Making a Vision a Reality
Our leadership unites some of the brightest minds in science, business, education, and civil service to execute the Danforth mission and steward its legacy.
James C. Carrington, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer
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Hal Davies, MBA, CPA
Chief Operating Officer and VP for Finance
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Tom Bander, MBA
Vice President of Development
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Anna Dibble, MBA
Vice President for Human Resources
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Todd Hornburg
Vice President of Facilities and Special Services
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Toni Kutchan, PhD
Vice President for Research
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Donald MacKenzie, PhD
Executive Director of Institute for International Crop Improvement
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Stephanie Regagnon
Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships
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Karla Roeber
Vice President of Public and Government Affairs
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Principal Investigators
Meet the People Changing the World with Plants
Our principal investigators are the engine that powers the Danforth Center. Their accomplishments have laid the groundwork for countless new technologies. They attract the brightest minds in the field for their labs and land major national research grants. We are honored to work with them.
Board of Directors
Todd R. Schnuck
Chair | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Teddy Bekele
SVP and Chief Technology Officer, Land O’ Lakes, Inc.
Sara Yang Bosco
Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Emerson
Blackford F. “Beau” Brauer
President, Hunter Engineering Company
Lee Broughton
Broughton Brand Company
Patrick O. Brown, MD, PhD
Chief Visionary Officer and Founder, Impossible Foods
Mun Y. Choi, PhD
President, University of Missouri System; Chancellor, University of Missouri-Columbia
Desiree S. Coleman-Fry
Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, OMWI Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Steven M. Fox
Managing Director, Harbour Group Industries, Inc.
Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt
President and Chief Executive Officer, Gephardt Group/Gephardt Government Affairs
James L. Johnson, III
Partner, Johnson Bender Asset Management
Robert J. Jones, PhD
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Vice President, University of Illinois
Wesley Jones
Managing Partner, Sage Capital LLC
Ruth E. Kim, JD
Corporate Secretary | General Counsel, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner, Fleishman-Hillard
Sanjeev Krishnan
Chief Investment Officer, Seed 2 Growth (S2G) Ventures
Ann C. Marr
Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources, World Wide Technology, LLC; President, WWT Foundation
Andrew D. Martin, PhD
Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Anna E. McKelvey, LLM
Community Volunteer
Thomas C. Melzer
Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners
Philip Needleman, PhD
Vice Chair | Former Chief Scientist and Head of R&D, Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia; Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Penny Pennington
Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Robert "Bob" Reiter, PhD
Head of R&D, Executive Vice President, Bayer Crop Science
Kiersten E. Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
Mary Stillman
Founder, Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls
Peter S. Wyse Jackson, PhD
President, Missouri Botanical Garden
John F. McDonnell
Emeritus Director and Immediate Past Chair | Retired Chairman of the Board, McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Board of Directors
Todd R. Schnuck
Chair | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Teddy Bekele
SVP and Chief Technology Officer, Land O’ Lakes, Inc.
Sara Yang Bosco
Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Emerson
Blackford F. “Beau” Brauer
President, Hunter Engineering Company
Lee Broughton
Broughton Brand Company
Patrick O. Brown, MD, PhD
Chief Visionary Officer and Founder, Impossible Foods
Mun Y. Choi, PhD
President, University of Missouri System; Chancellor, University of Missouri-Columbia
Desiree S. Coleman-Fry
Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, OMWI Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Steven M. Fox
Managing Director, Harbour Group Industries, Inc.
Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt
President and Chief Executive Officer, Gephardt Group/Gephardt Government Affairs
James L. Johnson, III
Partner, Johnson Bender Asset Management
Robert J. Jones, PhD
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Vice President, University of Illinois
Wesley Jones
Managing Partner, Sage Capital LLC
Ruth E. Kim, JD
Corporate Secretary | General Counsel, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner, Fleishman-Hillard
Sanjeev Krishnan
Chief Investment Officer, Seed 2 Growth (S2G) Ventures
Ann C. Marr
Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources, World Wide Technology, LLC; President, WWT Foundation
Andrew D. Martin, PhD
Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Anna E. McKelvey, LLM
Community Volunteer
Thomas C. Melzer
Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners
Philip Needleman, PhD
Vice Chair | Former Chief Scientist and Head of R&D, Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia; Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Penny Pennington
Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Robert "Bob" Reiter, PhD
Head of R&D, Executive Vice President, Bayer Crop Science
Kiersten E. Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
Mary Stillman
Founder, Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls
Peter S. Wyse Jackson, PhD
President, Missouri Botanical Garden
John F. McDonnell
Emeritus Director and Immediate Past Chair | Retired Chairman of the Board, McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Scientific Advisory Board
Eric Ward, PhD
Chair | President, AgBiome, Inc.
Lisa Ainsworth, PhD
Professor of Plant Biology, USDA-ARS, Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign
Edward Buckler, PhD
Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS; Adjunct Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University
Rebecca Doerge, PhD
Glen de Vries Dean, Mellon College of Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Walter Gassmann, PhD
Interim Director, Bond Life Sciences Center and Professor, Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri — Columbia
Barbara Valent, PhD
University Distinguished Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University
David Braun, PhD
Director, Interdisciplinary Plant Group and Professor, Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri – Columbia
Natalia de Leon, PhD
Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Scientific Advisory Board
Eric Ward, PhD
Chair | President, AgBiome, Inc.
Lisa Ainsworth, PhD
Professor of Plant Biology, USDA-ARS, Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign
Edward Buckler, PhD
Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS; Adjunct Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University
Rebecca Doerge, PhD
Glen de Vries Dean, Mellon College of Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Walter Gassmann, PhD
Interim Director, Bond Life Sciences Center and Professor, Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri — Columbia
Barbara Valent, PhD
University Distinguished Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University
David Braun, PhD
Director, Interdisciplinary Plant Group and Professor, Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri – Columbia
Natalia de Leon, PhD
Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison