OABA Staff

Job Duties: Provide leadership, direction and delivery for OABA’s education programs by creating synergy with volunteers and partnerships. She also serves as executive director of the Ohio Certified Crop Adviser program and the Ohio Agricultural Council.

Janice Welsheimer

Director of Education & Pofessional Development jwelsheimer@oaba.net

Hire Date: April 2017

Education: BS, Agricultural Economics; MS, Agricultural Education/Adult Learning from The Ohio State University.

Work History: Always with an interest in serving those in the agricultural industry,

Lauren Prettyman

Director of Communications & Member Experience lprettyman@oaba.net

Hire Date: June 2022

Job Duties: Lauren handles all aspects of association communications including social media management, event promotion, press release and news writing, graphic design, photography and videography, as well as managing members’ experiences, including Member Directory, event support, sponsorships, website and more.

Education: BS, Agricultural Communication, The Ohio State University, 2014

Work History: Previously, Lauren worked for Inspire PR Group serving a range of clients in the agriculture, restaurant and hospitality, tourism and nonprofit industries. Additionally, she worked for the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation from 2014 to 2020 as the director of digital media.

Janice’s previous experience has included working with state farm bureaus and agricultural cooperatives for Nationwide Insurance, working as a regional supervisor and organization director for Ohio Farm Bureau and providing student recruitment for OSU’s agricultural and natural resources areas.

About Janice: She grew up on a general livestock and grain farm in Pickaway County and now resides in Clark County, Ohio with her husband and their two children on a commercial beef farm operation.

Lauren currently serves as president of the OSU Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership’s Alumni Board. She is involved with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, currently serving as vice president of the Franklin County Farm Bureau. Lauren is also a member of the Ohio Society of Association Professionals and the Cooperative Communicators Association.

About Lauren: Lauren grew up on her family’s row crop and beef cattle farm in Marion County and has become more involved in helping on the farm since moving back to Ohio in 2020. In her free time, Lauren enjoys traveling, hiking, live music and spending time with family and friends.

David Barrett Jr., Esq. Legal Counsel Barrett, Easterday, Cunningham & Eselgroth LLP

dbarrett@farmlawyers.com

OABA members have the opportunity to share their knowledge and support through volunteerism. Individuals serving on the association’s committees contribute their time, experience and expertise for the good of the agribusiness industry. Committees and subcommittees were developed to serve the general membership as well as the specific segments of the industry.

As we work to implement our strategic plan, it is important that our organizational structure aligns with our mission and goals. The below committees have been designated to carry out the policies and programs of the association.

Finance/Audit Committee

This committee serves as the audit committee and also is responsible for annually reviewing OABA investments and (along with the CEO) making investment strategy recommendations to the OABA board of directors.

Industry Education Committee

Made up of a cross section of our membership whose purpose is to develop quality and timely education that meets the needs of OABA members. This committee explores and develops new educational programming, and is broken out into subcommittees that plan and assist in implementation of OABA educational events.

Nominating Committee

This committee is responsible for coordinating the annual nominations of candidates for the expiring board of director positions.

Public Policy Committee

Made up of a cross section of our membership whose purpose is to stay abreast (via OABA staff) of current and potential legislative and regulatory issues and make recommendations, as appropriate, to the board for policy positions and action.

The following pages list our current committees. We want to express our sincere gratitude for the time and effort they have put into making OABA educational programs this past year.