National Pork Board names 2018 Pig Farmers of Tomorrow

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Pork Board recently announced that Adam Krause from South Dakota and Emma Lasco and Christine Snowden, both from Iowa, have been named the 2018 Pig Farmers of Tomorrow.

The award recognizes farm leaders ages 18-29 who intend to make pig farming their life’s work and who are committed to raising pigs using the pork industry’s We Care ethical principles. The winners will speak at pork checkoff events and provide content on #RealPigFarming, which is the pork industry’s social media program.

Lasco is a territory manager for Smithfield Foods Midwest Production in Roland, Iowa. She assists growers with implementing Smithfield’s industry-leading animal care standards on their farms.

Snowden is an assistant farrowing manager for AMVC, located in Audubon, Iowa. She works with other employees to care for piglets from birth until they are weaned.

An industry panel of judges selected the 2018 Pig Farmers of Tomorrow, who all have had a Common Industry Audit completed on their farms.

Cave named vice president of product support at Redline

ARCHBOLD, Ohio — Redline Equipment has named Paul Cave vice president of Product Support of its CASE IH dealership. In this new position he will lead all facets of aftermarket support, focusing on the customer experience and bringing value to customers.

Cave comes from Whayne Supply where he was the Ag and Growth Industries sales manager. Prior to that he served as Product Support sales manager and regional sales manager. He previously worked at Miles Farm Supply, where he was the general manager, and started his career at Richway Industries as Ag Sales manager.

Redline Equipment has 11 locations throughout Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

ASA honors Gaesser with Distinguished Leadership Award

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) recognized Ray Gaesser, from Corning, Iowa, with its Distinguished Leadership Award at its annual awards banquet during the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif.

The award recognizes a soybean grower or association staff leader whose leadership has strengthened the national or state association, enhanced soy-related policy efforts and increased farmer education or engagement.

Gaesser served a number of years on the ASA Board, and was president in 2013-14. He also served on the Iowa Soybean Assoc. (ISA) board, as well as in multiple state leadership positions, including president of the ISA in 2006-07. He helped create and increase demand for biodiesel, and strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard. He also supported increased trade and market opportunities for soybean farmers.

INFB honors outstanding volunteers at spring conference

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Hoosier farmers attended Indiana Farm Bureau’s (INFB) 2018 Spring Conference, hosted by the INFB Women’s Leadership Committee, an annual event that provides professional development and networking opportunities for members.

At this year’s conference, nearly $5,000 was collected for the Farm Bureau Foundation benefiting the Carolyn Hegel Memorial Scholarship Fund. The money was raised by attendees who participated in a silent auction and a live auction. In addition, several members were honored for their accomplishments and volunteer efforts in 2017.

Marlene Fudge of Rush County was named Volunteer of the Year for INFB’s Ag in the Classroom program. Fudge was chosen for this award because she went above and beyond to educate Indiana’s youth about agriculture in 2017. She is an active member of Rush County Farm Bureau, where she serves as the county’s education and outreach coordinator.

INFB also named five members as 2018 Reaching Out award recipients. The award is also given to Ag in the Classroom volunteers that show a true commitment to the program and to volunteering in their county’s schools. This year’s winners were Caren Crum, Carroll County; Miriam Ruppel, Wabash County; Debbie Allen, Switzerland County; Lynda Bauerle, Jennings County; and Deborah Trotter, Clark County.

INFB volunteers who have participated in Ag in the Classroom for 25 years are Erna Loyd, Spencer County; Maryann Maschino, Jennings County; Lynda Phillips, Ohio County; Marvis Loveall, Parke County; Treva Smith, Parke County; and Helen Witte, Wells County.

Also recognized were White and Clinton counties’ Farm Bureaus, each of which won an ag education and promotion development grant from INFB. White County won for its Neighborhood Food Oasis Program and Clinton County, for its Community Garden Project for Food Insecurity.

Hoosier producers awarded sustainable agriculture grants

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Several Indiana producers were recently chosen to receive grants from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) for various projects.

Heather Reynolds with Indiana University in Bloomington will receive a $28,394 grant for the project "Making the Most of Mulch: Strategic Systems for Small Organic Tomato Growers."

Linda Woodbury with Nature's Gift, LLC in Morgantown will receive $22,500 for the Hoosier Harvest 365 Hospital Delivery Program.

Liz Brownlee with Nightfall Farm in Crothersville will receive $15,000 for planning for a farmer-to-farmer butcher shop.

Richard Barnes with Tanglewood Berry Farm in Fort Wayne will receive $22,474 for improving worker welfare and grower profitability in small-scale strawberry production.

Matthew Jose with Mad Farmers Collective in Indianapolis will receive $6,210 for designing a cost-efficient salad greens wash area for small-scale growers.

Brevan DeWeese with Country Boy Farm & Garden in Russiaville will receive $6,499 for the project "Creating a Micro Farm: Using Everything, Wasting Nothing and Inspiring Young People to Do the Same."

Timothy Carter with Honey Creek Farm in Russiaville will receive $3,300 for pasture-crop tests without chemical termination.

Karen Carlisle with Cicero Farm Market in Noblesville will receive $7,493 for increasing yields, plant vigor and soil health with the use of wood chips.

These grants were awarded as part of NCR-SARE's Partnership Grant Program, intended to foster cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze on-farm research, demonstration and education activities related to sustainable agriculture.

Learn more about the NCR-SARE Partnership Grant Program online at www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs/Partnership-Grant-Program

Johnston appointed to marketing manager for BKT USA

FAIRLAWN, Ohio — BKT USA, Inc. and BKT Tires, Inc. are pleased to announce the appointment of Leigh Johnston to role of marketing manager for BKT USA. She will be responsible for all marketing activities including brand building, planning Trade Shows and customer events, managing the sponsorship of Monster Jam, product advertising and promotional campaigns.

Johnston is a graduate of The Ohio State University in journalism and communications and has worked on her master’s in business from Wright State University. She worked at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, Inc. for four years in both communications and sales capacities and has prior marketing experience in the insurance industry.

Flatt takes on new role at Tennessee Department Of Agriculture

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton announced the appointment of Whitney Flatt as the Agribusiness Development consultant for food business growth at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA).

Flatt will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for and cultivating business opportunities in food, beverage and other related sectors. She has been with TDA since 2016, serving as a program coordinator for the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP).

During her time with TAEP, she oversaw the grain storage, hay storage, livestock feed storage and livestock working facility cover programs. She also served as TAEP’s outreach specialist, providing customer support to more than 3,000 producers annually.

Prior to joining TDA, Flatt worked as a project coordinator for the 2Seeds Network, a development nonprofit based in Tanzania, East Africa. Her efforts with 2Seeds centered on agribusiness training, value and supply chain management and human capital development. She grew up in Newbern, Tenn.

For food and beverage manufacturing inquiries, Flatt can be emailed at whitney.flatt@tn.gov

NutriQuest welcomes Gales as new director of finance

MASON CITY, Iowa — Nick Gales has joined NutriQuest as director of Finance. He will be responsible for providing leadership to the NutriQuest accounting and finance group.

Prior to joining NutriQuest, he served as a Business Initiatives consultant for Wells Fargo. Gales graduated with his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accounting and a minor in English from the University of Saint Thomas. He and his wife and children reside in Mason City.

Central Life promotes Nicholson to ag national sales manager

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Central Life Sciences, whose founders invented insect growth regulator (IGR) technology more than 45 years ago, announced the promotion of Brandon Nicholson to the position of national sales manager for its Farm & Ranch segment.

In his new role, Nicholson will oversee the strategic farm and ranch key accounts, while taking on management responsibility for the sales development managers and the Farm & Ranch managers. He has been with Central Life Sciences for more than six years, most recently serving as national account manager for Farm & Ranch since April 2016.

Prior to joining Central Life Sciences, Nicholson held a territory sales position with Bo Brown Co. and various positions within Lextron Animal Health and Walco International.

