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.

The strong mentorship and enthusiasm of faculty members and my professors and led me to purse an internship in Washington, DC, where I moved after graduation to work as a Public Policy Intern for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). That experience gave me a love for advocacy and a deeper appreciation for the impact of public policy, both of which have shaped my career ever since.

Meaningful connections have been one of the most important parts of my journey, and I've found the most wonderful colleagues, mentors, and friends along the way - many of whom are AFA alumni! With their support, I’ve earned my Masters of Legal Studies (MLS) at American University's Washington College of Law, worked in private consulting focused on conservation and sustainability issues, international market development for U.S. ethanol, and now in regulatory affairs supporting farmers and rural communities as the Director of Economic and Policy Analysis at the Farm Credit Council.

I've been to over 30 countries, met countless incredible individuals, and become versed in connecting across cultures, but the most rewarding part of my career has been mentoring fifth grade girls in the Alexandria, Virginia, community. I'm a strong believer in the idea that you can't have a village if you're not willing to be a villager, and that dedication to excellence and service to others brings the most joy and fulfillment in life - both professionally and personally.

Describe your AFA experience as a student.

I first began my AFA experience as a collegiate scholarship recipient in 2015. As part of the award, I was sponsored to attend Track 1 of AFA’s Leaders Conference. I still remember receiving the email notifying me that I had been selected. I was outside training vines in the summer heat at the local vineyard. I felt both excited and intimidated - how was I supposed to go from something so small to something that felt so big.

Once I arrived, that anxiety quickly transformed into confidence and a stronger sense of self than I had ever experienced before. Since then, I’ve attended the advanced leadership tracks as well as the Crop Science and Policy Institutes.

How did your AFA student experience influence your career journey?

In addition to giving me confidence and strengthening my skills in writing, public speaking, networking, and leadership, AFA also broadened my perspective on the many career paths within agriculture. I originally entered the University of Illinois as a Crop Sciences major with a focus on plant pathology, and I attended the Crop Science institute looking forward to having a more hands-on experience in that field.

As someone from the Midwest, seeing the diversity of agriculture in California felt like something truly magical. I also saw the research and time in academia that it would take me to become a plant pathologist or breeder which gave me a real-life perspective in what my career in that field would look like.

After the Crop Science Institute, I attended the Policy Institute in Washington, DC, where I saw advocacy in action through conversations on Capitol Hill and discussions with industry leaders. This deepened my perspective on how policy shapes the future of agriculture and introduced me to a career path I had not considered before. Ultimately, I took a leap of faith and changed my major to Agricultural and Consumer Economics so I could focus more specifically on agricultural policy and law. Looking back, I credit that experience as one of the defining reasons I pursued a career in Washington, DC, and why I am where I am today.

At the time, what did AFA help you understand about yourself, your leadership style or your place in agriculture?

AFA helped me build confidence in myself and recognize the strengths and skills I already had to build on for future success. Although I was in college, what was different from other agricultural leadership experiences and organizations I had been a part of in the past was that AFA treated me like a professional, and all the speakers and panelists did the same. I felt respected and heard, and I gained an appreciation for what that feeling carried with it.

Now, as I return to AFA leadership conferences and institutes as a sponsor and speaker, I make sure to give that same sense of respect and encouragement back to others. Those experiences shaped the way I view leadership and the kind of supervisor and mentor I wanted to be. Leading with kindness, empathy, and understanding not only helps you grow as a person but also lifts up the people around you. As I like to say - your intern today could be your colleague tomorrow!

Was there a person, mentor, peer or industry professional you met through AFA who influenced your path? What impact did they have?

I've met so many memorable and impactful mentors and peers through AFA who have influenced my life and career path that it’s hard to choose just one. One of the most meaningful and honestly, probably the most humbling experiences happened at the very beginning of Track 1 during a resume review session. My resume was an absolute mess: over two pages long and filled with every accomplishment I could think of from high school, pieced together with help from my parents who did their best but had little idea of what a professional resume should look like. The woman reviewing my resume sat down with me and completely reshaped it. She helped me rethink the formatting, identify the experiences that truly mattered, and understand how to present myself professionally as someone just starting out with only retail and farmhand experience. It may seem like a small moment, but it gave me confidence and helped me realize that my background and experiences already had value.

In a more formal sense, the most memorable speaker throughout my AFA experience was California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross at the Crop Science Institute. Her personal story was inspiring, and her career path further motivated me toward my own future in agricultural policy and advocacy. A few years later, after I graduated and moved to Washington, DC, to intern for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), I met Secretary Ross at NASDA’s Spring Policy Conference. It genuinely felt like meeting a celebrity. I had the opportunity to speak with her at a reception and tell her how much her remarks at the AFA Institute had meant to me and the impact they had on my own career journey. We even took photos together that were later featured on her social media. It felt like a true full-circle moment and remains one of the most special experiences as a young professional.

What skill, mindset or lesson from AFA has been most useful in your professional life?

AFA helped me develop many of the skills and mindsets that I’ve carried throughout my professional life, but the most impactful has been the mindset that every challenge is an opportunity to learn. I believe that one of the most valuable qualities a person can have is the eagerness and willingness to learn. That mindset kept me from becoming discouraged as a college student and young professional, and it’s now one of the most important qualities I look for when hiring and advising others.

Rather than feeling intimidated by job descriptions or questioning whether I was “qualified enough,” I learned to pursue opportunities outside of my comfort zone. That shift in mindset also built a strong sense of self-confidence that employers recognized and valued. As a result, I was able to excel in those roles because I stopped seeing unfamiliar responsibilities as setbacks, I viewed them as exciting opportunities to expand my abilities and learn more about myself and how to work with those around me. I’ve continued to build that mindset throughout my life, and it has accelerated my career in ways I never could have anticipated. I take this all away with one simple piece advice: never be afraid to ask for what you want - the worst they can say is no.

In what ways do you stay connected or involved with AFA in your professional life? Why is that important to you?

Keeping connections is just as - if not even more important - that creating them, and I’ve stayed connected to AFA through serving as a panelist and roundtable speaker at Policy Institutes, as well as reviewing and scoring essay submissions for various leadership tracks and programs. I also continue to stay in touch with many AFA alumni, meeting in person whenever I have the opportunity. I mentor and support students I’ve met through the organization to help them explore job opportunities and educational pathways, and I’m equally grateful that my employer, the Farm Credit Council, recognizes the value of AFA in the future of agriculture and supports AFA’s programs as a sponsor.

Finish this sentence: Because of AFA, I…

I found the confidence to step into opportunities I once thought were out of reach, the clarity to pursue a career in agricultural policy in Washington, DC, and a lifelong commitment to leading with empathy, curiosity, and service to others.