Mary Hoffmann serves as the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) representative to the Council. She is an agriculture teacher at Sleepy Eye Public School in Sleepy Eye, MN. Prior to that, she was an agriculture teacher in Wisconsin for 11 years. Mary served as 2017-20 NAAE Region III Vice President. Mary has been a leader in agricultural education on many levels, including with NAAE as a committee member and chair and with the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators as an officer and committee chair. Her philosophy of education is to help students get a base of agricultural knowledge through hands-on learning and, in the process, gain skills in teamwork, communication, leadership and responsibility. Mary resides in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, with her husband, Dan, and their two daughters, Cassidy and Morgan.
Heath Hornecker
Chair Elect &
NAAE Representative
Term: 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2024
Casper, WY
Heath Hornecker serves in the Agriculture Department at Casper College in Casper, WY. He teaches various agriculture courses, including animal science, range management and ecology. Prior to Casper College, Heath taught high school agriculture courses for four years. Heath graduated with his master’s degree from the University of Wyoming, his bachelor’s from Texas Tech University and an associate degree from Casper College. Heath currently serves on the Wyoming FFA Board of Directors and numerous other boards and committees. In his spare time, Heath attends numerous baseball games, ice skating practices and livestock shows. Heath and his wife Jaime have four kids, too many short-legged dogs and a small acreage outside of town.
Dr. Robert Torres
Secretary
ACTE AG Ed Division Representative
Term: 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2024
Tucson, AZ
Dr. Robert “Bobby” Torres was born and raised on a sheep and cattle ranch in northern New Mexico and as a youth, was extensively involved in 4-H and FFA. As a first-generation college student, he graduated from New Mexico State University with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural and Extension Education. Early in his career, he taught school-based agricultural education in Arizona, then later obtained his Ph.D. in Agricultural Education at The Ohio State University to become a teacher educator and researcher. He continues to be involved in production agriculture as a grower of soybean, corn, and alfalfa. He and his wife own 49 acres of farmland in northeast Ohio and own and manage approximately 1,800 acres of rangeland in northern New Mexico. Today he is Professor and Department Head of Agricultural Education, Technology & Innovation and holds the Neely Family Endowed Professorship in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona. Before accepting his current faculty and administrative role, Bobby spent nine years at NMSU and eight years at the University of Missouri. He currently serves on the Arizona Career and Technical Education Quality Skills Commission and is a member of the Arizona Agricultural Education/FFA Foundation Board of Trustees. Dr. Torres is the Past President of the American Association for Agricultural Education and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Career and Technical Education as the Agriculture Division Vice President. Bobby is married to his wife Sara, a career educator in science education. Together they have four children.
Charles Parker serves as The Council Chair. After graduation from Wasco High School, Charles attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he obtained his BS in Agriculture Science and his teaching credential. He later completed his Master’s in Agricultural Education at Chico State University. In 1980 Charles began what would be 13 years as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Kingsburg High School. In 1993 Charles joined the state staff in California. Charles served as the North Coast Region Supervisor, the Assistant State FFA Advisor, San Joaquin Region Supervisor and is currently serving as the Program Manager for Agriculture Education & Family and Consumer Sciences and the State FFA Advisor.
Dr. Antoine J. Alston
MANNRS Representative
Term: 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2023
NC A&T State University
Greensboro, NC
Dr. Antoine Alston, a native of Rocky Mount, NC, is professor and associate dean for academic studies in North Carolina A&T State University’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. He received his Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in Agricultural and Extension Education from NC A&T State University, and Ph.D. in Agricultural and Extension Education from Iowa State University. His research interests include instructional technology/distance learning within agricultural settings, employability skills, the development of all-inclusive/diverse learning environments within agricultural settings, and African American agricultural history. Alston’s dedication to student success is well known. His work has earned him many honors such as the UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence, Honorary FFA American Degree, the National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Contribution to Agricultural Education Award, George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award from Iowa State University, and the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teacher Fellow Award. Additionally, he was the first African-American to receive a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award.
Deron Erickson
NFRBMEA Representative
Term: 9/1/2021 – 12/31/2023
MN West College
Morris, MN
Deron Erickson represents the National Farm and Ranch Business Management Education Association (NFRBMEA) on The Council. He has taught Farm Business Management in West Central Minnesota for 22 years. Deron works with approximately 65 families in his program through MN West Technical College. The NFRBMEA is an organization whose mission is to promote and support farm and ranch management education by providing in-service education to our members and by communicating and cooperating with others. Prior to teaching Farm Business Management, he taught High School Agricultural Education in Morris and Hancock, MN for 12 years.
Jason A. Scales, Ph.D.
