Jerry Sonnenberg currently serves as a ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. He has served in the legislature since 2007 and currently represents over 21,000 square miles of some of the best agricultural production in the country. He attributes his leadership skills to the training he acquired while participating in Class 8 of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program. Jerry Sonnenberg continues to farm and ranch with his wife and two sons, spanning five generations, making their living in agriculture in northeast Colorado.

Landon Gates is a partner in Capitol Focus LLC, a political consulting and lobbying firm. Before starting Capitol Focus, Landon worked for Colorado Farm Bureau, serving as the Director of Public Policy for Regulatory and National Affairs. A native from Yuma, Colorado, Landon graduated from Colorado State University in 2002 with a Bachelors degree in Animal Science. Landon, began his political career with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, and has experience in local, state and national politics. Landon has worked several ballot initiative campaigns and worked as a legislative aide for Denver City Council before joining Farm Bureau. Landon has broad experience in lobbying on legislation at the national and state level as well as working on regulatory issues. Landon is currently living in Denver and in 2007 was selected to serve on the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Advisory Board, serving as Chair from 2011 to 2013. In 2011, Landon was appointed Co-Chair of Mayor Michael Hancock’s transition team for Denver’s Department of Environmental Health. Landon currently serves as a member of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program Board of Directors.

Wes Pollart was in the Colorado Ag Leadership Program Class 11.  Wes began his love for agriculture at a young age, helping his dad in the feedlots and area farmers growing up.  He attended Northeastern Junior College, and then transferred to Colorado State University, where he obtained a Soil and Crop Science degree in 1999. Wes started working at Aero Applicators, Inc. in 2004 and is currently the Agronomy Manager.  He currently serves on the CSU FarmHouse Association Board, Colorado Certified Crop Advisory Board and Sterling Rural Fire Protection Board.  Wes and his wife Nicole live in Sterling and enjoy gardening and traveling together.

Mickey Dubs is a shareholder with Johnson and Associates, CPA’s in Sterling, Colorado. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1987 and is licensed in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. The majority of his clients are directly or indirectly involved with agriculture. Mickey was raised on a small farm in Delta, Colorado and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. He is a member of the Farm Financial Standards Council and is active in his community, currently serving on the local hospital’s Advisory Board and as a director with the Sterling Federal Credit Union.

Tracee Bentley is the President and CEO of Permian Strategic Partnership, a collaboration between local communities and oil and gas companies operating in the Permian Basin.
Tracee’s extensive experience and leadership within the energy industry well-qualify her to lead this first of its kind partnership.
Before joining PSP as its first CEO, Bentley was the Executive Director of the Colorado Petroleum Council, a division of the American Petroleum Institute, which focuses on state and local policy and supporting the development of Colorado’s energy resources, including hydraulic fracturing and energy infrastructure.
Prior to joining the Colorado Petroleum Council in March 2015, Bentley served in several key policy positions including Legislative Director & Senior Advisor on Energy and Agriculture and Deputy Director of the Colorado Energy Office for Governor John Hickenlooper.  Before Bentley’s tenure with the Hickenlooper administration, she was a founding Principal of a bi-partisan lobbying firm that focused on energy, natural resource, and agriculture interests. Tracee also served as the Director of National Affairs for the Colorado Farm Bureau where her portfolio included energy, immigration, farm policy, and international trade.
She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado State University and prior to receiving her bachelor’s, Bentley worked in Washington, DC for U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
Tracee and her husband Mike have three children, twin daughters and a son.  All three are currently enrolled in college. She is a 5th generation Coloradan who was raised in rural CO and in a farm and ranch family. She is proud to serve on the CALP leadership team as Vice President and believes strongly in the values of her rural upbringing.

Mr. Redmond is co-owner of Agriburbia LLC. and has more than 25 years of professional experience in design, planning, natural resources, agriculture and spacial technologies. His combined knowledge in each of these disciplines allows him to effectively manage projects that result in innovative designs, technologically advanced data management, and new approaches to sustainable development. He has a strong multi-faceted agricultural background which plays heavily in his innovative ideas for incorporating agriculture back into our modern communities.  Mr. Redmond has a Bachelors Degree in Geology from Tulane University, New Orleans LA.  He has also earned Master’s Degrees in both Urban and Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado.  He and his wife are the Co-Creators of Agriburbia®.  

