Our Board of Directors

Our distinguished board of directors includes voting members as well as ex-officio members designated by Congress. The board of directors guides our strategy and organizational governance. The ex-officio board positions support our close partnerships with the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Appointed Board Members

Doug Buhler, Ph.D.

Vice Chair, FFAR Board of Directors
Associate Vice President, MSU Office of Research and Innovation,
Michigan State University

Doug Cameron, Ph.D.

Technology Investor and Advisor

Nancy Creamer, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Community-Based Food Systems
North Carolina State University

David Donnan

Business Leader and Adjunct Professor
Northwestern University

Hon. Dan Glickman

Board Chair Emeritus, Past Chair, FFAR Board of Directors
Executive Director, Congressional Program Aspen Institute

Krysta Harden

President and CEO
US Dairy Export Council

Denise Heard, DVM, MAM, ACPV

Vice President, Research Programs
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association

Mark E. Keenum, Ph.D.

Chair, FFAR Board of Directors
President
Mississippi State University

Venkata Kishore, MBA-Ph.D.

Vice President and Head of Smallholders and Sustainability – Vegetable Seeds
Bayer Crop Science

Michael R. Ladisch, Ph.D.

Director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering; Distinguished Professor
Purdue University

Carolyn Lawrence-Dill, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Research & Discovery
Iowa State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Chris Mallett, D.Phil.

Treasurer, FFAR Board of Directors
Retired, Corporate Vice President, Research and Development
Cargill, Inc.

Pam Marrone, Ph.D.

CEO and Founder
Chestnut Bio Advisors;
Co-founder & Executive Chair
Invasive Species Corporation

Ben Noble

Executive Vice President and COO
Riceland Foods, Inc.

Donald Nkrumah, MBA-Ph.D.

Senior Program Officer, Animal Nutrition
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Stanley Prusiner, M.D.

Professor of Neurology and Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases
University of California, San Francisco

Danita Rodibaugh

Secretary, FFAR Board of Directors
Farmer, Rodibaugh & Sons

Polly Ruhland

Chief Executive Officer
United Soybean Board

Alton Thompson, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Association of 1890 Research Directors

Ex Officio Board Members

Tom Vilsack

Ex-Officio, Secretary of Agriculture

Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D.

Administrator
US Department of Agriculture-Research, Education,& Economics

Simon Malcomer, Ph.D.

Acting Assistant Director
Directorate for Biological Sciences
National Science Foundation

Dionne Toombs, Ph.D.

Acting Director
US Department of Agriculture- National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Simon Liu, Ph.D.

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Research Service
US Department of Agriculture

Founding and Emeritus Board Members