A.B. Stoddard is an associate editor and columnist with political news site and polling data aggregator RealClearPolitics, and a contributor and guest host for SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel. She appears regularly on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN, and MSNBC for her expertise as a political commentator. She is a former associate editor and columnist for The Hill newspaper. Her column with The Hill won first place Dateline Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington, D.C. chapter in 2010 and 2011.

Nonpartisan, Stoddard addresses elections and the political landscape of the day. Frequently meeting with sources and politicians of all stripes, Stoddard has her finger on the pulse of Washington, DC as she offers detailed and smart political and electoral analyses. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, her talks cover the five biggest stories in the news, the most up-to-date happenings between Congress and the White House, ongoing budget battles and the electoral prospects for the two parties.

Journalism Journey. Stoddard had always wanted to be a reporter, and she caught the political bug watching Justice Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court nomination hearings. She began her journalism career as a reporter for the Potomac News in northern Virginia, and she has covered the U.S. Congress since 1994 as a reporter at The Hill and a Senate producer for ABC News. She returned to The Hill as a commentator and columnist in 2006.

As the food & beverage industry analyst for The NPD Group, a leading market research company, Darren provides insights based on NPD’s food-related research to organizations and companies across the country. Prior to joining NPD in March 2007, he was an analyst with Information Resources, Inc (IRI), and spent over seven years examining consumer packaged goods trends, and worked with a variety of industry leaders covering dozens of food and beverage categories. He has authored NPD topical reports on how the economy affects consumers’ in-home meal strategies, profile of the organics consumer, the impact of Baby Boomers and Millennials on America’s eating patterns, the unique consumption behaviors of Hispanics in the U.S., and has been a contributing writer for trade publications.

Darren is a frequent speaker at industry events such as the Institutes of Medicine and Biome Research, National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), Obesity Society, Shopper Marketing Expo, United Fresh, and is a faculty member of the Path to Purchase Institute. He holds a bachelor degree from Northwestern University and makes his home in New York City.

Mr. Scott M. Colbert, CFA is a Vice President and Director at Commerce Bank. He is the Director of Fixed Income Management at The Commerce Trust Company. Mr. Colbert is a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Commerce Investment Advisors, Inc. He joined Commerce in 1993 and has vast years of investment experience. Previously, Mr. Colbert spent six years as a Portfolio Manager at Armco Investment Management, managing fixed-income investments for employee-benefit, insurance, and endowment funds. Mr. Colbert is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Ted McKinney serves as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Under Secretary McKinney leads the development and implementation of the Department’s trade policy, oversees and facilitates foreign market access, and promotes opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government negotiations.

In 2014, McKinney was appointed by then-Governor Mike Pence to serve as Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, a position he held until joining USDA in 2017. His career also included 19 years with Dow AgroSciences and 14 years with Elanco, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, where he was Director of Global Corporate Affairs. His industry and civic involvement has included service on the National FFA Convention Local Organizing Committee, Indiana State Fair Commission, and Purdue College of Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Council, as well as on the boards of directors of the International Food Information Council, the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and International Federation of Animal Health.

McKinney grew up on a family grain and livestock farm in Tipton, Indiana, and was a 10-year 4-H member and an Indiana State FFA Officer. He graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics in 1981 and received the G.A. Ross Award as the outstanding senior male graduate. In 2002, he was named a Purdue Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus and, in 2004, received an FFA Honorary American degree. He and his wife, Julie, have three children and four grandchildren.

Ron Sterk is senior editor, markets, for Food Business News and Milling & Baking News, and is editor of the Sosland Sweetener Report. Prior to joining Sosland Publishing Company in 2003, he was involved in market coverage and management for several years for the real-time news services of Knight-Ridder Financial Information, Bridge Information Services and Futures World News. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism with a focus in agronomy from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in business from Rockhurst University in Kansas City.

Lucas Fuess has spent a lifetime in dairy, growing up on his family’s 200-cow farm in Upstate New York. Lucas graduated with distinction in research from Cornell University, where he studied Animal Science and International Agriculture. Lucas started his career as a Dairy Analyst at Glanbia Nutritionals and was soon promoted to the Dairy Economist role after completing Master’s Degrees at Purdue and Indiana Universities. In 2018, Lucas joined HighGround Dairy as Director of Market Intelligence, leading HighGround Dairy’s best-in-class global dairy market analysis group. Lucas resides in Chicago, Illinois, USA and was recently named to AgGrad’s “30 Under 30” list.

Mr. van der Goes is the vice-president of cocoa, North America, for Barry Callebaut. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s North American cocoa business, including leadership of the commercial team, risk management and financial performance of the business. He is a member of Barry Callebaut’s global cocoa and the Americas leadership teams. Before joining Barry Callebaut, Mr. van der Goes worked for 16 years at Cargill in different senior management positions within the cocoa and chocolate division. His roles included responsibility for Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate commercial and cocoa sustainability functions. He currently is Chairman and board member of The Cocoa Merchants’ Association of America. Mr. van der Goes attended Erasmus University, Rotterdam (The Netherlands), where he received a master’s of science degree in economics and international marketing management.

Stephen Nicholson is a grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabo AgriFinance in the RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness group.

Nicholson has more than thirty years of experience in cash grain markets, hedging, commodity/ingredient procurement, commodity risk management and commodity analysis. A native of Iowa, he holds a bachelor’s in Farm Operations and Agricultural Education and a master’s in Agricultural Economics, both from Iowa State University.

Prior to joining Rabo AgriFinance, Nicholson was most recently Category Manager and Chief Economist with International Food Products, a trader and distributor of food ingredients. Responsibilities included procurement and trading of vegetable oils, corn sweeteners, starches and grain products, along with consulting assignments.

From 2001 to 2007, he was a Senior Economist with Doane Agricultural Services in St. Louis as the oilseed analyst.

Nicholson also has nearly fifteen years of experience in the food and beverage industry. He has served as Senior Buyer at The Earthgrains Company, now the Sara Lee Baking Group, in St. Louis. From 1988 to 1997, he was the Senior Commodity Analyst in the Global Procurement and Trading Company at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. While at Coca-Cola, he was involved in the creation of the first commodity risk management and governance policy framework for the company.

Since 2002, Ron Lord has served as the Director of the Import Policies and Export Reporting Division within the Office of Trade Programs at USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Previously, Ron was a principal procurement analyst with Coca Cola and also held other positions within USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and Economic Research Service. He held positions in academia at the University of Wisconsin (at both the Menomonie and Richland Center campuses). He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Earlham College in Indiana before receiving his master’s degree in agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his doctoral degree from Oklahoma State University.

James Liddiard is a senior vice president at Agrilion Commodity Advisers LLC, a private and independent New York based consultancy firm that provides bespoke risk management solutions and advisory services in the international sugar and ethanol markets.

Tom McNeill is the Managing Director of Green Pool Commodity Specialists, based in Brisbane Australia. Tom developed the company late in 2011 following an earlier career as Managing Director in Kingsman's Research Group from 2003-2011.

Tom is passionate about the sugar and biofuels segment, forging much of his career in the commodities sector. Spanning 20 years from 1982-2002, Tom fulfilled senior roles in grower relations, export marking, strategy and analysis at Qld Sugar Corporation, Qld Sugar Ltd and CSR Raw Sugar Marketing.

Building on the Green Pool team's agricultural, analytical and editorial expertise, Tom and the team continue to build a solid understanding of the factors influencing fast moving markets, so as to provide clients with views generated from within a consistent framework.

Tom is a frequent speaker at sugar and biofuel industry conferences and seminars, and is regularly quoted in major global commodity news.

Tom is qualified with a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from University of Illinois, USA and received Bachelors in Agriculture and Economics from University of Queensland, Australia.

Ron Sterk is senior editor, markets, for Food Business News and Milling & Baking News, and is editor of the Sosland Sweetener Report. Prior to joining Sosland Publishing Company in 2003, he was involved in market coverage and management for several years for the real-time news services of Knight-Ridder Financial Information, Bridge Information Services and Futures World News. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism with a focus in agronomy from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in business from Rockhurst University in Kansas City.

Vincent O’Rourke is a trader and market analyst within the raw sugar trading team at Czarnikow. His role includes global book management, position keeping, spread position optimization and broker relationships. O’Rourke also uses his expertise to prepare market models, regional sugar flows and balances, market hedging strategies, and long term spread analysis.

Humberto Jasso is Executive President of the Mexican Sugar Chamber, which represents the sugar mill companies that transform cane into sugar in Mexico, before the Government, cane growers, labor unions, abroad, and in the defense of sugar as a healthy ingredient.

Before joining the Sugar Chamber in 2011, Humberto Jasso worked for 22 years in the Trade Ministry of Mexico, and participated in the original negotiation of the NAFTA, as well as in the negotiation of many international trade Agreements signed by Mexico with the European Union, Japan and many Latin American countries.

Humberto Jasso lives in Mexico City with his wife and two sons. He has a BA Degree in Economics from Yale College and a Master’s Degree in Economic Development from Cambridge University.

Frank Jenkins, president of Jenkins Sugar Group, has over 20 years of experience as a broker and consultant focusing mainly on the US/NAFTA sugar markets. Prior to founding Jenkins Sugar Group in 1993, he worked on the sugar desk of ED&F Man in New York from 1983 to 1986, and served as vice president in Merrill Lynch Private Client Group in New York from 1986 to 1993. Frank was honored to serve as president of the Sugar Club of New York and has been a featured speaker at numerous industry and USDA sponsored forums.

Bill Reinsch is the Scholl Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a senior advisor at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. Previously he served fifteen years as President of the National Foreign Trade Council. The NFTC, founded in 1914, is the oldest and largest business association dedicated solely to trade policy, export finance, international tax, and human resource issues. The organization represents some 200 companies through its offices in New York and Washington, D.C. As president, Reinsch led NFTC’s efforts in favor of open markets, in support of Eximbank and OPIC, against unilateral sanctions and in support of sound international tax policy, among many other international trade and tax issues of concern to U.S. business. From 2001 to 2016, Mr. Reinsch concurrently served as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, teaching courses in globalization, trade, and development and in trade policy.

Prior to joining the NFTC, Reinsch served as the Under Secretary for Export Administration in the Department of Commerce. In that position he administered and enforced the export control policies and anti-boycott laws of the U.S. government and monitored the condition of the nation’s defense industrial base. Prior to taking this position, Mr. Reinsch spent twenty years on Capitol Hill from 1973 to 1993, most of them as senior Legislative Assistant to the late Senator John Heinz and subsequently to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. He received a B.A. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife and has two adult children.

Rick Pasco is a partner at Watkinson Miller PLLC where he is legal counsel and lobbyist for a number of agribusiness clients in the food, agricultural, trade and environmental arenas. He has more than 30 years of experience working in agriculture and food-related legislative and regulatory matters. Mr. Pasco specializes in advising and representing trade associations and companies on government policies and programs. In this capacity, he serves as President of the Sweetener Users Association and Vice President of the Sugar Club.

He has a wealth of experience working with Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He has played a key role in implementing lobbying strategies and advancing agricultural program and trade reforms, as well as developing environmental guidelines, food labeling rules, and food safety/nutrition legislation. During the course of his private and public-sector career, he has been closely involved in six omnibus farm bills.

An important part of Mr. Pasco's work for trade associations is his counsel and advice to ensure that their political action committees (PACs) are in full compliance with federal elections laws and regulations administered by the Federal Election Commission. He is the firm's expert on these issues. Mr. Pasco is uniquely qualified to bring his broad experience to bear in helping solve the problems of clients in the private sector.

Mr. Pasco is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia, Colorado and Nebraska. He received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, and earned a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics and a J.D. degree from the University of Nebraska.

Michael Anderson is Vice President, Trade & Industry Relations for the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), the trade association representing the corn milling industry. He has over 25 years of experience in international trade, agriculture, and economics in the government and private sector. At CRA he provides strategic and tactical leadership to CRA and its members regarding trade policy, statistical and co-products reporting programs, transportation issues, and industry affairs. Prior to joining CRA, Anderson served at the U.S. International Trade Commission holding positions as an international economist, advisor to the Commissioner, supervisor, and office director, working on industry competitiveness, trade remedy investigations, free trade agreements, and trade policy analysis for the U.S. Congress and the President. Previously he worked at the U.S. Trade Representative’ Office as an international economist supporting U.S. trade negotiations and policy positions at the World Trade Organization.

Anderson holds a master’s degree in international business from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen is Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President. She assumed the position in May 2011.

Ms. Bomer has overall responsibility for negotiations and policy coordination regarding agriculture. Responsibilities of the office include Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) Development Agenda (Doha) negotiations on agriculture and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, issues affecting trade in agricultural and food products, monitoring and enforcement of existing WTO and FTA commitments for agriculture, and WTO accession negotiations on agriculture market access.

Prior to joining USTR, Ms. Bomer was Executive Vice President of the Food and Agriculture Section at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) where she led BIO’s Food and Agriculture Section on public policy activities, including overseeing relationships with a wide range of international, federal, state and local entities.

Prior to joining BIO in 2006, Ms. Bomer served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, where she was responsible for U.S. government negotiations on a wide range of food and agriculture trade issues. Ms. Bomer has also held senior management positions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Early in her career, she was Director of Government Affairs for United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association and worked for a Member of Congress.

Brian Grunenfelder has served as Trade Advisor to the American Sugar Alliance, the national coalition of growers, processors, and refiners of sugarbeets and sugarcane, since January 2019.

Brian joined USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in 1984. He served in a variety of trade policy-focused positions over his 27-year career with FAS, including Acting Deputy Administrator, Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs; Assistant Deputy Administrator, Office of Negotiations and Agreements (ONA); and Director, Asia and Americas Division, International Trade Policy.

From 2011-2016, Brian served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative in USTR’s Office of Agricultural Affairs. In addition to his portfolio of responsibilities that included South Korea, Colombia, and Peru, Brian also served as a lead negotiator in the agriculture market access group negotiations with Japan as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative.

Randy Green, a principal at Watson Green LLC, has seen food and agriculture policy from all sides, having served in both the executive and legislative branches of government and in the private sector. Over his career he has been closely involved in the development of five multi-year farm bills, as well as major legislation and regulations affecting derivatives, food safety, animal health and human nutrition.

Randy came to Washington in the 1980s to work for former Representative Charles Stenholm (D-Tex.) and later served former Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) on the staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee. With the exception of two years as a deputy under secretary of agriculture, Randy served on the agriculture committee staff continuously from 1989 to 1999. The last two years he was chief of staff.

In 1999 Randy entered the private sector to represent agricultural and food industry clients. Earlier in his career, he managed government relations for the American Soybean Association and was director of the Wheat Export Trade Education Center.

In 2013, Randy and Lisa Watson formed Watson Green LLC, a firm centered on food and agriculture policy and public affairs.

Michael McConnell is an Agricultural Economist in the Markets and Trade Economics Division at the Economic Research Service, USDA. He has been the Coordinator of the agency’s Sugar and Sweeteners Market Outlook Program since October 2014. Michael also worked in the ERS market outlook program from August 2007 to January 2011, focusing on international livestock and meat markets and international sugar and biofuel markets. Prior to his return to ERS, Michael was a Senior Consultant with Informa Economics in McLean, VA, and from 2011 to 2013 was the grains analyst for Agricultural Division at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Michael received both his M.S. and B.A. in Economics from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Rohan Nelson leads ABARES Agricultural Forecasting and Policy program, and is responsible for developing ABARES forecasting capability. He is an agricultural economist with degrees in economics and forestry from the Australian National University, and a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Queensland. His current interests include the future role of public sector forecasting in agriculture, and the role that government and industry policy plays in the development of agricultural industries. Rohan has also worked for the Productivity Commission, the University of Tasmania, the Department of Climate Change and CSIRO.

Dan Shorts manages federal government affairs for the trade organization that represents the $54 billion U.S. confectionery industry. Dan works to protect and advance the interests of makers of chocolate, candy, gum and mints. His work represents confectionery production across all 50 states, including 54,000 workers in more than 1,000 manufacturing facilities across the country.

Dan’s legislative portfolio focuses on agricultural subsidies, nutritional issues, and regulatory affairs under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. He also engages on tax, trade, labor and other legislative matters that affect the confectionery business.

After graduating with a B.A. in economics from Knox College in 1992, Craig began his business career in the word of Banking. During the two years at California Bancshares in Alameda, CA, he was an auditor of commercial and residential bank loans.

For the past Twent-three years Craig has worked at McKeany-Flavell Company becoming immersed in the commodity ingredient sector and seen as an expert in the North American sugar and corn sweetener markets. As counsel to the Food and Beverage industry, McKeany-Flavell, and Craig Ruffolo assist domestic and multi-national clients through their market research, analysis of issues, and presentations to those they serve and the general public. He now serves the company as Vice President.

Craig’s career with McKeany-Flavell has garnered opportunities to travel the world augmenting his first hand knowledge of these markets. These travels have taken him to many areas of the world including; Europe, China, India, Malaysia, Canada, and Mexico. In the last fifteen years Craig has authored and presented his analysis of the global sweetener markets at industry conferences both domestically and internationally.

Craig is not only recognized for his knowledge on the sugar and corn sweetener markets, but is keenly aware of the many factors that impact markets such as Bio-Fuels, particularly ethanol, honey and edible fats & oils. In addition, he has access to McKeany-Flavell in-house expertise in other key commodity areas such as Cocoa & Chocolate, Fruit Concentrates, Molasses and Nutmeats.

Craig is a sports enthusiast of baseball, football, basketball & swimming: Playing at both the High School and Collegiate level.

Craig is a dedicated husband to Stacia (Stay-sha) and father to son Jake Ryan and daughter Nicole Paige Ruffolo.

Barbara Fecso is the Branch Chief of the Commodity Analysis Branch, Economic and Policy Analysis Division, Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is responsible for overseeing the administration of the domestic sugar, dairy, livestock, cotton, peanuts, grains and oilseeds programs. Barbara provides guidance to the Secretary of Agriculture in the formulation and implementation of national policies and procedures, as well as economic and budgetary impact analysis of those programs.

Barbara has almost twenty-five years of government service in USDA with an emphasis on program analysis, operations and budgetary analysis. She initially spent five years with the Natural Resource Conservation Service as a program analyst for conservation technical assistance, watershed and animal waste management programs. She then spent two years as a wheat and pulse crop analyst at the Farm Service Agency before shifting to sugar. She was named Director of FSA’s Dairy and Sweeteners Analysis branch in 2014 and played a critical role in the negotiation of the current sugar trade agreement with Mexico. In October 2018, she was named Branch Chief under USDA’s reorganization.

Barbara received a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana in 1994. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and lived for almost twenty years in central Illinois. She has three children and now resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband.

Bill O'Conner joined the firm of Watkinson Miller PLLC in 2010, bringing with him more than three decades of experience in the legislative and executive branches of government. During that time, he was one of the key policy staffers in the development and passage of five farm bills, three laws to restructure and reform the Farm Credit System, and the entire legislative development of the federal crop insurance program.

He also played a key role in the legislative evolution of futures and derivatives regulation from the 1980's through House passage of the most recent financial services reform in 2009. He continues to follow closely the implementation of the Dodd - Frank Act and the huge number of regulations that are being promulgated to implement that Act. He was at the center of legislation regulating pesticides, including the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. He has played a major legislative role in all of the diverse legislation in the jurisdiction of the House Agriculture Committee from forestry to food stamps and tobacco to trade.