Ed Fish - Vice President | General Manager Varietal Solutions | Bay State Milling | OTA Board Member and Grains Council Chair
Nicole Atchison, PhD | CEO | Puris
Nicole Atchison is responsible for leading innovation and business development across PURIS’ portfolio of companies including ingredient technologies, processing technologies, seed genetic strategies, product development and go-to-market strategies, insights, and support for plant-based brands. PURIS develops and supports continued innovation in a spectrum of pure, plant-based foods and ingredients from U.S.-based organic and non-GMO sources. PURIS™ is a family-owned company founded in 1985 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Built with intention over 30 years, PURIS’ plant-based food system benefits every link in the chain of production: flavorful and nutritious choices for people, profitable opportunities for growers, flexible ingredients for food makers, and practices that nourish soil, the environment, and life on earth. Nicole is the daughter of the founders of the company. Previously, Nicole held roles as Project Manager and Engineer and was responsible for leading the cross functional team through FDA approval and US commercialization of Stellarex 035, a Class III medical device, for Spectranetics/Covidien. Stellarex launched in 2017, followed by an acquisition of Spectranetics by Phillips. Nicole holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. She spends her free time with her husband Jordan and two children Cameron and Avery. They live in Eden Prairie, MN and enjoy
Sam Raser | Purchasing | Grain Millers
Sam Raser – Born and raised on a dairy farm in MN. I went to school for Agriculture Education at the University of MN and spent 3 years in the Cargill Animal Nutrition plant management program before coming to Grain Millers. I have spent the last 16 years working with organic farmers, managing our teams that provide grain for all of Grain Millers facilities. Outside of work I am active with my wife and three kids (ages 9,7,5) camping in the summer. I have way too many hobbies including bee keeping, maple syrup production, gardening, and fishing. I have really enjoyed working in the organic market with such great people and have been fortunate to work with a company who works tirelessly on doing things the right way.
Alexander Schultz | Senior Reporter | Argus Media
Alexander Schultz is a Senior Reporter at Argus Media where he provides pricing and data-driven analysis on feed-grade organic commodity markets. He works to turn wide swaths of raw market data into actionable intelligence on organic grain prices and market fundamentals. Prior to coming to Argus Media, he worked as a market intelligence analyst in the dairy industry and interned at the USDA’s Economic Research Service. He holds a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota and an M.S. in Applied Economics and Management with a concentration in Food and Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.