AgBioResearch

Speaker and panelist information will be updated as speakers are confirmed.

Bennett Abrams

Legislative Assistant, U.S. Representative Slotkin

Bennett Abrams serves as a legislative assistant for Rep. Elissa Slotkin, specializing in agricultural policy. Hailing from Baltimore, Bennett's passion for public service was ignited during his upbringing in a city rich with diverse perspectives and challenges. He pursued his academic interests at Tulane University, where he earned a BA in Political Science and Homeland Security. 

With a strong foundation in policy analysis and a commitment to addressing the needs of rural communities, Bennett plays a strong role in advocating for the agricultural interests of Michigan’s seventh congressional district. His dedication to understanding the intricate dynamics of the agricultural sector drives him to collaborate with stakeholders, draft legislation, and shape initiatives that support farmers and ensure food security for all Americans. As a trusted advisor to Rep. Slotkin, Bennett channels his expertise and empathy into making a tangible difference in the lives of constituents and the broader agricultural community.

Tim Boring

Director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Dr. Tim Boring was appointed by Governor Whitmer on March 27, 2023. He previously served as the State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency.

Boring's family operates a six generation farm in Stockbridge, Michigan. Prior to his appointment at the USDA, he was the president and founder of Michigan Agriculture Advancement. He also previously served as the Vice President of the Michigan Agri-Business Association and worked as research director of the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. Governor Whitmer had previously appointed Dr. Boring to the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2019. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriscience, Master of Science in Crop and Soil Sciences, and Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University.

Sheila Burkhardt

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Michigan Milk Producers Association

Sheila Burkhardt is the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for the Michigan Milk Producers Association. Established in 1916, MMPA is the 10th largest U.S. dairy farmer-owned cooperative serving members in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. Sheila was raised on a family dairy farm in Kent County and has worked with MMPA for over 30 years. In her role, she is responsible for government, member and industry relations activities for MMPA.  Sheila also serves on the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation, Michigan Youth Livestock and Scholarship Fund and the Michigan Livestock Expo Board of Directors.  She is past President and current Trustee of the Michigan 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees.

Patrick Cudney

Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Patrick I. Cudney was appointed the director of government and stakeholder relations for Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension on November 15, 2021.

Prior to this, Cudney served as associate director for operations of Michigan State University (MSU) Extension since September 1, 2014. He oversaw logistical and business operations, including supervising the field-based leadership team as well as providing leadership for the organizational development units of MSU Extension including budget planning and management, human resources, professional development, communications and marketing, program reporting and evaluation, diversity, technology and other essential program support.

Cudney also served as acting director of MSU Extension from March 2021 - May 2021.

Matthew Daum 

Interim Dean, MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Matthew Daum, Ph.D., is the director of the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Packaging and assistant dean of corporate relations and strategy for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).

Prior to his return to his alma mater in 2020, Dr. Daum held a 25-year-career at HP Inc. (formerly Hewlett Packard) based in Boise, Idaho. In 2016, Daum became HP’s Director of Engineering for the LaserJet toner supplies business. 

He began his career at HP as a Packaging Engineer and eventually moved into management roles including Packaging, Supply Chain and Big Data Global Analytics. Most recently he held executive manager positions in Product Marketing and Product Research and Development for the HP LaserJet supplies business.

In addition, since 2007 Daum has served as adjunct associate professor at Clemson University in the Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences where he advises graduate students. He has also guest lectured on the topics of supply chain and packaging at Clemson and the College of Idaho.

David Douches

Professor, MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences; Director of MSU Potato Breeding & Genetics, Plant Breeding Genetics & Biotech, and USAID Feed the Future Global Biotech Partnership

David S. Douches, with over 40 years of experience in potato breeding, genetics and biotechnology, has an active potato breeding program directed toward the development of improved cultivars in Michigan for 35 years. The focus of the program is to develop new cultivars for Michigan’s potato industry by integrating genetic engineering/ gene editing with conventional breeding efforts.  Key traits targeted for improvement Colorado potato beetle resistance, disease resistance to scab, late blight, PVY, blackspot bruising and chip processing from long-term storage.  This breeding and biotech effort has expanded to include diploid breeding. Dr. Douches is also director of the USAID-funded Global Biotech Potato Project for Africa and South East Asia and the lead scientist in developing four potato SNP arrays used by the potato breeding and genetics community.

Asia Dowtin

Assistant Professor, MSU Department of Forestry

Dr. Dowtin's research uses in situ sampling and laboratory-based techniques to quantify hydrologic and nutrient cycling in the urban forest. Her work explores the relationships that exist between urban canopy structure, spatial context, and plant-water interactions to broaden our understanding of the influence of species composition and surrounding land use on urban forest function.

A major goal of Dowtin's work is to utilize this knowledge to inform the development of urban forest management plans, specifically those intended to optimize yield of select regulating and supporting ecosystem services by municipal trees. Her broader research interests include regional water resource management and hazard mitigation.

Deanna East

Associate Director, MSU Extension

Dr. Deanna East is the Associate Director for Michigan State University Extension providing oversight of campus operations. She began her career with MSU Extension in 2003 as an Extension Educator focused on parenting education in Saginaw County. She served in various other positions throughout her career with MSU Extension including Supervisor of the nutrition education programs, County Extension Director in Saginaw County and District Director of MSU Extension’s District 9 providing oversight to offices in Bay, Midland, Genesee, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties. In 2015 she became the Associate Institute Director of the Health and Nutrition Institute. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Central Michigan University in 2019.

Cheryl Eschbach

Director, MSU Extension Health and Nutrition Institute

Since 2018, Dr. Eschbach provides leadership for community-based health, food safety, and nutrition education programming. Trained as a gerontologist, she is experienced in grant writing, program implementation, and evaluation. In her former role as an Extension Specialist, she provided evaluation leadership on many topics. In 2017, with colleagues, Cheryl published an innovation report in Academic Medicine proposing how the national Cooperative Extension system can serve as a model of health extension to be implemented within land-grant institutions and our nation's academic health centers and community-based medical schools. Her recent publications highlight strategies of the MSU Model of Health Extension. Cheryl is P.I./Co-P.I. on multiple funding streams that support MSU Extension’s farm stress outreach, the Michigan Vaccine Project, and was the P.I. and Project Director of the 2019-2022 SAMHSA-funded MiSUPER project.

Brandon Honeycutt

Senior Professional Staff, U.S. Senator Stabenow

Brandon Honeycutt serves as Senior Professional Staff for Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry. In this role, he oversees a legislative portfolio that includes specialty crops, research, organics, hemp, food safety, and agriculture labor. Before joining the Committee, Brandon served as Senior Agriculture Policy Advisor to Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock handling agriculture, energy, and climate issues. Brandon has also worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as Subcommittee Staff Director on the House Agriculture Committee and as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Jimmy Panetta. Brandon began his career in Washington as a Confidential Assistant within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Congressional Relations. He is a native of Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina and a graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree in Agricultural Business Management.

Phillip Knight

Executive Director, Food Bank Council of Michigan

Dr. Phil, as he is affectionately known, recognizes the faces of hunger. He sees it in young children, families who struggle to make ends meet, and seniors. His passion for hunger is rooted in the Bavuma Islands of Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa, where he spent nine years helping a community with no electricity, running water or housing other than mud huts with grass roofs. Upon his return to the U.S., Dr. Knight established himself as an expert in the areas of conflict resolution and team building, advocacy, fundraising, association management, and international leadership development in 128 countries around the globe.

In addition to his leadership of the Food Bank Council of Michigan, Dr. Knight hosts the award-winning talk show, Food First, on WJR in Detroit. He also serves as an adjunct professor in psychology, philosophy, counseling and cultural issues. He authored “The Diamond Life,” a leadership workbook to grow the next generation of leaders from within an organization.

Richard Kobe

Professor, Chairperson, MSU Department of Forestry

The overall goal of Dr. Kobe's research program is to understanding the ecological processes governing the dynamics of tree communities in temperate and tropical forests. Dr. Kobe focuses explicitly on the mechanisms that cause changes in relative abundance and diversity of tree species through time and across gradients of soil resource availability. Dr. Kobe has a PhD in Ecology from the University of Connecticut, and a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

Wei Liao

Professor, MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Dr. Wei Liao is a professor and the director of MSU Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center (ADREC) at the department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering. Dr. Liao has a PhD in Biological Systems Engineering from Washington State University, and a MS in Biotechnology and a BS in Fermentation Engineering and Technology, both from Wuxi University of Light Industry in China.

Colleen Matts

Director, Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

As the director of the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center, Colleen works to foster sustainable success for food and farm businesses, with a focus on historically marginalized farmers and entrepreneurs. Throughout the five-year USDA-funded program, she and a CRFS leadership team will direct this work with key partners in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as a partner to lead tribal coordination across the region. The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center will offer technical assistance, administer Business Builder grants, and assist farm and food business entrepreneurs to access new markets and navigate federal, state, and local resources.  

Previously, Colleen was the Director, Farm to Institution Programs at CRFS, working throughout Michigan and beyond to help cultivate local food purchasing programs at institutions — such schools and hospitals. She coordinated the Michigan Farm to Institution Network and its local food purchasing campaign, Cultivate Michigan, served as a long-time Michigan Partner for the National Farm to School Network and a member of the National Farm to Institution Metrics Collaborative, and led evaluation for Michigan’s local food incentive program, 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids and Farms.

Colleen has an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment with a specialization in community development from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. She also completed an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Culinary and Hospitality Management at Washtenaw Community College in 2019.

Katie Naessens

Vice President, Torrey Advisory Group

As a vice president for Torrey Advisory Group, Katie Naessens advises clients on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues impacting the food and agriculture sector. Katie joined the firm from the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry where she was senior professional staff under the leadership of Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow. For nearly a decade, Katie advised Senator Stabenow on a range of policy issues including agricultural research, organics, specialty crops, credit, beginning and historically underserved farmers, local food systems, urban agriculture, food safety, rural development, and nutrition. Her legislative achievements include passage of the 2018 and 2014 Farm Bills, several COVID-19 pandemic assistance packages, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Her work included committee oversight of food and agriculture programs implemented at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit Administration, as well as the Food Safety Modernization Act at the Food and Drug Administration.

Prior to joining the Committee, she held a political appointment in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she worked for the under secretaries in both the Marketing and Regulatory Programs and Food Safety mission areas, in the White House Liaison Office, and in the Office of the Secretary. While at the department, she contributed to new policy development on healthy food access and food safety regulation and worked to expand public and private financial partnerships in rural communities.

Katie was born and raised in Minnesota and has a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse.

Chrislyn Particka

Director, MSU Plant Science Greenhouse Complex

Chrislyn was appointed the Director of the Plant Science Research Greenhouse Facility at Michigan State University in September 2019. Prior to that, Chrislyn was a Research Coordinator with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) at MSU, where she connected research professors to industry professionals, wrote and reviewed proposals, managed the GLBRC outreach programming, and assisted in conference planning. 

Erik Runkle

Professor, MSU Department of Horticulture

Dr. Runkle's research group focuses on the environmental physiology of herbaceous specialty plants grown in controlled environments.  In particular, they investigate how environmental factors, especially light (quantity, quality, and duration) and temperature, influence growth and development of annual bedding plants, herbaceous perennials, leafy greens, and potted flowering plants. Three underlying objectives of this research are: 1) to improve the production efficiency and/or quality of crops currently grown; 2) to minimize production inputs – with an emphasis on lighting optimization and energy efficiency; and 3) to introduce new, high value specialty crops to replace or supplement the production of less-profitable crops. 

Matthew Shane

Associate Director for Field Operations, MSU Extension

Matt Shane is the Associate Director of Michigan State University (MSU) Extension in charge of field operations.  Matt is a lifelong Spartan and received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at MSU.  He began his career with MSU Extension in August of 1997 where he served as a multi-county Livestock Educator in Southeast Michigan.  He then went on to become the Lenawee County Extension Director and the District Director for MSU Extension’s District 12 covering Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, and Washtenaw Counties. In his role as the Associate Director for field operations, Matt works side by side with District Directors to create and maintain strategic alliances with communities across the state of Michigan.

Thomas Sharkey

University Distinguished Professor, MSU

Dr. Sharkey's lab studies the interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere with emphasis on the biochemical and biophysical processes that control gas exchange. Dr. Sharkey's lab has several projects on photosynthetic responses to carbon dioxide, emphasizing elevated carbon dioxide because this will continue to increase in the atmosphere. A second major area of research is the emission of isoprene from many trees, especially oaks and poplars. This hydrocarbon helps trees tolerate high leaf temperature caused by sunlight but when NOx pollution is present, isoprene from trees can lead to ozone formation. Their work is focused on the biochemical and molecular regulation of the rate of isoprene emission, as well as the evolution of this trait.

George Smith 

Director, MSU AgBioResearch

In his role as AgBioResearch director, Dr. Smith is responsible for strategic direction and administrative oversight for the organization, whose university-wide research mission is linked directly to promoting dynamic solutions for food systems and the environment in Michigan and beyond. AgBioResearch directly supports approximately 300 scientists from seven MSU colleges engaged in research, 15 outlying centers throughout Michigan reflective of the diversity of its research portfolio in agriculture and natural resources, as well as numerous on-campus facilities and key research infrastructure.

Smith obtained his doctoral and master’s degrees in animal science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the area of reproductive physiology, and his bachelor of science in animal science from the University of Idaho. He joined the faculty at MSU in 1997. His research efforts at MSU focused primarily on dairy cattle reproduction. During his career, Smith published 143 journal articles and 17 book chapters, and his research was continuously funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the National Institutes of Health from 1998 until his transition to full-time research administration efforts in 2020.

Kelly Turner

Executive Director, Michigan Potato Industry Commission

Dr. Kelly Turner grew up on a beef and cash crop farm in Mid-Michigan and hails from a long lineage of farmers. Kelly graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Kelly has her MSA from Central Michigan University and her doctoral degree from Cornerstone University in Organizational Leadership and Development. She spent 11 years with the Michigan Farm Bureau, filling the Southeast Michigan Regional Representative and the Membership Development and Training Department manager positions. Kelly also led the Michigan Society of Association Executives as the CEO and President before coming to the Michigan Potato Industry Commission and Potato Growers of Michigan, Inc in 2019.

Quentin Tyler

Director, MSU Extension

Senior Associate Dean of Outreach and Engagement

Dr. Quentin Tyler began his career as an agriculture agent intern in his home state of Kentucky. He went on to serve the University of Kentucky in both 4-H Youth Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment as the Assistant Dean and Director for Diversity and the State Coordinator for Youth Economics. He joined Michigan State University in 2018 as the Associate Dean and Director for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In May 2021, he was appointed the Director of MSU Extension, focusing on supporting and enhancing traditional programs that have made the organization a national leader, as well as looking toward innovative and creative ways to reach out to new audiences.   

Mollie Woods

Director, MSU Product Center

Mollie Woods is the Director of the Michigan State University Extension Product Center.

She is the past Executive Director of the Cherry Industry Administrative Board in Michigan. Prior to her service with the cherry board, Woods worked with the department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics in MSU's college of Agriculture and Natural Resources. While there, her research focused on the impacts of voluntary food safety practices on the structure of the North American strawberry industry. Her work also included outreach to Michigan produce industries, analysis of global retail and farm level trends for Michigan specific fruits, and the development of an educational series on the WTO for Extension stakeholders interested in the global marketplace.

Stephen Yanni

Land Grant Director, Bay Mills Community College

Dr. Steve Yanni serves as Land Grant Director for Bay Mills Community College (BMCC), a Tribally Controlled College located in Upper Michigan along the shores of Lake Superior, as such, he oversees BMCC’s efforts as a 1994 Land Grant Institution. Current areas of focus include: continued development of BMCC’s Waishkey Bay Farm as a teaching, research, and incubator facility focusing on sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty that is consistent with traditional Anishinaabek values; development of curriculum in sustainable agriculture, food sovereignty, and health promotion that is grounded in Anishinaabek lifeways; community development and health promotion efforts; overseeing BMCC’s Mukwa Health and Fitness Education Center; and assisting with the evolution of the Michigan Inter-Tribal Land Grant Extension System (MILES). Steve also serves as BMCC’s liaison with the Higher Learning Commission, coordinates research efforts by and with BMCC, and represents 1994 institutions on APLU’s BAA Policy Board of Directors and the Administrative Council for North Central Region SARE.

Steve earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2001 and has been working with the Bay Mills Indian Community in various capacities for 25 years. Prior to working with Bay Mills, he was a faculty member for 18 years at Lake Superior State University and worked for Michigan State University as a County Extension Director.

Jim Zook 

Executive Director, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan

Jim has been involved with agriculture his entire life, growing up on a small farm in Central, IL, raising, corn, soybeans and hogs.  He has spent his working career in the Fertilizer, Seed and Crop Protection business in Wisconsin; followed by working as a Crops Agent for Michigan State University Extension.  Before taking on the position as Executive Director for Michigan Corn he was instrumental in developing 2 of the 5 ethanol facilities in Michigan and managing the second one from construction through operations as its General Manager. Jim currently serves as the Executive Director of the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan and the Michigan Corn Growers Association.