Dr. Chuck Benbrook brings decades of leadership across the organic, pesticide, and food policy arenas. Trained as an agricultural economist with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he is widely recognized for his pioneering work on pesticide use, health and environmental risks, and regulatory reform. His science-based advocacy has helped drive stronger protections from harmful chemicals and support for organic farming as a public health and environmental solution. He has served as Chief Scientist for The Organic Center, led the Heartland Health Research Alliance, and acted as an expert witness in major pesticide litigation. He has published multiple scientific papers on the impacts of organic food and farming on food safety and food nutritional quality. 

Harriet Behar is a nationally respected organic farmer and policy leader who brings more than three decades of hands‑on production, certification, and advocacy experience to the board. As the longtime owner of Sweet Springs Farm, a diversified certified organic operation in southwest Wisconsin, she grounds every decision in practical knowledge of soil health, crop and livestock management, and real‑world farm economics. She has served on and chaired the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), helps lead farmer‑driven advocacy through the Organic Farmers Association (OFA), and played a key advisory role on the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council, where she has shaped state and federal organic policy, conservation initiatives, and market development efforts. Combining deep technical expertise with a collaborative, farmer‑first approach, she offers strategic insight on program direction, integrity in organic standards, and opportunities to strengthen resilient, soil‑based organic farming systems. Harriet has 40 years of organic inspection experience, visiting thousands of farms and processors of all types. Harriet enjoys spending time outdoors, walking her two dogs a few miles each day along the trout stream and through the wooded hills and meadows near her home. A skilled handweaver, she also explores the art of natural dyeing, drawing color inspiration from both wild and cultivated plants.
An avid reader, Harriet keeps up with a wide range of publications—from Acres U.S.A. to The New Yorker—but she especially values her local newspaper for staying connected with her community.

Linda Ceylor operates Hillside Dairy, a certified organic family farm in Catawba, Wisconsin, where she milks 50 cows and raises replacement heifers using
rotational grazing and soil-centered management practices and supplies to Organic Valley. Linda and her late husband, Gerald, began farming in Washington in 1990 and relocated to northern Wisconsin in 1997 with their two children to continue their commitment to sustainable and organic dairying. A longtime advocate for family farms and environmentally responsible agriculture, Linda founded the Taylor-Price Chapter of the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) and helped launch its youth group, later serving as chapter president. She currently serves on the Wisconsin Farmers Union Board of Directors and previously served on the state Farm Service Agency Board, bringing an organic producer’s perspective to agricultural policy and rural development discussions. Deeply engaged in her rural community, Linda leads the KC Clovers 4-H Club, served on the Price County Fair Board for a decade, and is active in the Bethany Lutheran Church Council. She also presides over the Price/Taylor National Rural Letter Carriers Association and is local steward for the group.  

Gary Stevens is a seasoned natural and organic foods executive with more than 30 years of experience building and scaling fresh, perishable food categories; from field to fork. Gary has held senior sales and growth leadership roles with mission driven brands,  StarWalker Organic Farms, Continental Sausage/CharcutNuvo, Organic Prairie, Alsum Farms & Produce, Pederson’s Natural Farms, and Albert’s Organics, consistently delivering strong growth while expanding access to high-integrity products. Gary is well versed in expanding market access in cooperation with organic and regenerative producers nationwide. Throughout his career, Gary has built trusted partnerships with growers, ranchers, retailers, and distributors across North America; consistently driving category growth, while upholding high standards of product integrity and transparency. 

Gary’s long-standing commitment to organic, regenerative agriculture, combined with his practical market insight will support Wisconsin Organics’ efforts to strengthen farmer to consumer linkages, expand resilient supply chains, and grow equitable market opportunities for the state’s organic sector. 
Gary resides in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife, daughter, and two stepsons. Outside of Gary's commitment to Organic agriculture, he enjoys being active outside. His passions include cross country skiing, mountain biking, open water swimming and snowboarding.

Melvin Smith is a senior capture and business development executive with over 30 years of experience in humanitarian logistics, government contracting, and complex service delivery in regulated and austere environments. 
He serves as a Capture Director at SOS International LLC (SOSi), leading strategic pursuits across State, Local, Education (SLED) federal, and cooperative procurement channels.  Mel has deep expertise in scaling integrated service platforms that combine logistics, technology, and multilingual support for diverse populations. 
He brings a strong command of compliance frameworks, including USAID, federal acquisition standards, EDGAR requirements, and cooperative purchasing models. He has served on the board and Advisory Council of INSSA (International NGO Safety and Security Association), Chair of the Standards Committee for IPOA/ISOA( International Peace
Operations Association/International Stability Operations Association) , and held leadership roles for domestic not-for-profits. He is a graduate of NYU’s Steinhart School of Education, has a Goethe Institute Certificate in German Language fluency and is an 1991 member of the American Council on Germany/ Atlantic Bridge Young Leaders Program. He enjoys traveling, foreign and classic films, and sport in his spare time.

Peggy Koniz-Booher is an international public health nutritionist and social and behavior change specialist who works to strengthen equitable, nutrition-sensitive food systems so that mothers, infants, adolescents, and young children can access nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate foods in their local markets and communities. She has more than 30 years of experience with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), John Snow International (JSI), PATH, and other partners in over 35 countries, where she has helped design, test, and scale community counseling packages, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and media interventions, and social and behavior change strategies that connect optimal infant and young child feeding, adolescent nutrition with resilient livelihoods, local value chains, and healthier food environments.

Dr. Brian Baker has worked in organic agriculture since 1983, after growing up on a conventional family farm in Western New York. While at Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D., he was a member of the Ecological Agriculture Research Collective. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, Baker left academia in 1988 to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). At CCOF, he managed a pioneering pesticide residue testing program for organic certification. After leaving CCOF, Dr. Baker was a founder of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). He also co-authored—with Dr. Charles Benbrook and others—a much-cited landmark paper comparing pesticide residues in organic and non-organic foods. Baker was the Director of Sustainability at Alfred State College (SUNY). He also served as International Research Networker at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). Currently, Dr. Baker serves as an affiliate faculty member of the Environmental Science Graduate Program at Oregon State University. Dr. Baker received a Recognition Award from IFOAM—Organics International in 2021 and the Steward of Sustainable Agriculture Award at the Ecological Farming Association Conference in 2024. Hobbies include gardening, bicycling, reading, cross-country skiing, hiking, camping, concerts, theater, and cooking.

Connie Karr brings more than 25 years of leadership in the organic certification sector, with expertise spanning strategic development, compliance, accreditation, certification systems, and sustainability. Her career reflects the breadth and evolution of the organic industry itself. Formerly Certification Director at Oregon Tilth, Connie has played a key role in strengthening certification integrity and advancing practical, risk-based approaches across the organic community. She has served as Board Chair of the Accredited Certifiers Association and continues to work closely with ACA, providing guidance, technical expertise, and strategic support to certifiers.

Connie works nationally and internationally with certifiers, brands, and producers to modernize systems, improve efficiency, and simplify compliance while maintaining strong organic oversight. She is also actively involved in Quick Organics and other sector initiatives focused on practical innovation.

Raised on a family farm she now helps manage with her sisters, Connie also operates a small urban farm with her son, keeping her closely connected to the day-to-day realities producers face.Known for her collaborative leadership and practical problem solving, Connie is committed to helping the organic sector move forward
with clarity and integrity.

Michelle Miller is a Participatory Action Researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. Michelle works on food distribution for perishable, regionally-produced foods.
Previously, she organized farmer networks around Wisconsin as part of her work at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Her first act of Organic Instigation was to obtain the 1980 USDA Organic Report from Garth Youngberg, to distribute to food coops and at farmer meetings. She is a third-generation Farmers Union member and secretary for the Dane County Wisconsin Farmers Union.