Jesse Bell, PhD
Dr. Jesse Bell is the Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Health and Environment in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. His research explores the relationships of climate and extreme weather on natural and human processes. He served as a lead author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” that was released by the White House in 2016. Before coming to UNMC, Dr. Bell developed a joint position between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In this role, he led and coordinated a variety of climate and health projects. He also served on the White House OSTP Pandemic Prediction and Forecast Working Group. Dr. Bell also serves as a Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute Faculty Fellow and adjunct faculty for the Department of Environmental Health at Emory University.
Casper Bendixsen,PhD
Dr. Bendixsen Director, National Farm Medicine Center a social-cultural anthropologist with an extensive background working with, living within, and researching agricultural and rural communities in the U.S. His current work focuses on translating the knowledge of agricultural health and safety in order to promote volunteer adoption by farm and ranch communities – reducing injuries, illness, and fatalities among farmers, farm workers, and farm families. Communities of particular interest to me include: beginning/young farmers and ranchers, rural firefighter/EMT’s, and minority and niche farm groups. Additionally, He remains engaged in conversations regarding agrarian ethics, traditionalist and working class attitudes, and rural imaginaries – always trying to apply an anthropological perspective in order to improve the human condition.
Wendy Bennett MBA, CCRSP
Executive Director for AgSafe in BC and serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and for the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health.
Wendy has been a health and Safety professional since 1995. Successfully earning her Canadian Registered Safety Professional designation in 2004, Wendy is a course tutor with British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program and is holds an MBA in Health and Safety Leadership. Her experience in designing and delivering training and education coupled with her leadership skills have benefited AgSafe since she started in 2013. Ensuring agriculture producers have the resources they need to ensure a safe and healthy working environment has been her goal with AgSafe and her Board roles. She hopes to continue leading change in the agriculture industry toward a Canada where no one is hurt farming.
Allison Crittenden 
Allison Crittenden serves as the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Director of Congressional Relations. Her issue portfolio encompasses specific issues such as immigration, labor, and pesticides.
Allison came to the American Farm Bureau Federation in March 2019. Prior to her time at AFBF she was Senior Legislative Assistant for Rep. Rick Crawford where she handled his agriculture, trade, energy, natural resources, judiciary, and environmental issues. Allison worked alongside Rep. Crawford throughout the negotiations of the 2018 Farm Bill including his work as a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee. Previously, she worked at The Russell Group, a lobbying and government relations firm that specializes in serving clients in the food and agriculture industry. Allison was raised on her family’s third generation fruit and vegetable farm in Deltaville, Virginia where they grow cantaloupes, peppers, and cucumbers to be sold commercially to grocery stores throughout the East coast.
Allison graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Applied Economic Management (Agricultural Economics) and lives in Washington, D.C.
Kelley Donham, MS, DVM, DACVPM
Kelley was born on an Iowa farm and remains a farmer today on his 440 acre farm. His education beyond farming include an M.S. in preventive medicine, College of Medicine (Iowa), DVM (veterinary medicine, Iowa State), and Diplomat in the College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He has have 40 year career as professor of public health (U.I) focused on farmers’ health. He is Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Medicine, and founding Director of Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health. He founded the Agricultural Health and Safety M.S. and PhD programs at Iowa, and the outreach core courses in nine other states, Sweden, Australia, and Turkey. He has published over 160 articles and three text books in the field. He lives near Iowa City, and enjoys spending time with his wife Jean, his two sons, two grandsons, two dogs, and his 440-acre farm. Track 3: National Programs – Certified Safe Farms CSF is a voluntary program combining wellness screening, health coaching, on farm safety assessment, and safety education. CSF Farmers have 47% less medical costs, decrease lung and serious injuries, and increased use of PPE.
Heather Fowler, VMD PhD MPH DACVPM
Dr. Heather Fowler completed her Veterinary Medical degree at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. After veterinary school, she received a Master in Public Health in Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. In 2011, Dr. Fowler began the 2-year Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CSTE/CDC) Applied Epidemiology Fellowship, working alongside members of the Zoonoses group at the Minnesota Department of Health under the supervision of Drs. Joni Scheftel and Kirk Smith. During her fellowship Dr. Fowler received valuable on-the-job-training in public health practice. She was also able to conduct a study of occupational hazards present in the clinical veterinary setting in the state. In 2013, Dr. Fowler began a PhD program at the University of Washington School of Public Health in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences. During her time in Seattle she also worked as the Associate Director of Animal Health for the Center for One Health Research (COHR) under the leadership of Center Director Dr. Peter Rabinowitz. Her dissertation work focused on the hazards present in veterinary medicine with the goal of establishing a national cohort of veterinary personnel. After completing her PhD in the summer of 2017, Dr. Fowler began work as the Director of Producer and Public Health at the National Pork Board where she oversees public health as well as occupational safety and health issues as they relate to swine production in the United States.
Dan Hair, MSS CSP
Dan Hair recently retired as the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at WCF Insurance headquartered in Utah. He joined WCF in 2005 after a 25-year career with Zenith Insurance Company. At WCF Dan served as the Chief Risk Officer, Chief Underwriting Officer was responsible for the Enterprise Risk Management efforts of WCF as well as the Safety & Health staff. Dan holds degrees from UCLA and USC, and has an insurance operations and safety engineering background. Dan currently serves as the Co-Chair of the NIOSH Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries Sector Council of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).He has taught and published in the areas of loss prevention, agriculture safety & health, risk and risk management for many years. In 2014 he was selected as the Safety Professional of the Year by the Utah Chapter of ASSE. In 2019 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from AgSafe. He is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Occupational Safety & Health at the University of Utah and a founding Board member and former Vice-Chair of ASHCA.
Daniel Foster, PhD
Daniel Foster is an Associate Professor/Agricultural Teacher Educator, The Pennsylvania State University. Daniel has a life-long mission to serve as a positive change agent. He strives to facilitate engaged scholarship that curates and stimulates innovation connecting industry with secondary, post-secondary and community-centered learning in food, fiber, and natural resources. A native Texan, Dr. Foster taught high school agriculture in Willcox, Arizona prior to traveling to Ohio State to complete his graduate work in agricultural and extension education. Since 2009, he has worked as an Agricultural Teacher Educator at Penn State. He is a member of the National Supply and Demand Research Team for Agricultural Education and with his wife Dr. Melanie Miller Foster created the Global Teach Ag! Initiative at Penn State with a focus of connecting the world through agricultural education through purposeful professional development. Dr. Foster’s scholarly line of inquiry focuses on improving access to agricultural education. In addition, Daniel is a professional registered parliamentarian, an auctioneer, a lover of National Parks and an avid sports fan. He would love to engage with you on Twitter at @FosterDanielD.
David Gilkey, PhD
Dr. David Gilkey is an Associate Professor at Montana Technological University in Butte, Montana. He has nearly 40 years’ experience in occupational and environmental health with expertise in ergonomics, safety, and workplace wellness. Dr. Gilkey earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Southern California Health Sciences University and Ph.D. from Colorado State University with a focus in occupational health, safety, industrial hygiene and ergonomics. He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS). Dr. Gilkey has authored and/or coauthored 30 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals, 66 articles in trade journals, and provided three book chapter contributions in the areas of ergonomics, occupational safety, and environmental health. He has taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses in environmental and public health, occupational safety and ergonomics.
Lourdes Gonzalez, MBA, HRPA, CIHM, CLCS, AFIS
Lourdes Gonzalez has worked in the industry as a Safety Director, Loss Control Consultant, HR Consultant and Account Executive in California and Arizona. Lourdes has extensive experience in safety and supervisory training, HR management, as well as consulting on risk management and operational productivity in various industries. She has lectured on labor relations, human resources, safety and organizational development to companies, associations, and organizations in California, Arizona and Colorado. She is a frequent speaker for SHRM chapter in Yuma, AZ. She contributes as a writer to various newsletters and magazines on topics related to human resources, safety and risk management. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), AgSafe and APMA. Lourdes, a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Columbia Southern University. She is a Certified Industrial Hygiene Manager (CIHM), is a licensed Property & Casualty, Life and Health Producer, holds a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) certification and an Agribusiness & Farm Insurance Specialist (AFIS) designations.
Robert Hagevoort, PhD
Dr. Robert Hagevoort, a native of The Netherlands, is an Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist in the Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources Department of College of Agricultural in the College of Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Tropical Animal Production from the College for Tropical Agriculture (1987) in Deventer, The Netherlands. He received a M.S. degree in Range Nutrition (1989), and a Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition (1993) both from Texas A&M University.
Prior to joining New Mexico State University as an Extension Dairy Specialist in November of 2005, Dr. Hagevoort served for over 10 years as an independent dairy management consultant primarily in California’s southern and central Valley. As a an Extension Specialist, he has been working closely with the Dairy Industry in New Mexico and across the Western US regarding many regulatory and environmental issues, and initiated an effort to rebuild a dairy program at NMSU through the formation of the U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium (formerly known as the Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium).
Daniel Hair, MSS, CSP
Dan Hair recently retired as the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at WCF Insurance headquartered in Utah. He joined WCF in 2005 after a 25-year career with Zenith Insurance Company. At WCF Dan served as the Chief Risk Officer, Chief Underwriting Officer was responsible for the Enterprise Risk Management efforts of WCF as well as the Safety & Health staff. Dan holds degrees from UCLA and USC, and has an insurance operations and safety engineering background. Dan currently serves as the Co-Chair of the NIOSH Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries Sector Council of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).He has taught and published in the areas of loss prevention, agriculture safety & health, risk and risk management for many years. In 2014 he was selected as the Safety Professional of the Year by the Utah Chapter of ASSE. In 2019 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from AgSafe .He is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Occupational Safety & Health at the University of Utah and a founding Board member and former Vice-Chair of ASHCA.
John Howard, MD
John Howard is the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Howard also serves as the Administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program. Dr. Howard was first appointed NIOSH Director in 2002 during the George Bush Administration and served in that position until 2008. In 2008 and 2009, Dr. Howard worked as a consultant with the U.S. Government’s Afghanistan Health. In September of 2009, Dr. Howard was reappointed NIOSH Director in the Obama Administration. Prior to that he served as Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Dr. Howard is board-certified in internal medicine and occupational medicine. He is admitted to the practice of medicine and law in the State of California and in the District of Columbia, and he is a member U.S. Supreme Court bar. He has written numerous articles on occupational health law and policy
Charles Jennissen, MD
Charles Jennissen, MD, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Jennissen grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota. Most of his research projects have addressed injury-related issues, especially those involving off-road vehicles. His 12-year-old first cousin and another neighborhood boy were killed while on an ATV as they drove out of a farmyard driveway and were hit by a pick-up just a few miles from his family’s farm. Dr. Jennissen is very active in the Iowa ATV Safety Taskforce and is a member of a national coalition led by the Consumer Federation of America that has been working to inform the public and governing officials of the dangers of off-road vehicles on public roads. He has been an advisory board member of I-CASH (Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health) for 21 years.
Mike Keenan
Mike Keenan is an Area Senior Vice President of Loss Control Services with Gallagher National Risk Control in Omaha Nebraska. Mike has worked extensively with agricultural clients throughout the Midwest for over 12 years. His clients include swine producers, dairy operations, cattle feeders, feed mills, grain elevators and packing plants. Mike has been developing and implementing Enhanced Risk Management Programs to identify risk exposures and controls in animal agriculture and affiliated industries.
William Krycia, MPH, CIH
William Krycia is the Senior Safety and Health Consultant at Zenith Insurance Company. Prior to that, he was Senior Safety Engineer for the Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA Division. His career spans over 30 years with the Department of Industrial Relations – Division of Occupational Safety and Health. He obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is also a Certified Industrial Hygienist with the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. He also served as a Senior Safety Engineer coordinating the Division’s Agricultural Safety and Health Unit, as well as the Heat Illness Prevention Units.
Barbara Lee, PhD
Director, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety Protecting children from agricultural injuries has been the primary focus of Dr. Lee’s career since 1987 when she transitions from clinical nursing to research. She organized the first national symposium on this topic and been a leader in research, knowledge mobilization and advocacy. In 1996 she led adoption of the National Action Plan for Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention and shortly thereafter secured federal funding for a NIOSH Center of Excellence. Her research has tested interventions to protect working youth and non-working children on farms. Dr. Lee served three terms as Director of the National Farm Medicine Center, most recently stepping down in March, 2019. Under her leadership, the Center has grown to be the longest standing, most fully staffed agricultural safety and health center in the U.S. She helped bring the Journal of Agromedicine to its home in Marshfield and serves as the Senior Associate Editor. Dr. Lee was a founding member of the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), served as its Administrative Director for a decade, and continues to serve on its Board of Directors.
National Initiative for Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Since 1997 the U.S. has had a national strategy coordinated by NIOSH to address the problem of children seriously injured or killed on farms and ranches. Through systematic data collection details and trends regarding injuries and deaths were used to set priorities and key strategies. Public and private-sector initiatives have raised awareness of safety strategies, influenced safe behaviors, and reduced the toll of nonfatal injuries. Valuable lessons have been learned and a 2020 vision for the future has been set.
Amy Liebman MPA, MA
Ms. Liebman has devoted her career to improving the safety and health of disenfranchised populations through research, policy, outreach and education. She has served as Migrant Clinicians Network’s Director of Environmental and Occupational Health since 1999, establishing nationally recognized training and technical assistance programs for community groups and health centers throughout the country. She has been a national leader in applying culturally appropriate train-the-trainer models that use Community Health Workers to educate vulnerable populations. She has authored journal articles, training curricula and educational materials. Prior to her current position, Liebman directed programs on both sides of the US-Mexico Border, including an award-winning, community-based hygiene education program that reached thousands of families living without water or sewer services. She advocates for improved policies to protect workers and immigrant families, spearheading several national efforts including strengthening the Worker Protection Standard, a key federal regulation to protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure. Her programs have won awards including the EPA Children’s Environmental Health Champion Award and the National Safety Council Research Collaboration Award. In 2011, Liebman received the Lorin Kerr Award, an American Public Health Association honor recognizing public health professionals for their dedication and sustained efforts to improve the lives of workers.
Michael Marsh
President & CEO National Council of Agricultural Employers. Michael earned his bachelor’s degrees in history and accounting from the University of Wyoming where he also studied law. He is a certified public accountant. Although Michael started his career in public accounting in Casper, Wyoming working for a CPA firm that had many farm and ranch clients, his career changed dramatically when he began to focus in the areas of forensic accounting and fraud investigation. In fact, it was a fraud he uncovered at the National Potato Promotion Board in Denver that ended up tying him inextricably to agriculture. He was subsequently hired to be the Director of Finance for the Almond Board of California and later became the CEO of the largest dairy producer trade association in the US at Western United Dairymen in Modesto. After consulting for a few years in the areas of litigation support and complex financial transactions in Federal District Court, Michael returned to his true passion advocating on behalf of America’s farmers.
Jess McCluer
Jess manages NGFA’s wide-ranging operational programs concerning employee safety and industrial health, environmental issues, grain-handling facility design and equipment, and grain inspection and weighing issues. He is principal staff liaison to the Safety, Health and Environmental Quality Committee, Grain Grades and Weights Committee, Biotechnology Committee, and Agroterrorism and Facility Security Committee.
He joined NGFA’s staff in 2007 after serving since April 2003 as a program analyst at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Office of Outreach Services and Alliances. In that capacity, he worked with trade associations, professional societies, academia, unions and government agencies to coordinate the implementation of national alliances and the development of compliance assistance resources. He was honored twice – in 2003 and 2005 – as recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award. Before joining OSHA, McCluer served from 1999-2003 as manager of government affairs for the Shipbuilders Council of America, overseeing the association’s Safety, Environmental and Human Resources Committees.
McCluer was staff assistant for both the Dole/Kemp ’96 presidential campaign and the 1996 Republican National Committee convention. A native of Dallas, Texas, he was graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in political science and international studies. He also received a master’s degree in political management from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Dennis Murphy, PhD
Dr. Murphy retired from the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University on June 30, 2017, as the Nationwide Insurance Professor of Agricultural Safety & Health and a Certified Safety Professional. He currently holds the title of Nationwide Insurance Professor Emeritus. He founded Murphy Agricultural Safety Consulting, LLC, July 1, 2017. Program areas from his time at Penn State included applied research and education for: tractor and machinery safety issues; youth safety; classification of agricultural deaths and injuries; agricultural safety and health management, methods of modifying farm worker safety behavior; evaluating safety interventions; dairy farm and manure handling safety; and responding to farm injury emergencies. He consults nationally and internationally with other groups and organizations on farm safety education program development. He is a co-founder of the Agricultural Safety & Health Council of America™ (ASHCA), and is an instructor for the International Society of Agricultural Safety & Health’s (ISASH) Agricultural Safety and Health Certificate Course, and ASHCA’s AgSHARP™ certificate course.
Rick Naerebout
Rick Naerebout grew up on his family’s dairy farm in McBain, Michigan, where he learned the value of hard work, integrity, and an appreciation for agriculture that can only be learned on the farm. He moved west with his family after the family dairy was sold in the late 90s and shortly thereafter began a family and his schooling at the College of Southern Idaho and Idaho State University. Rick has been with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, Inc. for over 15 years, assisting with the Association’s environmental, legal, economic, and legislative and stewardship efforts. The IDA is a progressive Association that represents all of Idaho’s nearly 500 dairy farms. Recently named CEO of the Association, he manages the day-to- day operations of the organization, which includes IDA Consulting Services, a new division within IDA that provides on-farm services, through its highly skilled staff, ranging from nutrient management planning to dairy worker training and safety programs.
Kimberly Naffziger 
Kimberly is Vice President and Agricultural Specialist with Zenith Insurance Company. A California native, Kimberly Naffziger has been involved with the agricultural industry for most of her life. Kimberly joined Zenith Insurance Company as an agricultural specialist in 2008 to help build strong relationships with California’s agricultural industry, and to work collaboratively with Zenith’s servicing departments throughout the state to help improve the health and safety of the agricultural and dairy policyholders’ workforce.
Kimberly currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Agricultural Safety & Health Council of America, and is a current board member of the Agricultural Personnel Management Association.
Michael Pankonin
Michael is a Senior Director, Technical and Safety Services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). He began his career in test engineering and has served industry in the agricultural, construction, utility and forestry sectors. Michael currently has responsibility for the Technical and Safety Services at AEM and works with AEM product groups including the Manufacturers of Earthmoving and Mining Equipment. He serves on several ISO standards committees, is a member of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and is the AEM staff contact for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and emissions-related activities.
Jose Perez 
Mr. Perez is a former farmworker of the California Central Valley and a Safety professional with a proven successful track record in changing safety culture and reduction of employee incidents and injuries for over 18 years. With a background that includes Director of EHS for an Industrial employment organization, and CEO of a successful EHS Consulting Business, his experience and understanding best practices along great companies and organizations within Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, Mining, and the Petroleum industry.
Recipient of professional awards from The American Society of Safety Professionals, the National Safety Council, and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Jose has a sincere desire to “Serve and Give Back” to the profession and enhance community safety by demonstrating his service as a volunteer as an emergency disaster volunteer for the Red Cross, community outreach trainer for the California Poison Control, and as an educator for elementary students participating in the annual Progressive Agriculture Safety Day event.
Mark Pew
Mark Pew, senior vice president of product development and marketing for Preferred Medical, is a passionate educator and agitator. Mark is a recognized thought leader in workers’ compensation and award-winning speaker, blogger, author and jurisdictional advisor. Also known as the RxProfessor, he is focused on the intersection of chronic pain and appropriate treatment, particularly as it relates to the clinical and financial implications of prescription painkillers, non-pharma treatment modalities and the evolution of medical marijuana. He is a strong champion for the industry to #PreventTheMess and #CleanUpTheMess with a specific focus on the BioPsychoSocialSpiritual treatment model.
Santosh Pitla PhD
Santosh Pitla got his Ph.D. in agricultural engineering with specialization in machine systems and automation from the University of Kentucky. After his Ph.D., he worked as a post-doctoral scholar at the Ohio State University. He started as an assistant professor with focus on advanced machinery systems at the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Currently, Santosh holds an associate professor position in the department and teaches Sensors and Controls in Agri-Industries, Electricity, Hydraulic Power, and Embedded Control Systems to mechanization management and agricultural engineering students. Santosh’s research is related to agricultural robotics, control architectures for safe operation of autonomous equipment, machine data acquisition/analytics, software application development and techno-economics of advanced machinery systems. Currently, he heads the Advanced Machinery Systems Laboratory (AMSL) at the BSE department comprising of a team four graduate students and eight undergraduate students. AMSL lab houses three tiered robotic platforms for developing individual and multi-robot control architectures. These three tiered robotic platforms are operated in greenhouses, research field plots, and production fields.
Bradley Rein
Brad is a 40 year member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and a past President and 34 year member of the International Society of Agricultural Safety and Health. In his 30 year career at USDA Brad has provided leadership and administrative over-site of the NIFA agricultural safety and health programs. In multiple positions at different times, Brad has provided over-site of approximately 80% of NIFA’s current $1.5 billion portfolio. Brad grew up on an integrated crop and livestock farm in western Nebraska.
Erin Spangler
Raised on a dairy farm in Iowa, Erin developed a passion for the industry and the people involved. She received a B.S. in Public Service and Administration in Agriculture from Iowa State University and worked for several years with the Iowa State Dairy Association. Erin has been working with Riverview, LLP based out of Morris, Minnesota for eight years. Currently, the majority of her time is focused working on employee safety.
Joel Sherman
Joel Sherman is Vice President of Safety, Workers’ Compensation and Regulatory Compliance for Grimmway Farms, a large vegetable grower/packer/shipper based in Kern County, California. Mr. Sherman oversees three departments responsible for the safety and workers’ compensation issues for more than 7,500 employees and contract laborers. Joel has more than thirty years’ experience in the safety and workers’ compensation field.
Julie Sorensen, PhD
Dr. Sorensen is the Director of the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from Umea University, in Umea, Sweden and has worked for nearly two decades to conduct research and implement occupational health and safety solutions that address agricultural hazards that are resistant to change.
Sean Vallely 
Sean Vallely is the Manager of Loss Control for the Workers’ Comp program. His primary role and responsibility is providing comprehensive loss prevention services for Agri-Services Agency. Sean oversees three Loss Control Consultants providing risk assessments, field evaluations, safety training and support for the program.Sean is experienced in all lines of property & casualty insurance, with over 25 years in the business. Prior to joining ASA in 2017, Sean was the Manager of Loss Control at Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company. Prior to the move to Ag in 2012, Sean was a Senior Risk Engineer for Zurich and Travelers serving as a Construction Specialist for large accounts.Sean has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University, his AFIS designation, and is also an authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer.
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