Leopold Center Advisory Board

About the board

The 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act that created the Leopold Center established a board to advise the director on funding of research proposals, policies and procedures, budget development and program review. In 1994, four ex-officio members active in farming and agribusiness were added to the board, and received full voting privileges in 1999.

The board includes representatives from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and a man and a woman actively engaged in agricultural production, appointed by the State Soil Conservation Committee. The board also includes representatives from four Iowa farm groups: Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Agribusiness Association of Iowa and the Iowa Farmers Union.

Board membership

Jennifer Steffen, chair, State Soil Conservation Committee, Birmingham
John Olthoff, vice-chair, Dordt College, Sioux Center
Bill Ehm, member-at-large, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines

Kelley Donham, University of Iowa, Iowa City
Doug Gronau, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Vail
Maynard Hogberg, Iowa State University, Ames
Erin Irish, University of Iowa, Iowa City
Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls
Susan Jutz, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Solon
Paul Lasley, Iowa State University, Ames
Aaron Heley Lehman, Iowa Farmers Union, Polk City
Jack Payne, Iowa State University, Ames
Jim Penney, Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Ame
Patrick Pease, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls
John Sellers, Jr., State Soil Conservation Committee, Corydon
Keith Summerville, Drake University, Des Moines
Maury Wills, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Des Moines