FFAR's Board of Directors includes 20 voting members, and five ex-officio members designated by Congress. FFAR’s non-voting ex officio members are the stewards of the Foundation's close partnerships with the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Specifically, these members provide insight into the federal research enterprise and ensure that FFAR’s work complements USDA and NSF research.
President of Mississippi State University Mark Keenum chairs the FFAR board, which includes the current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
The voting members on FFAR’s inaugural board were selected from lists of nominees provided by industry and the National Academy of Sciences.
Appointed Members
Dr. Kathryn Boor
Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Dr. Doug Buhler
Director, MSU AgBioResearch and Assistant Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
Dr. Doug Cameron
Managing Director
Dr. Gail Christopher
Former Senior Advisor and Vice President for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation
Dr. Nancy Creamer
Distinguished Professor of Horticulture and Sustainable and Community-Based Food Systems
Dr. Debby Delmer
Professor Emeritus
Dr. Rob Horsch
Deputy Director, Agricultural Research and Development
Ms. Pam Johnson
Past President
Dr. Mehmood Khan
Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, Global R&D
Dr. Michael Ladisch
Director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering
Dr. Chris Mallett
Corporate Vice President, Research and Development
Dr. Pam Marrone
Founder and CEO
Dr. Terry McElwain
Regents Professor in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
Dr. Stanley Prusiner
Professor of Neurology and Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Dr. Yehia "Mo" Saif
Professor Emeritus of the Food Animal Health Research Program of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
Mr. Bob Stallman
Past President
Dr. Alton Thompson
Executive Director
Ex Officio Board Members
Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Agriculture
Dr. Ann Bartuska
Acting Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics
Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
