Lunch and Learn & a Coffee Break with Bumpers College and the Alumni Association

Photos Submitted

Panelists on Thursday, from left top, include Todd Martin, Garry McDonald and Drew Parker; panelists on Friday, bottom, are Ella Claire Covington, Geania Dickey, Jennifer Kesselring and Robyn Smith.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences is partnering with the U of A Alumni Association on its Arkansas Alumni Presents series.

The series features college-specific interactive events for students, alumni and friends. Learn more here.

Bumpers College week is this week with a virtual Lunch and Learn session and a Coffee Break panel discussion.

The Lunch and Learn event is Thursday from noon-1 p.m. on Zoom. Register here. The topic is "The Ripple Effect of a Pandemic on the Food Supply Chain," and features:

• Todd Martin, Bumpers College graduate, member of the alumni society's board of directors, restaurant owner, consultant and agricultural economist.
• Garry McDonald, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture, an expert in plant nutrition and nursery production, and supervisor of the department's internship program.
• Drew Parker, Bumpers College graduate in poultry science, senior technical service veterinarian and former national Poultry and Egg Association Student of the Year.

The coffee break is 10-11 a.m. on Friday, also on Zoom. Register here. The week of Nov. 16-20 is also American Education Week and Nov. 20 is World Children's Day, so this discussion is "The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education," and features:

• Ella Claire Covington, 2020 Bumpers College graduate in birth through kindergarten who utilized labs and other experiences via the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center, she's now a lead teacher.
• Geania Dickey, Bumpers College graduate, consultant for Arkansas State University Childhood Services and principal of dot2dot consulting.
• Jennifer Kesselring, an early childhood educator for 28 years with the last 22 at Riverfield Country Day School in Tulsa, she has published several articles, presents nationally and internationally, and consults with schools and school districts.
• Robyn Smith, Bumpers College graduate who is certified in early childhood and pre-kindergarten, is a pre-K teacher and program director at Prairie Grove Elementary School.

Lunch and Learn

Thursday, Nov. 19, noon-1 p.m.

• "The Ripple Effect of a Pandemic on the Food Supply Chain"
• Panelists: Todd Martin, Garry McDonald, Drew Parker
• Register for the Lunch and Learn

"The Ripple Effect of a Pandemic on the Food Supply Chain" panel bios:

About Todd Martin: Martin grew up on the family dairy farm in south Arkansas, and knows about long hours, hard work, innovation and a love for the land. He earned his degree in agricultural economics and worked in commodities with Merrill Lynch before moving to Ciba-Geigy, a legacy company of Syngenta. Since 1990, he has been involved in both domestic and global roles encompassing seeds, traits and crop protection areas of the agriculture sector, working in sales, marketing and business development on every continent. After retiring from Syngenta, he opened a consulting business specializing in management and advisory services, and has worked with Cerberus Capital Management, Blackstone, Stephens, Inc. and Inari, Inc., among others. He founded several companies, including Earth Optics, a soil sensing company using ground penetrating radar to analyze soil compaction in production agriculture. In 2020, he founded South by Northwest Hospitality and acquired three Northwest Arkansas restaurants. In addition to Southern Food Company, an original concept, he and wife Marti also run Theo's and Eastside Grill. Martin is CEO of the Independent Professional Seed Association and a commissioner on the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission.

About Garry McDonald: McDonald earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in floriculture, and his Ph.D. in horticulture, all from Texas A&M University. He teaches the landscape horticulture curriculum, plant propagation and special topics. His background includes owning and operating a landscape installation company, and research in tropical horticulture, plant nutrition, field and greenhouse rose production, nursery production and water quality/stormwater runoff. McDonald has served as chair of the Bumpers College AFLS Curriculum Committee and chairs the Department of Horticulture's Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. He oversees the undergraduate student internship program and acts as a lead in the department curriculum assessment plan. His research focuses on the development and use of resource efficient landscape plants, native plant development, stormwater runoff control and treatment, and the history of the relationship between man and plants. In 2019, he earned a National Role Model Award from Minority Access after being nominated by a student. He has also earned Faculty Gold Medal and Outstanding Mentor awards from the U of A's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, and the Teaching Award of Merit from Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture.

About Drew Parker: Parker is a senior technical service veterinarian with Phibro Animal Health in Fayetteville after previously working with Zoetis and Alpharma where he handled accounts with Tyson Foods, Gold n Plump, AgPartners, Pilgrim's Pride, Wayne Farms and more. He earned his bachelor's degree in poultry science from the U of A in 2005 and became a board certified diplomat of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians in 2011. Parker is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association-Poultry Division, American College of Poultry Veterinarians, American Association of Avian Pathologists and The Poultry Federation, and on the AVMA Board of Trustees, among others. In 2005, while an undergraduate, he was the national Poultry and Egg Association Student of the Year at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta. He also earned the 2008 AAAP Foundation Kenneth Eskelund Preceptorship Grant and was a 2008 Arkansas Veterinary Medical Foundation Scholar.

Coffee Break

Friday, Nov. 20, 10-11 a.m.

• "The Impact of COVID 19 on Early Childhood Education"
• Panelists: Ella Claire Covington, Geania Dickey, Jennifer Kesselring, Robyn Smith
• Register for the Coffee Break 

"The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education" panel bios:

About Ella Claire Covington: Covington is a 2020 Bumpers College graduate of the birth through kindergarten program. While a student, she worked at and utilized the labs, observations and other experiences of the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center. She learned from formative experiences, practical tools and hands-on interactions from multiple sources for her career in early childhood education, and is now a lead teacher in an infant classroom at the JTCDSC. She worked part-time in the child-directed, play-focused learning atmosphere as she earned her degree. Covington worked at The Goddard School before returning to campus.

About Geania Dickey: Dickey is a consultant with Arkansas State University Childhood Services and the principal of dot2dot consulting where she works with organizations in support of strengthening early childhood program quality and improved access for all children. She served as A-State Childhood Services program coordinator for management and leadership for 17 years. Dickey has worked with and received training in advocacy from the National Women's Law Center and was a member of the first Policy and Advocacy Institute for Emerging Leaders sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund. She is also the recipient of the Sister Joan Pytlik award for Legislative Advocacy presented by the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition and was honored with the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families - Friend of Children award. She earned her bachelor's in education and her master's in public administration. 

About Jennifer Kesselring: Kesselring has been an early childhood educator for 28 years, the last 22 at Riverfield Country Day School in Tulsa. RCDS is an independent school serving children eight weeks through 12th grade. Kesselring has been a classroom teacher, studio teacher, pedagogical coordinator, division head and head of strategic innovation. She has published several articles, presents nationally and internationally, consults with schools and school districts, and sits on the North American Reggio Alliance Board, Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma Board and the Tulsa Community College Advisory Council, and was previously on the National Association for Gifted Children Curriculum Committee.

About Robyn Smith: Smith is certified in early childhood and pre-kindergarten, and is a pre-K teacher and program director at Prairie Grove Elementary School. A Bumpers College graduate with bachelor's and master's degrees in human development and family sciences, she has taught pre-K the last 14 years. She was a graduate assistant in the U of A nursery school and interned at UAMS Kids' First and at Arkansas Children's Hospital. A certified Child Life Specialist, Smith earned her ESL endorsement, has served on leadership and curriculum development teams, hiring committees and mentored interns from the U of A birth through kindergarten program.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.