From Bayer to Regrow: A new chapter in my ag communications career begins

Five and a half years ago, I started a new chapter of my career when I joined the Executive Communications team at Monsanto (now Bayer | Crop Science ). At that point, I was a seasoned Corporate Communicator, but knew almost nothing about agriculture. In my first meeting with CTO Robb Fraley , he was shocked to learn that I had never heard of the great Dr. Norman Borlaug (the man who won a Nobel Peace Prize for saving a billion lives!!). He immediately walked over to his office bookshelf, selected the three-volume version of Borlaug’s biography and handed me the books saying, “Here, read these. This will get you started.”?So I did…and they changed my life.?

Learning about agriculture, first from Borlaug’s biography and then firsthand from Fraley and other Bayer crop scientists and leaders ( Bob Reiter , John Purcell , Mike Graham , Jeremy Williams , Aimee Hood , Cami Ryan, PhD , Phil Taylor , Jeff Seale , Larry Gilbertson , Stella Salvo , Mark Edge , Klaus Kunz ...just to name a few!), completely opened my eyes to all the things I’d previously taken for granted about how blessed we are to have a safe and affordable food supply, without having to produce any of that food ourselves (at least, those of us who are so fortunate). It also opened my eyes to the food security challenges that much of the world still faces...and the scary reality that all of us could be facing over the next several decades, as the global population continues to grow and already-limited natural resources are further threatened by climate change.

I quickly developed a passion for supporting the innovators who are working to transform agriculture into one of the biggest levers in the fight against climate change, primarily by enabling the world’s food producers to draw more carbon out of the atmosphere and sequester it in the soil. They do the science, while I help them shape & tell their stories...on big stages, in media & podcast interviews, through op-eds…it’s the best way I know how to use my skills to help in this critical effort.

This passion has now led me to the beginning of another new chapter in my career…one that carries me even further down the path of sustainable agriculture. I’m proud to announce that I recently started as Director of Communications at an #agtech startup called Regrow Ag , which is working to scale carbon markets under the leadership of brilliant engineering entrepreneurs - who also happen to be women, which I think is fantastic! I’m already so impressed with the Regrow team and what they’ve accomplished (and plan to further accomplish), and look forward to sharing more of their story as time goes on.?

As I look back at my time at Bayer, the best word to sum up how I feel is grateful. I’m grateful to have had so many wonderful colleagues on truly diverse global teams, and to have worked with industry leaders who poured knowledge into me and gave me incredible professional growth opportunities. I’m grateful I’ve had the chance to learn about agriculture in other countries and take part in so many memorable and inspiring events (and even plan a few)! I’m grateful that I was able to help a big company tell science stories in a new way (and even get my kids involved) when we launched Science at Home with Bayer, and that I had the opportunity to re-channel my inner journalist when I was asked to host Bayer’s first corporate podcast, "Headlines of the Future." And I think it's pretty cool that one of the last people I interviewed was Julie Borlaug , granddaughter of the late Norman Borlaug...the hero who first sparked my interest in agriculture (you can listen to that episode here).

I’m especially grateful that I was able to spend several years leading Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit program, working with brilliant young ag innovators from all over the world. While the program was designed to help them, they (perhaps unknowingly) gave me so much in return…inspiration, motivation, and much broader perspective…and I think that exposure to many hopeful startups and social change organizations really prepared me to step into my new role. I hope to cross paths with many of my YAS (now NGIN) and Bayer friends down the road as we continue to pursue our shared vision for a food secure and sustainable future. The Bayer chapter of my life may have been relatively short in the grand scheme of things, but "Health for all, Hunger for none" will forever be imprinted on my heart and mind. Thank you #TeamBayer!