Joe Maxwell
President
Joe Maxwell is President of Farm Action Fund. His experience in farming, building agricultural supply chains, practicing law, and serving in statewide office are keys to his successful policy development and campaign strategies.
Along with his brother, Steve, Joe raises hogs, sheep, and grain crops on their fourth generation farm. The pair manage a regional hog marketing group selling animal welfare certified pork into outlets including Chipotle. Working with the Ag of the Middle Project, Joe developed an economic model that allowed smaller livestock producers to compete with large meatpackers.
Joe held office in Missouri for 14 years, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, Senate, and as Lieutenant Governor. He is retired from the Army National Guard, where he served as a First Sergeant in the Field Artillery. He holds degrees in agriculture economics and law from the University of Missouri.
Joe has held key positions in both political and initiative petition campaigns. He has assisted Presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives candidates in developing their antitrust, agriculture, and food policy positions.
Recently, he has been cited in major national and international outlets, including Newsweek, the Financial Times, CNBC, ABC News, NPR, Washington Examiner, and Fortune, and has appeared on national television and radio programs discussing issues affecting rural America and farm country.
Webster Davis
Senior Policy Advisor
Webster Davis owns Triple D Produce, located just west of Auxvasse, Missouri. He partners with local FFA groups to provide vegetable starts and inspire young people to pursue careers in food production. Webster has also mentored students through Lincoln University’s Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) program, hosted an intern, and served on planning committees for the Minority and Limited Resource Farmers and Ranchers Conferences.
A proud Ambassador for the Missouri AgrAbility Program, Webster helps farmers and ranchers return to their livelihoods after injury or illness.
A veteran, Webster enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 18 and went on to serve nearly 23 years in the Marine Corps Reserve and Missouri Army National Guard. He is a member of the Farmer Veteran Coalition and the founder and chairman of the Missouri NAACP Agriculture Committee, which works to raise awareness of agricultural issues and opportunities.
Webster serves as treasurer of his local union at the Callaway Nuclear Plant and secretary of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, where he helps ensure records and institutional knowledge are preserved for future generations.
Anim Steel
Vice President, Board of Directors
Anim Steel is a co-founder and past executive director of the Real Food Generation, which harnesses the power of youth and universities to build a fair and sustainable food system (programs include the Real Food Challenge, the Real Meals Campaign, and Uprooted & Rising).
Prior to Real Food Generation, Anim led national initiatives at The Food Project in Boston, consulted with Economic Development Assistance Consortium, and developed employment training programs at the Bowery Residents Committee.
Anim holds a B.A. in Astrophysics and History from Williams College and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
He is the recipient of a James Beard Leadership Award and received an Echoing Green award for social entrepreneurship. Born in Ghana, Anim grew up in West Africa and Washington, D.C.
Wes Shoemyer
Secretary and Treasurer, Board of Directors
Wes Shoemyer is a family farmer in Northeast Missouri where he operates a diversified farm with his father, son, and wife. Wes is a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri State Senate.
He has served on the board of the National Farmers Organization and Missouri’s Food for America. Wes is also a founding member of the Institute for Rural America.
Lillian Salerno
Chair of Advisory Board
Lillian has over two decades of experience in leading organizations and public interest advocacy. She has led multi-state organization and advocacy efforts on issues surrounding entrepreneurship, antitrust enforcement, economic development in rural areas, and healthcare.
Lillian served six years as a subcabinet official for the Obama administration as Deputy Undersecretary for the United States Department of Agriculture. Lillian served as a founding member of the White House Rural Council and has been an unwavering voice for the state of rural Americans and small farmers and their specific concerns regarding innovation and entrepreneurship/business start-ups and access to capital and consolidation especially for new and beginning farmers. Lillian oversaw a federal budget of 30 billion dollars and oversaw over 5000 federal employees and is known for working both sides of the aisle to get things done for those without a voice in this America.
Lillian’s experience “in the trenches” working for stakeholders and alongside government for over twenty years has given her an in-depth understanding of the crucial role advocacy plays in assuring government has the information necessary to make fact based decisions. She recognizes the political importance of identifying issues and creating strong relationships and teams to effect change. Lillian is an experienced coalition builder, which she attributes to her growing up in rural Texas as one of nine children. Lillian holds a B. A. degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, an M. A. in Criminal Justice from the University of North Texas, and a J. D. degree from Southern Methodist University.
Barry Lynn
Advisory Board Member
Barry Lynn directs the Open Markets Institute. Previously, he spent 15 years at the New America Foundation researching and writing about monopoly power. He is author of Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction (Wiley 2010) and End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation (Doubleday 2005).
Lynn’s writings on the political and economic effects of the extreme consolidation of power in the United States have influenced the thinking of policymakers and antitrust professionals on both sides of the Atlantic. His work has been profiled on CBS and in the New York Times, and his articles have appeared in publications including Harper’s, the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, and Foreign Policy. He has appeared on CBS, PBS, CNN, the BBC, NPR, MSNBC, C-Span, and the Christian Broadcasting Network, among others. Prior to joining New America, Lynn was executive editor of Global Business Magazine for seven years, and worked as a correspondent in Peru, Venezuela, and the Caribbean for the Associated Press and Agence France Presse.