Adrian Card serves as the State Produce Specialist for Colorado State University Extension starting in 2002.  Prior to this role he served as the CSU Extension agent for agriculture in Boulder County from 2004 to 2022.  
He has worked in local foods in Colorado for decades, doing everything from farming vegetables in Larimer County to research at CSU. In his current role, Card works directly with farmers and other stakeholders in the community to build bridges to facilitate the health of farms, businesses, people and the planet.  
Card’s extension work focuses on public ag education, business development, and cropping and food systems for the Colorado produce sector through ongoing partnership with the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and other partners.  

John Knapp is part of a 4th generation family farm in the Rocky Ford Co area. He completed college degrees from Colorado State University in Agronomy and Agricultural Economics. During his career, John worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as Agronomist, Water Management Specialist and Area Conservationist in several locations in Colorado. Upon retirement he continues his association with Knapp farms. He currently serves on board of directors of the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum, Palmer Land Trust and Otero Junior College Foundation.

Chip Marks has served on the CALP executive board since June 2014 and currently serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee.  He is a graduate of CALP Class 11 and has spent 30 years working in the agriculture and rural infrastructure sectors.  His career has spanned an array of disciplines including agricultural finance, production agriculture, agricultural and electric cooperatives and self-employment in energy, real estate and farm and ranch businesses.  Other pursuits have included terms as a Weld County Councilman and as a college football coach.  He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and served on active duty as an Air Force officer.

Bob Mattive grew up on a small farm in Brighton, Colorado. He graduated from Colorado State University with a BS in Business Administration.  Mattive moved to Monte Vista, Colorado in the San Luis Valley where he has farmed
with his wife, Gail since 1982.  They have three children; Grant, Megan and Reid. The family farming operation (Worley Family Farms, LLLP) includes their two sons (Grant and Reid) and nephew Matt Smartt.  Worley Family Farms
LLLP primarily raises about 2000 acres of potatoes and 2000 acres of other crops, which have included barley, lettuce, quinoa, peas and green manure cover crops.  Production also includes Colorado Certified seed of both
Potatoes and Barley.  Additionally, Worley Family Farms, LLLP operates their own on-farm Tissue Culture Lab and Greenhouse for production of disease- free seed potatoes as well as a Packing Shed (Hi-Land Potato Co.) where
fresh table stock potatoes are packed and shipped around the country and into Mexico. 
Mattive currently serves on the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (CPAC) Board, The Colorado Ag Leadership Program (CALP) Board, The National Potato Council (NPC) Board (President for 2024), The San Luis Valley Extension Advisory Board, and The Council for Ag Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET).   Past service includes 4-H Leader, Sargent School Board, Sargent Church Board and the Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association
(CCPGA) Board.  He is a graduate of The Colorado Ag Leadership Program (Class 11).​

Angie is the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund Program Manager with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).  Prior to working for DOLA, she was the Community Development Manager for the City of Lamar and the Executive Director of the Main Street program, Lamar Partnership Inc.  Angie has over 10 years of experience in leadership development in rural, agricultural communities.  Community development comes in many forms for her to include retail recruitment, downtown revitalization and business retention.
Born, raised and rooted in Lamar, Angie received her Bachelors of Science from Colorado State University and holds an MBA from Regis University.  Prior to her work in community development, Angie worked as the Executive Director of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program.

Greg's research activity as a Professor at Colorado State University has been wide ranging, but generally fits under the general category of farm management.  He has published numerous articles in the areas of farm equipment depreciation.  The results have become the standard for calculating depreciation by engineers, economists and others.  Greg is interested in expanding that work into the area of farm equipment repair costs.  Another area of work early in his career related to taxes and their impact on the competitive position of US farmers.

Greg has worked nearly 30 years on water issues in the West, with particular focus on helping farmers identify best management practices to improve water quality and quantity.  Much of this work was in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, so he is interested in learning more about water issues in Colorado and the Intermountain West.

He has also had a long-standing interest in undergraduate and graduate programs in agricultural economics and is interested in trends within his academic profession, such as student enrollments, number of faculty in academic positions, evaluating program quality and identifying ways to improve student learning.

​Dr. Pritchett serves as the Executive Associate Dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. His passion is serving Colorado agriculture and implementing the shared strategic vision of CAS. On a day-to-day basis, Pritchett directs operations and administration for the College’s activities. He is a land grant economist who enjoys working in a wide range of teaching, research and engagement activities including agribusiness management, water resource economics, community development and interdisciplinary land management strategies.  Originally from southeastern Colorado, Pritchett is a two-time alumnus of CSU, and he received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in Agriculture and Applied Economics.

Lisa Cooksey got her professional start at Colorado State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Equine Science. During her tenure at CSU, Lisa developed a passion for leadership working on many teams at CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. When she joined the Equine Sports Medicine Team, as a rehab and MRI technician, Lisa learned to appreciate the incredible value in quality veterinary diagnostics for equine patients and their veterinarians. After earning her bachelors degree, Lisa began her career with Sound Technologies in digital radiography as an Installation and Application Specialist. Currently, she enjoys the new clients, as well as, strengthening relationships with existing clients as the Rocky Mountain Region Equipment Specialist for Sound Technologies. While in CALP class 14 Lisa was inspired to further her involvement in her rural community. She completed an EMT program at Morgan Community College and began serving as a Volunteer EMT at Southeast Weld Fire Protection District.  Outside of her career in Veterinary Diagnostics, Lisa also lives and works on a diversified 5th generation family farm in Strasburg, CO.  

Dwain Weinrich has extensive experience in leadership roles. He retired from Smithfield Hog Production after 29 years with the company where he oversaw Smithfield’s Yuma County operations as operation manager. Smithfield is the largest employer in Yuma County with approximately 200 employees. He managed high-dollar projects and budgets in that role.

Weinrich also has served as president of the Colorado Livestock Association over the past two years, which has given him an opportunity to stay connected to state legislators.

Weinrich grew up on a family farming operation in Missouri, He moved to Yuma County in 1993, and he and his wife have been there ever since.

Lanny Panella is a Colorado Native, having grown up on a farm in eastern Colorado. She attended Colorado State University and holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Animal Science. Lanny spent several years working in the animal nutrition field and is a graduate of the CALP Class 11. Going through CALP was one of the greatest experiences that Lanny has had in her career, and she is honored to get the opportunity to serve as a board member.

Colton Hankins is an agronomist salesman who works with Syngenta to grow healthy and efficient crops for farmers and producers in Colorado. Colton takes pride in bringing an innovative prospective to agriculture while maintaining a traditional work ethic. He believes that the success of his customers is a direct correlation to the quality of food
that makes it to the dinner table of consumers in Colorado communities.
Colton has worked in the industry for 10+ years using his agronomic knowledge to improve soil and crop stewardship for the purpose of improving crop yields for generations to come. He is a Certified Crop Advisor with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University.
Colton graduated from the CALP Program in 2021/2022 from Class 14.
Colton lives in Eaton, Colorado with his wife, Nicole and his son, Jackson. In their free
time they love to Golf, camp, and attend local sporting events.

Jenifer Gurr is the Chief Administrative Officer and Human Resources Director at the Colorado Department of Agriculture.  She oversees the administration and day-to-day operations of the Department including Facilities Management. Her position provides her the opportunity to work closely with Colorado’s agricultural industry while playing a vital role in the daily functions and operations of the Department.  During her tenure, Jenifer has developed into an instrumental member of the agency by working closely with the Colorado Agricultural Commission, industry and the public, and serves as the rules administrator for all rules adopted by the Department.  Jenifer is the institutional knowledge of the Department with a broad-based knowledge of the Department and its functions, and the Colorado budget and legislative processes.  Jenifer was instrumental in the consolidation of six different metro area locations into one Department of Agriculture campus in Broomfield. Jenifer is a 2019 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Honor Award recipient of the Douglas-Irwin Administration Award, recognizing an individual for outstanding contributions within a state agency resulting in improved efficiency and impact.     
Raised in a ranching community in northwest Colorado, Jenifer has dedicated her professional career to the advancement of Colorado agriculture and is a 2017 graduate of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program.

Kate Greenberg was appointed to serve as Colorado’s first female Commissioner of Agriculture by Governor Jared Polis in December 2018. As Commissioner, Greenberg provides leadership and direction to the Colorado Department of Agriculture. She has served as president of the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association and the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and as a board member of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Prior to her role as Commissioner, Greenberg advocated for federal farm policy with the National Young Farmers Coalition out of Durango, CO, worked to restore Mexico’s Colorado River Delta, and farmed on various operations across the West.