I grew up on my family’s dairy farm in Watertown, Wisconsin and now live in Omaha, Nebraska where I work for Union Pacific Railroad as a marketing manager for export grain. In this role, I lead pricing and strategy for export grain, helping move corn, soybeans, and milo from origin to global markets. Prior to this position, I was a sales manager on our grain products team working with soybean crush and ethanol accounts.

I grew up in Oak Harbor, Ohio, where I spent much of my time raising lambs and looking for any opportunity to ride along with my grandpa on his row crop operation. Those experiences sparked my passion for agriculture and ultimately led me to Ohio State ATI.

I am Kate Maertens, and I’m honored to have been chosen as one of the 30 Voices in this campaign. AFA has brought many opportunities and friends into my life. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since I was selected as an AFA community scholar, and I’ve been connected to AFA ever since.

We have always had agriculture as part of our lives, from growing up on family farms to now raising our own family surrounded by it. We currently live near Cozad, Neb., where Mark recently began working for the Farmacy Seed and Chemical and I (Miranda) work from home for Angus Media. We both attended South Dakota State University.

I'm from southwestern Ohio, where I grew up on my family's corn and soybean farm. I went on to study Agribusiness and Applied Economics at Ohio State, and had various internships in commodity merchandising and ag lending during that time. From an early age, I knew I wanted to work in agriculture, but I didn't discover the variety of opportunities in ag technology until attending Leaders Conference as a first year student in 2015.

I am Kate Maertens, and I’m honored to have been chosen as one of the 30 Voices in this campaign. AFA has brought many opportunities and friends into my life. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since I was selected as an AFA community scholar, and I’ve been connected to AFA ever since.

I am Harrison VanDeWalle, a second-generation apple farmer living and working in Alton, NY, where I help run my family's vertically integrated apple farming operation, VanDeWalle Fruit Farm.

am Ashley Hagenow, and I currently work at CHS Inc. as a brand marketing specialist and reside in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. While I am originally from Wisconsin, I attended the University of Minnesota where I earned my undergraduate degree in Agricultural Communication and Marketing with minors in Animal Science and Agricultural and Food Business Management.

Eric Hansotia’s leadership story did not begin in a corporate company. It started on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin. Like many young people growing up in agriculture, he thought farming might be his future. Then he discovered engineering and became fascinated by solving problems, building things and finding better ways to get work done.

I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from Alabama A&M University. I currently participate in BASF’s Commercial Professional Development Program (PDP), where I am completing my final rotation before transitioning into a permanent role within the company. The program is designed to provide recent graduates with exposure to various areas of the business through rotational assignments. Throughout the program, I have gained experience in Business Operations, Sales & Marketing Enablement, and BASF’s Digital Farming business. These opportunities have allowed me to develop a broad understanding of the agriculture industry while building a strong commercial foundation.

Agriculture Future of America (AFA) will celebrate its annual Day of Giving on July 15, raising support for leadership development programs, scholarships, career-building experiences and student access to industry connections.

I am from the state of Michigan and currently live in a small town called Sebewaing in the "thumb" of Michigan. It's a quaint town where my wife grew up.

In agriculture, no one succeeds alone. That belief sits at the center of Devin Fuhrman’s work as Chief Agriculture and Sponsor Relations Officer at Nationwide. In his role, Devin helps build partnerships across the agriculture industry with organizations like Farm Bureau, FFA, 4-H, AFA, MANRRS and others.

I grew up in rural Iowa, where my involvement in 4-H first sparked my interest in leadership, communication, and the future of agriculture. That foundation continued at Iowa State, where I deepened my connection to agriculture and communications through a double major in Public Service and Administration in Agriculture and Journalism and Mass Communication. Those experiences began shaping the path that would eventually lead me to a career focused on helping move strategy into action.

I’m from the Quad Cities, Illinois, where I was an active member of my local and State FFA chapters and spent much of my time raising a small flock of sheep with my family while also helping with local row crop operations, a dairy goat farm, and wine grape production. I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I majored in Agricultural and Consumer Economics with a focus on Public Policy and Law, along with double minors in Communications and Leadership Studies.

I’m Kayla Bashore, and I currently live in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I work as a sustainability analyst for CHS, Inc. I earned my undergraduate degree in agricultural education and communication from the University of Florida, followed by an MBA concentrating in Marketing from NC State University.

Career growth is rarely a straight line. The Cultivating Leaders Webinar brought together Julie Sexton, Scott Kay and Marji Guyler-Alaniz to pull back the curtain on the career moments, mindset shifts and leadership lessons that shaped their journey to executive leadership.

Marji Guyler-Alani, Chief Operating Officer at AgriSompo, opens up the struggle of navigating self-identity when your career changes.

For many professionals, career growth can feel like a ladder: one promotion, one title change, one step up at a time.

For a lot of ambitious young professionals, the path to the top feels like it should be clear. Pick a lane. Become an expert. Get promoted. Keep climbing.