As the Chief Executive Officer of United Soybean Board, Polly Ruhland works on behalf of U.S. farmers to advance agriculture’s sustainability through farmer-funded research, education and promotion programs.
Prior to joining United Soybean Board, Ruhland served as vice president of planning and evaluation and then Chief Executive Officer at the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. She served as a senior vice president at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, where she led public relations and communications, membership, and corporate and affiliate relations. Early in her career, she was a journalist and editor.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Colorado, Ruhland earned a master’s degree in agriculture from Colorado State University, where her research focused on agricultural education reform and strategic decision-making processes in agricultural cooperatives.
Ruhland served as chairperson of the Commodity Roundtable for Chief Executive Officers of Research and Promotion Programs for two years. Her interest in agriculture and environmental partnerships led her to serve on several community agricultural land-use boards, and as a volunteer for American Farmland Trust. For 13 years, she served as an ethics advisor and community representative on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for Professional Research Services Inc., in Ft. Collins, Colorado. During the same time frame, she served on the editorial board and as a writer for Winds of Change, the official publication of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
Ruhland was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship for International Leaders and is a Nuffield Scholar. She is a certified mediator and holds professional credentials in the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts.