NEWTRIENT - Key Persons
Barbara O'Brien has more than 20 years of experience working on behalf of America's 31,000 dairy farmers and dairy importers, and delivering results globally, nationally and locally. O'Brien is the President & CEO of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the domestic dairy checkoff program that drives trust and sales of dairy products. In this capacity, she oversees the work of the National Dairy Council, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and GENYOUth Foundation.
She also serves as President & CEO of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, where in this role she has brought together the leadership of 27 dairy companies and organizations to advance pre-competitive efforts and action within key areas like animal welfare, environmental sustainability, hunger, and community impact. Under her leadership, 34 companies representing 75% of the U.S. milk supply have signed the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment.
Through an evolution of the checkoff business plan, O'Brien created stronger integration and category strategies that have grown the market for America's dairy farmers, as well as driven increases in positive consumer perceptions around dairy and dairy farming.
Prior to joining DMI, O'Brien directed Burson Marsteller's Chicago-based healthcare consultancy. During her tenure, she provided executive-level counsel for Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods and pharmaceutical clients. She went on to co-found a healthcare consultancy that served the business and marketing planning needs of Chicago-area hospitals and health systems as well as companies in the medical device, pharmaceutical, food, and nutrition segments.
O'Brien is a proud mother of two children and resides in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Mark.
Ben Butler of Lorida, Florida is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and eighth generation Floridian. He is a partner and vice-president of Butler Oaks Farm, a family-owned dairy farm. Since 2005, he has been responsible for the dairy herd and its employees, and the care, feeding, and day-to-day operations of the dairy, including the environmental and water management for the farm.
Butler volunteers with numerous youth, agricultural and community organizations outside the farm, including 4-H, FFA, Farm Bureau and an appointment to the South Florida Water Management District governing board by Governor DeSantis (2019). He earned his bachelor's degree (2002) and master's degree (2019) in animal science from the University of Florida. Butler and his wife, April, have one daughter, Hannah. Much of their free time is spent helping their daughter and other students raise and exhibit their dairy cattle at 4-H shows and events. However, they also find time to enjoy Florida's natural resources, scuba diving in the Florida Keys for lobster, water skiing on the area lakes and camping throughout Florida. Butler and his family are members of Oakview Baptist Church in Okeechobee, FL.
Job Titles:
- Sustainability Manager at United Dairymen of Arizona
Brandon Clark is a Sustainability Manager at United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA). As UDA's sustainability lead, he focuses on creating impactful, sustainable change from farm to processing plant. With a bachelor's degree in supply chain management from Arizona State University, Brandon has developed expertise in driving sustainability practices from the perspective of process efficiencies and sourcing optimization.
Throughout his career, Brandon has worked collaboratively to design and implement people-oriented sustainability strategies that align with business objectives and the dairy industry. By leveraging his project management experience, he has successfully led and executed a variety of sustainability initiatives. These projects have resulted in significant improvements in sustainability metrics, including waste and carbon emissions reductions, and increased resource efficiency. Brandon's approach to sustainability is rooted in analytical and data-driven decision making, a talent he brings to UDA from his experience at Boeing and Isagenix. Outside of work, Brandon expresses his passion for sustainability through his hobbies. As a Certified Master Gardener, he enjoys cultivating sustainable outdoor spaces and educating others on gardening methods and the benefits of green spaces.
Job Titles:
- Principal and Founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC
Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC, is a nationally recognized expert on conservation, agriculture, and the environment.
From 2002 to 2006, Bruce served as Chief of Natural Resources Conservation Service, the lead U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency for conservation on private working agricultural lands. He was the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the USDA from 2006 to 2009. Drawing on his experience as a former association executive, lobbyist, regulator, and Capitol Hill staffer, Bruce has a broad understanding of how Washington works.
He also brings firsthand knowledge of farming to his national policymaking credentials. A third-generation rancher and farmer and lifelong conservationist, Bruce operates a diversified grain and cattle operation in South Dakota using no-till and rest rotation grazing systems. His farming and ranching background gives him the opportunity to practice stewardship and animal husbandry, while bringing in-depth knowledge of the interdependency of animal, plant, and human health with the environment to his clients.
Bruce is a graduate of South Dakota State University, is married and has two children.
Chris Kopman is the CEO at Newtrient. In this role Chris is responsible for all financial matters related to Newtrient and plays a key role in advancing Business Development initiatives.
Before coming to Newtrient, Chris was Vice President of Business Services for the Kraft Heinz Company with responsibility for the shared services organization managing the transactions related to the $21B of Net Sales in North America. Over a 16-year career at Kraft, he held various finance roles and spent most of his career supporting the Cheese & Dairy business. Prior to joining Kraft, Chris worked for Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria. Chris is an experienced finance and business professional with a proven track record of driving strategic initiatives and delivering business results.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Illinois State University. He lives in Chicago, but also enjoys spending time on the family farm near Peotone.
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Sustainability Research and Initiatives
In her role with Newtrient, Corrine works to coordinate and manage Newtrient-led sustainability programs and projects. She provides data analysis and research to support Newtrient's environmental programs. In addition, she manages report deliverables, develops materials for presentations and meetings, coordinate projects, and contributes to the dairy community's Net Zero Initiative.
Corrine has experience working as a Dairy Sustainability Research Assistant at Cornell University's Nutrient Management Spear Program, where she observed the balance of nutrients on dairy farms through data collection and analysis using the Cornell Nutrient Mass Balance. She also has experience calculating and inputting data in various agricultural greenhouse gas emission software programs, analyzing the differences among estimation tools and their practicality for on-farm use.
Corrine received her Bachelor of Science in agriculture science with a concentration in business management and minor in animal science from Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She also holds an Associates in applied science for agriculture science, concentrated in science and technology, from SUNY Morrisville.
Corrine grew up on a small hobby farm with beef cows and pigs, raising and showing them in 4-H. She currently resides in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.
Job Titles:
- Director of Research and Technology at Regenis
- Director of Research and Technology, Regenis / Technical
Craig Frear is Director of Research and Technology at Regenis, America's premier anaerobic digester construction company. Previously with Washington State University (WSU), he was instrumental in developing one of the nation's most prolific applied science and engineering programs in organic residuals and animal manure treatment for sustainable reuse.
Over the last decade, Craig's research has focused on enhancements to anaerobic digestion, biochemical recovery from waste and development of bio-refinery principles for rural and urban communities. He holds five patents (with two pending) including an ammonia stripping system to remove ammonia from wastewater without the use of chemicals. In addition to his research, Craig is the author of more than sixty peer-reviewed publications on methane capture to create biogas and nutrient management to allow liquid from manure to be safely reused. He has also served as an investigator on numerous federal and state grants in the same scientific classifications.
Craig holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Science from Washington State University, a master's in Educational Administration from Columbia University, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Theology from St. Olaf College. Outside of work, he enjoys reading science fiction, playing tennis, and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair
- Co - Founder of Select Milk Producers Inc
Dr. Mike McCloskey is Co-Founder of Select Milk Producers Inc., one of the largest milk cooperatives in the country. He is also Chairman of the Board for Fair Oaks Farms, the nation's largest agritourism attraction located in NW Indiana. Mike, and his wife, Sue, are the Founders of Fairlife, a dairy based health and wellness company now wholly owned by The Coca Cola Company. Dr. McCloskey is a partner in Curtis Creek Dairy Farms, which milks 15,000 cows living in free-stall barns in addition to a 12 robot, 800 milking cow barn in NW Indiana. Curtis Creek Dairy Farms harvests their cow manure and uses digesters to create electricity that powers their farms and creates bio-based Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Dr. McCloskey chairs the Sustainability Initiative for the Innovation Center for US Dairy.
Job Titles:
- Partner at the Context Network
- Partner at the Context Network / General Management & Project Continuity / Technical
Garth Boyd is a Partner at The Context Network, where he works with farmers and ranchers, agribusiness companies, and government agencies on renewable energy, nutrient recovery, environmental asset markets, and sustainability issues.
Garth has worked in various aspects of agriculture for the last 40 years, first as a ranch hand, then ranch manager during and after obtaining a BSA from the University of Georgia. After earning his MSA from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. from Kansas State University, he began his academic career as an assistant professor on the Animal Science faculty at Colorado State University where he was the Extension Beef Specialist for seven years. Garth then joined the industry as an environmental leader. As Director of Environmental Affairs, he led North Carolina's Murphy Farms into the era of environmental stewardship, before taking jobs with Smithfield Foods as Director of Environmental Technology, and Camco, a global carbon firm, as Senior Vice-President of Agricultural Services.
Garth was a two-term member of the USDA Agriculture Air Quality Task Force and North Carolina Pork Council Board. He was appointed by the EPA Administrator in 2007 to the inaugural EPA Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee. In 2008, Garth was inducted into the Farm Foundation Members Round Table. Garth has lectured in most states in the U.S. and numerous foreign countries.
Job Titles:
- NMPF 's President and Chief Executive Officer
Gregg Doud is NMPF's President and Chief Executive Officer. Before arriving at NMPF he served as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative from 2018 until 2021; before that, he served as the president of the Commodity Markets Council, representing commodities exchanges before Congress and federal agencies. He also has served as a staff member for the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, where he helped draft the 2012 Farm Bill, and as chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Most recently, he worked at Aimpoint Research as its Vice President of Global Situational Awareness and Chief Economist.
A native of Mankato, Kansas, where he grew up raising cattle, Doud earned a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science and a Master of Science in agricultural economics from Kansas State University. He was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Kansas State University Agriculture Alumni Association in 2012 and also received the Outstanding Alumnus award from the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State in 2017. He currently lives with his family on their horse farm in Lothian, MD.
Since joining DFA in 2008, Jackie has led the Cooperative's public policy efforts and has played an active role in member services and community initiatives. In her current role, she leads DFA's government affairs and industry relations team and oversees the Cooperative's sustainability strategy and farm practices team.
Prior to joining DFA, Jackie spent nearly 15 years in Washington, D.C. serving as a congressional aide for members of the House and Senate, as a consultant focused on environmental issues impacting the livestock sector, and then working for trade associations representing agricultural interests before Congress and regulatory agencies. She is currently chair of the Board of Newtrient and also serves on the boards of National Milk Producers Federation, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, and the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Sustainability Initiatives
- Senior Vice President, Sustainability Initiatives, Newtrient / Business Development
Jamie Vander Molen is the Senior Vice President of Sustainability Initiatives at Newtrient. In this role Jamie is responsible for leading outreach with Newtrient members and stakeholders. She also leads projects to advance technologies and practices, ecosystem services markets, manure-based products, and renewable energy markets.
Jamie joined Newtrient after beginning her career with Dairy Management Inc. in 2011. In her most recent role, Jamie led communication efforts, translating science and technical information in a way that is understandable and actionable for dairy farmers, policymakers, technology vendors and supply chain partners. She has a proven track record of developing and executing communications strategies (consumer and business to business). Her expertise also extends to all aspects of digital and social media marketing projects and corporate training, and development programs.
She has a passion for the dairy industry and work that provides innovative solutions and technologies to reduce the environmental footprint of dairy and make it economically viable to do so.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Purdue University.
Job Titles:
- Technical Advisor
- Technical Consultant
- Technical Advisor / Technical
Jeff Porter serves as a technical consultant for Newtrient. His main responsibilities include the review and evaluation of innovative dairy related manure management technologies. He recently retired from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where he served as the Leader of the National Animal Manure and Nutrient Management Team. Jeff focused on reviewing and evaluating innovative technologies in manure and nutrient management and worked with the states to assist in the transfer of these technologies to help carry out the NRCS mission. He has provided extensive training to staff and others on manure and nutrient management. After working a short time for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, he transferred to NRCS (SCS at the time) and worked in various Midwestern states, including Michigan, Missouri, and Iowa before accepting the position with the Animal Manure and Nutrient Management Team. Jeff grew up on a small farm in southern Indiana. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue University in Agricultural Engineering.
Mark Stoermann is the Chief Operating Officer for Newtrient. Mark came to this position as an outgrowth of his experience with developing and building CNG stations, anaerobic digesters, and the biogas upgrading systems for the dairy industry.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President at the Tillamook County Creamery Corporation
Paul Snyder is Executive Vice President at the Tillamook County Creamery Corporation. He leads several functions including Environment & Community Impact, Corporate Communications, Government Relations, and Public Affairs. His team works to develop, manage, and execute the cooperative's strategies to address sustainability, natural resource management, community and social impact, member relations, internal engagement, free and earned media, philanthropy, and advocacy. He joined Tillamook in June 2019. Under his leadership, Tillamook attained B Corp certification, was recognized with a "Best in Business" distinction by INC., and earned a number of honors including a Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council Award and a HALO award.
He currently serves on the boards of Newtrient, Oregon Business & Industry, and the Portland Opera. He previously served on the boards of the Georgia Center for Non-Profits, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross, among others. He has also been involved in several governmental efforts, including privatizing Army Lodging and serving on Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality Rule Making Advisory Committee on Oregon's Climate Protection Program. Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at Lawrence University and an MBA at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. He and his wife, Amy, live in Portland with their two daughters, Abigail and Madeline.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Member Relations and Corporate Sustainability at Foremost Farms USA
Rachel Turgasen is the Senior Director of Member Relations and Corporate Sustainability at Foremost Farms USA. Employees at Foremost Farms' headquarters and 8 manufacturing facilities and nearly 900 dairy farm families work together to produce nutritious dairy products that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. She is responsible for directing member-owner relations and leading the cooperative's animal wellbeing and environmental stewardship efforts as a part of Foremost Farms' farm-to-fork sustainability and social responsibility strategy. In addition to serving on the Newtrient Board of Managers, Rachel serves the dairy community as a member of the NMPF Animal Health and Wellbeing Committee, and the FARM-ES Version 3 Working Group.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Sustainability Initiatives
In her role with Newtrient, Wendy works closely with environmental researchers, universities, extension personnel, and sustainability leaders to evaluate on-farm solutions and make credible information available to all dairy farmers. Wendy plays a key role translating Newtrient's technical evaluations into actionable plans to help farms make decisions that make sense for their operations. She also works to expand the Newtrient Solutions Catalog and support workshops, webinars, and all other events with dairy farmers.
Wendy has more than 14 years of experience in agriculture, having served as Director, Research Program Execution at National Cattleman's Beef Association. She received a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University.
Wendy spent many summers on her grandpa's farm in Oneida, Kansas. He raised beef cattle and a variety of crops and worked closely with Kansas State University and local soil conservation groups to prevent soil erosion and promote grassland management. Wendy and her husband now live in a rural community in Southeast Kansas, where their children are learning and being shaped by agricultural values such as stewardship, strong work ethics and accountability.