INDIANAPOLIS – Jeremy Ryan was uncertain about applying to the FFA’s National Teacher Ambassadors program until talking to a colleague. Upon her recommendation, he applied and was accepted, adding the program has done more for him than he had hoped.

Cameron Frazier had several reasons for wanting to join the program, including the ability to share National FFA Organization resources with Indiana agriculture educators and FFA advisers.

Ryan and Frazier are two of 65 National Teacher Ambassadors named in May for the 2025-26 school year. The ambassadors are from 28 states, including Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee.

The ambassadors serve as positive and professional examples to more than 13,000 FFA advisers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands during their year of service, according to FFA. They serve as a resource for teachers nationwide by leading, mentoring and training them through formal and informal programs such as webinars and workshops, the organization said. They also provide feedback to National FFA leadership about the evolving educational landscape based on their experiences, FFA said.

Ryan is an agricultural education teacher at West Muskingum High School near Zanesville, Ohio. He’s been with the school 14 years and has taught such courses as environmental science, animal health and agricultural business.

In 2022, Ryan said he was in a rocky patch in his career mentally and was looking for a professional development opportunity to hopefully bring a positive change. He wondered if applying to the ambassador program would be worth the commitment.

“(With the program) I felt that I might be able to learn from other ag teachers around the country and gain new insights that could help bring the positives back to my career,” he recalled. “It has done more than that. Not only have I found that positive direction I was hoping for, I have made countless friends along the way all over the country.”

Growing up, Ryan didn’t participate in FFA because his county didn’t have agricultural education programs in any of the school districts. As an ambassador, he said he hopes to be a guide for teachers early on in their careers.

“Having not been in FFA, I was very fortunate to have some great mentors when I began in the classroom and who to this day are still willing to answer questions, listen to ideas and provide valuable insight,” Ryan explained. “I hope to be able to help others in the same capacity. The program has also brought me closer with my fellow ambassadors from Ohio. Together we have become a collaborative resource for teachers in our state, providing updates from National FFA, resources and guidance along the way.

“Entering my fourth year as an ambassador, I truly look forward to the connections I have been able to make and develop with other ambassadors, National FFA staff and other teachers around Ohio.”

Frazier has been with South Putnam Middle/High School in Greencastle, Ind., for 3 ½ years, and has taught for seven years. He currently teaches such classes as 8th grade intro to agriculture, landscape management and senior agriculture research capstone.

In addition to wanting to share FFA resources with others, Frazier said he applied to the program because “National FFA has a team that builds resources for agriculture teachers and I wanted to become more aware of those. Expanding my ag teacher network is always exciting. Learning from others from around the country with a commonality makes this profession that much more special.”

Frazier was in FFA for five years in the Riverton Parke FFA chapter, later becoming chapter president and Indiana FFA state treasurer in 2013.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the new ambassadors and reconnecting with past friends,” he said. “I get the opportunity to work with Leslie Fairchild, from Delphi, Ind., in her first year as an ambassador. I’m exciting to learn more about new resources created by the National FFA and the opportunities that come with being an ambassador.”

While in FFA in high school, Frazier competed in activities such as soils judging, parliamentary procedures and forestry.

“I did not come directly from a farm but my grandpa was a dairy farmer, but selling when I was young,” he said. “Parke County, Ind., where I grew up, was/is a rural county, so I was always surrounded by agriculture. I was also a 10-year 4-H member not showing livestock but my border collie Oreo.”

He said his path to becoming an ag teacher and FFA adviser started when he had the opportunity during his senior year of high school to be a cadet teacher for the horticulture class with a brand new ag teacher. At the time, he wanted to be a conservation officer in Parke County. He applied to Purdue University for agricultural education and Ball State University for wildlife biology and criminology. He eventually decided on Purdue.

Ryan’s parents have a small hay operation as well as several large gardens. “(That’s) where I began my love of agriculture at a young age raising and selling pumpkins,” he said. “Family friends of ours had a dairy cattle operation down the road that we helped with all aspects of their farm from helping with maple syrup production, making hay, the apple orchard, and the cattle. With their guidance, while I was in high school, I joined 4-H with the Auburn Dairyman 4-H Club for four years at our county fair.”

He thought about a career as an Extension educator, but later decided to study agricultural education at Ohio State University.

In addition to Frazier and Ryan, ambassadors from the primary Farm World readership area are Leslie Fairchild, Indiana; Anna Brooks, Iowa; Caleb Hickman and Lori Romie, Ohio; Brittney Cagle, Jake Duke, Chris Martin and Jessica Ross, Tennessee.