TJ Swiecichowski has been the farm manager at the Oneida Nation Farm for the last 10 years. He oversees the day-to-day operations for 6,000 acres, 500 head of beef and 200 head of bison.

Dr. Kristyn Van Donselaar is an area veterinarian supervisor for the Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. She supervises implementation of state-level inspections of small meat processors in the southeast quadrant of Iowa.

Matt LeRoux has over 20 years of experience serving farms through Cornell Cooperative Extension, nonprofits and consulting. Specializing in market strategy, Matt works with a diverse mix of produce and livestock farmers and food businesses. Career highlights include developing the Marketing Channel Assessment Tool for produce growers, the Cornell Meat Price Calculator and Point-of-Sale Farmers Market research.

Diane Christofore is executive director of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, the nonprofit backbone of the poultry-centered regenerative agriculture production model. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in food systems studies and an international permaculture design certificate, and has centered her career around stewardship and social responsibility.

Delicia Garcia-Hernandez is the manager for the Stacyville Poultry Processing plant in Stacyville, Iowa. She oversees quality assurance and production for the plant and is deeply committed to ensuring the quality of food products. Delicia has a bachelor’s degree in food science from Chapingo Autonomous University in Mexico and spent two years at a swine facility before moving to Minnesota to join the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance leadership team.

Katie Olthoff is an Iowa farm wife and mom, and has been working in agricultural communications and marketing for over 10 years. She is a former teacher and small-business owner who loves to host webinars and provide coaching for farmers and butcher shops to help them grow their businesses. Katie cofounded ChopLocal in 2020 and was named one of Cattle Business Weekly’s Top 10 Industry Leaders Under 40 in 2021. She was voted most likely to be on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” in her senior class and believes life is better when you can see cows from your kitchen window.

Dave Carter is a regional director of technical assistance for the Flower Hill Institute, which seeks to create a more resilient, diversified and equitable meat and poultry processing system. He also runs Crystal Springs Consulting, Inc. and is a former chair of USDA’s National Organic Standards Board.

April Prusia is the owner and operator of Dorothy’s Range, a small-scale pork operation specializing in farrrow-to-finish hogs near Blanchardville, Wisconsin. She is also a retired vegetarian and the founder and president of Meatsmith Co-op. April spends her extra time serving her community on many boards, hosting guests at her Airbnb and teaching and sharing her belief that how we eat can change the world. April has been farming for two decades, and is a food activist, citizen scientist and community organizer in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region.

Heidi Hoff has been a microbiologist, veterinary scientist, scientific editor and translator, and is now a butcher and business manager for Meatsmith Co-op. After 20 years in Quebec, she returned to Dane County, Wisconsin, to help steward family land with a small herd of sheep and goats. She joined the Meatsmith team in 2019 and is now helping the first producer- and worker-owned meat-processing cooperative in Wisconsin go from theory to practice.

Sara Gragg is an associate professor in the department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the associate director of the Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery program. Her work spans pre-harvest and post-harvest food safety issues affecting the meat industry, with an emphasis on salmonella in high-risk tissues such as lymph nodes.

John Hogeland moved back to Lovilia, Iowa, from California with his wife, Beth Hoffman, to take over the family farm. With a background as a butcher and chef, John has transitioned their 540-acre farm to a grass-fed cattle and goat operation. They use rotational grazing practices and are continuing to add native forages to their system.

Delicia Garcia-Hernandez is the manager for the Stacyville Poultry Processing plant in Stacyville, Iowa. She oversees quality assurance and production for the plant and is deeply committed to ensuring the quality of food products. Delicia has a bachelor’s degree in food science from Chapingo Autonomous University in Mexico and spent two years at a swine facility before moving to Minnesota to join the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance leadership team.

With his wife Bobbie Gustafson, Ty Gustafson co-owns and operate Story City Locker, an abattoir and artisan butchery business in central Iowa practicing ethical animal harvest and sustainable butchery. They believe that local food supply systems improve quality of life for Iowans. Ty instigated and championed the adoption of the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program.

Lily Cooper started Township Meats, LLC in 2023 when she moved back to Janesville, Wisconsin, to be closer to family. She landed her first job in the meat industry in 2017 at a mobile-slaughter and custom processing facility in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and is passionate about educating customers and future clients alike about the benefits of direct marketing. Her expertise is rooted in the process of mobile and brick-and-mortar slaughter and whole-animal butchering. Additional background in retail cutting, packaging, wholesale account management and niche marketing has given her extensive experience with navigating regulatory requirements such as HACCP plans, writing formulas and licensure requirements.

Dr. Kathryn Polking currently serves as bureau chief of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, overseeing Iowa’s state-level inspection program for small meat processors. She also serves as a veterinary officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, with an emphasis in food safety and preventive medicine.