, etc. No doubt this story seemed very implausible to the police, but you can imagine Josh selling it to them and escaping without a ticket … but then berating Mary for putting him in that predicament.

In the mid-1980s, we were both in Senegal, working on a Michigan State University project with the Senegal Agricultural Research Institute. Josh was the agronomist on a farming systems research team in the south. During my visits, I came see the qualities that so many others have noted. Josh loved field work, he was committed to helping rural farm families improve their lives through agriculture, and he was able to inspire others on the team with his enthusiasm and desire to understand farmers’ practices. From Josh, I learned how to do rigorous survey data collection and analysis. Josh would not just run the data through the computer. He would print the raw data files and go painstakingly through the printouts line by line to spot errors of data collection or data entry, things that didn’t ring true with his knowledge of local farming.

Josh recruited me to work with him on a couple of publications. He wanted input from an economist, but like most agronomists he was skeptical of economists! My role was to analyze the profitability of the improved agronomic practices that the FSR team was testing. When Josh saw that I wanted to include the cost of labor used to harvest the crop, he heaped scorn on me in classic Josh fashion. “Why count harvest labor as a cost? Do you think any farmer would not harvest the crop because it takes labor to do that?!” Josh regarded this as a smoking gun that proved how crazy the economics perspective was.

Mary and I visited Josh in the hospital in late March. Despite the toll exacted by his illness, Josh’s enthusiasm for his students, and interest in issues of agricultural development, and sense of humor continued to be strong. Talking with Josh was like old times, and it didn’t feel right to say goodbye.

This reminds me of a story that Josh would tell, sometimes laughing so hard it brought tears to his eyes. It was from a Second City comedy skit about a refrigerator commercial. Josh would imitate the announcer recounting all of the refrigerator’s stellar features, ending with: “And when you close the door, THE LIGHT STAYS ON”!

So here we are, maybe with tears in our eyes. For Josh, the door is closed, but the light stays on.

clearing out Dad's office-- business cards

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:04:15 -0400

Mom and I went to clear out dad’s office. It was a really painful task actually… Imagine… stuff from Honduras 30 years ago!

BUT I found in the bottom corner drawer boxes of his business cards— English, French, Spanish, Chinese. Then I found other ones that were in the top (easily accessible drawer).

I asked the secretary why there would be so many because on quick glance I couldn’t find a thing different about them. (noticing detail is not my strongest quality)

She said she was so surprised with Josh asked to have them redone. She was surprised because Josh usually never asked for much at all—- but mostly she was surprised because in her 40 years of being an admin assistant at the University she had never had anyone ask to have their professional degrees TAKEN OFF the card. Usually someone was offended that some title or another was left off.

So she reordered 4 boxes (English, French, Spanish and Chinese) without Dr. or PhD or whatever it was.

for those of you who know his stories of working in the Andes— I think they should have let him put on his card: “Jefe Maximo’

Love Jess

Don Kass, Cornell

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:30:19 -0400

MY KINDRED SPIRIT

Although I was not related to Josh, I always felt that I was.

I guess there were two main factors, we were both Jewish and we had decided to enter into agronomy only after getting a degree in another subject. Soon after I started in agronomy at Cornell, I viisted my father’s sister whose husband was a Russian emigre doctor. When I told him that I was studying agronomy, he said “you must be the only Jew in the field — Jews don’t go into agriculture”. Although this is a commonly held belief, I have since found many Jews in agriculture — I frequently visit the widow of my mother’s cousin whose father, after being mugged in NY during the depression, moved the whole family to the Catskills where they raised chickens and cows. The same

sister of my father’s later told me that the family had a dairy in what is now Belarus and when they came to New York, they had dairy cows in Brooklyn. Soon after I came to Cornell, my grandfather visited me and looked at the names on the list of faculty in Caldwell Hall and he said to me, “I see there are a number of Jews in the department” — he then pointed out to me which are Jewish names — and it

did later develop that both my MS committee members were Jews and the publication from my MS thesis had three Jewish authors. I met Josh right after he came to Cornell and after we both had just finished our peace corps service — in September of 1972. A fellow graduate student, Les Everet, said to me, “there’s a new graduate student here taking all the basic courses”. I had sort of done the same thing when I first came to Cornell (Unlike Josh, I had finished my MS in agronomy before I joined the peace corps.) but Josh was doing it in a much more thorough fashion and while I had remained more or less on the periphery of agronomy (in soil microbiology) at first, Josh went into it in his usual fashion — wholeheartedly, unselfconsciously —he made no secret of the fact that he got his undergraduate degree in African studies. From the first, we always talked openly about everything — when I got discouraged, Josh never had any doubts. “This is a second career’, he would say to me. He had made up his mind and he was going to do it, come what may. He was really never afraid of anything — up until his final illness — he always went to the root of things—questioned everything —there was just nowhere he had any fear of going. That was his great gift — he taught me to be myself — admit that you are what you are and do what you have to do to get where you want to go. I doubt I could have finished my Ph.D in agronomy without Josh giving me encouragement and assuring me that every obstacle could be overcome.

When my wife first met Josh, she said to me,

“He looks like Charlton Heston” —there was a resemblance — of course, the role we most associate with Charlton Heston was that of Moses. And Josh was a sort of Moses to me,

leading me to the promised land. “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” But the successor of Moses who led his people into the promised land, was Joshua.

Fred Hoxie Eulogy to Josh April 27 2012 Madison WI

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:47:09 -0400

Fred Hoxie

My father was the kind of person Kodak made their ads for. Not only did he take pictures at every significant family event, but he catalogued his pictures and saved them in immense photo albums. About fifteen years ago, as my dad approached his ninetieth birthday, he began breaking up his albums and distributing his pictures to his children. One of the pictures he sent me was a snapshot he had taken of Josh, Richard McCombs and me on the day of our college graduation in June, 1969. I think of it as our “three stooges” picture. I have on my fluorescent tie; Richard has hair hanging over his ears (we all had lots of hair), and Josh has on the dashiki that he had worn at the commencement ceremony. We have our arms around each other and silly grins on our faces. We were so eager to get out of there: I was headed for an inner city elementary school in Philadelphia, Richard was bound for the New York, and Josh was on his way to the Peace Corps and Africa.

I have had that picture on my desk now for many years. For most of that time it lay crowded up against pictures of Holly and our children, reminding me of the optimism and boundless energy we felt that day nearly 43 years ago. We were blasting off! In the picture we are laughing, remembering all the time we had spent together as friends, and feeling as though that common bond had fueled us up for whatever lay ahead. We were impatient and indifferent to the risks in life—whether those risks involved a late night road trip, a swim in an off limits reservoir, or, in Josh’s case, a spontaneous decision to join me on a charter flight to London after he discovered that the airplane suddenly had an empty seat. (Yes, he left his car in the Kennedy airport parking lot.) I never look at that picture without remembering the extra portions of fun life had sent our way during our college years. And the silly grins always reminds me of the joy we shared in the years afterward—visiting in New York and Ithaca, dancing the meringue at Jessi’s wedding, swimming in the lake at Elkhart, celebrating our 60^th year together in California, and exploring Chicago eateries.

Over the last two years, the meaning of that snapshot changed. It no longer cast me back into the past, but propelled me into the future. From the time Josh was diagnosed, I looked at that picture and thought only of his courage and of the future we would share once he returned to health. I imagined that Richard and I (and the army of Josh’s friends) were holding him up and encouraging him onward to a new place, cheering him on to renewed vitality and restoration of his marvelous abilities. I looked at that picture while talking with him on the phone, while sitting and worrying about him, and even while we sang “Lord Jeffrey Amherst” into his answering machine just a few weeks ago. That picture kept telling me that Josh’s enormous courage and optimism would triumph. I told myself over and over again: this is Josh Posner, he battled hungry hippos in Africa; certainly he can overcome this!

Today I look at my picture and see something else. I feel angry that Josh isn’t here. I am going to be angry about that for a long time. But now the goofy guy in the dashiki is holding me up. His love and energy and optimism were and are so palpable that I can’t imagine the world without them. He is still there smiling for my dad, sharing his charm and calling us to new adventures. The pictures isn’t about the past anymore, or about the future, but about the present. Right now. We love you Josh; and we know your love and your spirit are here with us, now and forever.

Jerry Doll, Eulogy for Josh Posner April 27 2012 Madison

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:45:50 -0400

Jerry Doll, Dad’s UW Mentor

I met Josh when CALS was recruiting an international crop production scientist. This was a new venture for the college and department. Not international work as such because we have a long tradition of faculty involvement in overseas programs and of training international students. But in this case the college was seeking someone whose core appointment included significant attention to international endeavors and 25% of their time actually living overseas.

Our dream – and Josh’s - came true. As a faculty member, he participated in numerous international programs and his family lived for extended periods in the Gambia, Bolivia and Peru. These years, plus numerous trips, particularly the Andean region of South American and to China, exceeded our expectations of impacting people and programs in developing countries and regions.

His state-side appointment focused on cropping systems. He arrived in Wisconsin in the middle of the sustainable Ag evolution (or revolution to some) and quickly brought together key players in this area. What emerged is not the oldest cropping systems trial in the state, but has the widest rage of systems being compared, the most “advisors” (almost farming by committee), and field-sized plots as the farmers wanted.

Josh’s persona was ideally suited to assemble a wide collection of people from the biological, physical and social sciences on campus, and many from beyond campus (farmers, private organizations, Extension personnel and others) for this project. It truly embodies the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea. The project is entering its 22^nd year and is one of Josh’s best legacies. The College and Department must ensure that the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Trial System lives on.

This project is known as the WISCT trial. The letters of this acronym can be used to highlight many of Josh’s virtues and qualities. Here is my view of how WICST describes Josh.

W: Josh was wise. He was witty. He became a true Wisconsinite.

I: He was inquisitive and certainly international, not only in travels and living abroad but by how he saw the world. Jill and Josh were PC volunteers together and both Jessica and Matt were born overseas: an international family.

C: Josh was creative and deeply cared for the people in his life and about his mission in agriculture. He was very concerned for the future of farming systems and our planet.

S: He was sensitive to others, student-focused, Spanish speaking, and if you knew him at all, you know he was social. The last social event I shared with him was right here at the Union Terrace last fall; though ailing, he was on cloud 9 in the company of regional leaders of cropping trials similar to WICST.

T: Josh was a teacher: to graduate students in his program and to many undergrads in his popular Cropping Systems of the Tropics course; he was a true and trustworthy friend and colleague.

Josh touched us all. Let us always remember and emulate his wonderful gifts and spirit.

Ken Shapiro, Eulogy for Josh Posner April 27 2012 Madison

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:44:48 -0400

Ken Shapiro, Dean of Int’l Programs

I first knew Josh only by reputation; then as a colleague who became a friend and ultimately a model.

In talking about Josh and his time at UW, I have to start with Jill. In all the many places they lived around the world, Jill and Josh made a wonderful life together and raised two great kids. Visiting them abroad you knew you were visiting a home, not a temporary waystation.  It was extraordinary.

Josh’s career at UW can’t be captured in just a few minutes, but one comment he made says a lot about it. Sometime in the early 1990s, I was trying to convince Josh to take the lead role in our WB Bolivian project – to be Chief of Party. And he said to me, “You know Ken, what I really like is being in the field, solving problems.” Even though he was ultimately prevailed upon to take the Bolivia post - and other leadership roles, Josh always kept his feet on the ground, - in the field, solving problems.

I first came to know Josh back in the 1980s, when the college was starting a farming systems research project in the West African country of The Gambia. That led us to contact Josh, who already had a big reputation for this kind of work. We invited him to apply, and sure enough he was the top choice of the search committee. What I want to especially note is that Josh came right into UW with tenure on the recommendation of the Agronomy Department and the Biological Science Divisional Committee. This was quite a feat for someone who had spent most of his early career in the field in Africa and Central America, not in a campus office. That was a testament to the rigor with which Josh approached his work throughout his career, regardless of location or context – and regardless of whether there was electricity or running water or telephones - or toilets.

A few years later, the Rockefeller Foundation awarded us a grant to start the Summer Institute for African Agricultural Research to train African doctoral students. I was feeling pretty good since I had written the proposal. But that was short lived. The Rockefeller VP, Joyce Moock, took me aside one day and said. “You know, Ken, you did not have the best proposal. You had the best people – and Posner is exhibit A.” And she was right. In the 12 years of the Summer Institute, as in The Gambia, Josh showed an extraordinary ability to mentor and motivate young scientists in a way that not only enhanced their careers but also led to wonderful friendships.

Josh’s warm, embracing personality could be seen in his hospitality and his humor. I was reminded of both by an old email. Josh was organizing a meeting for five of us to talk about China, and he wanted to offer refreshments. So he sent us all an email. I quote: “We have our options, a light red wine from Burgundy or if we want to stay local, a full bodied (I am talking about the wine) red from Languedoc. I will have both at room temperature and well aerated before the meeting.” What a thoughtful guy. Well, the only hitch was that this meeting was held via Skype. Four of us were in chilly Madison while Josh was in sunny Montpellier – with the wines! But he did make sure they were visible on the screen and he toasted us with them repeatedly!

That conference call was about the NSF China IGERT project that Josh directed, starting about seven years ago.  Working with Josh on that project I learned a lot about his resilience, his optimism and his persistence.  Our first proposal to NSF got very high marks but wound up just below the list of funded projects.  That’s the first time I became aware of Josh’s favorite expletive – Phooey!  What a gentle guy.  An NSF staffer encouraged us to try again, which we did, but that time got terrible marks.  When the same NSF staffer encouraged a third try, I said, “forget it” – and added a few of my own expletives – a bit stronger than Phooey!  But Josh would not give up.  His optimism and persistence prevailed.  And that third proposal was successful.

In directing the IGERT project, Josh showed a remarkable talent for gathering and leading people from very different backgrounds.  The project had more than 25 faculty members from three different colleges in 12 different departments, literally spanning Anthropology to Zoology – in addition to scientists and administrators from four different research institutes in China.   Josh molded this diverse collection of individuals into a congenial group, all working toward the same objective.

A measure of Josh’s effectiveness as a leader and of the high regard in which he was held by his colleagues can be seen in how the IGERT project was governed.  You know that faculty governance is a big deal at Wisconsin.  So one day a group of us were discussing how to set up a governance structure to ensure fair funding allocations to all faculty and students.  And the discussion kept getting more and more complicated.  Finally, Ed Friedman, a seasoned, wise head from Political Science, spoke up. “Look,” he said, “we’ve all gotten to know Josh and I think I can speak for all of us in saying we can trust him to make fair decisions for the best of the project.”  And that was that.  End of meeting.  And we never had a governance issue for life of the project.

When I think about Josh now, I think about his enthusiasm, about his optimism, and his good cheer. I think about the warmth of his friendship and his empathy toward others. I think of Josh as a model for how to live one’s life.

David Edie, Eulogy to Josh April 27 2012 Madison WI

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:43:45 -0400

Josh Posner Memorial Service

April 27, 2012

Josh was a big man with a big heart. He embraced life: his family, his friends, his colleagues, his work. “Embrace” seems like the right word. Knowing his sister Deb and her work, I went to the dictionary for definitions of the word. Here are some of the definitions of “embrace”:

To clasp in the arms with affection

To accept with cordiality

To include as part of something broader

To take up a cause

All those meanings fit Josh.

When I’d see him he’d grin, put his big, hairy arm around me, his eyes sparkling, and say, “Hey, man”—signaling that I’d just made his day, just by being there.

He had friends all over the world. He accepted them with cordiality, drawing them into his excitement about the project he was working on. The work day often ended with food, drink, and camaraderie — whether he was in Latin America, Africa or China.

He embraced causes. In college in the late 1960s, he was a charismatic, fiery leader of the campus anti-war movement—a real force on campus, continuing the social activism of his parents. It was logical that he and Jill would end up on a Peace Corps adventure, and Josh would take up his lifelong cause of improving crop production in many poor communities around the world.

He embraced and adored his family, providing a foundation of love, acceptance, understanding, and constancy.

I particularly remember visiting Josh and Jill in Lima, Peru, with my wife Diane. Of course we were greeted with the usual embrace of hospitality and swapping of stories. One night on that trip, I was struck down with food poisoning from a restaurant, and was lying limp, barely conscious on their couch. And there was Josh—he’d pulled up a chair right next to me and was explaining, in great detail, irrigation plans to transform agriculture in Peru. And despite my condition, I still remember the conversation! It was Josh, after all: irrepressible, full of life, on a mission.

My wife Diane and Josh, very different in many ways, had a special spark of friendship. I’d like to end with a poem that Diane wrote:

There once was a great guy named Josh

Who tickled our fancies, by gosh

Whether farmer or not

He liked us a lot

And we all liked him back, that’s not bosh.

How the stories of Josh do abound

‘cross the globe there are tales to be found

College, Peace Corps, and after

In love and in laughter,

We all felt his spirit resound

Josh resides in our hearts now and ever

That’s a bond that his death cannot sever

He helped the sun shine

Warmed our lives – yours and mine,

With this gift, he’ll be our pal forever

Dave Edie

Carl, Zambia

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:41:00 -0400

I had the pleasure to audit Dr. Posner’s Tropical Cropping Systems class in early 2010. Each lecture was the 90-minute equivalent of drinking from a firehose; he would stand in front of a series of maps of the world, gesticulating broadly at various areas, the Sahel, the Andes, Patagonia, Oceania, etc. and with each gesticulation, describe in absolutely exquisite details the how, why, and wherefore of the areas he indicated with his hands, never once reaching for any notes. Though the undergrads appeared totally at sea, those of us who had worked in some of those areas never failed to marvel at how well he understood the social, cultural, ecological, and economic underpinnings of agriculture in those areas. It was the classic case of a highly intelligent, educated man with a deep pool of common sense and understanding for farmers.

Particular to Josh was his habit of stopping mid-torrent during the lecture, sticking one hand in his trouser pocket, and telling some story of his own creation regarding some discovery of crops eons ago (i.e., the Ethiopian sheepherder chewing coffee beans to stay awake), or some personal history (his Russian grandfather eating a banana w/o removing the skin). He would tell these stories, get a good laugh, than return to the lecture with an abrupt “Anyhow, …”

From one storyteller to another … thanks for the tales.

Carl T. Wahl - Mongu, Zambia

Mauricio Avila, UW

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:51:06 -0400

I went to Madison Wisconsin in 1995, as a student with Phillip Barak. I thought I was there for just a Maters in Soil Chemistry, but sometime in 1998 Phil asked me if I would be interested in a PhD. He had funding for a 5 year long project researching soil acidification processes in agro-ecosystems… I was elated… But I was even happier when I had the opportunity to meet the man behind the plots I would be working with. We met and Josh was as pleasant as people can be; plus he seemed humble, happy, and tireless.

I think it was that fall when I joined in for the first time in the fall sampling at the WICST trial… That was some of the hardest field work I have ever done. This man was crazy! We worked for several days that left every muscle in my body aching and I was sore for days. But, it was such a pleasure! And Josh was there, with us pushing probes into ground that was hard as rocks, and he was tireless and smiling. Seeing the way Josh had set up his WICST plots at the Arlington Research Station made me think about how people like him pave the way for people like myself and countless others. A vision for work that endures and yields answers to questions he did not have the day he started it. In my mind Josh’s name will forever be a synonymous with the trademarks of great people; being humble, hard working, joyous, friendly, stoic, and true to themselves and the people that surround them day in and day out. Working with Josh’s team was always a huge pleasure too; he had a keen sense of how to surround himself with great people. It’s been fun and a huge pleasure to know Josh Posner. I feel very lucky.

To the family, my deepest condolences and at the same time the hope that you can come back from this and celebrate how lucky we all have been to be touched by his wisdom and infectious optimism.

