Martin L. Andreas

Martin L. Andreas

Retired Assistant to the Chief Executive and
Director of Corporate Marketing
Archer Daniels Midland

Martin L. Andreas is Retired Assistant to the Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Marketing of the Archer Daniels Midland Company. With corporate offices in Decatur, Illinois, ADM is in the business of procuring, transporting, storing, processing and merchandising agricultural products. With consolidated net sales and other operating income amounting to over $36 billion, ADM is considered one of the world’s largest agricultural processors.
Mr. Andreas joined ADM in 1970 as Executive Vice President of Corn Sweeteners in Cedar Rapids. He served as President of the Corn Division from 1975 to 1986.

Mr. Andreas finds time for civic and business involvement by serving on the Board of Directors of the Corn Refiners Association, Renewable Fuels Association, American Sugar Alliance, the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, the Illinois Business Roundtable and Mt. Mercy College.

Gary Baise

Gary Baise

Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC, Washington, D.C.

Gary Baise currently serves with the law firm of Olsson, Frank, Weeda, Terman, Bode, and Matz PC. As the nation’s premier FDA, USDA, and health care law firm, serving clients before federal agencies, courts, and Congress, Olsson, Frank, Weeda, Terman, Bode, and Matz PC uses their background in government, medicine, and industry to create innovative solutions for clients in the food, pharmaceutical, medical device, and agricultural industries.

Mr. Baise is an undergraduate alumni of Western Illinois University and earned is J.D. from Indiana University. He as earned the Arthur S. Fleming Award thus identifying him as one of the top ten outstanding young men and women in the Federal Service. Mr. Baise maintains memberships in many organizations including: U.S. Supreme Court, Indiana Supreme Court,U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, American Bar Association, Chicago Club, District of Columbia Bar Association, Fairfax County Republican Committee, Indiana State Bar Association, Illinois Corn Growers, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Soybean Association, Metropolitan Club, Morgan-Cass Farm Bureau, National Press Club, and the Virginia Farm Bureau.
In addition to serving on the board of the IALF, he has served in various leadership capacities with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Attwoods, Inc., Chesapeake Bay – Citizens Advisory Committee, Farm Foundation (Trustee and former Chairman), Advisor to Ocean Spray Board of Directors, USDA Agricultural Air Quality Task Force, Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board (Chairman), Virginia State Water Control Board (Vice-Chairman), Virginia Waste Management Board. His publication record spans four decades.

Dan Kelley

Dan Kelley

Chairman of the Board & President
Growmark, Inc.

Daniel T. Kelley became chairman of the board and president of GROWMARK, Inc. September 1, 2000. He operates a 3,000-acre grain farm near Normal, Illinois in partnership with his two brothers.

He was elected to the GROWMARK Board in 1995 and served as one of two vice-chairmen from 1998 to 2000. Kelley has been a director of Evergreen FS, Inc., Bloomington, Illinois, since 1977, serving as president since 1985.

He was elected chairman of the ADM/GROWMARK Board on October 30, 2000. Kelley was named a director of Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation and began serving on the Illinois State University Alumni Board of Directors in 2002 currently serving as Vice President.

He was a board member of AgriBank FCB, St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1989 to 1996 and served as chairman from 1991-94. He chaired the merger steering committee forming AgriBank FCB in May 1992. Kelley also has served on the board of 1st Farm Credit Services, Bloomington, Illinois. He was a member of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Ag Council and served as the organization’s co-chairman for ten years. In 1990 he earned the Cooperative Leadership Award from the Illinois Cooperative Coordinating Committee.

In 1992 Kelley received the Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award from the Bloomington-Normal Ag Club. He is a 1984 graduate of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Program. Dan was chosen Director of the Year for his outstanding leadership abilities by the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives at their annual meeting in January, 2002.

Kelley is a 1970 graduate of Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He is active in his church. Dan and his wife, Pam, have two daughters and a son, and seven grandchildren.

Siamak (Mak) Mirhakimi

Siamak (Mak) Mirhakimi

Siamak (Mak) Mirhakimi is the General Manager of OEM Solutions Group with Caterpillar Inc. Mirhakimi began his career at Caterpillar in 1986 when he joined Caterpillar’s College Graduate Training (CGT) program. Beginning in 1987, he held a variety of positions ranging from Development Engineer to Supervising Engineer in the Electrical and Electronics Division in Mossville, Illinois. In 2000, Mirhakimi became the Industrial Sales Manager for the Europe-Africa-Middle East (EAME) Division, located in Geneva, Switzerland. He moved into his current position in March 2005. Mirhakimi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1984 and a Master of Science degree in 1986 from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Mak serves on two boards.

He is the Secretary of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board and serves on the Board of Firefly Inc.

Lynette L. Marshall

Lynette L. Marshall

Lynette L. Marshall became president of The University of Iowa Foundation in August 2006. In her first three years at Iowa, the
Foundation has experienced record performance and growth for people and programs throughout The University of Iowa. She has launched a number of initiatives, including a program to engage more UI students in philanthropy and volunteerism; efforts to involve more women in
philanthropic leadership; and a staff expansion based on increasing private support for all areas of the University.

A graduate of the University of Illinois and a longtime and senior fundraising professional there, Marshall earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 1992, is a member of several national fundraising organizations, and has taught development workshops nationally and internationally.

Marshall was reared on a fifth-generation family farm near Peoria, Illinois. She and her husband, Jeffery Ford, have two children: Michael is a junior in electrical and computer engineering and mathematics at the University of Illinois, with a minor in German; and Katharine is a junior at City High School in Iowa City.

Marshall and Ford enjoy providing leadership to several community organizations in the Iowa City area. She is a member of the Iowa City noon Rotary and serves on the World Service Committee, is a member of the 2008 Johnson County United Way Campaign Cabinet and Women’s Leadership Circle, and serves on the board of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation. Ford volunteered as a loaned executive with the Johnson County United Way in 2007; serves on the boards of Riverside Theatre, the Housing Fellowship, and is chair of the board of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City. Marshall and Ford have enjoyed hosting many foreign exchange students in their home, particularly through Rotary and 4-H.

Porter J. Martin

Porter J. Martin

Porter J. Martin, ALC, CIPS, is President of Martin, Goodrich & Waddell, Inc. in DeKalb, Illinois.

Martin, Goodrich & Waddell, Inc. specializes in the acquisition, sale, management, appraisal, and financing of agricultural properties in the Midwest and in California. Primary clients include financial service firms, government organizations, various institutions, individual investors, and all types of agricultural related businesses. Since the mid-1970s the firm has acquired and/or sold properties for individuals from fifteen foreign countries and more than half of the fifty states.

Martin attended Iowa State University and the University of Illinois from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Education and a Master’s Degree in Extension Education. He later earned an Agricultural Banking Degree from Iowa State University. Prior to going into private business, Martin served on the staff of the University of Illinois as a County Agricultural Extension Adviser. He later headed the Illinois segment of a national rural development program administered through a Presidential task force in Washington, DC. Martin also spent several years as a farm loan officer and as a farm manager and rural appraiser with the former DeKalb Bank in DeKalb, Illinois.

Martin has been a member of the London Farmers for more than twenty-five years and of the Chicago Farmers over thirty years, serving as President for two years. He is currently a board member of the American Land Foundation, and he holds the Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) designation from the Realtors Land Institute. In 1996, Martin was named Land Realtor of America. He was the 10th person in the world to receive the coveted Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation from the National Association of Realtors. He is currently serving as treasurer of the Illinois Ag Leadership Foundation. He and his wife, Sherrie, are Illinois farmland owners.

Don McGillivray

Don McGillivray, retired President of Funk Seeds International, now part of Syngenta Seeds, has spent his lifelong career in agriculture. He has been actively involved in the seed industry since joining Funk Seeds in 1950.

Don grew up on a farm near Muscatine, Iowa and attended public schools there where he was a member and held offices in both 4-H and FFA, receiving the State Farmer Degree in 1946. He graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agronomy. Upon graduation, he joined Funk Seeds International as a production supervisor at the company’s Belle Plaine, Iowa operation. After serving two years in the United States Army, he returned to Funk Seeds as a plant breeder – a position he held for several years.  He later became assistant manager and then manager of Funk’s Iowa-Minnesota-Wisconsin operations before transferring to Bloomington, Illinois in 1970 as manager of hybrid corn operations. In 1975, Don was promoted to Vice President of Operations for Funk and in 1982 became President. In July 1989, Don retired from Funk and continued with consulting activities in the seed industry and volunteers his time in other agricultural leadership related organizations.

Outside his career at Funk Seeds, Don has been active in a number of organizations. He is a Past President of the American Seed Trade Association (1988-89) and continues on its Board of Directors. He has also served as Chairman of the association’s Hybrid Corn and Sorghum Division and has been active on several committees. In 1996, Don was recognized for his service to the seed industry by being named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the American Seed Trade Association.  Don has served as a board member of the U.S. Feed Grains Council and a board member and Past President of the American Seed Research Foundation. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation since 1984, serving as Chairman from 1990 to 2000. Since 1997, Don has also served as a director of the Illinois State 4-H Foundation.

In his home community of Bloomington, Illinois, Don is active in First United Methodist Church, Normal Illinois, is a member of the Bloomington Exchange Club and past president of the BroMenn Hospital Advisory Council. He has served on the Illinois Wesleyan University Associates Board and currently is an Adjunct Professor of Illinois State University through its Senior Professionals Program.

Don and his wife, Betty, have two daughters, Ann Barsch of Fredericksburg, Texas and Jean Pitts of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

Orion Samuelson

Orion Samuelson

Orion Samuelson is heard 6 days a week on WGN Radio in Chicago, where he has served as Agribusiness Director since 1960. Orion and his associate, Max Armstrong, present 16 agricultural reports daily on the station. Orion is also heard daily on 260 radio stations with his syndicated National Farm Report and on 110 stations with his syndicated Samuelson Sez. Orion and Max are seen weekly on RFD-TV as co-hosts of This Week in Agri-Business.

Orion’s life long commitment to agriculture has been recognized by organizations in all segments of agri-business. In 1998, the American Farm Bureau Federation honored Orion and Senator Bob Dole with the AFBF Distinguished Service Award. In 1997, Illinois Governor Jim Edgar renamed the State Fair Junior Livestock Building the Orion Samuelson Junior Livestock Building as a tribute to Orion’s four decades of service to the agricultural youth of Illinois. In 2001 the University of Illinois conferred Orion with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters; and in 2003, Orion received the highest award in the radio industry when he became the first Agribusiness Broadcaster to be inducted into the National Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Hall of Famer Paul Harvey presented the award to Orion on the national radio broadcast hosted by Larry King.

Orion is also in the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame, the National 4-H Hall of Fame, the Illinois Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Orion has traveled with his television crew to 43 countries to cover agriculture; four of his trips were official agricultural trade missions with the Secretary of Agriculture. During his 1989 trip to Taiwan, Orion was presented the International Communicator of the Year Award by the President of the Republic of China.

Orion is active outside broadcasting. He is Vice Chairman of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, a member of the Farm Foundation Bennett Round Table, a member of the Board of the Agriculture Future of America, a member of the Board of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, a member of the Board of Directors of the Foods Resource Bank, a Trustee of the Cornerstone Foundation of Lutheran Social Services in Illinois and a newly-named member of the Board of Trustees of the National 4-H Council.

