We are pleased to present our 2024 CFAES Alumni Award Recipients
Each fall, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Alumni Society Board hosts the CFAES Alumni Awards recognizing a distinguished few of our more than 46,000 living alumni. Their contributions and achievements in their chosen fields are creating a lasting impact locally and globally.
This year, we celebrate five individuals for their extraordinary successes and service. With backgrounds and careers spanning landscape policy and governance, Ohio cooperative communities, sustainability, Extension Education, and food safety, this year’s honorees not only exemplify how alumni sustain life but also what it means to be a Buckeye for life.
Join us on Friday, October 25 to celebrate these exceptional alumni. To register for this complimentary event, visit go.osu.edu/CFAESHomecomingWeekend
International Alumni Award
Suzie Greenhalgh
MA ’96 Economics PHD ’00 Agricultural Economics
Auckland, New Zealand
Dr. Suzie Greenhalgh is a country girl, growing up on a sheep and cattle station in outback Australia. She started school life with ‘School of the Air’ (radio school for isolated children) before finishing her schooling at Clayfield College, a boarding school in Brisbane. She then earned her Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the University of Queensland. Her first job was with the New South Wales Department of Agriculture researching soil structure under cotton. It was through this research she did a Masters of Rural Science (soils) at the University of New England and worked in Laos on hydropower development. As a typical Aussie, Greenhalgh then did her OE (overseas experience) working in the UK and ‘bumming around’ the Middle East, Europe, US and South America. From there it was to Ohio State for her PhD in Resource Economics and a Master of Economics.
From Columbus, Dr. Greenhalgh moved to Washington DC for a stint at the World Resources Institute. There, she provided analysis for the 2002 and 2008 US Farm Bill, helped develop water quality trading programs, worked on international GHG accounting standards with the GHG Protocol Initiative and valuing coral reefs in the Caribbean.
In 2007, with 2 small kids in tow, Dr. Greenhalgh picked up the family and moved to New Zealand. For the last 17 years she has been with Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, one of New Zealand’s Crown Research Institutes. There, she leads the Society, Culture and Policy portfolio of research which focuses on social and economic research related to biodiversity, land, and water.
Some of Dr. Greenhalgh’s New Zealand research highlights has been establishing collaborative decision-making processes for freshwater policy development, facilitating the reconnection of indigenous people to their traditional lands, working with government on climate, freshwater and biodiversity policy, working with communities and government to identify well-being indicators, embedding ecosystem service and holistic decision-making processes in government, providing economic and social advice to government during COVID, building NZ-Vermont research/policy relationships, and having the privilege of leading several multi-million dollar research programs with some ‘amazing kiwi’ and international researchers. Dr. Greenhalgh has also worked in the Pacific Islands, where her research resulted in the establishment of a Conservation Trust in Vanuatu, which enabled communities to pivot during COVID to be more food secure, and the first foray in the region in assessing cultural losses and damages from climate change in Fiji.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Charles A. “Al” Holdren
BS ’72 Agricultural Economics
Ashland, Ohio
Charles A. “Al” Holdren began his cooperative journey with management training at Fayette Landmark, before transitioning to CEO of Ottawa Landmark. He seasoned many company changes and mergers, landing as the CEO of Town and Country Co-op. Holdren served as CEO for 26 years, retiring in 2017 after leading the merger of Western Reserve Farm Cooperative to form Centerra Co-op.
In his cooperative career, Holdren committed his company to improving the industry. He established the annual Ladies Luncheon to recognize and honor the never-ending work of women on the farm and female employees of Town and Country Co-op. He also worked with CEOs from other cooperatives in Ohio to form Cooperatives for the Cure to raise cancer research funds through initiatives like Fueling the Cure and Growing the Cure. Holdren has a passion for student scholarships, working tirelessly to raise funds for students in Ohio and abroad. He started the Ohio AgriBusiness Association’s Bowling for Scholarship event, which raises funds that help award more than $35,000 annually in scholarships to college students studying agriculture.
Holdren spent time dedicated to his home county of Ashland; serving twice as the chair of the Ashland County United Way campain, exceeding the established fundraising goal each year and also serving on the Ashland County Foundation Board for 8 years. Holdren also volunteered his time by visiting Moldova twice, supporting farmers transition from collective farming to a more capitalistic system.
After retirement, Holdren was tapped to serve as the Chairman of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) Industry Education Committee. This committee develops and implements all OABA educational programming which includes the annual industry conference, grain operations and merchandising courses, grain grading schools, anhydrous ammonia safety workshops, the OABA Agronomy College, 4R Technology Review Field Day, and more.
As a student at Ohio State, Holdren was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma and the OSU LEAD II class from 1987-1989, for which he was recognized as its Distinguished Alumni in 2006. Holdren was inducted into the Ohio Ag Hall of Fame in 2019.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Bob Jones, Jr.
BS ’89 Horticulture
Huron, Ohio
Bob Jones, Jr. is the Co-Owner and CEO of The Chef's Garden, a family vegetable farm in Huron, Ohio. The farm is a regeneratively managed operation that grows over six hundred varieties of edible plants for use by restaurants and home consumers around the U.S.
The Chef's Garden operates on 400 acres in a two-thirds cover crop, one-third vegetable rotation annually. Multi-species cocktails of cover crops build soil health for subsequent crops, increasing soil, plant, human, and environmental health. The Chef's Garden has a flourishing sustainability program that includes on-farm electricity generation, on-farm biofuel production for greenhouse heating, and a plastics reduction plan. Carbon sequestration is being measured annually from the cover crop acreage, working towards the farm's goal of carbon-neutral nationwide shipping, which is on pace for realization by the end of 2025.
Bob and Lee (Bob's brother) are partners in the business, along with their mother, Barbara, and eight other family members, who are now active in daily operations. The family has been in the vegetable business since 1960 when the patriarch, Bob Jones Sr., started growing vegetables. Bob Sr. passed away in August of 2020. The Jones family's continuing vision is to grow vegetables that look good, taste good, and are good for you. To that end, the farm has an on-farm laboratory that tests soil health parameters, mineral content, vitamin content, and anti-oxidant content of the vegetables grown on the farm. Food as medicine is a concept that the farm has been striving for. For nearly ten years, the farm has been working with several Physicians/researchers in the healthcare arena to better understand how soil health impacts human health and how growing methods can improve the value of Regeneratively grown produce.
Jones has been active for several years in Ohio and national industry organizations as well as working on several research projects with not only OSU researchers but also from several other land grant institutions and USDA ARS researchers as well.
Jones got his start in association work with the Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers, which later became The Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association. OFA, an association of floriculture professionals, which later became AmericanHort, Horticulture Research Institute (the research arm of AmericanHort), and is currently serving on the Commodity Liaison Committee of the USDA IR-4 project.
He owes much of his success on the farm and involvement in multiple industry initiatives to the sacrifice of his family, especially his wife Julie, whom he met on the farm in 1985. They have three adult children: Kate, who works in HR on the farm; Zach and his wife Ellen, who both work on the farm in the farm market and permaculture operation on the farm. And Rebecca, who lives in Westerville with her husband Seamus.
Jones has been active in farming his entire life and credits who he is today to his family and faith in the Creator of all as we strive to understand in the science of Agriculture.
Meritorious Service Award
Dr. Robert Horton
MS ’78 Agricultural Education PHD ’83 Agricultural Education
Columbus, Ohio
Dr. Bob Horton, an esteemed figure in the field of Extension Education and Educational Design, has made significant contributions to the 4-H program both nationally and statewide. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 1977, Dr. Horton pursued advanced studies at The Ohio State University, obtaining his Master of Science degree in 1978 and his Ph.D. in 1983. His educational background laid a strong foundation for his career dedicated to youth science literacy and enriching informal learning environments for youth.
Dr. Horton’s work has been instrumental in shaping the 4-H program, a leading youth development organization, into the impactful institution it is today. Over the years, he has produced 43 nationally peer-reviewed 4-H publications and curriculum products, reflecting his commitment to developing high-quality educational resources. His efforts have earned him widespread respect and recognition for his leadership and influence on adults, youth, volunteers, and educators across the country.
Dr. Horton’s expertise extends to the development of experiential programs that engage participants in the dynamic process of discovery in science, engineering, and technology. His collaboration with national organizations in this realm has helped to foster innovative approaches to STEM education and Agri-Science instruction.
Currently holding an Emeritus appointment in the Department of Extension within the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University, Dr. Horton continues to make significant contributions to his field. His research focuses on advancing methodology and best practices in Agricultural and Food Sciences, Instructional Technology, and Educational Design. He is particularly noted for his work in designing effective informal learning experiences, such as those found in clubs, camps, and afterschool programs.
With nearly four decades of experience, Dr. Horton remains a sought-after consultant and speaker. His insights are regularly shared at national, state, and local youth events, where he continues to influence and inspire the next generation of learners and educators. Dr. Horton’s enduring impact on the 4-H program and his commitment to advancing educational practices underscore his distinguished career and lasting legacy in the field.
Young Professional Achievement Award
Abigail Snyder
BS ’12 Food Science and Technology
Ithaca, New York
Professor Abby Snyder is from southeastern Ohio and graduated from Zane Trace High School in 2007. She is a 10 year 4-H member and earned her American FFA Degree in 2008. Abby attended The Ohio State University from 2007-2012, earning a BS in Food Science and a BA in Chemistry and English. During her undergraduate career, she did research in the labs of Professors Ahmed Yousef, Monica Guisti, and Luis Rodriguiz-Saona. She also served on Student Council and as a student ambassador for CFAES. Abby earned her PhD from Cornell University in 2017. She has worked as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at OSU and is currently an Associate Professor of Microbial Food Safety at Cornell University.
Dr. Snyder directs a research lab which investigates how foodborne microbes persist under hostile environmental stresses. This work falls into three major themes: 1) microbial survival on inanimate surfaces, 2) pathogen persistence in low moisture food systems, and 3) microbial extremotolerance. One of the long-term goals of her work is reducing the risk of cross-contamination from surfaces in food manufacturing environments into food. As part of these efforts, she has ongoing research projects in sanitation tool development and novel approaches to environmental monitoring. She also leads the Microbial Safety of Infant Feeding (MicroSIF) Lab which aims to develop scientific knowledge and practical strategies to mitigate the risk of invasive bacterial and fungal infections associated with infant feeding.
Abby lives with her husband and 1 year old son in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. They share their home with two dogs and a cat and in their spare time enjoy hiking and volunteering with a local food pantry. In her professional service, Abby serves as co-chair for the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, a position appointed by the US Secretary of Agriculture, for the current charge addressing Cronobacter spp. in powdered infant formula. She visits home regularly and enjoys spending time with family in southeastern Ohio.