BAA Board of Directors

The Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) Board of Directors (formerly Policy Board of Directors/PBD) takes appropriate action on key matters affecting the interests of the member institutions and of the Assembly and is responsible to APLU for the management of Assembly affairs.

• BAA Rules of Operation
• Board of Directors Membership
• Elections

The Board of Directors has three standing committees:

• Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC)
• Committee on Legislation and Policy (CLP)
• Communications and Marketing Committee (CMC)

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Voting Members

Chair
Sreekla G. Bajwa (2026)
Vice President of Agriculture
Dean, College of Agriculture
Montana State University

Academic Programs Section
Susan S. Sumner (Voting)
Associate Dean, Academic Programs
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Alternate: Amy Wright, Auburn University

Cooperative Extension Section
Quentin Tyler (Voting)
Director, MSU Extension
Michigan State University

Alternate: Brent Hales, University of California

agInnovation
Shibu Jose’ (Voting)
Associate Dean, Office of Research
Director, Agricultural Experiment Station (AES)
University of Missouri-Columbia

Alternate: VACANT

International Agriculture Section
Jennifer Kushner (Voting)
Interim Director, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Global
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Alternate: J. José Cisneros, North Carolina State University

1890 Land-Grant Universities
Vonda Richardson (Voting)
Extension Administrator, Cooperative Extension Program
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)

Alternate: VACANT

1994 Land-Grant Universities
Stephen R. Yanni (Voting)
Land Grant Director & Accreditation Liaison Officer
Bay Mills Community College

Alternate: VACANT

APLU Non-Land-Grant Universities
Robert Cox (Voting)
Associate Dean for Academic & Student Programs
Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
Texas Tech University

Alternate: Jim Prince, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Insular/Territorial Institutions
Raúl E. Macchiavelli (Voting)
Dean and Director, College of Agricultural Sciences
University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez

Alternate: Thomas W. Zimmerman, University of the Virgin Islands

Ex-officio Members

Douglas L. Steele
Vice President for Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)

Keith Coble, Budget & Advocacy (BAC) Chair (2025)
Vice President, Division of Agriculture, Forestry & Veterinary Medicine
Mississippi State University

Staci L. Simonich, Committee on Legislation & Policy (CLP) Chair (2025)
Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences
Director, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station
Oregon State University

James Pritchett, Communications & Marketing (CMC) Chair
Vice President for Engagement and Extension
Colorado State University

Gary A. Thompson, agInnovation Liaison
Executive Director
Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (SAAESD)

APLU Office of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources

Marcus Glassman
Director, Governmental Affairs, Agriculture and International Development Executive
Director, Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET)

Wendy Fink
Executive Director – Academic Programs Section, Board on Agriculture Assembly
Associate Vice President, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources

Kelly Dalton
Executive Director, Board on Human Sciences (BoHS)
Director, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources

Bill Hoffman
Executive Director, Cooperative Extension System
Assistant Vice President, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources

Andrea Putman
Assistant Vice President, Communications and Partnerships

Suzette Robinson
Special Assistant to Senior Vice President
Manager, Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources

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Elections

Pursuant to Article 3, Section 2, Subsection A(3) of the Rules of Operation of the Board on Agriculture Assembly, the Board of Directors shall be elected by members of the Assembly. A slate of two (2) candidates for each open directorship will be nominated by the respective Sections or organizations from their membership and voted upon by the entire Assembly membership. Candidates shall be submitted to the Nominating Committee no later than August 1 of each year. The election shall be held by electronic or mail ballot and shall be completed no later than October 15 of each year.

The alternate for each section to the Board of Directors would be the individual from the section or organization who was not elected to serve.