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| Chair Juelene Beck (2010) |
Chair Elect Pete Giacomini (2012) |
Past Chair Pete Kappelman (2008) |
| Term Ends Fall 2008 Richards Bruno Dirk Drost Susan Harrits Michael Lee James Thompson |
Term Ends Fall 2009 Cory Geiger Peter Jung Bill Oemichen |
Term Ends Fall 2010 |
| Term Ends Fall 2011 Bill Bruins George Siemon David Crass Peter Hanson John Vrieze |
Term Ends Fall 2012 | |
Juelene Sorensen Beck – is Executive Vice President, Brooks Food Group, Bedford, Virginia. Brooks Food Group is a specialty manufacturer of vegetable, cheese and poultry-based products, primarily for the chain restaurant industry. Until Fall 2004 Juelene was with CEO, North American Association of Subway® Franchisees (NAASF). Prior to joining NAASF, she was V.P., Burger King Corporation in Brand Strategy, R&D, and Supply Chain Management areas, and later V.P. Chain Restaurants for Sara Lee Corporation’s Coffee Division. Earlier in her career, she held management & marketing positions with Proctor & Gamble, Dunkin Donuts of America, and Arthur D. Little, Inc. Juelene has a Masters Degree in Food Science from the UW-Madison (1978), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry. She spent a year as a post-graduate research associate at MIT’s Department of Food Science (1979-80). She has authored several technical publications and co-author of several books.
Bill Bruins - Bill Bruins was elected to the WFBF Board of Directors in 1988 to represent District 5 on the board, which includes Juneau, Adams, Waushara, Marquette, Green Lake, Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties. Prior to being elected President, Bill served as the Board vice-president from 1997 until his election as president in 2003.
Bill is the general manager of his family’s dairy partnership. Homeland Dairy consists of milking 600 cows, and 1,300 acres of cropland.
Bill is the president of the Rural Mutual Insurance Board of Directors. He is a board member of the coordinating committee for the Wisconsin Agricultural Stewardship Initiative, and was appointed to the Governor Doyle’s Bio-based Industry Consortium in 2005. He is also a member of the Farm Bureau Life Board of Directors and serves on the Farm Bureau Life audit and budget committee.
He previously served as vice president of the Equity Cooperative Livestock Association, on the Wisconsin Beef Council Board, and on the UW-Platteville Environmental Farm Steering Committee.
Over the years bill has served on the National Rural Health and Safety Committee, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau dairy, resolutions, and rural health and safety committees and the American Farm Bureau Federation dairy advisory committee.
In Bill’s early years with Farm Bureau, he served as chairman of the Young Farmers Committee in 1978, and was the Farm Bureau’s Discussion Meet winner. Bill is a graduate of the UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course.
Bill and his wife Mary have six children and 16 grandchildren. Bill participated in a gospel quartet for many years.
S. Richards Bruno – S. Richards is president of Bruno Homes, a residential development and construction firm based in St. Louis, Mo. that is approaching its 25th anniversary. The native St. Louisan founded the company in 1981 after earning a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Architecture and land planning were Bruno’s core academic pursuits.
Bruno initially developed new condominiums in historic neighborhoods of St. Louis City. He successfully completed five such developments, totaling more than 150 for-sale units. One of them was named "Best New Multifamily Development" by the St. Louis Economic Development Corp. Bruno continued to expand and diversify, gradually shifting operations to suburban St. Louis County. His first endeavor was a master-planned community of 100 attached and detached residences that became a national award-winning project -- judged one of the Midwest’s best new residential developments by Professional Builder magazine and the subject of a cover story in Builder magazine. Since the mid-1990s, Bruno has focused on two affluent St. Louis suburbs, Clayton and Ladue. In that span, he has emerged as one of Clayton’s leading developers of custom residences, delivering more than 70 attached and detached homes valued from $700,000 to more than $1 million. At present, he is nearing completion of a three-building, 47-unit elevator condominium in Clayton.
In the civic realm, Bruno is president of the Missouri Home Builders Association (MHBA), an organization representing several thousand companies. It is his second term as MHBA president. He is also past president of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis. Additionally, Bruno is a 15-year member of the board and a life director of the National Association of Home Builders. Bruno lectures on planning and architectural topics at area universities and before various civic organizations. He is past chairman of the St. Louis Committee for the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Bruno and his wife, Jan, have one son, Andrew.
Michel Chartrain-
Michel earned his Ph.D from UW-Madison in 1986. Currently he serves as a
Distinguished Senior Investigator, Bioprocess R&D, at Merck Research Laboratories located in Rahway NJ.
