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.

After graduation, I joined a precision agriculture equipment manufacturer's early career program, and eventually joined the business's North American sales team. In November of 2024, I started my role as VP of Operations at Contango, Inc. We're an early stage software company building tools for cash commodity traders. I've always been interested in both commodity markets and technology, so this has been the perfect way to stay engaged with both. My current role is a mix of customer success, sales, and product management.

Since starting my career, I've focused on continual growth and learning, earning my master's in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University and my MBA from Indiana University. Outside of my professional role, I stay involved in production ag through my husband and my cow-calf operation, and give back through volunteering on the Wyoming FFA Foundation Board.

Describe your AFA experience as a student.

As a student, I attended Leaders Conference for Tracks 2, 3, and 4. Each year when I arrived in Kansas City, I was immediately overwhelmed by the buzz of opportunity. It was incredible to connect with students from other universities who shared similar interests, yet came from wildly different backgrounds, and to share a seat at the table with industry professionals in interesting roles. In the best way, AFA made the world feel both ultra-connected and wide open.

My AFA experience gave me a network of peers to lean on throughout the ebbs and flows of college, early career, and beyond. It helped me realize that careers aren’t linear, and it gave me the confidence to take calculated risks. It’s been over a decade since I heard the body language session in Track 2, and I know I’m not the only one who still thinks about it when I walk into meeting rooms today. That kind of lasting impact is what made attending AFA as a student so valuable.

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

Student involvement with AFA taught me the power of following up. Everyone who’s attended Leaders Conference knows that it’s filled with endless networking opportunities, and the value of the connections made extends long after the event.

Following up with fellow students and industry professionals after the conference was the first step in turning otherwise brief introductions into lasting professional relationships and opening doors that would’ve otherwise remained closed. Peers from other universities became friends and colleagues, industry professionals became mentors and hiring managers, and, as I’ve engaged as an alum, connecting with students at Leaders Conference has created opportunities to give back.

Thanks to AFA, following up to build lasting connections has become a habit. In my professional life, that habit has helped me stay engaged with customers, build strong working relationships, and connect with new opportunities for growth and development.

Finish this sentence: Because of AFA, I…

let go of the idea that a career in ag has to fit into a predefined mold. It helped me understand that there are many ways to build a meaningful career, and that the most rewarding opportunities often come from being open to paths you might not have anticipated.