Since I am now in Guatemala, I am sad I will not be able to participate in the celebration but it is in my calendar to light a candle on his name and have a beer that day!

As he said one day… he lives in our memories

Tom Remington, Africa

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:46:56 -0400

Josh has been an adviser, mentor and friend since we were together in the Gambia in the mid eighties. Before Josh, I thought that all one had to do was slightly better than everyone else. Josh set an extremely high bar for himself and for everyone else on this team, a performance bar that you were expected to clear. I explain to people that in doing my PhD in rice systems under Josh, I learned but, more importantly, I learned how to learn. For this I am forever thankful

Robert Hofstede, Ecuador

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:45:08 -0400

Dear Jill, Jess and Matt

My name is Robert; you might have heard from me although we never met each other. However, I feel I know you a lot because Josh always was so full of stories about his family and kept us continuously updated.

I am that Dutch guy that lives in Ecuador and worked with Josh for years setting up the regional Paramo project. I am proud to call him my friend, and after he (and you) went back to Wisconsin and after I started working in other fields outside Condesan, we kept continuous contact. We had some email exchange earlier this year; I attach a message Josh sent me last February. I was short, but I have read this message about 20x the last week because he was so positive; even speaking about Jill and himself travelling to South America later this year. I knew he might have been overly optimistic then, but I never thought things would go so fast. I received the sad message about 10 days ago, and I really couldn’t set myself to writing this message before; I was quite in shock and so sad, but can only imagine that my feelings are only a fraction of what you must feel these days.

I send you this message as a sign of emotional support and to assure that Josh’ spirit will be alive here in the Andes. I know Josh since 1998 when he directed Condesan and I directed a páramo conservation project in Ecuador. He was the guy (well, together with Elias of course) who had this ambitious idea of taking Condesan at a level beyond agricultural research and develop a line of work in applied ecosystem management. Therefore, they proposed that an international programme, extending “our” páramo experience in Ecuador, would a nice idea. After that, we worked for four years to get this programme financed, and then for several years more to actually set it up. Once we had it up and running, Josh and myself had already left Condesan but we kept being involved with the project and be assured, it became one of the most successful international ecosystem management projects ever implemented in the Andes. For myself, this was the vehicle that Josh gave me to start my international career. Therefore, he is one of the most important persons for my professional life.

But beyond the professional level, I very much remember Josh at personal level. Over the last 14 years, we have spent a lot of time together in all kinds of settings, in the different Andean countries. I am full of wonderful memories: how much he liked hiking through high country, but complained (in his own funny way) about “us biologists” that always searched for the “impossible” terrain; how wonderfully mistaken he could be with his Spanish (that he never fully managed but nevertheles insisted Condesan should be Spanish spoken - quite revolutionary in CGIAR environment!); dancing Salsa in Quito with a bunch of young Ecuadorians and Colombians who were trying to get his hips moving at 2 am; debating Andean rural development while lying in the hot springs in Manizales, etc etc. But besides these anecdotes, there also are so many memories about the endless conversations we had on work and private life. Many of these together with Elias; in so many ways an opposite pole from Josh but therefore making up a perfect couple. Josh was such an open, friendly person, beloved by everybody that worked with him - he really was the person that kept us motivated to create this international monster project. He learned me to be patient with other people, showing me that actually you can keep on good terms with everybody.

Also, he was an example of a man who was very considerate about the influence of private life on professional life. When in Quito, he normally tried to make a family visit before going into the work agenda, and we loved to exchange news about or personal things. Therefore, he know my wife and daughter a lot and we know, through his stories, all good and not-so-good that happened to your life. Therefore, we were continuously updated and worried about what happened to Sophia and later, about the development of his own disease. But most of all, we know the deep love he had for all of you and the wonderful memories you must have about him.

The picture below was made literally the last time we met; during the Condesan meeting in late 2010. Its Josh, Elias, Andres Felipe (now Condesan president) and myself. I attach another picture, which from July 2003 during one of those hikes in páramo; Here appears Josh with various students and collaborators of the Paramo project from Colombia, Netherlands and Venezuela. On the left (in a white jumper) Maria Victoria, my wife.

I finish this note wishing you all the very best; I imagine this new configuration of having to live without Josh’ physical presence will be difficult and sad. However, there will never be “life without Josh”; he is present everywhere and will always be so

Robert

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Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:44:26 -0400

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Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:49:58 -0400

w/ giovanni

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:20:21 -0400

w/ giovanni

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Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:18:56 -0400

Daniel Plane, Madison

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 22:07:12 -0400

I’ve known Matthew since Kindergarten. I remember Josh as joking, engaging, and practiced at giving Matt a hard time about almost anything.

One day I was over for dinner - Matt and I must have been about 13 - and I didn’t want to take my hat off at the table. Josh proceeded to explain to me that they have a family rule, a simple rule, that you either get to wear your hat or your pants at the dinner table. He was very clear - hat, or pants. After briefly considering my options I decided to remove my hat. Afterwards, he made sure to remark that he was glad I had the common sense to do so

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Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:21:42 -0400

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Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:20:50 -0400

CONDESAN, Andes

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:00:07 -0400

Hasta pronto, Joshua…

Hoy, la comunidad del desarrollo en los Andes se ha levantado con una triste noticia: el querido colega y amigo Joshua Posner, falleció esta madrugada en la ciudad de Madison (Estados Unidos) después de una larga lucha por superar el cáncer.

Josh, como era conocido por todos, se doctoró en Agronomía en la Universidad de Cornell (1978), con una especialidad en economía agrícola. Durante los 10 años siguientes, la pasión por su labor, acompañada de su sentido de la aventura, lo llevó a trabajar como voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz en Senegal y Gambia (África), y a vincularse por primera vez con la realidad latinoamericana, en Honduras.

Luego, como hombre de retos, se unió a la Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison (Estados Unidos), donde fue pionero en la investigación sobre Sistemas de Producción Agropecuaria. Por más de veinte años, su programa de investigación se centró en estudiar la relación entre la agricultura y la conservación de los recursos naturales.

A nivel internacional, la cordillera de los Andes fue su “consentida”, donde se dedicó a estudiar los grandes impactos ambientales de los sistemas de producción en la biodiversidad, la hidrología superficial y el secuestro de carbono en suelos. Para ello, dedicó tiempo y energía a reformar los programas nacionales y universitarios, promoviendo la investigación de calidad y considerando las necesidades y conocimientos de las poblaciones locales.

Después de su paso por Bolivia, en 1998 se trasladó a Perú, donde fue nombrado coordinador del recientemente creado Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecorregión Andina – CONDESAN con sede, en ese momento, en el Centro Internacional de la Papa. En ese entonces incluía a más de setenta organizaciones de la región, entre ONG y universidades, y los trabajos estaban focalizados en “sitios piloto”, desde los Andes de Mérida en Venezuela hasta los del noroeste de Argentina.

Una de las contribuciones más importantes de Josh, con relación a CONDESAN, fue dar el salto de la visión local a la regional, trazando líneas de trabajo en torno a grandes temas prioritario: agua, biodiversidad, políticas, cuencias…. Fue en este marco que construyó la primera propuesta regional, y su posterior consolidación: el Proyecto Páramo Andino, la primera iniciativa regional que vinculó instituciones de Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú, en la conservación de sus páramos y en el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de sus habitantes. Fue miembro de su Consejo Directo, en representación de la Universidad de Wisconsin.

El doctor Posner deja un importante legado, que ha inspirado -e inspirará- a muchos. A la región andina, que lo recordará entrañablemente por todas sus contribuciones. A sus colegas y amigos, quienes no olvidarán jamás su calidez humana, su enfática postura pacifista, e incluso su activismo durante la guerra de Vietnam. Y a su familia, en donde perdurará su profunda admiración por la vida.

A ese sentimiento nos unimos todo el equipo de CONDESAN y del Proyecto Páramo Andino, lamentamos su pérdida y extendemos nuestra solidaridad a su familia y a todos aquellos quienes, como nosotros, lo recuerdan con cariño y respeto… ¡Hasta pronto, Joshua!