Michel provides technical and scientific expertise in microbial and mammalian cell physiology and biochemistry to the Bioprocess Research group for application to recombinant proteins, vaccines, biotransformation, and secondary metabolites production processes. He leads a group that plans, designs, and implements advanced physiological/biochemical/process studies that fully support the development of productive, consistent, scaleable, and economical bioprocesses. He is also responsible for deliveries of Safety Assessment and Clinical Studies supplies while strictly adhering to cGMP guidelines.
Michel is currently chair the product development team for a therapeutic monoclonal antibody under clinical evaluation for the treatment of advanced cancers. Interact with clinical, regulatory affairs, marketing, and manufacturing groups in the planning coordinating and execution of team activities directed at the eventual product registration and launch.
Among his many academic and professional honors include:
Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Member of the US based correspondent group with the French Academie des Technologies (Paris)
Senior Editor (Americas) for J. of Bioscience and Bioengineering
Review board for Bioprocess International
Served on the University College London biocatalysis advisory committee
Instructed biocatalysis classes at University College London as Senior Visiting MBI (London, UK) Staff Member (1998, 1999, 2000).
Served as Expert Reviewer of the National Research Council of Canada Biotechnology program
Published over 70 papers and holds 20 US patents
Susan Crane - Susan joined We Energies 5 years ago. She is currently the Business Center Manager. The Business Center serves the many requests and information needs of a diverse Business Customer base. Her prior position was Agriculture Program Manager and PSC contact for Customer Generation. Before joining We Energies she was the Fluid Products Manager at Foremost Farms USA.
Susan holds a BS in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University and a MBA from Marquette University. Before a career change she was a Registered Nurse.
She is committed to the community, and especially the Dairy Industry. Active on multiple boards including currently serving as Acting Chair of the Wisconsin State Fair Park, WI 4-H Foundation and Town of Brighton Zoning and Planning Commission.
Susan along with her husband Bob continue to dairy farm with their family in Burlington, WI.
David Crass - David received both his law degree and bachelor's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the Managing Partner of Michael Best & Friedrich's Madison Office and also chairs the Firm's Agribusiness, Food Processing and Distribution Group. Mr. Crass served as Chair of the Firm’s Land and Resources Practice Group from 2003-2005 and is a leader in the Firm's Renewable Energy practice. He focuses his practice primarily in the areas of environmental/regulatory law, land use, agricultural and food industries and renewable energy project development. Mr. Crass has represented clients in a number of multi-party environmental remediation sites including state and federal-lead hazardous waste sites, manufactured gas plant waste sites, impacted sediment cleanups, emergency spill response and removal actions. Mr. Crass has litigation experience in administrative contested case hearings, civil toxic tort defense, contribution actions, government enforcement defense, professional engineering malpractice and environmental insurance coverage litigation. On the transactional side, Mr. Crass has assisted both buyers and sellers in assessing environmental issues in real estate and corporate transactions, Brownfield redevelopments and insurance-backed liability transfers, and has also counseled lenders on various environmental issues. Mr. Crass has secured and negotiated federal, state and local approvals for a number of projects, including industrial facilities, renewable energy plants and livestock operations.
Dirk C. Drost – Dirk received his B.S. in Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. in Agronomy (minor: Botany) from the University of Wisconsin – completing his program in 1982. Dirk’s Ph.D. thesis work was conducted at the International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines. Dirk’s major professor at UW- Madison was Dr. Jerry Doll.
Dirk has been employed in the Agribusiness Industry since 1982. He began his career with Stauffer Chemical Company and subsequently worked with ICI Americas, Zeneca Ag Products, and Syngenta Crop Protection. Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. He has had leadership roles in Research & Development, Marketing, Product Management, and Development Management/Administration. Dirk’s current role is Head, Development Planning Department, Syngenta Crop Protection. In this role he is accountable for planning, resourcing, and portfolio management for all product development projects in the US. In this role he established and implemented processes to collect and evaluate ideas, propose and resource projects, set priorities, propose budgets, fund work programs, coordinate programs with internal and external suppliers, monitor and report results.
Dirk’s leadership skills include a vision of how land grant universities and industry can partner to meet the present and future needs of their stakeholders and clients. His experience includes cooperation and partnership with external stakeholders to leverage support and resources for specialty crop production. His management experience includes: coaching and mentoring direct reports who lead cross-functional work teams totalling more than 200 people; leading implementation teams for key initiatives that support the development and maintenance of crop protection tools for growers and grower groups. Dirk and his family reside in High Point, NC.