AEM elects new Vice Chair Lagemann of Deere & Co.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Assoc. of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has elected John D. Lagemann, senior vice president Sales & Marketing–Regions 3 & 4, Deere & Co., as the new AEM 2018 vice chair. He fills the unexpired officer term of Jim Walker of CNH Industrial, who recently retired.

In a related move, AEM elected Scott Harris of CNH Industrial to the board of directors, to fill Walker’s unexpired 2018 board term.

Lagemann has served in AEM leadership roles since 2011; he chairs AEM’s AG Sector Board and is a member of the board of directors. Harris, who recently transitioned to CNH’s Ag side as vice president, Case IH North America, had served as a director on AEM’s CE Sector Board since 2016.

Dennis Slater, AEM president, said, “We also take this opportunity to publicly thank Jim Walker for his years of leadership as an AEM officer and board member, and his support of the AEM staff.”

Indiana Grown picks program manager, outreach manager

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announces the promotion of Suzi Spahr, program manager, to head up the Indiana Grown initiative, and the hire of Dana Kosco as outreach manager.

Spahr, who has been with the department since 2014, will be managing the Indiana Grown team and overseeing the strategic direction of the initiative. She will also be responsible for reviewing contracts, the budget and grants, while serving as the liaison for other state agencies and industry organizations.

Kosco is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in business management from Krannert School of Management. Prior to joining ISDA, she was the Girls Nation Program Manager for the American Legion Auxiliary, as well as the office manager for then-Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann.

As outreach manager, she has been tasked with creating fresh, innovative ways to help Indiana Grown and its membership reach new audiences and engage with more consumers. She will also be responsible for a variety of tasks, such as overseeing events, managing social media and developing the website.

UT extension selects the Tennessee Farmer of the Year

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A third-generation farmer from Jackson who manages more than 5,000 acres of row crops has been named the Tennessee Farmer of the Year by University of Tennessee extension.

Johnny Verell, who farms in partnership with his father and grandfather, John Verell Jr. and John Verell Sr., rose to the top of the competition because of his business savvy, his land stewardship and his devotion to community service. He was nominated by Danny Morris, an extension area farm management specialist for 10 West Tennessee counties, including Madison County.

Verell began farming in 2005, 40 years after his grandfather started the family business. At first he was entrusted with just 50 of the family’s 2,000 acres, which he planted in Delta & Pine Land cotton. Now he manages the entire 5,050-acre operation. At his direction, Verell Farms has moved away from cotton production to cultivating wheat, corn and soybeans.

With the help of technology and precision agriculture, Verell’s irrigated acres of corn have been known to produce in excess of 300 bushels per acre. What’s more, at 65 bushels per acre of full-season soybeans, he produced well above last year’s national average yield.

In 2008, Verell Farms faced perhaps its biggest challenge. In February a tornado destroyed much of their equipment, all their storage sheds and the homes of John Sr. and John Jr. Since that time Verell Farms has expanded to include not only the original family-owned land but also some additional 3,000 acres of rented cropland. He has even planted 20 acres designed as pollinator habitat.

Verell graduated Jackson State Community College with an associate degree in precision agriculture and holds a B.S. in agronomy from Murray State University. He has been a member of the Madison County Farm Bureau board of directors since 2006 and was the state and national American Soybean Assoc. Young Farmer of the Year in 2012.

As Tennessee Farmer of the Year, he will compete in Southeastern Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Ga. The winner from a 10-state area will be announced on the opening day of the expo, Oct. 16.

New field manager joins Soil Health Partnership team in Iowa

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Soil Health Partnership welcomes Lisa Kubik, a field manager who joined the SHP in April to assist with the growing number of farmers in the program in Iowa.

She will work in eastern Iowa, taking over for Elyssa McFarland who has been recently promoted to Key Relationships director. A certified crop advisor, Kubik comes to the SHP after five years with WinField United, a Land O’Lakes company.

She is a 2014 graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural business and a minor in agronomy and animal science. She grew up on a farm in Lake Mills, Iowa.

An initiative of the National Corn Growers Assoc., the SHP is a data-driven program working to quantify the benefits of practices that support soil health from an economic as well as environmental standpoint.

Indiana farmer makes sizable donation to Farm Bureau

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana Farm Bureau commemorated longtime Farm Bureau member John Gray May 7 at the Jefferson County Farm Bureau office in Madison.

Gray made a sizable donation to Jefferson County Farm Bureau. His gift provides a lasting legacy, in the form of funds, to retire the debt on the county office, resulting in other funds becoming available for programs and scholarships.

“I had several choices to make a showing in the community and I wanted something that would last,” said Gray. “We should be able to make some sizeable scholarships and contributions to the youth in this community now. I want it spent for 4-H and FFA students.”

He was a member of the county Farm Bureau board for several years. Its president, Norbert Schafer, unveiled a plaque that will hang in the entryway of the office to commemorate Gray’s donation, the amount of which was not disclosed.

RANDY KRON, Indiana Farm Bureau president (left), with Marian and John Gray and Norbert Schafer, Jefferson County FB president.

Carlstar Group announces Thomas as CEO; Salvatore retires

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The Carlstar Group announced the appointment of Jacob Thomas as CEO and board member, effective May 8. He will succeed John Salvatore, who retired at the end of May after serving as CEO with the business since 2015.

Prior to joining Carlstar, Thomas was group president of CLARCOR’s Engine Mobile Filtration business (and vice president, Engine Mobile and Hydraulic Filtration Platform, after CLARCOR was acquired by Parker Hannifin in March 2017). He holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master of science in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Salvatore will remain on the Carlstar board and will be a key senior advisor.

Carlstar is a global manufacturer of original equipment and aftermarket specialty tires and wheels for the agriculture, construction, outdoor power equipment, powersports, high-speed trailer and flat free/manual markets.

Holcomb appoints two to Indiana Soil Conservation Board

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Gov. Eric Holcomb recently announced several new appointments and reappointments to various state boards, commissions and councils.

He made two reappointments to the Soil Conservation Board, administered by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Warren Baird of Atlanta, retired, and Larry Clemens of Angola, North American agriculture director with The Nature Conservancy, will continue their board service until Nov. 30, 2021.

Holcomb also made two new appointments to the board, serving until Nov. 30, 2021: Kenny Cain of Darlington, of Cain’s Homelike Farms, and Brad Dawson of Guilford, regional sales manager with FiNN All Seasons.

Templeton named to national EPA Advisory Committee

ATLANTA, Ga. — The U.S. EPA announced the appointment of Tennessee Department of Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton of Nashville to the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC). The 33-member LGAC helps EPA develop strong partnerships with local governments to provide more efficient and effective environmental protection at the community, state and federal levels.

Templeton is a sixth-generation farmer, producing grain, cotton, hay, timber and cattle in McNairy and Hardin counties. He previously served as mayor of McNairy County, where he successfully led efforts to reduce debt and increase fund balances without raising taxes during an economic recession.

AgrIInstitute selects Class 18 of Ag Leadership Program

DANVILLE, Ind. — Thirty of Indiana’s top farmers and agribusiness leaders have been selected to participate in the 18th class of the Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP), sponsored by AgrIInstitute, Inc.

During the two-year program, ALP class members will attend 10 seminars throughout Indiana, spend one week studying in Washington, D.C., and meeting with national leaders and study 10-14 days internationally.

 Selected to participate in Class 18 of the Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program are: Ray Allison, Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center; Jackie Barber, American Dairy Assoc. Indiana; Virgil Bremer, B&B Cattle; Daniel Collignon, German American Bank; Jeff Cummins, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA);

Meggie Foster, CountryMark; Jason Glenn, Maple Leaf Farms; Rob Hays, Indiana FFA; Sam Hennessee, Bayer Crop Science; Guy Herrell, Integrity BioFuels; Matthew House, Beck’s Superior Hybrids; Brett Jones, Ingredion; Rebecca Joniskan, Indiana Department. of Environmental Management;

Myron McClure, Purdue University; John Metzger, Elanco; Nick Michel, Superior Ag Cooperativel; Matt Nidlinger, Consolidated Grain & Barge; Amie Osborn, First Farmers Bank & Trust; Thomas Parker, Parker Farms; Chelsea Poe, Indiana Farm Bureau; Todd Rodibaugh, National Pork; Morgan Saltsgiver, ATC Group;

Brianna Schroeder, Janzen Ag Law; Somula Schwoeppe, Schwoeppe Dairy; Kyle Shipman, Indiana State Board of Animal Health; Suzi Spahr, ISDA; Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, The Nature Conservancy; Sarah Wagler, Nutrient Management; Nathan Wainscott, Land O’ Lakes; and Laura Watenpool, Elanco.

For more information about the program, contact AgrIInstitute at 317-745-0947 or beth@agriinstitute.org and visit www.agriinstitute.org

Three Power to Do More contest winners selected

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Thousands of online votes were cast, and three farmers were named winners of the “Power to Do More” contest. Out of 10 finalists, Shirley Schroeder of Le Mars, Iowa, Shana Guttery of Alton, Kan., and Charles Krause of Buffalo, Minn., received the most votes in the contest, sponsored by Resicore corn herbicide from Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.

Corteva is donating a total of $30,000 to the three winners’ communities and a trip for two to their dream sports field.

Season 2 of the contest called upon farmers to submit a unique photo and story about the power of their farm operations. The 10 finalists were selected from hundreds of entries, based on the originality and creativity of their photos and stories. Between March 27-April 22, friends, family and neighbors of the 10 contest finalists voted for their favorite.

Schroeder submitted a photo of her multigenerational family, noting they believe there is no greater calling than to feed the world. She described the family members’ powerful enthusiasm they bring to all areas of their operation, leading to personal fulfillment and financial success.

As a winner, she will receive two tickets to a baseball game at Wrigley Field this fall, plus $10,000 for the MMCRU school FFA program in her hometown.

In appreciation of their effort and participation, Corteva is also donating $1,000 to each community organization nominated by the remaining seven finalists, including area winners: Dean Atkins, for Prairie Central High School’s track and football field in Chenoa, Ill.; Jonathan Lawler, for Eastern Hancock School’s sports program in Greenfield, Ind.; and Ryan Heiniger, for Mediapolis FFA in Mediapolis, Iowa.

USDA makes Plant Variety Protection Board appointments

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of 14 members to serve two-year terms on the Plant Variety Protection Board. Two alternate members were also appointed.

Newly appointed members include: Katherine White of Detroit, Mich., from the academia sector; Wendell Shauman (Alternate) of Kirkwood, Ill., from the farm sector; from the general interest sector, Heidi Nebel of Des Moines, Iowa; government sector representative Brent Burchett of Frankfort, Ky.; and from the seed industry sector, John Duesing of Johnston, Iowa.

The Plant Variety Protection Act secures intellectual property rights for developers of new varieties of plants. The board members represent farmers, seed industry, trade and professional associations and public and private research institutions.

Tennessee Ag names McBride Cumberland District forester

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Andy McBride, a 15-year veteran of the Division of Forestry, will transition from assistant district forester to district forester for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA). He will serve as the district forester for the 27-county region known as the Cumberland District, which includes more than 70,000 state forest acres and has headquarters in Cookeville.

He will oversee the delivery of all state forestry services, including wildfire management and prevention, state forest management, landowner assistance, logging forestry best practice management courtesy checks, prescribed fire, tree planting and other assets. There are 88 full-time employees in the Cumberland District that McBride will manage, including foresters, administrative staff, technicians and forestry aides.

McBride started his career as a forester for Standing Stone and Pickett state forests. In 2015, he became the assistant district forester for the same district that he will now be managing. A Georgia native, he graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor of science degree in forest management, and also raises beef cattle.

Farmer’s Business Network adds Delaney to board

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Farmers Business Network, the independent farmer-to-farmer network, has added longtime and respected industry veteran David Delaney to the company’s board of directors.

Delaney most recently served as the EVP and chief operating officer at PotashCorp (now Nutrien Ltd.), the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity, where he was responsible for operations across all of PotashCorp’s business segments, including potash, nitrogen and phosphate.

Before his role as COO, Delaney, who is based in northern Illinois, was the president of sales for PotashCorp, where he led the global sales functions, increasing gross margins from $300 million to $4 billion and helping increase the company’s market cap from $3 billion to $60 billion.

Delaney has served as a member of numerous boards of directors, and currently serves on the Foundation Board for his alma mater, Southern Illinois University.

AFIA board of directors welcomes new leadership

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Feed Industry Assoc. (AFIA) board of directors met May 15-16 for its annual spring meeting in the nation’s capital, where they elected a new chair and several board and Executive Committee members, discussed priority issues impacting the animal food industry with legislators and conducted other official business.

The board recognized Lee Hall of Hallway Feeds for his leadership as its chair during the 2017-18 year. Hall now transitions into his one-year chairmanship of the Institute for Feed Education and Research’s (IFEEDER) board of trustees.

In addition, the board elected Bruce Crutcher, managing director for Micronutrients USA, LLC, as its new chair. His one-year term is effective May 1 through the end of AFIA’s fiscal year, April 30, 2019. It also voted to accept the nomination of Tim Belstra, chair of Belstra Milling Co., to become chair-elect of the organization; Belstra will succeed Crutcher in May 2019.

The board elected the following to serve three-year terms, which began during the meeting: Belstra; William Anders, Nutrient Agri Products; Kevin Baker, Valley Proteins, Inc.; Holly Bellmund, GLC Minerals LLC; Michael Castle, Alltech; Amy Davis, Novozymes North America, Inc.; Lisa Deverell, Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Scott Druker, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.;

Kristy Dulkoski, Mosaic Feed Ingredients; Kenneth Gilmurray, JBS USA/Pilgrims; Lynn Godbersen, Zoetis; Greg Kean, WellPet LLC; Peter Kendrick, Diversified Laboratories; Kevin Kruse, Western Milling; Sherman Miller, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; and Lon Stephens, Co-operative Feed Dealers, Inc.

The board approved eight individuals as additions to its Executive Committee: Deverell; Charles (Rob) Brock, Westway Feed Products LLC; Edward Galo, Novus International, Inc.; Jason Hoekstra, Smithfield Hog Productions; Mark Leuking, Cargill Animal Nutrition; Chad Risley, Berg+Schmidt America LLC; Michael Schuster, Laidig Systems, Inc.; and Haley Stomp, Kemin Industries, Inc.

In addition, the board accepted the nominations of four individuals to the IFEEDER board of trustees: Galo; Risley; Jeff Cannon, Diamond V; and Marc de Beer, Elanco Animal Health.

AgriNovus adds startup, state executives to board of directors

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — AgriNovus Indiana, the state’s initiative to promote and accelerate the growth of the agbiosciences sector, has added new members to its board of directors: Ellie Symes, CEO of The Bee Corp.; Johnny Park, vice president of research for DTN, Inc.; Micah Vincent, director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and David Roberts, chief innovation officer for the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

Symes is co-founder and CEO of The Bee Corp. Launched in 2016, it assists beekeepers in reducing beehive loss through Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics. She earned her master of public affairs in information systems in 2018 and a bachelor of science degree in Environmental Management in 2016 from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Park is the vice president of research at DTN and founder of Spensa Technologies, which was acquired by DTN in March 2018. He is passionate about agricultural innovation that will reduce reliance on manual labor, foster eco-friendly farming and enhance crop production efficiency. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University.

Vincent previously served as the OMB's general counsel and policy director, and as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Governance Finance, among other roles. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue and a law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Roberts previously served as president of the Battery Innovation Center at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park, among other appointments. He received a law degree from the McKinney School of Law, where he served on the Indiana Law Review, and a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Lehigh University.