Program Staff
The Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative is managed and organized by the Iowa Soybean Association. The program coordinators for this initiative include:
Carol Balvanz
Director of Policy, Marketing and Resource Group,
Iowa Soybean Association
cbalvanz@iasoybeans.com
phone: 515.251.8640
Carol Balvanz joined the Iowa Soybean Association in 2005 as the Director of the newly formed PMR group. Her duties include overseeing development of non-checkoff revenue sources including membership. She also supervises staff and oversees policy and project development, facilitating discussion within policy. She also encourages development of new projects and relationships; she develops budgets and tracks progress through strategic planning. Another role she has is to develop strategy for corporate fund-raising. She also provides information back to both the CEO and the Board of Directors regarding projects and budgets. Last, Carol works to connect with other department heads and outside clients to encourage utilization of services provided by the PMR group.
Prior to the Iowa Soybean Association, Carol worked for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association where her duties included communication and policy work. She also was a high-school English teacher earlier.
Valerie Plagge
Independent Leadership Development Consultant
vplagge@gmail.com
phone: 515.230.2463
Valerie Plagge is an independent consultant who specializes in leadership development activities and event planning and coordination. Val has been the coordinator for the Ag-Urban Initiative since 2008. Besides doing independent consulting, Val is a stay at home mom and helps on her family's farm. As Val likes to say of her and her husband's farm, they raise "corn, soybeans, pigs and kids."
Prior to doing independent consulting, Val worked for the Iowa Soybean Association for over four years as the District Coordinator for Northeast and North Central Iowa. Prior to ISA, Val graduated from Iowa State University in December 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Communications with a minor in agronomy.
Val believes in being active in her community. She serves as the high school Sunday school teacher and youth sponsor at her church. Val is also active with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, serving on her county board and on the state Young Farmer Advisory Committee. She is also a county 4-H volunteer, judges area 4-H and FFA contests and fairs, and she is a wish granter for Make A Wish North Iowa.