Enid Schlipf

Enid Schlipf

Marc S. Schulman

Marc S. Schulman

Marc S. Schulman is President of the country’s largest specialty cheesecake bakery – The Eli’s Cheesecake Company, located on the northwest side of Chicago. Eli’s home is Eli’s Cheesecake World, the 62,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art bakery, visitors’ center, retail store, dessert café, and corporate headquarters. The company has numerous awards including being named as mid-size bakery of the year by Bakery Production and Marketing Magazine , as a Quality Leadership Award from Modern Baking Magazine and was named the country’s top food tour by “Top 5” on the Food Network.

The cheesecake was invented by Schulman’s late father, Eli Schulman, as the signature dessert for his popular Chicago restaurant Eli’s the Place for Steak. The now famous dessert was merely a local delight until 1984 when the younger Schulman put his rising legal career on hold to take over the cheesecake company. Eli’s now produces over 20,000 cheesecakes per day! In fact, the Chicago Tribune named Eli’s Cheesecake as one of the City’s best known food brands in its 150 year commemorative issue and the Sun Times named Eli’s as one of the 10 Chicago Food Icons.

Schulman is committed to empowering Eli’s people through educational opportunities. Eli’s has worked in cooperation with its neighboring institution, Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago to create “Eli’s U.,” a GED classroom on-site at Eli’s, which attracted a visit from President Bill Clinton. Eli’s and Wright maintain an educational and community partnership that includes a series of classes for Eli’s associates in areas ranging from food safety to business writing. Eli’s and Wright jointly sponsor a weekly farmer’s market during the summer. Schulman currently serves as Chairman of the Wright College Business Advisory Council.

Schulman and Eli’s are also committed to supporting the Chicago Public Schools. Schulman is a long time supporter of the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and is Co-Chair of its Business Advisory Board. This past summer, Wright College and Eli’s jointly sponsored a Summer Sustainable Agriculture Summer Program for CHSAS students. In recognition of his contributions to agricultural education in Illinois, Schulman has been awarded an Honorary State FFA Degree and received the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education Excellence Award for Contribution in the Area of Agribusiness.

Eli’s also maintains partnership relationships with Jacqueline Vaughn High School, a public high school for students with mild cognitive disabilities, and the New Horizons Center for the Developmentally Disabled, which has just opened a new facility directly west of the Eli’s bakery.

Schulman has been a life-long booster of Chicago and its cultural resources. He was appointed as Board member of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency by former Governor James R. Thompson and has been a docent for the Chicago Architectural Foundation and a Vice President and Director of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. He also served on a taskforce jointly appointed by Governor George Ryan and Mayor Richard M. Daley, to provide a plan for the reuse of the Pullman factory.

Schulman is a past President of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association and was the founding chairman of the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, an event initiated by the GNMAA, which has become one of the country’s premier holiday festivals. He currently serves on the Board of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, the Illinois Council on Economic Education, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Happiness Club.

In 1999 Schulman was named as the first winner of the Chicago Visitor’s Choice Award for Visitor Marketing. He has also been named one of 10 Outstanding Young Citizens by the Chicago Junior Association of Commerce and Industry for his business and civic achievements, as well as being named as one of the first “40 under 40” by “Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine.” In recognition of his work in economic development, he received the “Norby Award” from the North Business and Industry Council. He was named as Portage Park Business Person of the year and named as a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Denver.

Schulman spearheaded the campaign to create the Eli M. Schulman Playground in memory of his father and to reconstruct Seneca Park, located on the near north side of Chicago, directly across the Museum of Contemporary Art. For his work, Schulman received a Park Stewardship Award from Friends of the Park, as well as a City Brightener Award from the Bright New City Foundation.

Schulman is a graduate of Northwestern University Law School and the University of Denver. He and his wife, Maureen, have three children and live on the near north side of Chicago.

Ron Warfield

Ron Warfield

Ronald R. Warfield, a farmer from Gibson City, was elected as the 13th President of the Illinois Farm Bureau and served as full-time executive officer from 1993 to 2003. He was president of the companies that make up COUNTRY Insurance and Financial Services, Illinois Agricultural Service Company, AgriVisor Services, Inc., and the IAA Foundation. He also served on the Coordinating Committee of GROWMARK, Inc.

He was elected in January 1996 to the Board of Directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation and was appointed to the AFBF Board Executive Committee in January 2000. He serves as Chairman of the AFBF Trade Advisory Committee, and Vice Chairman of the AFBF Agricultural Policy Study Project. He has served on the AFBF Livestock Industry Task Force, the AFBF Structure Task Force, the AFBF Food Quality Protection Act Working Group, and the AFBF Farm Policy Committee.

Warfield presently serves as Chairman of the USDA National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education & Economics Advisory Board. He was elected to the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation board of directors in 2003.

In February 1998, he was appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Property Tax Reform created to focus on reducing the property tax burden for schools. Warfield previously served on the Illinois Commission on Education Funding, the Illinois River Strategy Team, the National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board, and the Board of Agricultural Advisors for the State of Illinois.

Warfield received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois and has served on the University’s Ag Alumni Board. He served as corporate economic analyst for soybean meal sales, and director of economic research, for Central Soya, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, before returning to the family farm in 1973.

Warfield was President of the Ford-Iroquois Farm Bureau. In preparation for 1996 Farm Bill deliberations, he served on IFB’s Ag Policy 2000 committee, as chairman of the environmental subcommittee, and he was the originator of Farm Bureau’s CHIEF (Changing How Illinois Education is Financed) program. Warfield was a member of the first class to graduate from the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program, and was named a Master Farmer in 1992 by Prairie Farmer magazine.

Warfield has traveled extensively internationally, discussing trade policies and promoting agriculture—including an AFBF trade mission to China and Southeast Asia, Brazil and Argentina, and Cuba.

Ron and his wife, Melanie, have three children, farm 1,850 acres of corn and soybeans, and previously marketed 1,000 head of cattle each year. They are members of the First Christian Church.

Richard O. Ryan

Richard O. Ryan

Richard Ryan is a consultant in the agricultural and seed industry having retired from Monsanto in early 2002 after 23 years of employment in senior management positions with DEKALB Genetics Corporation in DeKalb, Illinois and Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Raised on a farm near Mount Sterling, Illinois, Rich was educated and received degrees from Quincy College (B.S. Accounting/Finance), the University of Chicago (M.B.A.), and Stanford University (M.A. Economics). Rich served in the U.S. Army as a Finance Officer in Vietnam and following military service held financial management positions with Armour and Company (Financial Analysis) and the Chicago Board of Trade (Controller/Treasurer) in Chicago prior to joining DEKALB Genetics Corporation in 1979 in DeKalb, Illinois.

Rich’s initial duties at DEKALB Genetics involved mergers and acquisitions and later held senior management positions including Group Vice President, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and was named President and Chief Operating Officer in 1990 for this agricultural genetics enterprise having global operations. Following the acquisition of DEKALB by Monsanto in late 1998, Rich was named Vice President and Co-Lead of the Global Product Management reporting to the President and COO for the coordination and optimization of Monsanto’s newly acquired seed businesses.

Charles P. Carey

Charles P. Carey

Vice Chairman, CME Group

Charles P. Carey is vice chairman of CME Group, a company formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Today, CME Group is the largest derivatives exchange in the world, with operations in more than 85 countries.

Earlier, Carey was chairman of the CBOT, the third largest U.S. exchange, from 2003 until assuming his current position at CME Group in July 2007. Previously, he served on the CBOT board of directors for eleven years in various roles, including vice chairman, first vice chairman and full member director. An independent futures trader, Carey became a member of CBOT in 1978 and is a partner in the firm Henning and Carey.

In addition to a leading role in the 2007 merger, Carey spearheaded the transformation of CBOT – a member run institution for more than 155 years – into a for-profit, NYSE-listed public company in 2005.

Carey has received a number of civic, industry and community service awards. In 2007, he was presented with the Oak Park and River Forest High School Tradition of Excellence Award and earlier that year with the Western Illinois University Distinguished Alumni Award for his business and professional accomplishments. Other awards include the Rerum Novarum Award from St. Joseph College Seminary, Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, and the Gold Medallion Award from the International Visitors Center of Chicago. In addition, Carey is president of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, an organization that is very active in providing scholarships for underprivileged youths.

A lifelong resident of Chicago, Carey received a B.A. degree in business administration from Western Illinois University.

John L. Houston

John L. Houston

Retired Executive Vice President
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

John L. Huston retired as executive vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association after 32 years of service.

Huston joined the beef industry team in 1967 as assistant secretary of the Beef Industry Council of the National Live Stock and Meat Board. He was named vice president of the Meat Board in 1969 and took a leave to the National Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) in 1978 to serve as executive director of the Beeferendum. In 1980, following the campaign, he was appointed president of the Meat Board and continued in that position until 1996 when the Meat Board and NCA consolidated.

On February 1, 1996, the Meat Board and NCA joined operations to form the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a consumer-driven, producer-directed organization representing all segments of the industry. NCBA, for the first time, brought together, under a unified plan and budget, membership trade functions and checkoff-funded consumer marketing programs.

As leader of the Consumer Marketing Center for NCBA, Huston urged his team to be proactive and think globally. He believes, to increase U.S. and international beef markets, the industry must: 1) identify consumer segments; 2) define needs and trends for each segment; 3) aggressively develop new products that meet the needs of today’s consumers; and 4) promote and differentiate beef’s advantages over the competition.

Since retiring, Huston has served as an advisor to Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, and made marketing presentations at two World Meat Congresses, plus several regional conferences.

A native of Roseville, Illinois, Huston grew up on a general livestock and grain farm. He has a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education with an Animal Science option from the University of Illinois and received the Coultas Memorial Award as the College of Agriculture’s outstanding senior. John was inducted into the International Stockmen’s Hall of Fame and named Agri-Marketer of the Year in 1995 by the Chicago Chapter of NAMA.

Huston currently serves as board member of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, director of Extension Partners, delegate to the national Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching. He served in 1996 as chair of the Chancellor’s Commission for University of Illinois Extension and currently serves as director, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association. Huston has also served as a director of the National Farm-City Council, the Livestock Conservation Institute, chairman of the Illinois 4-H Foundation, and Director of the International Meat Secretariat.

Numerous groups have recognized Huston’s leadership and contributions to the livestock and meat industry, including the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) prestigious Meat Industry Advancement Award, the Hall of Merit Award for Public Affairs by the American Polled Hereford Association, the National 4-H Alumni Award, the Epsilon Sigma Phi Extension Award, the Special Recognition Award by the American Meat Science Association, the Award of Merit by the University of Illinois Alumni Association, and “Friend of Agriculture” award by the Illinois Extension Agriculture Association.

Kim Morton

Kim Morton

Director of Development
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences

Kim Morton has been serving as the Chicago based Director of Development for the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences since 2003. Prior to that she was the first Northeastern Illinois Legislative Coordinator for the Illinois Farm Bureau, a role created to lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly from Cook and the collar counties who may have little, if any, familiarity with production agriculture. She was a farm manager with The Northern Trust Company from 1984-2001, working with trusts & estates which owned farmland or timber. This position provided the opportunity to work in 22 states. During this time, she became the second woman in the nation to receive the Accredited Farm Manager designation and she was a member of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Class of 1998.

A native of Taylorville, Ill, where she still owns the small family farm, she graduated from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture in 1982 with her bachelors in agricultural economics and received her MBA from DePaul University in 1990. She has long been involved with The Chicago Farmers as a director and sits on the Cook County Farm Bureau Public Policy Committee. She retains a membership in the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers. She and her husband, Ron, live in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago.