Archives: Speakers

Nancy Bohl Bormann

Nancy Bohl Bormann

PhD Candidate, University of Minnesota 

Nancy Bohl Bormann is a PhD Candidate at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the Soil, Water, and Climate Department. She received her B. S. from Iowa State University and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her main research project is working on the development and implementation of a nationwide manure test database called ManureDB.  Previously she worked in the nutrient management field for fourteen years as a CCA, and she grain farms with her family in northern Iowa. Nancy is the Kossuth Soil and Water Conservation District Chair, an Iowa State University Northern Research Farm Board Member, and a member of the AgGateway Laboratory Data Standardization Working Group. She has a passion for the intersection of agriculture and the environment, especially in nutrient management, agricultural data management, and soil and water quality areas.

Kendall Rae Johnson

Kendall Rae Johnson

Owner, aGROWKulture Urban Farm

Kendall Rae Johnson, age 8, the prodigious young farmer from Atlanta, Georgia, earned the esteemed title of “the youngest certified farmer,” at the tender age of 6, from Arthur Tripp, Georgia’s State Executive Director of Agriculture. From playful encounters with soil at the age of 3 to blossoming into an agricultural sensation, Kendall Rae’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary.

Rooted in the heart of Atlanta, Kendall Rae, as affectionately known, inherited her green thumb from the wisdom of her great-grandmother, Laura “Kate” Williams. Inspired by Kate’s teachings, Kendall Rae’s agricultural venture began on a humble yet powerful patio porch, where collard green stems were not discarded but nurtured back into the earth. The magic of growth sparked in this tranquil space, where seeds of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and recycled collard green stems sowed the seeds of her passion.

From those humble beginnings, Kendall Rae witnessed the transformation of tiny seeds and stems into a vibrant garden, adorned with a colorful array of vegetables destined for her family’s table. Today, Kendall Rae has metamorphosed her love for cultivation into a thriving enterprise – aGROWKulture Urban Farm. She is also the Co-Founder of Kendall Rae’s Green Heart Charity, a testament to her commitment to making a positive impact.

Beyond her garden, Kendall Rae is the author of “I’m Growing Places,” a recently published book aimed at instilling an understanding of food cultivation among youth from pre-k to 5th grade. Her advocacy extends to hosting and producing events in and around Atlanta, championing youth involvement in agriculture, sustainability, and eco-conscious living.

Kendall Rae’s influence goes far beyond Georgia’s borders; she is a beacon of inspiration for young minds across the nation. As an advocate and spokesperson for the little people of Georgia and beyond, she lives by the mantra, “Meet New Friends, Make New Things, and Inspire Other Kids” Her journey from a playful start with collard green stems to a champion for sustainable living is nothing short of magical.

Carolyne Vowell

Carolyne Vowell

Product Manager, Sustainability Lead, Soiltech Wireless

Carolyne Vowell is a member of the Soiltech Wireless team, serving as Product Manager and Sustainability Lead. In these roles, she looks at everything from the basic functionality of the Soiltech Beacon and its plug-and-play capabilities, to the big-picture potential of the data outputs and the various actions growers can take based on that data. She’s also helping define Soiltech’s place within the evolving landscape of agriculture as the push for sustainable and regenerative farming practices increases and farmers have to manage their finite resources to a higher degree.

Prior to joining Soiltech, Carolyne held multiple roles within Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness, worked as a GIS Technician and UAV remote pilot for Renewable Resources Group, and was a Wildfire Tech Specialist for Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

Aaron Magenheim

Aaron Magenheim

COO & Co-Founder, Lighthouse Ag

Aaron Magenheim, a California native and AgriFood systems innovator, co-founded AgTech Insight, Growers Insight, and recently Lighthouse.Ag, which distributes a portfolio of digital technologies globally. He specializes in business and operational strategy, and digital technology implementation for major AgriFood corporates along with market expansion for established AgTech companies. Known for shaping the food industry’s future, is efforts focus on integrating best practices and technology ecosystems to create successful business and sustainability outcomes.  

Maia Donahue

Maia Donahue

Digital Farming Lead, Corteva Agriscience

Maia Donahue is the Digital Farming Lead within Research & Development at Corteva Agriscience. As the Digital Farming Lead, Maia and her team are responsible for establishing the priorities and direction of Corteva’s external-facing decision science solutions. Corteva’s decision science solutions leverage on-farm data, agronomic expertise and predictive models to deliver optimal product recommendations to our customers, delivered through their trusted advisors.

Previously at Corteva, Maia led teams of software and data engineers, delivering core geospatial data and software capabilities to support predictive analytics. She also led System Biology research, supporting the development of new traits and crop protection molecules through applications of mathematical modeling with our early exploratory research teams.

Maia received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. She currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa and has been with Corteva for 13 years.

Sidhartha Bhandari

Sidhartha Bhandari

Global Practice Lead – Food and Agriculture, Publicis Sapient

Sid Bhandari is a Senior Director and the Practice Lead for Agriculture & Food at Publicis Sapient, a global management consultancy focused on digital business transformation.   

Sid has over 20 years in management consulting leading a multitude of complex global digital transformation advisory and delivery engagements for clients operating in different commodity supply chains. He works with Agribusinesses focused on transforming their core and modernizing various parts of the food supply chain by helping them get to their future, digitally enabled state, both in the way they operate and the way they serve their customers and farmers.  

He brings together capabilities in business strategy, farmer and consumer digital experience, data, and technology to enable Agribusinesses to create equitable, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes that are better for People (customers, consumers, farmers, employees), Planet and Profit/ Business growth.   

Sid holds an M.S. in Technology Management from University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and a Bachelors in Electronics (Communications) Engineering from University of Sheffield, UK. 

Joe Monahan

Joe Monahan

President and Chief Operating Officer, Meister Media Worldwide

Joe has been involved with agricultural media for over 30 years. He is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations and overall business performance. He is a past board member for the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA) and led the Communications Committee for the association. He currently leads Meister Media’s Global Ag Technology Initiative. Joe is a graduate of Ohio University’s College of Business.

Ram Devarajulu

Ram Devarajulu

Director, Cambridge Consultants

Ram works with Agriculture and Industrial segment clients to build innovative products and help them “future-proof” their growth and business success. As a Mechatronics engineering professional, he has been involved in “tough-tech” product development and commercialization for past 20 + years. At CC, he leads market and business development efforts for Agriculture, Logistics, and Industrial markets.

Adam Farmer

Adam Farmer

Chief Technology Officer, Mercer Landmark

Adam is a strategic leader with over 12 years of experience with leading technology transformations in the agribusiness space. Adam joined the Mercer Landmark team in 2017 and is currently the Chief Technology Officer where he is responsible for leading the companies Technology Transformation. Before joining the Mercer Landmark Team, Adam ran the Advanced Agronomy program at Farmer’s Cooperative in the thumb of Michigan. Adam is also a Certified Crop Advisor and holds the Precision Ag specialty.

Martha Montoya

Martha Montoya

Chief Executive Officer, Agtools, Inc.

With over 30 years of worldwide Food/Agricultural and Supply Chain experience, traveling while delivering projects beneficial for the supplier and customers on 4 continents. Dealing with both small and industrial size farms, government entities and sophisticated buyers in Europe, Russia and the United States, she has set up production lines across many commodities. Today she leads Agtools, a Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence award winner, a SaaS and enterprise firm that delivers global food & agricultural financial and market intelligence data. Agtools offers trusted official data from around the world to manage market volatility, increase profitability, and reduce the world’s food waste and CO2, and SO2 footprint.

Appointed to the Board of IFT (International Food Technologists), Department of Commerce Export Council and have served on the Board of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Worldwide Advisory Board of Women for Walmart, Executive Board of United States Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and several additional boards.