Phoebe Autry was born and raised in south Georgia. After graduating from college, she began her career in agriculture working on a sheep dairy on the outskirts of Atlanta. What started as a way to work outside while she figured out her next steps quickly became a lifelong passion. Phoebe fell in love with farming and went on to work across a wide range of operations, from sheep dairies and beef cattle ranches to diversified vegetable farms.

Over the past decade, she has farmed and worked in agriculture throughout the Southeast, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. She also started her own vegetable farm and helped launch a farmers market to provide fresh, local food to her community.

Phoebe’s love of farming—and her firsthand experience with the challenges of accessing secure, affordable farmland—led her to a career in farmland protection. Today, she works with farmers and ranchers as Southern Oregon Program Manager for Oregon Agricultural Trust, helping safeguard agricultural land for future generations.

Ryan Beyer serves as a Water Quality Compliance Leader for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, where he partners with farmers and ranchers to protect water quality and advance practical, science-based conservation. With more than two decades of experience in natural resource management, Ryan helps ensure agricultural practices meet Oregon’s water quality standards while supporting productive and sustainable operations.

Prior to joining ODA, Ryan worked as a geologist across North and South America, a hydrologist with the Bureau of Land Management, and a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. These roles strengthened his understanding of land, water, and the communities that depend on them. He holds a degree in Environmental Geology from Southern Oregon University and brings a balance of technical expertise and collaboration to his work.

Ryan lives near Salem with his wife, two children, and two golden retrievers. Outside of work, he enjoys playing bluegrass guitar, camping on the Oregon coast, collecting rocks and minerals, and serving his community through local education and nonprofit service.

My name is Tom Buchholz. With my family, I own and operate our 400 acre Buchholz-Schmitz family farm. I also own and operate Evergreen Christmas Tree Equipment where we build from the ground up the premier harvesting equipment used across the USA.

I’m a third generation farmer who went to engineering school at OIT in Klamath Falls. I worked as a tooling Engineer at Boeing in Seattle for 2 years before tiring of the big city and returning to the farm. In the spring and summer, our farm raises vegetable seeds, grass seed, row crop vegetables and wheat. Then we move right into the Christmas tree season where we serve farmers 7 days a week for their equipment needs. We farm in the summer and fab in the winter.

I have served 14 years on the Silverton School Board. I’ve enjoyed clearing wilderness trails with the Back Country Horse Association. I enjoy the mountains more and more as I get older. I enjoy eastern Oregon where I hunt, search for mushrooms in early spring and ski in the winter. I’d love to retire and be a ski instructor at Anthony Lakes outside of Baker City.

Rogelio “Roy” Cedillo is a lifelong Oregonian, born and raised in Salem and proud to be the son of a migrant farm laborer. A tribal member of the Creek Nation, he brings a strong sense of heritage, work ethic, and community into his role as a Compliance Specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Weights and Measures Program.

Rogelio works closely with businesses across Oregon to ensure compliance with OAR and ORS laws, supporting fair pricing, fraud prevention, and product consistency. He is especially well known within Oregon’s farming community, where he has built trusted relationships over decades and enjoys helping producers correct measuring issues that save money and improve profitability. His commitment to creating positive customer interactions earned him ODA’s Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Rogelio also plays an important role in protecting Oregon’s natural resources by ensuring underground fuel storage tanks do not leak contaminants into soil or groundwater. Beyond his technical work, he is a dedicated mentor, trainer, and member of ODA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee. Rogelio lives in Sherwood with his wife, Lisa, and remains an avid basketball fan who believes deeply in the power of people and community.

Collin Cowsill serves as Special Projects Manager for North Unit Irrigation District in Madras, Jefferson County, a local municipality providing water delivery services that support commercial agriculture. With an academic background in economics and self-directed training in computer science and programming, Collin brings a systems-focused and innovative approach to water resource management.

He joined the District in 2021 as a Water Operations Specialist, managing automation assets and environmental monitoring systems. While continuing in that role, Collin has expanded his responsibilities to oversee special projects, including renewable energy initiatives, research partnerships with the University of Oregon, grant writing, and conservation collaborations with neighboring agencies.

Before entering local government, Collin worked for the University of California, where he managed student programs and staff and helped launch a sustainability initiative focused on operational and facilities improvements. He has also been active in conservation-related volunteer work. Outside of his professional life, Collin enjoys motorcycle recreation and exploring the intersection of industry, technology, and environmental stewardship.

Denise Dethlefs serves as Safety Coordinator and Secretary/Treasurer of Bighorn Logging Corp., a Northwest Oregon–based company specializing in high-lead yarder logging. In her role, Denise is deeply committed to worker safety and operational excellence, supporting the crews and staff who keep Oregon’s forest products industry strong.

Denise earned a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communication with a minor in English from the University of Oregon. Beyond her work in the logging industry, she is highly engaged in her local community. She works in Banks, serves as Chair of the Banks Community Foundation, and previously helped coordinate and train participants in Ford Family Foundation classes offered locally.

Denise is especially proud of the Bighorn Logging crew and staff, who were honored with the Associated Oregon Loggers 2024 Safety Professional of the Year Award. She lives outside Vernonia with her husband and enjoys traveling and spending time in their garden.

Stacy grew up on her family’s innovative dairy farm in Oregon, where she developed a deep appreciation for agriculture and the importance of community connection. She earned a degree in English Communications from Corban University and began her career focused on helping farmers tell their stories in meaningful and authentic ways.

For more than a decade, Stacy partnered with the Oregon Dairy Council to host farm tours throughout the Willamette Valley, connecting Oregonians with the farmers and animals behind their milk. She later served as Industry Relations and Communications Manager at ODC, supporting producers with outreach, social media, and public engagement.

In her role at Oregon Aglink, Stacy brings her passion for storytelling and agriculture to connect with producers across the state, promote programs such as Adopt a Farmer, and showcase the diversity, innovation, and impact of Oregon’s agricultural industries.

Delani Herb serves as Operations and Communications Director at Oregonians for Food & Shelter (OFS), a nonprofit natural resource coalition that advocates for science-based use of pesticides, fertilizers, and biotechnology. Her passion for communications and public outreach took shape in 2020 while working for the U.S. Forest Service during the Labor Day fires, where she served as a Public Information Officer supporting communities that had lost homes and livelihoods.

Building on that experience, Delani joined Marion Soil and Water Conservation District, working directly with landowners to develop property plans aimed at protecting land and resources in the event of future wildfires. She has also worked in Oregon’s timber industry, supporting sustainable harvesting and reforestation efforts across the state.

Delani’s family operates a small specialty grass seed farm in the Willamette Valley, focused on expanding new varieties, grounding her professional work in firsthand agricultural experience. She lives in Lebanon with her husband and a full menagerie of animals. Outside of work, Delani enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling with her dogs and exploring Oregon with her husband.

Finn Leary is a Forest Engineer with Oregon State University Research Forests and has worked in forestry and land management since 2014 across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. His experience spans both private and public lands and includes logging, timber cruising, prescribed and wildland fire, timber sale layout, forest planning, and forest engineering.

In his current role, Finn applies this broad background to implement projects that balance operational function, ecological benefit, public recreation, and fiscal responsibility. He is known for developing innovative, proactive solutions to complex challenges, including the use of LiDAR to locate abandoned roads and prioritize failing stream crossings. This work has since been adopted by the Oregon Department of Forestry to develop training resources.

Finn holds a B.S. in Forest Engineering from Oregon State University and continues his professional development through ongoing training and collaboration with ODF, ODFW, and industry partners. He lives in Corvallis with his family and enjoys mountain biking, spending time outdoors, and working on mechanical projects.

Commissioner Andy Nichols serves as a Klamath County Commissioner, bringing a career shaped by military service, law enforcement experience, and a commitment to principled leadership. A retired Master Sergeant, Andy spent twenty years in the United States Marine Corps in infantry, training, operations, and senior leadership roles, including deployments to Iraq, work as a Drill Instructor, and advisory assignments supporting senior Marine Corps leadership.

After retiring from active duty, Andy continued his public service in Oregon. He graduated as the honor student from both the corrections and police academies and went on to work as a deputy sheriff, field training officer, search and rescue leader, and union president. His background in both military and law enforcement environments informs his steady, disciplined leadership style.

As a county commissioner, Andy focuses on transparency, accountability, responsible budgeting, strong public safety, and long-term planning for the future of rural Oregon. His approach blends real-world experience with thoughtful policy work, grounded in the belief that local government must be honest, efficient, and responsive to the people it serves.

Cord Sandlin is the Operations Manager for Boshart Trucking and Pacific Rim Exporting Straw Service, companies central to Oregon’s straw export and agricultural transport sector. Over his 30-year tenure, he has overseen operations producing 40,000–50,000 tons of export grass straw annually, processed and shipped to markets in East Asia, while also managing the transport of agricultural commodities throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Born in Salem and raised in farming communities across Oregon, Cord’s agricultural career began early. As a teenager in Irrigon and Boardman, he worked nights on a custom farm operation making alfalfa hay, eventually learning the full baling trade while completing high school. He attended Blue Mountain Community College’s Mechanical Tech program while continuing to work nights and weekends.

By the late 1980s, Cord joined the early wave of grass straw baling in the Willamette Valley. During seasonal breaks, he spent time in Alaska working aboard one of the largest fishing processor ships of its era, serving as an assistant foreman overseeing 125 crew members. He later returned to Oregon, contributing to the first hay press operations exporting straw to Japan and Korea—an industry that has since become one of the Port of Portland’s major export sectors.

Cord’s experience expanded as he worked on a grass seed farm during the off-season, further deepening his understanding of Oregon agriculture. He married and began farming with his children, Destinee and Cole, before joining Boshart Trucking as Operations Manager in 1996. His background in baling, processing, exporting, and farm management helped shape Boshart into a leader in the industry. Having been involved since the industry’s early development, he has adapted the business through multiple eras of change and played a key role in its evolution.

Outside of work, Cord enjoys spending time with his family. His daughter and her husband, a fourth-generation wine grape grower, have one daughter with another on the way, and his son operates his own farm and baling business.

As the most veteran manager at Boshart Trucking, Cord is known for his can-do attitude and hands-on leadership. His day-to-day work includes dispatching trucks, managing the straw press facility, scheduling crews and maintenance, and continuing to bale straw himself.

Darcy Sexson serves as a Relationship Manager at AgWest Farm Credit, where she
plays a pivotal role in Oregon Lending and Insurance operations. Based in Pendleton, Oregon, Darcy brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to customer success, consistently fostering strong relationships across the agricultural finance sector. Known for her strategic insight and collaborative leadership, she works closely with colleagues and customers to deliver financial solutions that support long-term growth and stability. Outside of work, she can often be found attending cattle shows, attending a sporting event (Go Beavs & Go Mariners!) or traveling as a family with her husband and two elementary-aged sons.