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
Learn More
Hal Davies, MBA, CPA
Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Operations Officer
Learn More
Tom Bander, MBA
Vice President of Development
Learn More
Anna Dibble, MBA
Vice President for Human Resources
Learn More
Todd Hornburg
Vice President of Facilities and Special Services
Learn More
Toni Kutchan, PhD
Vice President for Research
Learn More
Donald MacKenzie, PhD
Executive Director of Institute for International Crop Improvement
Learn More
Stephanie Regagnon
Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships
Learn More
Karla Roeber
Vice President of Public and Government Affairs
Learn More
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.
Philip Needleman, PhD
Vice Chair, Former Chief Scientist & Head Of R&D Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia, Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
John F. McDonnell
Immediate Past Chair Retired Chairman of the Board, McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Brett D. Begemann
Chief Operating Officer, Bayer Crop Science
Blackford F. “Beau” Brauer
President, Hunter Engineering Company
Lee Broughton
Broughton Brand Company
Alexander N. Cartwright, PhD
Chancellor, University of Missouri
Christopher B. Danforth
General Partner, Cultivation Capital Life Science Fund Managing Director, The Yield Fund
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
Founder, 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
David W. Kemper
Executive Chairman, Commerce Bancshares, Inc.
Andrew D. Martin, PhD
Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Anna E. McKelvey, LLM
Community Volunteer
Thomas C. Melzer
Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners
Penny Pennington
Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Kiersten Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
Mary Stillman
Founder, Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls Executive Director, Hawthorn Leadership School Foundation
Robert L. Virgil, DBA (Emeritus Director)
Retired Partner, Edward Jones
Peter S. Wyse Jackson, PhD
President, Missouri Botanical Garden
Usha Barwale Zehr, PhD
Chief Technology Officer, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, Ltd.
Board of Directors
Todd R. Schnuck
Chair, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Philip Needleman, PhD
Vice Chair, Former Chief Scientist & Head Of R&D Monsanto/Searle/Pharmacia, Former Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
John F. McDonnell
Immediate Past Chair Retired Chairman of the Board, McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Brett D. Begemann
Chief Operating Officer, Bayer Crop Science
Blackford F. “Beau” Brauer
President, Hunter Engineering Company
Lee Broughton
Broughton Brand Company
Alexander N. Cartwright, PhD
Chancellor, University of Missouri
Christopher B. Danforth
General Partner, Cultivation Capital Life Science Fund Managing Director, The Yield Fund
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
Founder, 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
David W. Kemper
Executive Chairman, Commerce Bancshares, Inc.
Andrew D. Martin, PhD
Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Anna E. McKelvey, LLM
Community Volunteer
Thomas C. Melzer
Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners
Penny Pennington
Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Kiersten Stead, PhD
Managing Partner, DCVC Bio
Mary Stillman
Founder, Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls Executive Director, Hawthorn Leadership School Foundation
Robert L. Virgil, DBA (Emeritus Director)
Retired Partner, Edward Jones
Peter S. Wyse Jackson, PhD
President, Missouri Botanical Garden
Usha Barwale Zehr, PhD
Chief Technology Officer, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, Ltd.
Scientific Advisory Board
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
Craig Pikaard, PhD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Distinguished Professor and Carlos O. Miller Professor, Biology/Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University
Richard D. Vierstra, PhD
George and Charmaine Mallinckrodt Professor of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis
Scientific Advisory Board
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
Craig Pikaard, PhD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Distinguished Professor and Carlos O. Miller Professor, Biology/Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University
Richard D. Vierstra, PhD
George and Charmaine Mallinckrodt Professor of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis