The Leadership Academy Advisory Board is comprised of representatives from the agricultural, natural resources and forestry industries, alumni, and community leadership. Their primary responsibility is to provide volunteer leadership in evaluating the effectiveness of the Leadership Academy, provide advice relative to leadership experiences recommended to students, and promote and support the Leadership Academy and its fellows to our stakeholders.
Leadership Academy Advisory Board Members
Jill Bell, Weyerheauser
Jill is a native Oregonian who was born and raised in the timber community of Philomath. She is proud to call herself a logger’s daughter and found her passion for forestry from both her family, and high school forestry program. She chose to pursue a degree in Forest Engineering and graduated from Oregon State University in 2003. She started working for Weyerhaeuser as an engineer the day after graduation. While still working full time, she completed her MBA from Oregon State University in 2010. She eventually became a harvest manager for multiple years before accepting a position as an area manager in 2017. Jill is currently the area manager of a 130,000 acre operating area in the Oregon Cascades and has been employed with Weyerhaeuser for 19 years.
Carl Jones, Plant Sciences Director, MARS Advanced Research Institute
MARS is a global confectionary, food and pet care company that believes the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. With more than $35 billion in sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, IAMS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S® and COCOAVIA®. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA™ and Pet Partners™.
Carl Jones is a plant geneticist and agriculture research industry executive with a passion for leadership, research and communication with the goal of ecological and economically sustainable agriculture through science, technology and innovation. Mars Advanced Research Institute mission is to partner at the forefront of science to create the future of Mars.
Carl received his Masters degree in Horticulture and a minor in Food Science from Oregon State University where his innovative work led to antioxidant rich “Indigo series” purple tomatoes released by OSU. Carl received his Ph.D. in Genetics from University of California, Davis where he studied nutritional improvement of tomato. Carl was Head of Innovation and New Technologies and served on the Global research leadership team at Bayer Vegetables where he worked for 15 years. Carl has more than 25 years’ experience in research and industry leadership and is author of numerous papers and inventor on more than a dozen US and international patents.
John Roberts, Retired Vice President, Harry & David
John and his wife Sheri have been involved in Oregon agriculture, both in practice and in service. John is a retired Senior Vice President of Harry and David and former Chair of the Oregon Water Resource Commission, as well as member of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. He currently serves on the College of Agricultural Sciences E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni membership organization Board. John earned his bachelor of science degree from Oregon State University in Food Science and Technology in 1964 and continues his service to the industry.
Karla Wachter, Vice President of Operations, AgWest
Erin Bird, Associate Director of Transfer Pathways & Success
As a former transfer student, Erin has focused her career in higher education on identifying ways to reduce and eliminate barriers for students transitioning into new institutions. Since starting at Oregon State University in 2016, Erin’s focus originated on creating opportunities for transfer students to find community and connections and has expanded to advocate for equitable transfer articulation processes, university-wide policies and timelines, and other challenges that transfer students may encounter. In addition to her focus on OSU transfer students, Erin participates in a number of statewide initiatives coordinated by Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission to establish a smooth transfer process between public community colleges and universities for Oregon residents.
Jennifer Petersen, EVP and Chief Science Officer, Sun World International
Jennifer Yates, Head of Wheat Breeding North America, Bayer Crop Science
Mathis Kuenzi, Product Development/Accounts Manager, Mt. View Seeds
Mathis Kuenzi graduated from Oregon State in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Ag Business Management and a minor in Crop Science. He is a Leadership Academy alum and is thankful to be involved with the program today. Upon graduation, Mathis worked at Northwest Farm Credit, now (AgWest Farm Credit) where he provided farmers and ag businesses lending and credit solutions. Today, he is the director of product development and account manager at Mountain View Seeds, selling grass seed nationwide to the landscape, golf, and sports turf industries. Outside of work, Mathis enjoys farming blueberries, fishing and spending quality time with his wife and family.
Marie Petrie, Owner
Marie is a tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians out of Coos Bay. She is a Leadership Academy alum from the very first cohort. She attended the Chemeketa Community College Forestry Program, transferring to Oregon State University pursuing a Forest Management degree, graduating in 2015. She worked for the USDA Forest Service before and throughout her college career. During her 14 years of employment with the Forest Service, she worked in wildland fire, timber sales, and silviculture. At the beginning of the pandemic, she started her own house cleaning business. She currently has over a dozen clients.
Kathy Ward, Retired Head of Global Testing & Operations Veg R&D, Bayer Crop Science
Kathy began her career in the seed industry with Asgrow Seed Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. When Seminis Vegetable Seeds was formed she relocated to Woodland, California in 1996. Her current position is the Head of Global Testing and Operations for Vegetable R&D in Bayer Crop Science. During her career she had the opportunity to travel to more than fifty countries and experience ag in many different cultures. She is actively involved in numerous mentoring and career development programs.
Kathy’s education includes an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Western Michigan University and Bachelors degree in Agronomy from Oregon State University. She was born and raised in northeastern Oregon, where her family continues full time operations of this century farm. Her time outside of work is spent tending her olive oil trees and vegetable garden, working on home remodeling projects, and enjoying outdoor activities. She is an avid OSU baseball and women’s basketball fan. She serves on the board for a non-profit supporting and conserving agriculture and habitat. She loves to travel and meet people all over the world. She shares her home with her husband, a dog and two cats.
Kenneth Munson, Board President, Independent Forest Advisor, International Paper
International Paper is one of the world’s leading producers of fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper. We create packaging products that protect and promote goods, enable worldwide commerce and keep consumers safe; pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal hygiene products that promote health and wellness; and papers that facilitate education and communication. Ken Munson is an Oregon State University and University of Florida alumnus who has extensive experience in leading forest industry businesses and projects. Ken’s background includes international success with a focus on sustainable forest management. He worked for International Paper for 30+ years, both in the US and abroad. His experience has provided him the chance to work in China, the Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, Brazil, Canada, and France. He is currently an advisor and consultant to commercial projects in the US, Russia, Brazil and Ireland.
Wade Foster, Environmental Attorney, Stoel Rives LLP
Wade is an environmental attorney at Stoel Rives LLP. Wade’s primary focus areas include mining, state water rights, and compliance counseling for clients subject to federal and state environmental laws. Wade was raised in Lake County, Oregon where agriculture and natural resources provided strong influences on Wade’s career path. Following graduation from OSU, Wade worked for Congressman Greg Walden and then for a national fertilizer trade association in Washington, DC. Wade and his husband, Colton, live in Boise, Idaho but frequently return to Oregon to spend time with family, in particular their nieces.
Angela Hughes, Scientific Communications Veterinarian & Geneticist, Royal Canin
Dr. Angela Hughes DVM PhD MS leads Scientific Communications and is a Veterinary Geneticist at Mars Pet Nutrition. Dr. Hughes completed her BS in Biochemistry and Molecular biology at Reed College in Portland, OR before completing her veterinary degree, veterinary genetics residency, PhD in genetics, and held an associate clinical professor position at the University of California, Davis. She then joined Mars, Inc. where she has held multiple positions with Wisdom Health (formerly Mars Veterinary), Mars Petcare’s Global Scientific Communications team, and Royal Canin’s US Veterinary Scientific Communications team. Dr. Hughes also recently completed a Master’s degree in Communications through the University of Florida and is using those communications skills every day to help make A Better World For Pets. Over her career, she has been published in multiple academic publications and has contributed chapters for publication in several textbooks.
Lyle Gibbs, Agronomist, Nutrien Ag Solutions
Born and raised in Lebanon, OR Lyle grew up with a love for the outdoors, to this day he enjoys doing anything outside with his wife and daughter especially backyard BBQ’s with friends and family. He graduated from Oregon State in 2013 with a B.S. in Horticulture Turfgrass Management focusing on golf course and landscape maintenance. He worked in the golf industry during high school, through college, and spent the first two years after as an Assistant Superintendent at a local golf course. Today he is currently working as a Crop Consultant for Nutrien Ag Solutions at the Tangent, OR location helping growers with all aspects of agronomy.
Jane O'Keeffe, Partner, O'Keeffe Ranch
Jane O’Keeffe is a partner in the five generation O’Keeffe Ranch in Adel Oregon. The O’Keeffe Ranch is a cow/calf operation running primarily in the Oregon high desert. O’Keeffe is a former Lake County Commissioner. She has worked in the political space both statewide and nationally for the Forest Counties and Schools Coalition and the Partnership for Rural America. O’Keeffe has served as former chair of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. She currently sits on the Oregon Rangeland Trust and the Western Resources Legal Center Board of Directors for Lewis and Clark Law School.
Jane O’Keeffe and her husband John are both graduates of Oregon State University College of Agriculture. Jane also holds a Master of Fine Arts from Antioch University and writes novels.
Randall S. Rosenberger, Professor, College of Forestry
Dr. Rosenberger joined Oregon State University’s College of Forestry in 2003 and is a professor in Forest Ecosystems & Society. He received his PhD in agricultural and resource economics and MA in applied ethics from Colorado State University, and BA in philosophy from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran. He actively promotes opportunities for students to pursue experiential learning opportunities, such as Leadership Academy. He is proud of the students he has mentored in the past, and looks forward to mentoring students in the future.
Staci L. Simonich, Dean in College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University
Prior to joining the College of Agricultural Sciences’ leadership team, Dr. Simonich served as the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Research Operations and Integrity at Oregon State University (OSU), as well as Professor of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology and Chemistry in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Previously, Dr. Simonich has served administratively as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the College of Science and Associate Department Head in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
Dave Dillon, President and CEO, Food Northwest
Dave Dillon is president of Food Northwest, the Oregon, Idaho, and Washington trade association for food companies of all sizes and types. Prior to joining the Food Northwest team, Dave led Oregon Farm Bureau, the state's largest farmer and rancher membership organization. He has worked for a U.S. senator and lived and worked in Japan. Dave earned a bachelor’s degree from and is a trustee of Linfield University. He is founding board member of the Resource Education and Agricultural Leadership (REAL) Oregon program and is a co-host for Cultivating Change Foundation events in Oregon. Dave holds an MBA from the University of Oregon's executive program. He grew up in Coos Bay.