Beth Graves is the Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Project Coordinator for the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA), N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Beth coordinates the EMS pilot program with companies, local governments, and a federal facility assisting with EMS design and implementation and data collection for the National Database on EMS. Beth has served as an instructor on EMS at classes with the Industrial Extension Service, NCSU.
Beth is a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to TC 207, the body responsible for the development and adoption of the international voluntary standard ISO 14001. Beth is active with the Multi-State Working Group (MSWG), a voluntary group of state, federal, business, and non-governmental organizations looking at EMS and public policy. Beth has also completed Lead Auditor Training on EMS ISO 14001.
Formerly, Beth served as a Waste Management Analyst for DPPEA. Her responsibilities included providing technical assistance to local governments and businesses regarding integrated solid waste management programs, managing the Solid Waste Reduction Assistance Grant program, and providing research and materials development support particularly in the areas of composting and source reduction.
Prior to working for the state, Beth worked for SunShares, a non-profit organization in Durham, NC, on research into mixed paper and wastewater sludge composting. Beth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Duke University.
Krysta Harden is part of the American Soybean Association's (ASA) Washington lobbying team that is headed by John Gordley of Gordley Associates. Gordley Associates has represented ASA since the fall of 1992.
Krysta joined the firm in January 1993 to work on soybean issues. She is responsible for several key policy areas including conservation and environmental issues, research, nutrition, and crop insurance. Krysta also heads the office's work on biodiesel and other new uses issues.
Before joining Gordley Associates, Krysta was staff director of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Peanuts and Tobacco. Prior to working on the Committee, Krysta worked for 9 years for Congressman Charles Hatcher of Georgia.
Krysta received her education at the University of Georgia. She grew up on a peanut farm in southwest Georgia where her family still lives and farms.
James Horne has been with the Environmental Protection Agency since 1980, first with the Office of Administration and since 1987, with the Office of Water. For the past several years, Jim has been a leader both within EPA and outside the Agency in promoting the use of environmental management systems in a variety of settings. He represents EPA on the U.S. technical Advisory Group for the ISO 14001 EMS standard. He has led or is leading a number of projects to increase EMS adoption by wastewater management agencies and public agencies in general, helping to develop important guidances and other tools to facilitate these efforts, and exploring ways in which EMSs could be used more effectively in federal regulatory programs. More recently, Jim has been working with the Agriculture community to explore possible EMS applications, focusing on egg producing operations in partnership with the United Egg Producers, and with the state of North Carolina for pork producers. He also participates on a project designed to foster environmental stewardship with the meat production industry.
Stanley R. Johnson is Vice Provost for Extension and Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University (ISU). As Vice Provost he has managed a major restructuring of Extension at ISU including the organization of a state-wide association of elected County Extension Councils, a project's approach to program management and accountability, and closer cooperation with the research and education activities of the colleges.
In addition to the restructuring, a number of new ISU initiatives are being led by extension. For example, regional centers now link ISU more directly to issues and priorities of the local citizens-the Wallace Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Southwest Iowa, Northeast Iowa Community based Dairy Center in Northeast Iowa, ISU Learning Connections in downtown Des Moines, the ISU industrial Outreach Center in Cedar Falls/Waterloo, and the Iowa Manufacturing Extension Program (IMEP).
In addition to his administrative and academic responsibilities, Stan serves as Chair of the NASULGC ECOP Legislative Committee of NASULGC (2001-2002), and Chair of the White Paper Committee of the NASLUGC Farm Bill Task Force (2001).
Prior to being appointed as Vice Provost for Extension, Stan was the Director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at ISU. An internationally recognized multi-disciplinary public policy research center with research programs addressing both domestic and international issues. Areas of special research focus at CARD were agricultural and trade policy. Stan has continued his research activities in environmental and agricultural policy and in strategic behavior and industry structure since being appointed Vice Provost.
Ron Jones is the director of the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) at Tarleton State University. TIAER was established in 1991 to address issues in emerging environmental policy. The Institute works to develop innovative and cost-effective pollution abatement strategies and encourages targeted industries to work proactively in the policy development process.
Ron has been involved in environmental issues since 1969. His experience includes issues, such as, freshwater inflow requirements for bays and estuaries, Wild and Scenic Rivers, land use planning, coastal zone management, off shore oil development, and mine reclamation.
After receiving a BS in agronomy and an MS in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University, Ron was employed by the Agricultural Economics Department at Texas A&M University from 1965 to 1966 to work on resource economic issues related to outdoor recreation. He then served in several capacities at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department from 1967 to 1972, including deputy director for planning. In 1972, Mr. Jones founded Research and Planning Consultants, Inc., a firm specializing in environmental policy analysis, where he served as president from 1972 to 1979. For the next 10 years, Ron was president of Carter, Metsgar, and Jones, a family-owned business. Ron worked actively with the Texas Legislature to create the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, where he has been director since 1991.
David E. Staples is president and owner of Creekwood Farms, Inc. in Lake Mills, WI. Creekwood is a layer operation with 1.1 million layers and 300,000 pullets and it services the egg market in the Midwest, primarily in Wisconsin and in the Chicago area.
In 1998 David patented a process that converts raw chicken manure into a marketable fertilizer. The fertilizer is in demand by grain farmers, organic farms, golf courses, turf farms, and home gardeners.
David is currently first vice-chairman of the United Egg Producers Association and chairman of the Environmental committee. He is a past resident of the Midwest Egg Producers Association and has served on numerous committees for both organizations. In 1998 he was named Egg Producer of the year by EUP. David serves on advisory committees for the Department of Agriculture and for the Department of Natural Resources for the State of Wisconsin. David also served as a committee chairman for the National Poultry Dialogue.
David graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science. He has done postgraduate work in Business Administration at California State University at Fullerton.
Allan Stokes serves as America's Clean Water Foundation Farm Assessment and Environmental Review Project Manager. The Washington, D.C. based non-profit foundation is dedicated to the cause of environmental protection in the areas of surface and groundwater protection through research, education and demonstration projects.
A 1971 graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, Allan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He also has taken postgraduate course work in Public Administration at Drake University and Northwestern University.
Prior to joining the America's Clean Water Foundation staff, in 1999 Allan had twenty-eight years of executive managerial experience with Iowa State Government; twenty-one years of which were with the State of Iowa's environmental protection programs where he served as Director of Administrative Services, Deputy Director, and for 13 years as Director of Iowa's Environmental Protection Division where he was responsible for managing the state's programs under federal delegation of authority and state statute for air quality and water quality protection, solid waste regulation, waste water discharge regulation, safe drinking water compliance, water rights allocation, flood plain management, dam safety, underground storage tank regulation, abandoned and uncontrolled waste site cleanup, and environmental emergency response.
Allan has in the past served as a member of USEPA's Effluent Guidelines Task Force; USEPA's Local Government Advisory Committee, the National Environmental Dialogue on Pork Production and is a Past President of the national Association of State & Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators.
This project and this meeting are funded through a USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) Yr2000 Grant, and additionally are supported by the Environmental Protection Agency Non-Point Source Control Branch, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.