Corey A. Geiger – Since June 1995, Geiger has been associate editor of Hoards Dairyman. The magazine, founded by former Wisconsin Governor W.D. Hoard, reaches 74,000 U.S. subscribers, 4,000 Canadian subscribers, and 1,400 readers in 82 international countries. A Spanish and Japanese version are also produced by W.D. Hoard and Sons Company. Geiger has traveled to dairy farms or attended meetings in 43 states while covering the dairy industry. He’s also traveled to Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand and has given presentations in seven
states and two countries.
Geiger serves on the Holstein Foundations Young Dairy Leaders Institute Advisory Committee, is Assistant Superintendent for the National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, and serves on the executive board of directors for National Dairy Shrine (17,800 members) and the Wisconsin Holstein Association (5,000 members). He also is President of the Wisconsin Holstein Association and Adult Advisor for the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association. He is editor of the Iota Crescent for Alpha Gamma Rho and serves on the Iota Educational Foundation. He is also an instructor at the University of Wisconsin Badger Dairy Camp (a three-day summer camp for dairy youth from across the Upper Midwest) and is Secretary-Treasurer of the Klussendorf Association, the Hall of Fame of dairy cattle show exhibitors. Recently, Geiger coordinated a joint effort between Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin which resulted in a three-state Holstein publication with 101 pages of advertising.
In December 1995, Geiger graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a dual major in agricultural economics and dairy science. At Wisconsin, he served as president of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity and vice-president of the Badger Dairy Club. He was elected the 1995 University of Wisconsin-Madison senior class secretary and spoke at the university’s commencement ceremonies. At graduation, he received the Most Active Aggie Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Geiger is a part-owner of his family farm which dates back to 1867 in Reedsville, Wis., and works about a week each month on the 346-acre farm. The Johnes-free Holstein herd averages 23,700 M, and has maintained a herd SCC under 100,000 for the past 10 years. The Geiger family has bred two cows that have produced over 340,000 pounds lifetime, one of which ranks in the All-Time Top Ten for U.S. Lifetime Milk Production.
Peter D. Giacomini – Pete is Chief Operating Officer of AgSource Cooperative Services a subsidiary of Cooperative Resources International. The 200 employees of AgSource serve over 6,000 producer members, primarily in Wisconsin. Headquartered in Verona, the Cooperative provides Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) field service, milk analysis and dairy records processing to its members. AgSource also operates four laboratories, three in Wisconsin and one in Iowa, offering broad based agronomic, environmental and food testing services including soil, forages, water, wastewater, manure and finished product pathogens.
AgSource was one of the founding organizations forming Cooperative Resources International in 1993, the nation’s first and largest holding company for cooperatives. CRI’s corporate headquarters are in Shawano, Wisconsin. Other CRI subsidiaries are Genex Cooperative and Central Livestock Association headquartered in Shawano and in South St. Paul, Minnesota, respectively. Collectively, CRI subsidiaries have over 35,000 member-patrons nationwide and marketed products and services in 55 countries in 2004. Total sales for CRI in 2004 were $105 million. CRI and its three subsidiaries are governed by boards of directors comprised of active agricultural producers.
Giacomini was raised on a dairy farm on the north coast of California. He holds a B.S. degree in Dairy Science and Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently serves as Board Chairman of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives. In the past he has served on numerous other boards and advisory councils including the National Council on Agricultural Research Extension and Teaching (CARET), the UW Center for Dairy Profitability, UW-Madison Department of Dairy Science, Wisconsin DATCP Dairy Advisory Committee, Wisconsin DPI Agricultural Education Advisory Committee and United Way of Dane County.
Susan M. Harrits – Susan is currently Vice President of Process Control Improvement and R & D for Patrick Cudahy Incorporated. Prior to being appointed to this position in early 2006, Susan was the Vice President for Manufacturing/Operations. She started with Patrick Cudahy 25 years ago as the Chief Microbiologist, moving to Product Development Coordinator (R&D) and then to Quality Assurance Manager. She is a member of the ASM (American Society of Microbiology), IFT (Institute of Food Technologists), and the AMI (American Meat Institute). She is a member of AMI Scientific Affairs Committee. She holds a B.S. from Carroll College and M.S. in Bacteriology from UW-Madison.
Peter Hanson - Peter is the Head of Pharmaceutical R&D at Merial in Duluth, GA. Merial is an innovation-driven leader in the provision of products and solutions which enhance the health, well-being, and performance of animals. In his current role, Peter provides leadership for the discovery, product development, chemical development, and pharmacokinetics groups. Previous roles included project leader for programs that gained worldwide approval of new medications for dogs and horses. One of these was named best new product – equine at the 2006 Animal Pharm Awards in London. Peter started his career as a veterinarian in private practice in Minnesota. He has published numerous manuscripts, is an inventor on several patents, and has presented at conferences in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan.
