Staff
David Meisinger, Executive Director
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David earned a doctorate in animal science from Iowa State in 1978. He worked as an ISU area extension livestock specialist before spending the next 25 years in a variety of pork industry positions, including pharmaceutical, packing and production. He had been with the National Pork Board for 10 years, first in the area of pork quality and then in producer and industry educational programming, before coming to this position in 2005. As the executive director he oversees the operations of the USPCE and is responsible for government and partner relations, public relations, and funding. David has three children, Jessica at CSU, Jared at ISU, and Sam in HS. He resides in Earlham with his wife Vickie. |
Contact David:
drdave@iastate.edu
(515)294-7556
Barbara Kalsem, Administrative Assistant
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Barb serves as the administrative assistant for the USPCE where she is responsible for travel arrangements, accounts payable and receivable, and purchasing cards for employees. She also shares her time with the Ag and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University. Barb has been at ISU for 38 years. Barb and her husband Dave reside in Cambridge. |
Contact Barb:
bjkalsem@iastate.edu
(515)294-8891
Maggie DenBeste, Program Coordinator
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Maggie graduated in December 2009 from Iowa State University with a M.S. degree in Animal Physiology. While obtaining her Master's, she enjoyed working as a teacher's assistant for a number of undergraduate classes. Prior to obtaining her Master's degree, Maggie worked in the industry for two years with Hamilton College in Urbandale, IA as a Student Advisor and three years as a Website Support Specialist for Propig located in Worthington, MN. She enjoys spending her free time with her son, Ethan, and their new puppy, Cy. |
Contact Maggie:
mdenbest@iastate.edu
(515)294-5231
Kelly Mescher, Communications Specialist
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Kelly is responsible for managing the Pork Information Gateway (PIG), the USPCE Web site, and various communications for USPCE.
Kelly earned her B.A. degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Speech and Communication from Iowa State University, and later earned her Master's degree from the University of Iowa. Kelly worked for the Iowa Soybean Association for five years, where she was the main writer for the Iowa Soybean Review and Illinois Soybean Review magazines, and helped edit and contribute stories to the Nebraska, South Dakota and Ohio Soybean Reviews. She wrote about soybean production and research, livestock consumption, transportation infrastructure, exports and world markets, etc. Kelly enjoys spending her free time with her fiancee Jason and their two pets, reading and working out.
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Contact Kelly: kmescher@iastate.edu
(515) 294-2490
Connie Cannon, Grants Coordinator
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Connie Cannon has joined the USPCE as our new Grants Coordinator. With this position, Connie will be responsible writing grants and proposals.
Connie grew up on a diversified family farm in South Dakota and earned a B.A. from South Dakota State University. She taught English in South Dakota and Iowa. She and her husband raised three children on the family farm west of Newton. Their operation featured farrow-to-finish, commercial cow/calf and row crop production. For the past 14 years, Connie has focused professionally on career and employment services and grant writing for K-12 education. She is active in ISU Extension as a county council member, and has served on the State Extension advisory board and the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils. She is also a Master Gardener.
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Contact Connie:
ccannon@iastate.edu
515-294-0081