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 People and Culture
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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.
Penny Pennington
Vice Chair | Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Lisa Ainsworth, PhD
Professor of Plant Biology, USDA-ARS, Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign
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
Christopher B. Danforth
President, Kennelwood Pet Resort
Steven M. Fox
Private Investor, Fox Family Office, Inc.
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
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Olympian, Founder and CEO of Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation
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
William L. Polk, Jr.
Managing Partner, Egis Capital Partners
Robert Reiter, PhD
Head of R&D, Executive Vice President, Bayer Crop Science
Michael W. Riney
Founder and Managing Director, QRM Capital
Kiersten E. Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
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
Philip Needleman, PhD
Emeritus Director | Former Chief Scientist and Head of R&D, Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia; Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Board of Directors
Todd R. Schnuck
Chair | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Penny Pennington
Vice Chair | Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Lisa Ainsworth, PhD
Professor of Plant Biology, USDA-ARS, Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign
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
Christopher B. Danforth
President, Kennelwood Pet Resort
Steven M. Fox
Private Investor, Fox Family Office, Inc.
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
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Olympian, Founder and CEO of Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation
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
William L. Polk, Jr.
Managing Partner, Egis Capital Partners
Robert Reiter, PhD
Head of R&D, Executive Vice President, Bayer Crop Science
Michael W. Riney
Founder and Managing Director, QRM Capital
Kiersten E. Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
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
Philip Needleman, PhD
Emeritus Director | Former Chief Scientist and Head of R&D, Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia; Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Scientific Advisory Board
Eric Ward, PhD
Chair | President, AgBiome, Inc.
David Braun, PhD
Director, Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG), Professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology, and the Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri – Columbia
Natalia de Leon, PhD
Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jen Heemstra, PhD
Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis
Carolyn Lawrence-Dill, PhD
Associate Dean, Research and Discovery, CALS, and Professor, Agronomy & Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University
Jan Leach, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, College of Agricultural Sciences, University Distinguished Professor, Colorado State University
Jennifer Nemhauser, PhD
Professorship for Excellence in Biology, Department of Biology, University of Washington
Scientific Advisory Board
Eric Ward, PhD
Chair | President, AgBiome, Inc.
David Braun, PhD
Director, Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG), Professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology, and the Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri – Columbia
Natalia de Leon, PhD
Professor, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jen Heemstra, PhD
Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis
Carolyn Lawrence-Dill, PhD
Associate Dean, Research and Discovery, CALS, and Professor, Agronomy & Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University
Jan Leach, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, College of Agricultural Sciences, University Distinguished Professor, Colorado State University
Jennifer Nemhauser, PhD
Professorship for Excellence in Biology, Department of Biology, University of Washington