Our Team
Everything we do is driven by the expertise and direction of our Board of Directors, who combined have over 200 years experience in agriculture and agricultural business.
Donnie Smith
Mr. Smith graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. Mr. Smith was the CEO of Tyson Foods for seven years and in currently serving as the Board Chairmen and President of the African Agriculture Sustainability Project, is the Board Chairman for Buccum, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Tacos for Life. He started out as a field worker for Tyson foods and went on to serve in many positions on his way to being named CEO. Mr. Smith is a member of Cross Church where she is extremely involved. Mr. Smith has been involved in starting and running nonprofits and has a background of exceptional leadership in both for and nonprofit business.
Terry Smith
Ms. Smith has a bachelor’s degree is elementary education from the University of Tennessee. She taught special education in low income communities and helped design a resource curriculum. Ms. Smith is a member of Cross Church Springdale, Arkansas, where she is extremely involved.
Rob Tanksley
Mr. Tanksley graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello with a bachelor's degree in agricultural business in 1983. Mr. Tanksley was employed by Tyson Foods, Inc. between 1986 and 2017. While at Tyson Foods, Inc., he worked in the operations side of the poultry business; the corporate office in the shared service areas of purchasing, logistics and supply chain planning; as Vice President of Retail Poultry Operations; as the Senior Vice President of Latin Americas; and as Sr.Vice President of Prepared Foods Manufacturing as part of Tyson Foods. He currently works as Sr Vice President of Pet Food Manufacturing for Simmons Foods and serves on the board of directors for African Sustainable Agriculture Projects (ASAP), Zamura Feeds, Ltd. (Rwanda, Africa), Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA).
Thad Hanna
Mr. Hanna is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a masters of business administration. He previously worked as a financial advisor for Edward Jones. Mr. Hanna has been employed by Hanna's Candle Co. of Fayetteville, Arkansas since 2005. While at Hanna's Candle Co., he has served as the Chief Operating Officer; Vice President of Sales; and is currently the Chief Financial Officer. His duties as Chief Financial Officer include managing loans and banking relationships, a $20 million budget and health, property and workers' compensation insurance. Mr. Hanna's community service includes involvement with the Fayetteville Youth Baseball Board and the Cross Church Youth Ministry. He currently serves on the board of directors for African Sustainable Agriculture Projects (ASAP), Zamura Feeds, Ltd. (Rwanda, Africa), Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA), and OneEgg.org.
Kenny Avey
Mr. Avey graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in poultry science and a minor in agricultural business. Mr. Avey was employed by Tyson Foods, Inc. from 1978 until 2004. His various positions include a commercial egg farm laborer, pellet mill operator, broiler technician, feed milling and delivery manager, and breeder/hatchery manager. He currently works for George's Inc. as a feed milling manager and truck and tire shop manager. Mr. Avey and his family have lived on a twenty acre poultry farm for over twenty years, which produces approximately 700,000 broilers annually. His industry participation includes serving as a committee member of the American Feed Industry Association. He currently serves on the board of directors for African Sustainable Agriculture Projects (ASAP), Zamura Feeds, Ltd. (Rwanda, Africa), Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA), and OneEgg.org
Dave Juenger
Dave Juenger graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture Sciences degree from Missouri State University in 1981. He is the Senior Advisor for Support Services at Cobb-Vantress, Inc. Since 2007, he has been responsible for all acquisitions, expansions, and renovations of Cobb’s infrastructure worldwide. Additionally, he manages and oversees international contracts and philanthropic efforts. Prior to his current role, he was Director of Cobb Pedigree Operations from 1997 until 2007. Responsible for all aspects of Pedigree production pipe-line. His experience at Cobb of 20 plus years has given him a wide breadth of knowledge from poultry husbandry and farm management to distributor dealings and global expansion projects. He currently serves on the board of directors for African Sustainable Agriculture Projects (ASAP), Zamura Feeds, Ltd. (Rwanda, Africa), Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA), and OneEgg.org
Jay Smith
A long time resident of Northwest Arkansas, Mr. Smith studied at Northwest Arkansas Community College and University of Arkansas receiving a Bachelor’s in Poultry Science. He worked at Tyson Foods Inc. for 10 years in various roles. Spending the last 4 years in the Commodity Purchasing Department as an analyst and food ingredient buyer, while also serving as a Tyson Food Fellow helping teach citizens of developing countries how to better make food. Mr. Smith's most recent project was working with Philippe Armand and his team at Ze Pou Ayati in Gressier, Haiti. Currently he is pursuing further education and continuing to consult on food improvement projects and share knowledge as much as possible.