Peter received his B.A. in biology (1985) and D.V.M. (1989) from the University of Minnesota. He completed a residency in large animal surgery (1993), M.S. in veterinary science (1994), and Ph.D. in veterinary science (1997) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Elizabeth Henry - Bio to be posted soon.
Peter Jung – Peter is president of Jung Seed Genetics, Inc., Randolph, WI. He was past senior vice president of J. W. Jung Seed Company (former parent of Jung Seed Genetics). In 1997 Jung Seed Genetics, Inc. became an independent company. Jung Seed Genetics, Inc. is a third generation, family owned regional seed company marketing farm seeds in the upper Midwest and will be celebrating 100 years in the seed business in 2007. Peter earned is BS in Agricultural Business Management from UW-Madison in 1981. He is active in the American Seed Trade Association and the Independent Professional Seedsmen Association serving on their board and as its president in 2002. He was also chairman of the National Seed Credit Association in 1989. Peter and his wife Cherly reside in Beaver Dam and have one son.
Peter J. Kappelman – Pete with his brother John, own and operates a 400-cow family dairy farm near Two Rivers. They crop 850 acres of land, growing forages and grain crops to provide feed for the herd. Peter serves on the Land O’Lakes Corporate Board as Chairman; Board of Directors National Milk Producers Federation and is past president of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin. He is an honors graduate of the UW-Madison with a B.S. degree in dairy science. Among his awards are Honorary Recognition from CALS, Wisconsin Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer, Wisconsin Dairy Farm Family of the Year, and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farmer Award.
Michael Lee – Michael is Manager, Golf Course Maintenance at Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits Golf Courses. Michael Lee joined Kohler Co. as Blackwolf Run Golf Course Superintendent in 1993. He supervised the course conditioning during the 1998 U.S. Women's Open held at Blackwolf Run. In 1999, he was promoted to oversee golf course maintenance at both Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits. He supervised the golf course preparations for the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a degree in soil science, specializing in turf and grounds management. His golf course experience includes five years as assistant superintendent for Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wis., and five years with Blackhawk Country Club in Madison, Wis. He also worked for the U.W.-Madison plant pathology department. Michael is a native of Madison, Wisconsin and currently resides in Kohler with his wife Nancy and four daughters.
Bill Oemichen – Bill is the President & CEO of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and Minnesota Association of Cooperatives, a two-state trade association of more than 800 member-owned businesses, and has been with the two organizations since September 11, 2001. Oemichen also serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the Audit Committee of GreenStone FCS, a $4.4 billion Farm Credit cooperative headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan. Oemichen is a member of the Farm Credit Council Services, Inc. Board of Directors, a for-profit company headquartered in Denver, Colorado and serves on the Board's Audit Committee. He also serves on the Board of the Monroe Hospital and Clinics and serves as the Board Treasurer. Oemichen recently completed his service as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of the Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin.
Oemichen served as Wisconsin’s top Consumer Protection official in the Administration of Governor Tommy G. Thompson (1996-2001) and his work has been featured on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and many other major U.S. daily newspapers, as well as on the CBS Evening News, Dateline NBC and ABC 20/20. Oemichen also served as Executive Assistant, Assistant and Deputy Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner in the administrations of former Governors Arne Carlson and Rudy Perpich (1989-1996). In this position, he led the Department’s role in determining the cause of Salmonella Enteritidis in Schwan’s Ice Cream and authored a study of the investigation in the International Journal of Food and Drug Officials. Oemichen also practiced cooperative, antitrust, accountant malpractice law at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Cirisi in Minneapolis (1986-1989).
Oemichen currently serves on the State College Program Savings Board (appointed by Governor Jim Doyle in 2004) and serves on the Cooperative Relations Committee of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). He also serves as Board Secretary of the Energy Center of Wisconsin and as a member of the Governor's Global Warming Task Force. Oemichen was elected to four terms on the Saint Croix County Board of Supervisors and chaired a number of county committees, as well as the Tax and Finance Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Counties Association. Oemichen He has also served on numerous village and town commissions.
Oemichen is currently the CALS Board of Visitors representative on the newly created UW-Madison Chancellor's Board of Advisors.
Oemichen received his B.A. in Economics from Carleton College (1982) and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Oemichen served as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Policy and also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University’s School of Population and Clinical Sciences.
Oemichen, his wife Mary Anne, and two children, live in New Glarus, Wisconsin.
George Siemon - In 1988 George Siemon joined a half-dozen neighboring family farmers to found the Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools (CROPP), known more familiarly as Organic Valley® Family of Farms. Under George's leadership as CEO, Organic Valley has grown to include more than 1200 family farms spread over 32 states in the US, and has become the largest organic farmers' cooperative in North America.
George embodies a dynamic confluence of pragmatic farmer ethos, savvy business acumen and an idealistic ‘back to the land’ pioneering spirit. He champions a system of farming that supports family farms and revitalizes rural communities, defends the ethical and humane treatment of farm animals, benefits the environment, and provides consumers with high-quality organic food.
George and his family have owned and operated an organic farm since 1977. His farm is located in one of the many beautiful valleys of the Driftless Region of Southwest Wisconsin. Organic Valley World Headquarters is based in nearby Lafarge Wisconsin – population 775. For more information, please go to http://www.organicvalley.coop/
Brad Taylor - Brad Taylor is a former investment banker, retiring from Babcock & Brown’s Hong Kong office in 1998. Born and raised in Rhinelander, WI, Brad was a high school state champion swimmer in two events in 1964. While at UW-Madison, he earned “W’s” over three years as a varsity swimmer and was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
Brad graduated with a BBA, with honors, from UW-Madison in 1968 and from Indiana University-Bloomington with an MBA, with honors, in 1970.
A former Treasurer and Director of his family’s company, the Rhinelander Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Brad worked in New York, Caracas, San Francisco and Hong Kong for Citibank, American Express Bank, Combustion Engineering/Asea Brown Boveri and Babcock & Brown in international banking and project finance. Brad and his wife, Fran, managed to keep their finance careers progressing in each of their five home moves.
Brad has been a trustee of several schools - including the Montessori School and Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, New York and the Convent of the Sacred Heart Schools in San Francisco, CA – and a member of the selection committees to replace headmasters at the latter two schools.
Since retirement, he’s authored Wisconsin Where They Row (UW Press, 2005) and The Family Joke Book (Sunstone Press, 2000). Brad is the founder, board member and Secretary of Friends of UW Men’s Crew, Inc., a 501( c)(3) charity which generates program - and endowment funds at the UW Foundation - in support of this oldest UW varsity sport.
Brad and Fran have two children - Kate, a graduate from Boston University, and John, a rower at and graduate from UW..
James T. Thompson – Jim retired in April 2007 as the Executive Vice President of The Mosaic Company, which was formed in October 2004. Thompson oversees all global commercial activities for Mosaic, including sales, marketing, distribution, logistics, supply chain management, risk management and pricing activities for all products, brands and channels. Thompson serves as chairman of Saskferco Products Inc., PhosChem, Canpotex, and as a director of the Potash and Phosphate Institute. Prior to joining The Mosaic Company, Thompson was president of Cargill Steel. Thompson joined Cargill in 1974 as a trainee before moving to C. Tennant, Sons & Co., where he became vice president in 1981. In 1986 he was named vice president of Cargill Ferrous International in London. He subsequently held leadership positions in North Star Steel and was named executive vice president of Cargill Steel in 1994. Thompson has a B.S. in business and agricultural economics from UW-Madison.
John Vrieze - John Vrieze is the third generation owner of Vrieze Farms Inc. a Century Farm Award winner in 2007. Baldwin Dairy, Inc. started operations in 1997 and is currently milking 1,050 cows. John is also the co-owner at Emerald Dairy, LLC which was built in 1999 and is milking 1,200 cows. The Transition Management Facility houses 450 dry and fresh cows and springing heifers from the home dairies and is also co-owned by John. The involvement of the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine since 2001 has allowed students to train in this facility with the professors on site with access to 2,700 cattle and the history of the herds.
In 2007 a new calf farm was created to house all heifers from birth to 400 pounds. Calf-A-Now houses 500 replacement heifers for the two milking facilities.
John became involved with the agricultural development in Russia in 1990. His interest began with marketing embryos to improve their milking herds and has expanded to owning a minority interest in two dairy operations while consulting on three others.
Dairy Business Association, Inc. was formed in 2000 to develop strategic plans to allow the growth of dairies in Wisconsin. John was the president since the organization began until December, 2007.
Since 2004 John has served on the Board of Directors for Agri-Waste Energy. This company is developing a system to convert biogas at Emerald Dairy into Natural Gas to be injected into the Natural Gas Pipeline in Baldwin, WI.
John also currently serves on the Governor’s Climate Change Task Force.