WiSPER LOUD

Join the Women In Seed Production Network as we interview Keith Merill, Plant Biotechnology Disease Projects Lead.  Keith is an innovative scientist and enjoys working to try and sustainably feed a growing world through advances in plant breeding, genetics, and biotechnology.  As a successful scientist, husband, and father of two he is also very passionate about allyship and advocacy.   Acknowledging that everyone wants to matter, Keith walks us through his own allyship journey, opens up about how he has explored his privilege as a white middle-class male, what it looks like to get comfortable being uncomfortable (the essence of allyship), and the grace that one often experiences as they educate themselves, support others, and open space for under-represented populations as an ally.  If you are interested in where or how to start as an ally, this is one you don’t want to miss!

Join the Women in Seed Production Network as we interview Kate McQueen, Global Head of Seed Production Innovation Science and Engineering.  Kate has had an extensive career across many different organizations including Manufacturing, Research and Development, Biotech & Chemistry, Regulatory Compliance and IT! Her immense leadership skillset has allowed her to mold many teams into successful groups thus far. Kate, also a mother, brings her perspective of creating work life balance and how to say "no" without closing the door forever. As someone who has transitioned though many roles in her career she gives advice on weighing your options in light of what you are truly searching for your career path.

Join the Women in Seed Production Network as we interview Jeff Medley, Organizational Readiness Lead. Jeff has had an impressive career in multiple manufacturing settings including most recently as a site lead at a commercial corn site in Northern Indiana. Jeff is passionate about creating strong and diverse teams while ensuring the inclusivity of all team members. He shares his experiences leading diverse teams, developing others through identifying transferable talents, fathering three daughters, and being surrounded by strong and successful women. He describes how having diversity on his teams has led to overall team success.

Join the Women in Seed Production Network as we interview Therese Mullins, Science Development Lead in the Seed Production and Innovation team in Missouri. Therese has 20 years of experience in Crop Science across the Innovation Pipeline and has had the opportunity to work across laboratory, greenhouse, and field in Research and Development and Product Supply collaborating cross functionally to enable the delivery of new and innovative products to the market. Therese is passionate about people development, mentoring others, and championing talent and is actively engaged in local, regional, and global Business Resource Groups. Therese shares her expertise as a team lead and gives advice to new managers of people and projects. She provides tips on how to build your career as a confident woman/ally while also knowing when to 'give yourself grace'!

Join the Women in Seed Production Network as we interview Cassidy North, a Senior Operations Specialist for the North America Commercial Soybean business. In this role she serves as a key support resource for internal and external soybean manufacturing operations and works with critical business partners to ensure business continuity, performance to plan, and pursuit of continuous improvement. Cassidy shares with us the power of self reflection and the importance it brings to your development. She also gives advice on how critical it is to own your career, stretch yourself to take opportunities, and build trust with those around you. 

Join the Women in Seed Production Network as we interview Melissa Wienke, Site Lead at a soybean manufacturing plant in Missouri. Her educational background is in occupational safety and health and she began her career in the oil and gas industry. She joined the agricultural industry 5 years ago working in a few different positions and recently moved to her current role. Melissa shares her experience with transitions between different roles and also gives advice on how to advocate for yourself, step outside of your comfort zone, and the importance of setting boundaries. 

Join the Women in Seed Production network in our next episode as we interview Paul Kirbach, Senior Operations Specialist for the North American Commercial Corn business and national culture lead for his company's LBGT+ Business Resource Group. Paul shares with us how being an ally and having allies has impacted his career. Paul discusses what it means to be an ally, and encourages us to be an ally to everyone. 

Join the Women in Seed Production network in our next episode as we interview, Daniel Olivier, Head of North America Commercial Field Production for Bayer. Daniel joins us in this episode to talk about his career path, specifically those career changes and moves that impacted his family. Daniel shares advice on how to approach those conversations with your family, how to ensure the decisions you make are aligned with your personal and professional goals and being 100% in. We also touch on the topic around professional development and approaching career opportunities if you aren't looking to make a physical move to a new location. Stay with us through the episode as Daniel gives us a glimpse into what he hopes his young kids will look back on from their time living in another country and leaves us all wondering what perspective and advice we may hear from his wife if we were to interview her in a future episode!

Join the Women in Seed Production network in our next episode as we interview, Shannon Hauf, Senior Vice President and Head of Seed Production Innovation. Shannon shares with us what has inspired her career path while passing on life lessons and advice she received along the way from friends, colleagues, mentors and even her mother. These are all lessons we can all grow from as we work, are building our leadership skills and careers, as well as when we come together to solve challenges faced within agriculture and the world today. Stay with us throughout the episode as we learn what lessons Shannon inspires her kids with and to hear more about what Shannon means when she says, "She really is willing to do every job!"

Join the Women in Seed Production network in their first podcast episode as they interview Allegra Belknap, Global Operations Lead for Vegetables Seed Manufacturing. Allegra shares about her career path, how she maintains strong networks and provides thoughtful advice to us about advocating for yourself and others around you! She even provides a tidbit of trivia if you stick with us to the end!