MADISON – Rachel Harmann, a Door County Farm Bureau member, has been chosen to participate in the American Farm Bureau’s eleventh class of the Partners in Advocacy Leadership honors program along with nine other young leaders. PAL is designed to help agricultural leaders accelerate their leadership abilities and solidify their roles as advocates for agriculture.
Harmann and her husband, Eric, live on the banks of Lake Michigan in Algoma and are proud parents to two children, McCoy and Keaton. Harmann is the Volunteer Engagement Representative for the American Red Cross and oversees biomed volunteers in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Harmann is a graduate of the WFBF Leadership Institute and former finalist in the WFBF Young Farmer and Agriculturist Discussion Meet. She serves on the Door County Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
“Participating in this program is a complete honor and really took me by surprise,” Harmann said. “After completing the Leadership Institute, I felt this was the next natural step in my leadership progression within Farm Bureau, both personally and professionally. I think this program has many opportunities that will allow me to take part but also take that information back and move Door County Farm Bureau and Wisconsin Farm Bureau forward.”
Other members of PAL Class 11 are: Heather Barnes, North Carolina; Seth Earl, Michigan; Jason Fellows, Idaho; Laura Haffner, Kansas; Eileen Jensen, New York; Russ Kohler, Utah; Ben Menges, Arizona; Megan Richner, Missouri; and Dana Stewart, Arkansas.
“Advocating for agricultural issues benefits rural communities at the local, state and national levels,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Today, more than ever before, it’s critical for farmers and ranchers to step forward with confidence as they promote issues important to those in the farm-to-consumer food chain.”
To be eligible for the PAL program, applicants must be between the ages of 30 and 45, with demonstrated leadership skills.
PAL training involves four learning modules designed to develop specific advocacy skills while exploring components of leadership and its theories and philosophies. The modules build on one another over the two years of the program and include intense, in-person, hands-on training. Graduates emerge with experience and confidence in legislative policy-making, issues management, social media and media relations.
“I am most looking forward to traveling, meeting new people, building relationships and, within those relationships, being able to find what other people’s strengths are and build my network as well as my skillset from them,” Harmann said.
The PAL program is sponsored by AFBF, Farm Credit and Bayer Co.
Find out more about the PAL program at www.fb.org.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization, representing farms of every size, commodity and management style.
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