Business/Industry Representative
Term: 7/1/2021 – 06/30/2024
Jason_Scales@LincolnElectric.com
Cleveland, OH
Jason Scales is responsible for strategic planning and the management of the company’s education team and product portfolio. His team includes research and development, product management, technical training and education sales. He has been with Lincoln Electric for 9 years predominately in the Technical Training department providing extensive experience in leading, designing, developing, and implementing educational programs for higher education, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies. His commitment is to continue supporting customer training programs, community college systems, non-traditional programs, continuing education and workforce development opportunities for learning communities across the world. He is a respected scholar, consultant and educational leader among national, regional and global officials.
He serves on a number of welding education and partner boards and has participated in numerous speaking engagements, panels and bylined articles on the subject of the changing face of technical education and paths for addressing the current ‘skills gap’ in manufacturing and construction.
He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Education at the University of Missouri.
Dr. Amy Smith is the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) representative of the Council. Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Education at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Smith teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Agricultural Education and serves as the Director of Graduate Studies. She is passionate about the preparation of high-quality school-based agriculture teachers and conducts research related to teacher recruitment and retention. Smith is also an advocate for connecting with new and diverse audiences through agricultural and food systems education. Prior to joining the faculty at UM in 2013, Smith served as an Assistant Professor at South Dakota State University and Youth Education Coordinator at the Jefferson Farm and Garden. Smith earned her undergraduate degree (2000) in Agricultural Education at Oklahoma State University. After teaching school-based agricultural education for five years, Smith then completed her Masters (2006) and doctorate (2008) at the University of Missouri.
Dr. Dexter B. Wakefield
HBCU Representative
Term: 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2023
Lorman, MS
Dr. Wakefield currently serves as Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Programs, School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University. He is a graduate of Fort Valley State University (GA) and Purdue University majoring in Agricultural and Extension Education. He formerly served as national president to the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences and Alpha Tau Alpha Honorary Agriculture Education Organization. He is a recipient of the Honorary American FFA Degree and is a Distinguished Agricultural Alumni of Purdue University.
Prior to her appointment as CEO, Alissa was NAAE Associate Executive Director with lead responsibilities for NAAE’s professional development initiatives, including but not limited to, the National Agriscience Teacher Ambassadors, Teachers Turn the Key, and eXcellence in Leadership for Retention (XLR8). She also managed most of the NAAE professional staff functions including communications/marketing, meeting planning and membership. A Kentucky native, Alissa earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural education from the University of Kentucky. Before joining the NAAE staff in July 2006, she taught agriculture for five and one-half years in the Jessamine County Schools in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
Brad Driskill is the Agriculture Program Coordinator for State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri. Brad’s focus when employing innovation in the agriculture program at State Fair Community College (SFCC) is developing technical and soft skills for students that will meet the needs of industry employers. He takes every opportunity to create or expose students to situations they will face in the workplace. With more than 15 years of experience in the seed industry, Brad draws upon his own experiences and the input from an active advisory committee to develop curriculum that arms students with the skills needed to embark upon successful careers.
Coming soon
Coming soon
Dr. Travis Park
Director of Ag Ed
National FFA Advisor & Board Chair
Term: N/A – Ex-officio
Indianapolis, IN
Coming soon
Scott Stump began his career as an agriculture teacher in Manchester, Indiana, where he taught for two years. He then worked for the National FFA Organization, where he managed the national officer team and the National FFA Convention & Expo. From 2007 through 2014, he served as the assistant provost and state director for career and technical education with the Colorado Community College System. During his CCCS tenure, Stump also served as state FFA advisor, agriculture program director and interim president of Northeastern Junior College during the institution’s presidential search process. In 2015, Stump was named COO of learning solutions provider Vivayic, Inc. In July 2018, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the assistant secretary of career, technical and adult education for the U.S. Department of Education, where he served until January. He currently serves as senior advisor with Advance CTE, where he leads and contributes to major initiatives and projects, including Advances CTE’s Postsecondary CTE Leaders Fellowship Program and Advancing the Framework. He also supports their federal advocacy, state policy and technical assistance efforts.
Originally from Vicksburg, Mich., Ball earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and natural resources communications with emphasis on agribusiness management and marketing from Michigan State University. She received her Certified Fund-Raising Manager accreditation from the Indiana University Center of Philanthropy. A former FFA member in high school, Ball served an internship at the National FFA Organization after college, joined the organization as a communications specialist and later was named individual giving manager with the foundation. She is currently the National FFA Foundation president and National FFA Organization chief marketing officer.
Term: N/A – Ex-officio
Indianapolis, IN
Cheryl Zimmerman is the executive secretary for National FFA. Zimmerman has served on the National FFA Board of Directors as a consultant and member since 2016. She currently serves as the Wisconsin FFA executive director. She studied agricultural education and agricultural journalism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Zimmerman also served as the president for the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education and the central region vice president. Zimmerman is a former Wisconsin agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor.
