Christine Chasek is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha.  She has strong rural roots and teaches many behavioral health classes in a Midwestern rural University.  Dr. Chasek has more than 20 years of experience practicing mental health and drug and alcohol counseling as a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor in rural areas.  Dr. Chasek also serves on the Nebraska Alcohol and Drug Licensing Board and is President of the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors.    

Dr. Donham is an Emeritus Professor, Occupational and Environmental Health, Iowa College of Public Health, having served as a professor on the faculty from 1973 – 2013.  The following are activities that he pursued:

• Lead the Agriculture at Risk Policy Process, leading to the NIOSH National Agricultural Health and Safety Program (1987-1990)
• Held the Pioneer Endowed Chair in Rural Health and Safety from 2009 – 2013.
• Founded and directed the Agricultural Health and Safety Training Program at the University of Iowa, and the Building Capacity Training Program in Agricultural Medicine (1974 – 2013);
• Founded and directed Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH 1990 - 2013);
• Founded and directed the Iowa Health and Safety Service Network (1987-2003) (now the AgriSafe Network);
• Founded and directed the Certified Safe Farm Program (1997- 2007).
• Served as Deputy Director of The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH) 1990 – 2013).
• Co-founder of the Rural Health and Safety Clinic of Greater Johnson Country (2011).
• He has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles, three books, and over 25 book chapters in the field of Agricultural Health and Safety.
• Published 4 books in the field of rural health and Agricultural Medicine.  He (with co-author Anders Thelin MD of Sweden) published the first textbook in the field “Agricultural Medicine: Occupational and Environmental Health for the Health Professions” (Blackwell, 2006, Second edition 2016).

Kelley was born and raised on a swine and cow/calf farm in Johnson County, Iowa, where he was actively involved in the family farm operation for many years.  He still is actively involved in agriculture as he owns and manages with a colleague, the 440-acre Pleasant Creek Farm. Kelley obtained a B.S in Premedical Sciences, and an M.S. in Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health from the University of Iowa, College of Medicine, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University.  He practiced veterinary medicine for several years before returning to the University of Iowa as a faculty member in 1973.  He achieved the rank of full Professor in 1984.

Shaped by Linda’s experience as a Registered Nurse working in rural communities as well as her proprietorship of a three generational Nebraska family farm, Linda naturally connects as an advocate and educator with agriculture producers and health care professionals.  As the Community Health Director of the AgriSafe Network, she is responsible for curriculum design and outreach for the Veteran Farmer program, Total Farmer Health Coach program, and Women’s health. Her work is promoted on a state, regional and national level through webinars, onsite presentations, publications as well as user-friendly resources. Her passion to support the total farmer health concept drives her to act as a liaison between research and practice.

Linda has a diverse background in acute care nursing, intensive care, pediatrics, home health care, and  rural primary care clinics. She is an AgriSafe Nurse Scholar, and a Nebraska LEAD fellow. She belongs to the American Nurses Association, Rural Nurses Organization, and Nebraska Nurses Association.  She and her husband own and operate a row crop farming operation that has welcomed back their sons and families to continue a legacy.

Charlotte served as the Clinical Director for AgriSafe thru the end of 2022 and is currently a Total Farmer Health Coach. Prior to this role, she worked for several years in hospital acute care settings and community education.  During those years, Charlotte developed and managed a Rural Outreach Health service and a Parish Health Ministry department serving nine counties in northeast Iowa. She is a "charter graduate" of the University of IA agricultural occupational medicine course, is certified in occupational hearing conservation and completed the NIOSH Spirometry training. From 1997 to 2013, she provided agricultural occupational health services and program development for the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety.

Susan has a 14-year history of education, liaison, and administrative work in health, wellness, and safety.  The passion she brings to teaching about the crucial need for quality sleep is derived from personal experience and curiosity about sleep.  This has resulted in extensive research on the topic and interviews with pulmonologists, physicians, sleep center managers, sleep study patients, professors, and research experts.  Susan’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences in Business, as well as a master’s degree in Health and Human Performance – Gerontology. 

Clinically trained as a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Ali harbors a deep appreciation for the human body and the resilience it holds. Unlike traditional rehabilitation professionals, Ali spends the majority of her time outside of the clinic walls, embedding herself within working populations to maximize the health, well-being, and performance of groups and individuals while leveraging her unique experience in workplace prevention and health promotion.

She has completed advanced certifications in Applied Prevention and Health Promotion Therapies, and residency at Pro-Activity, a human achievement company that has specialized in workplace prevention and health promotion with industrialized workforces for the past 20 years. Ali was recently named managing partner of Pro-Activity’s North Carolina field office.

Tara Haskins is a registered nurse with 33 years of clinical experience. She holds a Masters in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Forensics. For the last 12 years, she has been a nurse educator in psychiatric-mental health concepts. Tara has experience in crisis/suicide intervention and addiction treatment in both outpatient and inpatient settings. She is a 2018 AgriSafe Nurse Scholar graduate. As a National Rural Health Association Fellow, she collaborated on a policy paper on disaster preparedness and response in rural communities. Tara continues to advocate at a national level for rural health services and programming.

Charles Jennissen, MD, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Jennissen grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota.  This plays a large part in his interest in safety and injury prevention, particularly regarding children and teens, and those who work and live on farms.  Most of his research activities have addressed injury-related issues, especially those involving off-road vehicles. 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 22 years. He is proud to have received the SAFE KIDS Iowa “People Who Make a Difference” Award in 2006.

As AgriSafe Medical Director, Dr. Kirkhorn is responsible for the strategic direction and technical review of the occupational health curriculum, resources, and services. Dr. Kirkhorn serves as the medical leader liaison offering program wide engagement and collaboration, visibility, and opportunity directly contributing to AgriSafe’s success.

In addition to his role at AgriSafe, Dr Kirkhorn serves as Occupational Medicine Advisor to the NIOSH Upper Midwest Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Minnesota.

He received a BS in Zoology and MD at the University of Minnesota and a MPH in Environmental Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.  He served as the Academic Director of the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety of the HealthPartners Occupational Environmental Medicine Residency.  He is boarded in Occupational Medicine and Family Practice and has been on the adjunct faculty of the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin Family Medicine Departments. He has been a practicing Occupational Medicine physician since 1991 and prior to that was a rural Family Practitioner for 10 years in Alaska and Wisconsin. He had completed a year sabbatical and fellowship in Agricultural Medicine in 1997-1998.

He previously was the Medical Director of the National Farm Medicine Center and Chair of Occupational Health and Chair/ Regional Service Line Director of Occupational Health at Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin.  He has previously been on the board of AgriSafe and editor for 8 years of the Journal of Agromedicine as well as participating in of multiple agricultural health organizations nationally and in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

He is the recently retired Director and Section Chief of Occupational Health at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Health Care System and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine University of Minnesota Medical School.

His interests include, agricultural and rural occupational and environmental health, curriculum development, as well as birdwatching, biking, and kayaking.  He is also a Master Naturalist through the University of Minnesota Extension.

Marjorie McCullagh is Professor Emerita of Nursing at the University of Michigan. She is, first and foremost, a nurse. She has worked in a number of clinical roles in hospital acute and critical care units, and has focused much of her career on promoting and protecting the health of a critical segment of our nation’s workforce: ag producers. As a public health nurse and researcher, much of her work has been in developing and testing new programs to help farmers stay safe and healthy. She has published in many professional journals, and has presented her work nationally and internationally. 

Dr. Poole is a board-certified clinical allergist and immunologist with an active laboratory focused on understanding agriculture-related environmental organic dust-induced lung and systemic bone disease.  This has been her focus for over ten years with grant funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.  She has had several important findings as part of her funded work. She enjoys collaborating with agriculture research centers in Nebraska and Colorado, particularly in human cross-sectional and epidemiological studies, and mentors PhD and post-doctoral students, and pulmonary fellows. 

Athena Ramos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and is affiliated with the Center for Reducing Health Disparities and the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska. She leads a Latino outreach and engagement team and serves as principal investigator for a number of community-based health and social research and education initiatives in such areas as agricultural health and safety, immigrant integration, and community well-being. She is an experienced administrator, program manager, and junior researcher with proven ability to develop and implement social, health, and human service programs with culturally diverse populations. She has over 15 years of experience in health promotion, strategic thinking, community development, and public relations.

Debbie grew up on family farm in Kentucky just a few miles from the University of Kentucky. She is currently the Extension Professor of Community Health and Safety at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, affectionately known as the Ag Nurse. For the past 29 years Dr. Reed has worked with farm families throughout the nation to promote their health and prevent the many injuries that are so common in this occupation. She has developed and tested health education programs for children and youth on farms, and is upscaling the Farm Dinner Theater, a didactic readers’ theater for the farmer populations. The program that was designated as an Edge Runner by the America Academy of Nursing and is currently funded by the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation. Dr. Reed is recognized internationally for her work on farm health and safety and farm family stress and suicide prevention. She loves communing with nature, , horses, angus cattle, and smelling newly mown hay.

Mrs. Knesha Rose-Davison serves as the Public Health and Equity Director for AgriSafe Network. She has over 17 years of public health experience in maternal and child health, community health, health disparities, and advocacy. In May 2016, she joined AgriSafe Network as their health communications director, quickly growing into their public health programs director, where she managed employer-employee safety training for youth working in agriculture, opioid safety for health providers and agricultural workers, and women’s health topics. Knesha obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences (2002) and a Master of Public Health (2006) from Northern Illinois University. In June 2016, she obtained a certificate in Agricultural Medicine focused on rural occupational health, environmental health, and safety. She is a member of the American Public Health Association and the Louisiana Public Health Association, where she serves in leadership. Knesha is passionate about serving vulnerable populations and ensuring health access and equity, and she aligns all her work with these causes.

As Chief Executive Officer of AgriSafe for over twenty years, Natalie Roy utilizes her public health training to improve the quality of health care offered to farm families. Natalie holds a Masters in Public Health from Tulane University. She is pleased to work in the area of agricultural health as it relates to her experience growing up on a farm in Canterbury New Hampshire.

Diana Simmes is the Pesticide Medical Education Director of PERC-med. PERC-med is a Cooperative Agreement between the U.S. EPA and the University of California Davis and in collaboration with Oregon State University. Prior to joining PERC-med Ms. Simmes was the Academic Coordinator of the Institute for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Discovery at UC San Diego. She has lead maternal and child health research studies including serving in a position critical to the successful operation of the National Children's Study-San Diego County, a longitudinal study examining the effects of environmental influences on child health and development. She holds an MPH from Boston University and has consulted with the American Academy of Pediatrics, directed programs on pressing public health issues, and collaborated with health care providers and community-based organizations across the country.