Advisory Councils

Blueberries for Advisory Council.

Our rigorous scientific review process includes External Peer Reviewers and Advisory Councils Members to ensure we fund bold science addressing big challenges.

Each Priority Area has an Advisory Council, comprised of scientists, farmers and industry experts. Council members engage with scientific program directors, the chief scientific officer and other FFAR staff to advise on program development, identify potential partnerships and provide input on strategic direction within their Priority Area.

FFAR identifies council members from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise. We seek to have scientific representation from a range of stakeholders including academics, industry company scientists, farmers, etc. who are knowledgeable about research in their assigned research Priority Area.   

Learn more about our review process

Agroecosystems Advisory Council Members
  1. Mr. Hugh Aljoe, Noble Research Institute
  2. Dr. Maria Bowman, Spark Climate Solutions
  3. Dr. Eoin Brodie, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Ecology Department
  4. Mr. John Farner, Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
  5. Dr. Jerry Glover, Food Security Leadership Council and International Rice Research Institute
  6. Ms. Britt Lundgren, Stonyfield
  7. Mr. Mark Masters, Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center, Albany State University
  8. Dr. Heidi Peterson, Sand County Foundation
  9. Dr. Ankita Raturi, Purdue University, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
  10. Dr. Ritvik Sahajpal, University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Geographical Sciences
  11. Dr. Matt Sanderson, Kansas State University
  12. Dr. Stephen Smith, Buena Vida Farm
  13. Dr. Abbey Wick, Syngenta Group
  14. Dr. Robyn Wilson, Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources
  15. Dr. Jane Zelikova, University of Colorado – Boulder
Food Systems Advisory Council Members
  1. Ms. Sara Burnett, ReFED
  2. Dr. Genevieve Croft, Schmidt Sciences
  3. Dr. Monica Dus, University of Michigan, Office of the Vice President for Research and University of Michigan, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
  4. Dr. Darcy Freedman, Case Western University, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
  5. Dr. Olaf Gruess, Cargill
  6. Mr. Bryan Hitchcock, Global Food Traceability Center for the Institute of Food Technologists
  7. Dr. Carl Jones, MARS Advanced Research Institute
  8. Dr. Mary Ann Lila, North Carolina State University, Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences; Plants for Human Health Institute and Global Institute for Bioexploration
  9. Dr. Lisa Mauer, Purdue
  10. Dr. Margaret Slavin, University of Maryland-College Park, Nutrition and Food Science
  11. Dr. Max Teplitski, International Fresh Produce Association
  12. Dr. Jun Wang, Colgate-Palmolive
Production Systems Advisory Council Members

Animal Systems

  1. Dr. Deborah Bouchard, University of Maine, Aquaculture Research Institute and University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension, Aquatic Animal Health.
  2. Dr. Barry Bradford, Michigan State University, Department of Animal Science
  3. Dr. Roberta Franco, California Department of Food and Agriculture
  4. Dr. Karyn Havas, USDA
  5. Ms. Nancy Labbe, The Nature Conservancy
  6. Dr. Hongwei Xin, The University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture

Crop Systems

  1. Dr. Greg Goins, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
  2. Dr. Susan “Evy” Jaconis, Cotton, Inc.
  3. Mr. Jeff Lakner, Lakner Farms LLC
  4. Dr. Elizabeth Mitcham, University of California-Davis; Postharvest Technology Center and USAID Horticulture Innovation Lab (retired)
  5. Dr. Philip Pardey, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics; University of Minnesota, International Science and Technology Practice Center and University of Minnesota, GEMS Information Center
  6. Dr. Adrian Percy, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative