Project Management Team
People | Farmer Leadership Team
Doug Jackson-Smith
Professor and Kellogg Endowed Chair of Agroecosystem Management
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University
Doug Jackson-Smith is a Professor and the Kellogg Chair of Agroecosystem Management at the Ohio State University. Trained as a rural sociologist, his work focuses on building and supporting teams of scientists and farmers to carry out interdisciplinary and participatory research on agricultural systems to address complex challenges. He is the overall Project Director for the From the Ground Up project.
Sakthi Kumaran
Associate Professor
Agricultural Research and Development Program, Central State University
Dr. Kumaran is a research associate professor of soil sciences and agronomy. His research focus is on developing frameworks that utilize advanced machine learning, proximal and remote sensing techniques to quantify with greater accuracy various soil health and water quality benefits from targeted implementation of climate smart agricultural practices.
Gurbir Singh
Assistant Professor and State Extension Specialist in Soil Science
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri
Gurbir Singh’s faculty appointment includes research and extension responsibilities in applied soil science, agroecology, and landscape management. He also serves as a state extension specialist for landscape position management. His research is focused on the spatial and temporal modeling of nutrient dynamics in the plant, soil, water, and gaseous phases, ranging from the plot scale to the watershed scale.
Tunsisa Hurisso
Assistant Professor Soil Science
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Lincoln University
Tunsisa Hurisso is a soil scientist at Lincoln University in Missouri where his research and Extension activities revolve around soil health and sustainable soil management. He is currently leading multiple grant-funded projects that are focused on evaluating climate-smart regenerative agricultural strategies which hold the potential to improve overall soil function (e.g., promote nutrient cycling, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, suppress soilborne pathogens, etc.).
Ernie Shea
President, Solutions from the Land and Founder and Principal of Natural Resource Solutions (NRS)
Ernie Shea is the President of Solutions from the Land, a not-for-profit organization that incubates and supports farmer-scientist led, multi-stakeholder platforms that inspire, educate, and equip agricultural partners to innovate and lead efforts to sustain productivity, enhance climate resilience, and contribute to local and global goals for sustainable development. Ernie has over 40 years of experience at the global, national, state and local level where he has designed and facilitated initiatives to enhance the effective functioning and ability of agricultural landscapes to sequester carbon, protect water quality, improve public health, and ensure a growing and resilient food system.
Alex Jefferies
Project Manager
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University
Alex is the Project Manager for the From the Ground Up project. As a former litigation attorney, editor, and analyst, Alex brings a wealth of experience managing people and projects of all types in the USA and Europe. She gained a bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, and has a master’s degree in Law, Business and Management. Alex is working towards another master’s degree in the Environment and Natural Resources at the Ohio State University, with a minor in Public Policy and Management and a focus on sustainable agriculture.
Julie Vredenburgh
Research and Engagement Coordinator
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University
Julie Vredenburgh is the Ohio Research and Engagement Coordinator for the From the Ground Up Project. Julie earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and biology from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. She comes to OSU from American Farmland Trust, where she spent four years assisting farmers with implementing conservation practices and facilitating peer-to-peer meetings throughout the state. She brings experience in engaging both farmers and resource professionals in agriculture conservation education through grant program management. Julie and her husband live on 20 wooded acres in Mansfield, Ohio.
Mehtab Aslam
Research and Engagement Coordinator and Postdoctoral Researcher
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri
Mehtab Muhammad Aslam, originally from Pakistan, serves as the Research and Engagement Coordinator for the From the Ground Up project at the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher for two years at Yangzhou University, China, and has been working for 1.5 years at the University of Missouri, USA. Additionally, she spent one year as a Research Associate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Her research has primarily focused on understanding how plants adapt to environmental stresses, particularly nutrient deficiencies and drought. She brings her skills in bridging the gap between scientific research and practical application, ensuring that farmers adopting climate-smart agricultural practices are well-informed and supported with real-world agricultural practices.
Amanda Douridas
Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Madison County
The Ohio State University
Amanda Douridas is the Ohio State University Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Madison County. Her on-farm research has focused on nutrient management and adapting to changing weather patterns within cropping systems. She also serves as co-leader of the OSU Agronomic Crops Team and is a Certified Crop Adviser.
Forbes Lipschitz
Associate Professor and the Graduate Chair of Landscape Architecture
Knowlton School, The Ohio State University
Forbes Lipschitz is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Studies Chair of Landscape Architecture at the Knowlton School. Her current research investigates the potential of design to reframe and reshape conventional working landscapes. Through public installations and participatory workshops, she explores ways for design to help communities better understand and engage with agricultural systems.
Noel Aloysius
Assistant Professor, Biological Engineering
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Missouri
Noel Aloysius is an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. His research interests include hydroclimatology with an emphasis on modeling at the watershed to regional scale, water and food security assessment, coupled human-natural systems, environmental change and land and water management in agriculture. Dr Aloysius’s research group investigates how climate and weather, landscapes and land management drive precipitation-runoff processes and the fate and transport of pollution.
Kimberly Cash
Faculty Instructor and Agriculture Student Advisor
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Lincoln University
Kimberly Cash is a faculty instructor at Lincoln University of Missouri. She advises agriculture and agriculture education students, and she is the academic advisor for Tri-AG Agriculture Club. She has a BS in Animal Science, an MS in Natural Sciences, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Agriculture Education.
Heather Dantzker
Principal, Dantzker Consulting, LLC
Heather Dantzker serves as the project’s external evaluator. As founder/principal of Dantzker Consulting, LLC, a small, woman-owned business based in Arlington, Virginia, she provides program evaluation and strategic advisory services to university, non-profit, government, and foundation-based teams. Her projects span topical areas including climate mitigation/adaptation/resilience; sustainable agriculture and aquaculture; conservation and water quality; and STEM education and professional development, among others. She holds a PhD in Natural Resources Policy and Management from Cornell University and brings 20+ years’ experience in research, university extension, and management consulting to her work.
Jeana Curtis
Outreach Coordinator
Northern Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center, University of Missouri
Jeana Curtis is the Outreach Coordinator for the University of Missouri’s Northern Missouri Research, Extension, and Education Center. Jeana studied animal science and later received a M.S. in Agricultural Leadership but is an agricultural educator at heart and enjoys using social media to share her agricultural adventures. Jeana and her husband have a farm in rural northeast Missouri where they raise beef cattle, corn, and soybeans.
