Dr. Sara Place
Sara is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Elanco, where she provides technical expertise on sustainability issues to customers and supports Elanco’s Healthy Purpose. Prior to Elanco, she was the senior director for sustainable beef production research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and an assistant professor in sustainable beef cattle systems at Oklahoma State University. […]
Carlos Suarez
Carlos Suarez is California State Conservationist and has worked for USDA-NRCS for 28 years. He has also been State Conservationist in Florida, Deputy State Conservationist in Nebraska and California, Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations in Wisconsin, Watershed Advisor for the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Agency for International Development in Nicaragua, Farm Bill Program Manager […]
Billy Gascoigne
Billy Gascoigne is the Director of Agricultural Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships for Ducks Unlimited (DU). In that role, Billy helps crosswalk DU’s on-the-ground conservation capacity with industry partners and their respective sustainability objectives. Billy leads DU’s agricultural strategic planning and coordinating efforts across North America. He is also a leading voice on environmental markets and crediting structures, […]
Dr. LaKisha Odom
Dr. LaKisha Odom joined the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in 2016 as a scientific program director to pursue her commitment to promoting the use of innovative science and interdisciplinary thinking to tackle today’s complex challenges in food and agriculture. She is also committed to cultivating increased diversity in a new generation of […]
Ben Gordon
As Portfolio Leader, Carbon and Ecosystems Services Portfolio at Corteva Agriscience, Ben Gordon is responsible for developing holistic solutions to reward farmers for sustainable outcomes and drive farm profitability. Prior to this leadership role, Ben had been with Granular, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corteva Agriscience, for three years working in corporate development and product […]
Nathan Fields
Nathan has been with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) since 2004 and currently oversees the Production and Sustainability department for the organization. Prior to his current role, he held roles directing the Biotechnology, Economic Analysis, Crop Protection and Research portfolios. Prior to his employment with NCGA Nathan worked in the Bio-Pharmaceutical industry in R&D, custom molecule synthesis and drug […]
Andrew Lentz
As ESMC’s Policy Director, Andrew develops the consortium’s strategic national policy plan to support and align with ESMC’s mission, vision, and national program buildout. Andrew has over a decade of experience in the nation’s capital, serving in roles in the public and private sectors, including at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). […]
Chad Ellis
Chad Ellis is the Chief Executive Officer for Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) and the founding chair of Trust In Beef. He brings a wealth of land conservation experience, most recently in his work for the Noble Research Institute, the largest nonprofit agricultural research organization in the U.S. Mr. Ellis has over 20 years of […]
Daren Howie
Darren is Director of Carbon & Sustainability for Trimble Agriculture Enterprise Solutions. He grew up on a mixed cattle and grain farm in Southern Alberta, Canada. As an agronomist and business manager he has led agronomy, sales and business teams through times of growth and expansion. For 15 years Darren helped shape and lead Agri-Trend, […]
Keith Mears
Keith Mears is a 5th generation farmer who grows 310 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat near Delphi, IN with his wife, Kristen, and three children ages seven, four, and one. After growing up on an organic row crop farm, Keith worked together with his wife to start his own conventional farm while working full […]