Describe how your background and qualifications would help you be an effective leader of AMSA.

I have had the opportunity throughout my career to serve in many capacities within AMSA as well as other industry and community service organizations. Notable among these are AMSA Director (2013-2016), Colorado Beef Council (2019-Current; Board Chair), Beef Industry Food Safety Council Executive Committee (2021-2023), Weld RE-9 Board of Education (2013-2021; President) among other advisory and service committees. My leadership strengths include critical thinking, creative problem solving, accountability, listening to understand and empathy. My experience on governing boards both within and outside of the meat industry has offered me the experience to lead organizations through a variety of opportunities and challenges. These include running successful voter bond funding campaigns, capital construction projects, COVID-19 and organizational and staff realignments. One constant among all these opportunities has been the need to navigate and solve problems while simultaneously balancing the constraints of limited financial and human resources. It is imperative that board members and leadership at all levels have an ability to gather and process the right data and information, use that information to make sound decisions and recommendations and most critically stand behind those decisions in the face of adversity.

What is your vision for AMSA in ten years?

Reflecting on the past 25 years that I have been a member of the American Meat Science Association, the focus and vision for the future of the association could have been many things. From a time when the financial security and stability of the organization was uncertain, to the explosive growth of student programing and membership and the establishment of a stand-alone foundation that will soon achieve its audacious goal of raising 5 million dollars for to ensure and sustain the future of the organization. The future opportunities I see for AMSA would closely align with core strategies of the organization of recruiting and developing the future of our discipline and industry and expanding the reach of the association and its membership internationally. While there are other core strategies, I feel that the path to achieving those is well paved and it is up to the board, staff, and membership to execute upon those plans. The future of this organization and countless others lies with the future members and leaders of the organization. Continued focus on converting student members to professional members, expanding the geographic reach of the membership, and expanding and fostering the international reach of the AMSA will define the organization in the next decade. In brief, I envision AMSA to be a financially self-sufficient organization that is recognized as the scientific authority on muscle-based foods with sustaining partners and active student and professional members that are uniformly distributed throughout the world and represent countries and geographies where animal sourced proteins are culturally, societally, and financially significant.