Committee
Ashlee Bratthauer
Ashlee Bratthauer was raised on a family farm in central Iowa around beef cattle and pigs. She attended Des Moines Area Community College to obtain her associate degree in Agribusiness. She is now a substitute teacher in Eastern Iowa, where she lives with her husband and new baby girl. She is grateful to live and raise her family in rural Iowa, surrounded by a strong farming community.
Elly Cain
Elly Cain is a sophomore at Iowa State University, majoring in Agriculture Life Sciences Education. She grew up in a small town in Eastern Iowa, she has deep roots in agriculture, coming from a family with a multi-generational grain farm and a father who owns a local trucking company back home that transports grain for farmers. She likes to spend most of her time baking, being outside and spending time with her family and friends. This lifelong exposure to the agricultural industry has fueled her passion for expanding her knowledge and expertise in the field. Elly is dedicated to learning more about agriculture, aiming to make a positive impact in the industry. Her end career goal is to be in the classroom teaching the next generation of agriculturists.
Sharon Chism
Sharon Chism is a 1991 Iowa State graduate in Ag Business, and has worked with soil throughout her career. She is a grain farmer and ag consultant working with absentee land owners and farmers. Sharon specializes in repairing/improving fragile areas of fields to make the soil more profitable and the land easier to farm through field efficiency and drainage. Sharon volunteered to help plan the conference to sustain the learning and networking opportunities this conference provides to farmers and agribusiness women across the great state of Iowa.
Chris Cornelius
Melissa Hastings
Melissa started at Corteva in 2005 she has a MS in Agronomy & BS in Horticulture from Iowa State University. She has always had a great enthusiasm for agriculture and is excited to grow her career! Melissa spent her first 6 years in an electrophoresis and ELISA lab. She was responsible for workload organization, chemical prep, and scoring of results. Melissa was proud of transitioning this space from a manual lab to an automated lab and obtaining her Registered Genetic Technologist Certification. When the technology changed, Melissa spent the next year working in a SNP lab with genetic testing. For the last 11 years she has been in Crop Transformation Systems, working with maize insect control traits. Her current role is in GLP Protein Analysis with PACT. Melissa enjoys the outdoors, spending time with her horses, and visiting the nearby parks…High Trestle Trail, Big Creek, & Ledges!
Sherri Hefley
Marilee Jones
Chelsea Llewellyn
Chelsea Llewellyn has been with the Marshall County Extension and Outreach Office for 7 years. She offers Agriculture Educational for both adults and youth. She has a passion for bringing Women in Ag programs to the area for women to become more successful in their Agriculture and Farm careers. Chelsea grew up in town but now has a strong passion for agriculture. She plays a large role on her Tama County Farm. Her husband and herself are cattle and hay producers and have a row crop operation and she now operates a small pumpkin farm on the side. She manages bookwork and cattle records. During the busy calving season you can catch Chelsea juggling mom life, her full time job and work on the farm.
Carey Mathesius
Carey Mathesius is a Research Scientist with Corteva Agriscience in the Regulatory group where she has overseen global Biotech food and feed safety activities and currently leads product science teams. She served as Co-Chair of the Corteva Women’s Network and represents on CropLife International and Biotechnology Innovation Organization activities. She has a BS in Animal Science from the University of Illinois and a MS in Animal Nutrition from Iowa State University. She married into an Illinois farm family and enjoys supporting her daughter’s activities, STEM education, traveling and nature.
Melissa O’Rourke
Melissa O’Rourke is a retired Attorney and Farm and Agribusiness Management Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Melissa practiced extensively in the fields of business and estate planning, human resources, immigration, and agricultural commercial litigation. She is a sought-after presenter throughout the region on agricultural legal issues. Melissa’s work with Iowa State University combined her background in education, agriculture, and law as she informs and advises members of the farm and agribusiness community on an expansive array of business planning and legal topics.
Chinwendu Ozoh
Chinwendu Ozoh is passionate about women’s development and all conversations around food. She grew up in Nigeria and earned her BS in Agricultural Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University. Chinwendu received an MS in Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University and is currently a PhD student in Food Science and Human Nutrition. At the 2023 Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest, she won 1st and 2nd place for yogurt and butter judging, respectively. Chinwendu plans to join academia and continue researching consumer behavior. She resides in Ames, IA with her three-year-old daughter and enjoys sewing and reading realistic fiction.
Lisa Scarbrough
Lisa Scarbrough is the Women in Ag Communications Specialist with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farm Management Team. She works with Extension professionals across the state to produce videos, design marketing materials, coordinate promotion, manage websites, create program impact reports, and publish an online newsletter. She serves on the board of the Women Land and Legacy program, led by USDA-NRCS in Iowa. Lisa earned a BS in Communication Studies with a minor in Journalism from the University of Iowa. She continues to be a Hawkeye fan and enjoys going to sporting events with her dad.
Brenda Schultz
Madeline Schultz
Madeline Schultz manages the Women in Ag Program for the ISU Extension and Outreach Farm Management Team. She is proud of the teamwork that led to earning the Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area Award from USDA. Madeline designs educational programs, increases women’s connections, builds the professional capacity of educators, and stewards program funding to improve the lives of women and increase agricultural sustainability. She serves on the boards of directors for Annie’s Project – Education for Farm Women, and Iowa Women in Agriculture. She earned degrees in economics and business from Iowa State University. Madeline enjoys rollerblading with her grandchildren.
Luci Sheriff
Luci Sheriff would like to welcome you to The Herd. Ten years ago, she and her husband, Levi, returned to the farm. In the years following, she realized the fine people of a griculture were her people. In the early years of farming, she learned to find balance in life. She strives to balance the uncertainty of farming corn and soybeans, with substitute teaching, and finding joy in her passions. Those passions are found in area FFA chapters and encouraging the next generation of agriculturists to find their place. Her advice for you is, “Find your passions and the stress is quieter.”
Janette Smith
Janette Smith is the GROW Grain Marketing Advisor Lead for Landus. She has experience originating grain, creating marketing plans with farmers, and leading within the agricultural industry. Her previous roles with West Central Cooperative included regional manager, senior marketing specialist, grain operations manager, agronomy sales/marketing manager, and location manager. Janette graduated from Des Moines Area Community College with an AAS in Agribusiness. To further her skills, she earned her Board of Trade certification in 1998, certificate from Purdue University in Strategic Agri Marketing in 2003, and completed the University of Missouri – Columbia, Institute of Cooperative Leadership program in 2014.
Alexis Stevens
Abby Tlach
Abby Tlach is from Prole, IA, and is currently a freshman at Iowa State University, majoring in Agricultural Studies with a multidisciplinary focus in agronomy, ag business, and marketing. She looks forward to becoming involved in various activities at Iowa State to enhance her engagement in agriculture. Growing up, Abby showed cattle across the country with her family, where she learned many life lessons and skills that will assist her in all her endeavors. She is also heavily involved in her parents’ Pioneer seed and agricultrual inputs business. Abby hopes to make a significant impact on agriculture, much like she has seen many women and men do thus far.
