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Dr. Lisa House, UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics
Department Chair and Professor of Food and Resource Economics
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Dr. Scott Angle, UF/IFAS
UF/IFAS Senior Vice President
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Tripp Hunter, Florida Farm Bureau Federation
Director of State Legislative Affairs at Florida Farm Bureau Federation
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Dr. John Newton, Terrain Agriculture
Executive Head of Terrain Agriculture
BIO
John Newton, Ph.D., is the Executive Head of Terrain. Guiding the team’s endeavors, he has more than two decades of experience using data to address agriculture’s challenges.
John has a deep understanding of how governmental policy and risk management programs impact the financial outcomes of America’s farming and ranching families. He previously held positions as the Republican Chief Economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, Chief Economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation and at the National Milk Producers Federation, as an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as an award-winning faculty member at the University of Illinois. In 2021, John received the Distinguished Alumni award from the Ohio State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in agricultural economics and master’s degrees in applied economics and macroeconomics.
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J. Alex Kelly, Florida Secretary of Commerce
J. Alex Kelly, Florida Secretary of Commerce
J. Alex Kelly currently leads Florida Commerce as Florida’s Secretary of Commerce. Prior to his appointment, Kelly held the Deputy Chief of Staff role in the Governor’s Office since April 2021.Kelly has an extensive background and expertise in education and economic development having served as the Vice President for the Foundation of Excellence in Education and the Chief of Staff to then-Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in 2019.
In total, Kelly held roles in the Florida House of Representatives on the three occasions and in the Florida Senate, including Staff Director for the Redistricting Committee in the Florida House of Representatives and Chief Analyst for the House’s Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning. He served as the Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and Legislative Affairs Director at the Florida Department of Corrections and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.
Kelly earned both a bachelor’s degree in political science from York University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Florida.
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John Walt Boatright, American Farm Bureau Federation
Director of Government Affairs, American Farm Bureau Federation
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Representative J.J. Grow, Florida State House of Rep.
Florida State House of Representatives
BIO:
JJ Grow
Representative Florida HD 23
JJ Grow is a dedicated businessman, entrepreneur, and Conservative with a strong work ethic and a deep passion for his community. With over 33 years of leadership experience in both privately held and publicly traded companies, JJ has a proven track record of creating jobs and driving economic development in Florida and across the United States.
Raised in Citrus County, JJ learned the value of hard work and community service early in life. A proud graduate of Citrus High School, where he excelled as Class President, Student Government President, and Future Farmers of America (FFA) President, JJ has always been a leader. His commitment to Florida agriculture began in his youth and continued through his tenure as State FFA Vice President, during which he hosted leadership training sessions across the state and interned with Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle Connor.
JJ’s passion for agriculture led him to the University of Florida, where he majored in Food and Resource Economics and was honored with membership in the agricultural honors fraternity. In 2018, he received the Distinguished Alumnus honor for his continued contributions to the university and the field of agriculture.
In 2003, JJ founded his first company alongside his wife, Jennifer. Since then, he has launched multiple successful businesses, creating opportunities and jobs that have had a lasting impact on Florida’s economy. JJ remains committed to serving the community, serving as a member of the University of Florida Foundation Board and the Food and Resource Economics Leadership Council.
A devoted husband to Jen, father to Hailegh, Hannah, Hillary, and Hadley, and grandfather to Cason, CJ, and Lily, JJ takes pride in his Christian faith, and his love for family. He and his family actively support numerous local organizations, including Citrus County Blessings, Community Food Bank, Citrus County Education Foundation, Jessie’s Place, YMCA, CASA, United Way, FFA, and 4H.
An avid outdoorsman, JJ also serves as Vice-Chairman of the National Wild Turkey Federation Foundation Board. His deep roots in the community and commitment to Florida’s values make him a leader ready to serve and make a meaningful impact as State Representative.
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Dr. Derek Farnsworth, UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics
Associate Professor of Food and Resource Economics
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Brittany Lee, Florida Blue Farms, Inc & USDA ATAC
Vice President Florida Blue Farms and Member of USDA Agriculture Trade and Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Fruits and Vegetables
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Dr. LaKisha Odom, Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research
Dr. LaKisha Odom joined the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in September 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 food and agriculture scientists. Odom is on the board of directors for the Soil Health Institute, a non-profit organization that advances the science of soil health and the adoption of soil health management systems.
Odom developed her passion for the inter-sectional space of research and policy while working at the U.S. EPA in the Office of Research and Development and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response’s Brownfield’s Redevelopment Program. In her academic career at Tuskegee University, she continued to seek out opportunities to work in interdisciplinary and collaborative science, as a CREATE-IGERT fellow and as a researcher at Teagasc Research facility in Carlow, Ireland. She then had the opportunity to combine her passion for interdisciplinary innovative research and policy when selected to serve as an early career intern for the Public Policy Board of the American Phytopathological Society. In 2013, Odom became an American Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Regulatory Service, where she managed a diverse portfolio which included working with the OECD Working Group for the Harmonization of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology.
Odom received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Tuskegee University, her master’s degree in environmental resource policy from The George Washington University and her doctorate in integrative biosciences from Tuskegee University.
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Dr. Weizhe Weng, UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics
Assistant Professor of Food and Resource Economics
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Martha Montoya, Ag Tools CEO
With over 30 years of worldwide Food/Agricultural and Supply Chain experience, Martha's career in the agricultural industry started while sourcing ingredients from the Americas. This provided her with the knowledge of the product from the source to delivery and ultimately becoming a leader in the industry, traveling while delivering projects beneficial for the supplier and customers on 4 continents. Dealing with both small and industrial size farms, government entities and sophisticated buyers in Europe, Russia and the United States, she has set up production lines across many crops and commodities. Today she leads Agtools, a Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence award winner, a SaaS and enterprise firm that delivers global food & agricultural phenological, financial and market intelligence data. Formal education in Chemistry and Biology with post graduate courses at the University of Chicago, the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Stanford University Entrepreneurial and Scalability program and the UC Davis Institute for Food, Ag & Health Entrepreneurship.
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Dr. Nathan Boyd, UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC
Associate Center Director and Professor of Horticulture, UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC
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Dr. Suzanne Thornsbury, UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics
Professor of Food and Resource Economics