Board of Directors

The Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology Washington University in St. Louis
Barbara Schaal is the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. She was born in Berlin, Germany and grew up in Chicago. She graduated from the...

SoAR Foundation
Thomas Grumbly serves as Vice-Chair of the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation Board and was the founding President and CEO of SoAR from 2014-2021. Mr. Grumbly has held senior leadership...

Chairman of the Board (retired) McDonnell Douglas Corporation
For the past 21 years, John McDonnell has been actively involved in establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in St. Louis to enable start-up companies to commercialize life science research...

Chief Executive Officer Crystal Strategies
Rose Barbuto is the Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, DC. She most recently served as the Farm Journal Foundation’s Executive Director of External Relations,...

Professor, Department of Biology Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Roger Beachy is the Founding Executive Director of the World Food Center, University of California, Davis. In 2009 he was appointed by President Obama as the first director of the National Institute...
Provost Minerva Schools at KGI
Dr. Vicki Chandler is Provost at the Minerva Schools at KGI. Previously, she was Dean of Faculty and Chief Academic Officer and Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at Minerva. She has served as the...

CEO (retired) and Advisor National Pork Producers Council
Neil Dierks is an Advisor to and retired Chief Executive Officer of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Beginning in 1990, Dierks served NPPC in a series of senior executive positions since 1990,...

President American Farm Bureau Federation
Zippy Duvall has served as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation since 2016. He is a third-generation farmer from Georgia. He and his son operate a beef cow herd, raise broiler chickens and...

President Emeritus University of Illinois
Robert A. Easter was appointed president-designate of the University of Illinois in March 2012, and became the university’s 19th president in July 2012.
Before becoming president, Easter spent his...

Professor of Development Economics University of Oxford
Doug Gollin is Professor of Development Economics at the Oxford Department of International Development. His research focusses on economic development and growth, with particular interests in agriculture...

Chancellor University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ronnie D. Green became the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s 20th chancellor on May 8, 2016.
In July 2010, Ronnie Green was appointed as the Harlan Vice Chancellor of the UNL Institute of...

Chief Executive Officer Emeritus American Association for the Advancement of Science
Dr. Leshner has been Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of the journal Science since December 2001....

President & Chief Executive Officer CropLife America
Chris Novak is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Croplife America. Previously, Novak was Chief Executive Officer of the National Corn Growers Association, a grower-led trade association with...

Executive Director, Retired Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
Dr. Sally Rockey recently retired from her position as the Executive Director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research in 2022. Prior to this role, Dr. Rockey was a leader in federal...

Distinguished Fellow Food Policy Institute, Consumer Federation of America
Carol Lee Tucker-Foreman, distinguished fellow at Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute, has an international reputation as a consumer advocate and food policy expert. For more than 35...

Past President American Soybean Association
Richard Wilkins, a farmer from Greenwood, Del., is President of the American Soybean Association (ASA). He is one of nine soybean growers who make up the ASA Governing Committee.
Wilkins has served...

Chancellor Emeritus Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. William H. Danforth served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Chancellor Emeritus of Washington University, and Chair of the...

Founder
Donald Kennedy was president emeritus of Stanford University, the Bing Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, emeritus, and a senior fellow by courtesy at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli...