Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference: Full Schedule

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7:45am CDT

Breakfast

Tuesday October 29, 2024 7:45am - 8:45am CDT

Location: Shawnee

Tuesday October 29, 2024 7:45am - 8:45am CDT
Location: Shawnee

8:00am CDT

Opening Plenary

Tuesday October 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:30am CDT

Location: Shawnee

Speakers

Terry Cosby

Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRCS Chief Terry Cosby leads a premier federal conservation agency known for its 3,000 field-office network that helps farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners nationwide plan and carry out voluntary conservation activities on their operations. During Terry’s more than 40-year... Read More →

Lawrence Rhone

Program Manager, Farmer Veteran Coalition- National

Lawrence Rhone is a Fayetteville, North Carolina, native and Army veteran who served during both the Cold War and Gulf War eras in field artillery as a forward observer which included directing close air support. In addition to his time spent sending rounds down range, Lawrence also... Read More →

Tuesday October 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:30am CDT
Location: Shawnee

8:30am CDT

USDA Panel

Tuesday October 29, 2024 8:30am - 9:45am CDT

Location: Shawnee

Participants include:
Moderator- Monshi Ramdass, USDA, Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison (MVAL)
Floyd Nauls, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, State Outreach Coordinator and Tribal Liaison for Texas
Rick Lopez, USDA Farm Service Agency, National Outreach Specialist
Brian Guse, USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, Director
Christine Tomkus, USDA Military Spouse and Veterans Employment Program Manager (MVP)
Greg York, USDA Rural Development, Business Loan & Grant Analyst
Sean Patrick, USDA Risk Management Agency, Tribal Liaison and Deputy Director of Risk Management Education

Speakers

Monshi Ramdass

Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison (MVAL), USDA

Monshi Ramdass serves as the Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison (MVAL) at the Department of Agriculture, Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, Office of the Secretary. In this role he serves as the MVAL and establishes effective partnerships with Federal Agencies, state... Read More →

Floyd Nauls

State Outreach Coordinator and Tribal Liaison for Texas, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Floyd Nauls Jr. is the State Outreach Coordinator & Tribal Liaison for Texas. He has been a Soil Conservationist and District Conservationist for NRCS in many different field offices throughout the state of Texas. Floyd is a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University and the George... Read More →

Rick Lopez

National Outreach Specialist, USDA Farm Service Agency

Rick Lopez is a Desert Storm Veteran where he served for the US Army as an Intelligence Analyst.Rick Lopez has been working for the Government for 22 years. He has been with the Farm Service Agency since 2010. He started as a Farm Loan Officer, which he did for 5 ½ years and since... Read More →

Brian Guse

Director, USDA, Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

Brian V. Guse serves as the first permanent Director of the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP), a department wide resource housed within USDA’s Natural Resources and Conservation Service. OUAIP was authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill to improve USDA’s... Read More →

Christine Tomkus

Military Spouse and Veterans Employment Program Manager (MVP), USDA

Christine Tomkus is the United States Department of Agriculture Military Spouse and Veterans Employment Program Manager, and Co-Founder and Past President of the USDA Military Spouse Association employee organization. Throughout her 20+ year career she has worked with veterans, servicemembers... Read More →

Greg York

Business Loan and Grant Analyst, USDA Rural Development

Greg York is a Business Loan and Grant Analyst with the USDA Rural Development Agency, based out of Washington, D.C.. Greg’s primary role is working on the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) on the National Office level but has also worked on the program at the State Office level... Read More →

Sean Patrick

Tribal Liaison and Deputy Director of Risk Management Education, USDA Risk Management Agency

Sean Patrick is Tribal Liaison and Deputy Director for Risk Management Education for USDA’s Risk Management Agency. In these roles, he spearheads outreach efforts to underserved communities and oversees grants and cooperative agreements that provide valuable training to agricultural... Read More →

Tuesday October 29, 2024 8:30am - 9:45am CDT
Location: Shawnee

11:15am CDT

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Plenary

Tuesday October 29, 2024 11:15am - 12:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Program
This year, the Farmer Veteran Coalition has become a Center of Distinction for Advocates for Human Potential WRAP program. “Wellness Recovery Action Plan” is a comprehensive tool to aid in navigating “Behavioral Health Challenges” and “Significant Life Events. While QPR (Question Persuade Refer, ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills) training and MHF (Mental Health First Aid) training address the “Intervention” of another person who is experiencing “Thoughts or Plans of Suicide;” WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) is a tool of “Resilience and Prevention completed by the Veteran themselves.” WRAP’s “Five Key Concepts” (Hope, Personal Responsibility, Education, Self-Advocacy, & Support), provide a “Structured, Evidence-Based Practice” that has been in existence for over 25 years. WRAP is a comprehensive tool that significantly enhances one’s capacity to self-advocate.

WRAP provides an individual with the capacity to experience having a purpose in life as well as being actively involved in satisfying work and play, being part of joyful relationships, and experiencing happiness. Wellness does not imply the absence of physical illness or impairment or the lack of a behavioral health diagnosis. Anyone can experience wellness within their current life circumstances. Recovery is a process of change that helps us improve our health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and work to meet our full potential in all areas of our lives.

Speakers

Lynn Miller

Director of WRAP, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Lynn A. Miller, M.Ed., is the Director of WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP). She is skilled in correctional administration, including education, group facilitation, curricula development, and training program administration. Ms. Miller uses... Read More →

Lawrence Rhone

Program Manager, Farmer Veteran Coalition- National

Tuesday October 29, 2024 11:15am - 12:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

12:00pm CDT

Lunch with Awards and Recognition

Tuesday October 29, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

Speakers

Jeanette Lombardo

CEO, Farmer Veteran Coalition

Jeanette Lombardo’s passion and life experiences have uniquely prepared her to lead Farmer Veteran Coalition. Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, while her father served in the U.S. Air Force, she was raised on her family’s multi-generational farm in Erie, Pennsylvania.Jeanette spent... Read More →

Tuesday October 29, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

2:00pm CDT

Climate Smart Plenary Session

Tuesday October 29, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

Speakers

John Porter

Outreach & Partnership Liaison, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

John Porter serves as the Outreach & Partnership Liaison for Truterra, the farmer-driven sustainability and regenerative agriculture business of Land O’Lakes. He focuses on outreach to underserved farmer groups as part of Truterra’s USDA Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities... Read More →

Joe Winchell

Field Program Lead, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund

As Field Program Lead, Joe manages the enrollment and technical assistance portion of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund. He has a background in developing solutions to agronomic needs for businesses in agriculture from his time in retail and wholesale agronomy sales. He earned bachelor’s... Read More →

Tuesday October 29, 2024 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

3:15pm CDT

Chapter Awards and "Sustainability of Your State Chapter" Session

Tuesday October 29, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

Sustainability of Your State Chapter
This session is designed to equip state chapter leaders with the knowledge and tools to help ensure the long-term success and sustainability of your state chapter.

This introductory class will guide participants through the essential components of sustaining and growing their Farmer Veteran Coalition state chapter. Topics include the importance of thinking like a business manager first and a farmer second, creating focused mission statements and objectives for each organization, navigating local and state grant funding opportunities, and the importance of monthly or quarterly chapter fundraisers. Participants will also learn about the significance of proper grant management, maximizing funding outcomes by building relationships and partnerships with similar nonprofits, the ethical considerations in grant writing and reporting of funding, thinking off the farm for grants and funding, and strategies for locating chapter and individual farmer and small business grants.

Each participant will receive the class presentation by email and the opportunity to join free online resources.

Speakers

Jeanette Lombardo

CEO, Farmer Veteran Coalition

Amanda Blount

Farming Educator/Micro-Farmer, Plough Monday Farm

Amanda Blount is a retired Army veteran and retired DOD employee with a deep-rooted passion for micro-farming, urban farming, sustainable living, and locally sourced food. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to grant writing, funding, filming, and sustainable agriculture... Read More →

Tuesday October 29, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm CDT
Location: Shawnee