Speakers
Wednesday Guest Speakers
Opening Speaker: Your Greatest Gift
Lexi Marek Beeler grew up on her family’s 6th-generation diversified livestock and grain farm in Riverside, Iowa. She started showing pigs at a young age and, together with her three sisters, competed at local, state, and national shows. It was through her involvement with pigs that Lexi discovered her passion for the agriculture industry. She is a graduate of Iowa State University. Lexi’s professional background includes roles at a start-up business, a state government agency, and a for-profit corporation. In the spring 2023, she launched LMB Consulting. As a marketing consultant, Lexi focuses on creating digital and event experiences specifically tailored to agricultural companies. This fall, she moved back to the family farm in Iowa with her husband, Charlie, and their newborn, Oliver.
Speaker: Leading as an Effective Board Member
Shelly Kruse is GROWMARK’s Executive Director of Strategic Relationships where she works with Canadian members as well as Southern States Incorporated. During her 40 years with the company, she represented GROWMARK on 25 separate boards of directors and served in multiple company roles. She is a past Chair of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, one of the largest agribusiness associations in the U.S. Shelly grew up on her grandparents’ farm in Illinois. She holds a BS in Business from Lewis University and an MBA from Northern Illinois University. Shelly and her husband, Jim, reside in Waverly, Iowa. They have five grown children and eleven grandchildren.
Speaker: Women Managing Farmland: Creating and Attaining Your Farm Vision
Sharon Chism is a grain farmer and 1991 Iowa State University graduate in Ag Business. She has worked with soil throughout her career. As an ag consultant, she works with absentee landowners and farmers. Sharon specializes in repairing and 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 leadership conference to sustain the learning and networking opportunities this conference provides to farmers and agribusiness women across the great state of Iowa.
Speaker: Women Managing Farmland: Creating and Attaining Your Farm Vision
Catherine DeLong is the Water Quality Program Manager for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. She works statewide to bring people together to share resources, ideas and perspectives about water quality, and to help Iowans understand the role they can play in Iowa’s water future. She has an MS degree in Soil Science from Iowa State University, and a BA in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Catherine has experience at all levels of conservation, having previously worked for the county-level Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as an international non-profit serving conservation professionals.
Speaker: Women Managing Farmland: Creating and Attaining Your Farm Vision
Jennifer Harrington is a Staff Attorney at ISU’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. She focuses on transition planning, specifically in the areas of business entity transitions and estate planning. Previously, Jennifer was a partner at Buchanan, Bibler, Gabor & Meis, LLP, in Kossuth County. She specialized in business entities and worked on a variety of estate plans for farmer clients. Jennifer earned her B.A. in Global Studies, with an Economic Development minor from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and her J.D., with honors, from Drake University while completing a certificate in Food and Agricultural Law. Jennifer lives in Algona, Iowa, with her family where she serves on the YMCA board of directors.
Speaker: The UNSHAKABLE: Mastering Mental Strength to Thrive Under Pressure
Jennifer Bassman is an expert in burnout recovery and stress management. Women are twice as likely as men to experience burnout, yet effective tools to combat chronic and high stress levels are scarce. (Let alone tools that address women’s specific needs and challenges.) Jennifer Bassman, a relatable, engaging and humorous speaker, writer, and business owner, has dedicated over 15 years to researching stress and burnout to provide women with practical solutions. Jennifer’s expertise lies in addressing significant stress contributors, including societal expectations, hormonal changes, and the pervasive belief that women must shoulder all responsibilities. Jennifer has coached hundreds of business professionals through burnout recovery since 2012. Her passion for supporting female entrepreneurs is evident in her personalized coaching and speaking engagements. Jennifer’s journey began in Des Moines, Iowa, where she grew up as a people-pleasing perfectionist with a love for dogs, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and fresh sweet corn. Today, she resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and four high-maintenance rescue dogs, drawing on her 24 years of pet care industry experience to enrich her work.
Thursday Guest Speakers
University Welcome
Jason Henderson is the Vice President for Extension and Outreach at Iowa State University. He leads about 900 faculty and staff who support what Iowans value: a strong Iowa. ISU Extension and Outreach engages all Iowans in research, education, and extension experiences to address real-life challenges and prepare for a thriving future. Vice President Henderson is a professor in the ISU Department of Economics. He is an agricultural economist, an academic leader, and a nationally recognized expert in agricultural and rural issues. He was raised on a family dairy farm in northeast Iowa and understands the needs of Iowa’s rural communities and the critical role extension and outreach plays in their vitality and success. In previous roles, Dr. Henderson served as the Vice President and Omaha Branch Executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and as the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development, College of Agriculture at Purdue University. He earned degrees from Central College in Iowa, and Purdue University in Indiana.
Speaker: Breaking Ground to Fulfill True Potential
Speaker: Marketing: The Critical Emotional Connection
Heather Malenshek is the Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Land O’Lakes, Inc. She oversees B2C and B2B branding and marketing strategy, messaging development and execution excellence. She is responsible for building marketing competencies across all businesses and geographies. She also has oversight for Curious Plot, a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, Heather was the SVP Chief Marketing Officer for the Harley-Davidson Motor Company where she led a brand transformation that expanded the consumer base for the company, bringing in a new generation of consumers. Her career has spanned a wide range of brands and categories including airline, financial services, pharmaceuticals, automotive, food and beverage, pet care and more. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s most influential CMOs in both 2018 and 2019 in part because of her reputation for taking legacy brands and helping them find their authentic purpose while transforming their business results. Heather is Board President of Hunkapi Equine Therapy Programs. She serves on the Oobli Board of Directors – a food tech company reinventing sweetness, the Dairy Management Inc. Advisory Board, and the Ad Council Board of Directors. Heather was born in Scotland and grew up next to her uncle’s farm where she developed her love of animals – especially horses and dogs. Her passions lie in helping others to fulfill their true potential in their careers and in life.
Speaker: Better Conversations
Jonathan Shavers is the owner of Envision Partners. Blending his experience as a research scientist and as a teaching professor, Jonathan started another new career to partner with technical experts making the critical transition from individual contributor to people leader. For fifteen years, Jonathan has partnered with new and experienced team-leaders from many segments of agriculture to identify and embrace the values, skills and behaviors that will maximize their potential as a next-level leader in the workplace. Jonathan facilitates large and small groups to engage with one-another to align and commit to a shared vision and strategies. He has worked with large global research companies, universities, manufacturing and cooperatives. A graduate of The Ohio State University and University of Minnesota, Jonathan began his career with Monsanto Life Sciences after which he taught Agronomy at Oklahoma State University and Biology at North Hennepin Community College. Together with his wife and three children, he calls Minneapolis, Minnesota home.
Speaker: Leadership in Finance and Taking Care of Agriculture in Tough Years
Angie Treptow has over 32 years of experience at Farm Credit, a premier agricultural lender in the Midwest. Angie is currently the Senior Vice President of Retail Customer Experience. She is responsible for leading the team’s lending operations and customer service activities. Starting as a Financial Officer, Angie worked directly with customers helping them with their financial needs. She then moved into leadership positions in Credit, Sales and Operations. A native of Bernard, Iowa in Dubuque County, Angie grew up on and was involved in her family’s diversified grain and livestock operation. She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Finance.
Speaker: Empowering the Next Generation of Family Agribusiness Owners
Chris Cornelius of Cornelius Seed located near Bellevue, Iowa, is a native Iowan and grew up on a diversified farm in Guttenberg, Iowa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in ag journalism from Iowa State University in 1983. Alongside her husband, Chuck, and their two sons, Will and James, and daughter-in-law Janie, she co-owns and manages her family’s independent, fifth generation seed business. The business is celebrating 88 years of success. She recently served as president of the Independent Professional Seed Association. Chris is also an active partner in their farming entity, Cornelius Land & Cattle.
Speaker: Leading as a Communicator
Kiley Fleming, Ed.D. is the Executive Director for Iowa Mediation Service and the founder of outSIGHTin. In these roles, she oversees statewide mediation and conflict management efforts, and she provides consultation services through private individual and group coaching. Experiencing conflict is a natural part of living, and developing language around these thoughts and feelings allows people to engage with conflict in more meaningful and productive ways. Kiley’s passion is to help people reach their fullest potential through reflective practices that encourage self-awareness. Her book, Conflict Imagery: Developing a Reflective Framework, helps readers authentically name their internal scripts in tangible ways. Through the practice of identifying personal metaphors and images to convey internal belief systems, the creation of shared understanding among parties can form. As a certified life coach with a PHR designation, she draws upon a wide span of experiences to help individuals and groups align with their purpose so that situations involving conflict can serve as growth opportunities for change and improvement.
Speaker: Creative Entrepreneurship in Agriculture
Laura Cunningham operates SkyView Farms with her husband, Aaron, and young son, Wyatt, in Floyd County. She graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Agricultural Business. Currently, Laura raises Angus cow/calf pairs and spearheaded a new hoop barn to double the herd size. She received a grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and worked with ISU Extension and Outreach to create a ‘food hub’ for pork, poultry and eggs sourced from area farms, as well as her own direct-to-consumer beef. Laura is passionate for ag literacy and has long been a proponent of women in leadership.
Speaker: Creative Entrepreneurship in Agriculture
Meredith Nunnikhoven is the owner of Barnswallow Flowers, a sustainable fresh-cut flower farm located in Mahaska County. All flowers are grown outdoors, with most seedlings germinated on-site to minimize environmental impact. Barnswallow Flowers is a proud donor of materials for Mahaska County Extension floral arranging classes and Master Gardeners annual plant sale. She is passionate about inspiring farmers to diversify their whole-farm operation with value-added crops and products. She developed the patent-pending Barnswallow Compostable Vase. The flower farm is dedicated to her late Mother, Kerrilyn Loynachan Nunnikhoven, who believed small farm diversification was the key to succession and survival.
Speaker: Empowering the Next Generation of Family Agribusiness Owners
Natalie Paino always had a dream to take over her family’s dairy farm and is proud to say she is making that dream a reality. She attended Iowa State University to earn an Agricultural Business degree to bring new skills to the farm. She got involved in an entrepreneurship program that provided her with mentorship, equipped her with valuable business skills spring of 2019, she launched Hightail Delivery. When COVID hit, she shifted from selling at local events to home delivery and now capitalizes on both markets. In 2022, she secured a grant for a shipping container creamery to bottle milk and make cheese curds from her family’s dairy.
Speaker: Seeding Success through Power and Passion
April Hemmes operates her family’s century farm in North Central Iowa. She has farmed for almost forty years. Her farm consists of corn, soybeans and pastureland, with soil health and the conservation of her land top of mind. April has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Iowa State University. She serves on many national, state and local boards and organizations. April is a United Soybean Board Director. Her years of experience and leadership have gained her a variety of awards including Iowa Wallaces Master Farmer, Top Producer Trail Blazer, Iowa Women in Ag Lifetime Achievement Award, Iowa’s Environmental Award, Women Sustaining the Land, and ISU Women Impacting Agriculture. Her many activities have allowed her to speak on four continents about how she sustainably raises crops on her farm. She also loves hosting people from around the world on her farm.
Jessie Alt is the Global Wheat Lead for Corteva Agriscience where she works on varietal and hybrid crop breeding. Previously, she supported soybean breeding at Schillinger Seed and Pioneer. She is passionate about enabling farmer success through improved plant genetics. Beyond research, she believes in building for the future by engaging children in agriculture and science. Jessie has served as an industry ambassador in several communication and outreach events sponsored by the American Seed Trade Association. In her spare time, she operates Alt Farms Pumpkins and leads neighborhood improvements related to the High Trestle Trail. Jessie has a PhD and MS in plant genetics from Iowa State University along with a BS degree in Agronomy from South Dakota State University.
Linda Cline is the Program Coordinator for Webster County Extension. She has been working with Women in Ag programs for eight years in this role. As a farmer herself, she has also attended many Women in Ag programs that ISU Extension has offered over the years.
Lindsey Jeurgensen is an Accounting Specialist for Heartland Logistics Group. She enjoyed being a part of Annie’s Project and Women Managing Farm Finances programs. Lindsey lives in Churdan with her husband, Connor, and daughter, Emma. They have a row crop and livestock farming operation. In their free time the family enjoys traveling to see family in Texas and Florida.
Ashley Johnston is an Assistant Vice President/Business Banker at Home State Bank in Jefferson, working primarily in ag lending. She has been an ag lender for 12 years and has enjoyed growing her ag portfolio and developing relationships with local farmers. She completed the Annie’s Project program in 2017 and has presented at several Annie’s Project programs since. Ashley and her husband have a custom fed cattle and row crop operation and live outside Grand Junction with their 5 children and 2 foster children.
Amber Kohlhaas farms with her family in Hancock County. She enjoyed the Advanced Grain Marketing for Women course in Fort Dodge.
Beth Collins and her husband farmed for over 30 years in Livermore, retiring in 2015. They raised row crops and enjoyed cattle feeding opportunities from bottle calves, cow calf, to finishing fat cattle. Beth found early in their farming adventure that she loved following the futures markets and was active in marketing decisions. That led to a career decision to get her Series 3 Broker’s license in 1992. Through the years she attended many ISU extension classes. This education was a benefit in different areas, improving their farm operation. She is currently employed with Ag West Commodities as broker in their Humboldt, Ia. office.
