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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The National PAS Board consists of the seven national officers, college faculty members, and industry representatives from across the country. All board members hold an equal vote and serve on committees. Student board members are elected at the national conference and the president is elected from the previous team.  

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Sarah Holt

National President

Sarah grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, surrounded by fields of potatoes and grain. She recently graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management. Sarah has a great love for FFA, 4-H, and PAS. She was able to work in Washington D.C. as a Public Policy Intern for the National cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council. Sarah has had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii, Scotland, and Ireland as a church missionary. She currently works for AgWest Farm Credit in Idaho.

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Nora Ryan

National Secretary

Nora is originally from Cresco, Iowa, where she was raised on a crop and cow-calf farm. She is in her first year of Precision Agriculture and Agribusiness at Ellsworth Community College. Nora has been involved in 4-H, PAS, Varsity Speech, Howard County Youth Council, ECC Ag Science Club, and Sponsorship Committee for the local Heart of Iowa Blow-Out Cattle Show. While in high school, Nora became certified with a Nurse’s Aide License and helps at the local nursing home during weekends and breaks.

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Sam Mess

National Vice President of Industry Relations

Sam is from Rosendale, Wisconsin. He is currently in his second year at Fox Valley Technical College studying Agribusiness, Animal Science, and Agronomy. He is planning on graduating in Spring of 2025. When Sam is not helping on the family farm, Just-R-Mess Dairy, he enjoys being involved in 4-H, FFA, PAS, Junior Holstein Association, and Student Government Association at FVTC. Sam is planning to return to his family farm after graduation.

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Lizzy Findling

National Vice President of Alumni & Members

Lizzy Findling grew up in a small town in northwest Iowa called Royal.  Though She lived in town with some help Lizzy was able to be heavily involved in agriculture by starting her own cow calf operation and jackpoting hogs. While she was in Highschool, Lizzy was involved in FFA, 4-H, Archery, and Student Council. Now she is in her second year at Ellsworth Community with majors of Agriculture Science and Conservation Technology with the plans to transfer on to get my bachelors degree in Agriculture Education and Natural Resources to potentially work in the area of water quality.

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Emma Ascheman

National Vice President of Alumni & Member Relations

Emma currently resides in Benson, Minnesota. She recently graduated from Ridgewater College in Agribusiness with a livestock emphasis. For the last five years Emma has shown pigs in 4-H, FFA, and open shows. She currently owns and raises purebred New Zealands and Mini Stains and has been showing them for 11 years. In her free time, Emma enjoys being outdoors and deer hunting. She currently works part-time at Purina Land O’ Lakes as a Flex Operatore and Braves Nutrition.

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Kalyna Harder

National Vice President of Conference Planning

Kalyna currently resides in Wausau, Wisconsin. She has graduated from Northcentral Technical College with an associates degree in Veterinary Technician and Dairy Science. While attending NTC, she gained a love for agriculture. Kalyna was able to attend the 2023 Agricultural Outlook Forum and the 2023 C2A3 Conference. She has also an ex officio member of the Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council. She currently works as a veterinary technician at a local veterinary clinic and hopes to work with large animals in the future.

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Ty Gaffney

National Vice President of Media

Ty grew up and currently resides on his family beef and crop farm in Barneveld, Wisconsin. Ty graduated from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College with a degree in Ag Power. He plans to return to college to get a degree in Ag Business Studies. Ty has always enjoyed being around cattle and fixing a wide range of things. After finishing school, Ty plans on continuing his independent business of ag service and remaining on his family's beef farm.

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Kevin Butt

Agriculture Education Faculty and Organization Representatives

Board Member, CPA Coordinator

Kevin teaches at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. He main teaching areas are Precision Agriculture and Beef Production. PAS played a life- changing role in his younger life. 

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Brad Driskill 

PAS Representative to The Council 

Brad is the Agriculture Program Coordinator for State Fair Community College in Missouri. He lives in the community of Shawnee Mound, Missouri with his wife Tiffany and three children. Brad has been involved in PAS as an instructor for the past twelve years and as a student, he attended the 1993 National PAS Conference. Brad currently serves on the National PAS Board as a liaison to the National Council for Agricultural Education.

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Joelle Edwards, CVT, RVT

Agriculture Industry Representatives

Select Genetics

Joelle has been passionate about PAS since joining as a member of the Ridgewater College Vet Tech PAS chapter.  She served as the 2020-2021 National PAS Vice President and now continues to support PAS as a Industry Representative on the National Board. Joelle has practiced veterinary medicine as a credentialed technician in South Dakota and Minnesota. She currently is a Laboratory Technician for Select Genetics.  She loves discussing animals, veterinary medicine, and opportunities in agriculture. 

Jennifer Bloss

Jennifer Bloss

Administration

Executive Director, National Officer Coordinator

Jennifer took over the helm as executive director on April 1, 2024. She currently resides in Missouri and enjoys spending time on her small fame with her 3 children, Adelyn, Colton, and Tate. Besides serving the PAS Organization, Jennifer also is an adjunct instructor in the agricultural department at State Fair Community College. Previous to this position, Jennifer was a high school agriculture education teacher and FFA advisor for 15 years. She also had the opportunity to manage the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals, Inc. program for four and a half years while raising children and cattle. She is excited about the opportunities for growth within the National PAS Organization.

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Dakota Krumrey

Alumni and Friends

Committee Chair

There are few people more passionate about PAS than Dakota Krumrey. He has been passionate about PAS since joining the organization as a student at Ridgewater College. Dakota served as a 2017-2018 National PAS Vice-President and now serves the organization as the chair of the Alumni and Friends PAS Foundation. 

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William Nelson

Agriculture Industry Representatives

William J. Nelson, LLC

William has a passion for the future of agriculture. He believes that future includes PAS. He currently resides in Minnesota where he runs his business. 

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Lavyne Rada

Agriculture Education Faculty and Organization Representatives

NASAE Representative, Minnesota FFA Foundation

Lavyne works for Minnesota FFA as a Regional Supervisor and Program Manager and is the Director of the Career and Technical Education and Agricultural Education Teacher Induction Programs. She lives in Minnesota with her son and husband. Lavyne originally is from South Dakota where she served as a State (2003-2004)   and National PAS Officer (2004-2006 National President).

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Kayla Tobias

Agriculture Industry Representatives

Growmark, 2022 Board Chairperson

Kayla has a passion for student success fueled through her work with Growmark and the PAS Organization. Kayla lives in Illinois. 

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Charl Van Der Nest

Agriculture Education Faculty and Organization Representatives

Board Member

Charl teaches at Northcentral Technical College in Wisconsin. He has been teaching agriculture courses for over 9 years and has led the PAS club for over 4 years. He loves seeing the enthusiasm and excitement from the students as the participate in the club as well as sharing his commitment to agriculture with the community. 

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Dustin Williams

Agriculture Education Faculty and Organization Representatives

Board Member

Dustin is an Agribusiness and Farm Management instructor at Blackhawk Technical  College in Wisconsin. He resides near South Wayne, Wisconsin with his wife Aimee and their five children. Dustin helped start the PAS chapter at Blackhawk Technical College in 2010. Dustin has also been a Wisconsin and National CPA coordinator for a number of years and was a past national advisor of the year. He is currently assisting the WI PAS organization as the Assistant State Director and is excited about opportunities to make an impact on the National PAS board.    

Contact a National PAS Board Member
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