Staff Directory
Staff directory of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and PA Friends of Agriculture Foundation.
Administration
Todd Bailey
Chief Administrative Officer
Administrative Secretary/Treasurer
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and PFB Members’ Service Corporation operate with a professional staff of about 30. PFB provides its members with a voice in public affairs, information and the opportunity for savings through services and member benefits.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau serves its members through the following divisions: Member Relations, Government Affairs and Communications, MSC Business Services, Controller, and Pennsylvania Friends of Ag Foundation.
Ginny Keever
Executive Assistant
Ginny handles all logistics relating to the Board of Directors, including correspondence, meeting details and recording of minutes. She provides assistance in maintaining current corporate files, as well as assisting with payroll processing procedures.
Joe Montenegro
General Counsel
Joe oversees legislation & regulations review, county Farm Bureau governance, agriculture legal proceedings, transportation, local ordinances & regulations, Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board and policy development.
Member Relations
Regional Organization Directors
This division is the link between the state organization and its 54 county Farm Bureaus. The state is divided into eight regions with assistance provided in each area by a Regional Organization Director (ROD). It conducts a membership drive each year and coordinates county Farm Bureau programs with the local leadership.
RODs each manage a multi-county territory with six or more county Farm Bureaus per region. They implement all programming, training and provide member engagement opportunities throughout PA. They deliver marketing, communication and public awareness opportunities in their local communities and responsible for the yearly membership campaign and growth of the organization.
Joseph Poppiti
Region 1
Board Districts 2 & 3
Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Monroe, Northampton
Neil Dembeck
Region 2
Board Districts 7 & 8
Dauphin, Lancaster, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Union
Ken Sechrist
Region 3
Board Districts 9 & 10
Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Perry, York
Joe Diamond
Region 4
Board Districts 11 & 12
Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset
Tyler Anderson
Region 5 – Young Ag Professionals State Coordinator
Board Districts 15 & 16
Beaver/Lawrence, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Mercer, Washington, Westmoreland
Michele McMinn
Region 6
Board Districts 13 & 14
Armstrong, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Venango, Warren
Brendan Reed
Region 7
Board Districts 5 & 6
McKean, Potter, Tioga, Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, Centre
Women’s Leadership Committee Director
Eric Herschel
Region 8
Board Districts 1 & 4
Columbia, Luzene, Schuylkill/Carbon, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming/Lackawanna
Heather Krumenaker
Membership Coordinator
Blake Barrick
Membership Coordinator
Heather and Blake are responsible for maintaining the membership database and coordinating billings, and help members understand all PFB member benefits. They also handle customer service calls in addition to communications to county volunteer members.
Government Affairs & Communications
The Government Affairs & Communications Division is responsible for PFB’s lobbying and communications programs. It works to implement PFB policy objectives in state and national legislative and regulatory activities. It also provides members with information to aid in their involvement in policy development and implementation efforts and informs the public on issues crucial to agriculture and rural life. In addition, the division assists with the marketing of member programs such as Nationwide and builds productive working relationships with the news media and other groups.
Ginny Keever
Office Administrator
Ginny is the office coordinator for state legislative conference, federal affairs trips, FARMER dinner, state policy development meeting and regional legislative update meetings.
Grant Gulibon
Regulatory Affairs Specialist
PFB’s research analyst for state and federal environmental and other regulatory proposals affecting agriculture, concentrating on the topics of transportation, building codes, animal health and well-being, air and water quality, food safety, and nutrient management and CAFO regulations. Serves as staff liaison to internal and external committees, boards, and working groups formulating and evaluating such proposals and as a resource for individual Farm Bureau members with questions or concerns regarding regulatory matters.
Mitchell Kurek
State & Local Affairs Specialist
PFB’s principal Harrisburg lobbyist, that organizes Farm Bureau’s grassroots lobbying efforts to implement PFB’s state policy initiatives. Oversees agricultural program funding, rural development, state legislative committee coordination, FARMER PAC, and local affairs issues.
Joe Montenegro
General Counsel
Joe oversees legislation & regulations review, county Farm Bureau governance, agriculture legal proceedings, transportation, local ordinances & regulations, Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board and policy development.
Bailey Fisher
Federal Affairs Specialist
PFB’s principal Washington D.C. Lobbyist, and primary liaison with American Farm Bureau Federation. Organizes Farm Bureau’s grassroots lobbying efforts to implement national policy initiatives, analyzes federal policy and commodity market trends, and oversees farm labor and farm safety issues.
Kim Flegal
Event Planner & Sponsor Relations Specialist
Kim coordinates the PFB state annual meeting & sponsorships, Country Focus & Positively PA advertising, county newsletter ad sponsorship program and trade shows.
Will Whisler
Member Communications Director
Will is the editor of Positively Pennsylvania, Farm Bureau Express, member communications and Companion. He also is in charge of photography and videography and co-develops the Farm Focus podcast.
David Varner
Media & Marketing Specialist
PFB’s primary media contact who is also in charge of PFB’s marketing plan, co-develops the Farm Focus podcast, runs our social media platforms, and oversees wildlife issues.
Information Technology
Dave McAfee
IT Director
The Information Technology division is responsible for the PFB internal network and servers, telephone system, purchasing and maintenance of desktop PCs, printers, corporate application programming, and purchase and updating of third party software.
Greg Brown
Programmer/Analyst
Greg is responsible for application development and maintenance of our Membership system, Commissions system, and various FMS applications. In addition, he administers our various websites and SSL licenses.
Controllers Division
Kristen Yost
Controller
The Controllers Division is responsible for corporate records and the administration of the Blue Cross group health insurance program.
Darlene Kapp
Senior Bookkeeper
Darlene handles all of the bookkeeping functions for the organization’s three entities: Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, PFB Members’ Service Corporation, and Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation.
Health Services
Kim Lehmer
Health Services Account Representative
Kim handles the day-to-day processing of the health services cash receipts and assists members with new enrollments and medical contract changes. She also handles the contract invoicing and quoting for new business.
Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture
Charlene Shupp-Espenshade
Executive Director
The Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation is a charitable organization supported by Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and its affiliates. The foundation promotes agriculture literacy and education through in-school and community programs, such as Ag Literacy Week, Ag Careers, Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab, Ag on the Go and Educator’s Ag Institute.
Paula Shoop
Elementary Education Specialist
Paula coordinates the Ag Lab program and other education programs.
Becky Freeman
Program Assistant
Becky is responsible for Ag Lab scheduling, Ag Literacy Week registration and accounts receivable.
Carolina Nicholson
Communications and Event Coordinator
Carolina coordinates event logistics for Foundation events, fundraisers, and other outreach activities as well as marketing those events. Assist with the development of the Foundation’s communications strategy to raise awareness of Foundation programs and mission.
Sam Christ
Area Coordinator
Sam assists with the coordination of the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab program and supports the Elementary Education Specialist.