Ohio Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative (OIACI) Advisory Committee Members
The OIACI Advisory Committee includes representatives from the following sectors: government, academia, extension,
business, growers, and policy and public relations.
The Advisory Committee’s responsibilities are to:
• Advise and provide recommendations for enhancements of the OIACI program,
including trade activities, current and future projects, trade and educational missions,
and joint R&D.
• Lobby and speak on behalf of the OIACI at the State and Federal level.
• Identify funding sources and funding for the OIACI.
• Promote trade opportunities that benefit both Ohio and Israeli partners.
The Advisory Committee meets up to 2 times a year. Last year, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the committee did not meet. However, the Advisory Committee Meeting was able to meet via Zoom on May 26, 2021 and had a excellent turnout of members and guests, including Ohio Senators and the State of Israel Acting Consul General, Israel Nitzon. Please see the meeting report: OIACI Annual Advisory Committee Meeting 2021 – Meeting Report and below, the Zoom meeting, recorded in its entirety:
Yossi Barak — Netanya, Israel
Katie Bauer — Worthington, Ohio Ohio Soybean Council, Global Demand & Market Development Manager www.soyohio.org/council
Howie Beigelman — Columbus, Ohio Executive Director, Ohio Jewish Communities
www.ohiojc.org
Brad Bergefurd — Piketon, Ohio Extension Educator, Horticulture, OSU South Centers
southcenters.osu.edu
Dick Bogomolny — Gates Mills, Ohio Founding Board Chair, The Negev Foundation
Don Branson — Hillsboro, Ohio Former Executive Director, Southern Ohio Agricultural & Community Development Foundation
Donald (Don) J. Breece, Ph.D. — Fredericktown, Ohio Associate Professor Emeritus, Ohio State University
Tim W. Brown — Toledo, Ohio President, Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments www.tmacog.org
John Buck — New Bloomington, Ohio Buck Farms www.facebook.com/buckfarmsohio
Bob Calala — New London, Ohio Former President, Ohio Aquaculture Association and Owner, Calala’s Water Haven, Inc. www.calalacrayfish.com
Phil Cassidy — Madison, Ohio Senior Managing Scientist, Exponent www.exponent.com
Bob Cohen — Mansfield, Ohio Business Advisor, Braintree Business Development Center www.braintreepartners.org
Sam Custer — Columbus, Ohio Assistant Director, Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OSU Extension www.cfaes.osu.edu
Tim Derickson — Columbus, Ohio Senior Director, Food and Agribusiness, JobsOhio www.jobsohio.com
Denise Driehaus — Cincinnati, Ohio Hamilton County Commissioner www.hamiltoncountyohio.gov/home
Ken Fisher — Columbus, Ohio President and CEO, American Horticulture Association AmericanHort.org
Karl R. Gebhardt — Westerville, Ohio Chairman, OIACI Advisory Committee and Deputy Director, Water Resources & Lake Erie Programs, Ohio EPA www.epa.state.oh.us
Christopher R. Gibbs — Maplewood, Ohio Former Chairman, OIACI Advisory Committee and Owner, Gibbs Farms
P. Charles Goebel, Ph.D. — Wooster, Ohio Interim Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Education, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OARDC, The Ohio State University www.oardc.osu.edu
John Grimes — Piketon, Ohio OSU Extension Beef Coordinator, Associate Professor, OSU South Centers
Brian Gwin — Wooster, Ohio Special Projects, OARDC Director’s Office www.oardc.osu.edu
Zvi Herman — Herzlia, Israel Executive Director, Business Development, Agriculture Division, LR Group
www.lr-group.com
Amanda Hill — New Bloomington, Ohio Business Development and Sales Support, Groundwork BioAg www.groundworkbioag.com
Tracy Intihar — Reynoldsburg, Ohio Assistant Director, Ohio Department of Agriculture ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/site/government/state-agencies/department-of-agriculture
Avi Koren — Post Arava, Israel Greenhouse Grower
Dr. Andrew (Andy) J. Londo — Columbus, Ohio Professor and Assistant Director, Agriculture and Natural Resources
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension agnr.osu.edu
Justin Marotta — Mansfield, Ohio (retired) past president of OFA, now AmericanHort and Owner, Possum Run Greenhouses, Inc.
Matt McClellan — Columbus, Ohio Assistant Director, Ohio Development Services Agency www.development.ohio.gov
Dean McIlvaine — West Salem, Ohio Owner, Twin Parks Organic Farm
Kirk B. Merritt — Worthington, Ohio Executive Director, Ohio Soybean Council www.soyohio.org
Dr. Fred Michel Jr. — Wooster, Ohio Professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Ohio State University-OARDC oardc.ohio-state.edu/michel/CompostResearch.htm
Suzanne Mills-Wasniak — Dayton, Ohio Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Montgomery County, OSU Extension www.montgomery.osu.edu/program-areas/agriculture-and-natural-resources
Yankele Moscovitz — Kadesh Barnea, Israel Chairman & C.E.O., Ramat Negev Agricultural Authority
Joe Needham — Columbus, Ohio Former Director of Food and Agriculture Economic Development for Ohio
Jobs Ohio (Retired)
Matt Peters — Columbus, Ohio
Gary Pierzynski — Columbus, Ohio Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, OARDC, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences www.oardc.osu.edu
Duane Rader — Mansfield, Ohio
Janine Rybka — Cleveland, Ohio Director, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District www.cuyahogaswcd.org
Lisa Schacht — Canal Winchester, Ohio Owner, Schacht Farm and Farm Market www.schachtfarmmarket.com
Oren Shaked — Tel Aviv Israel Senior Agricultural Specialist USDA-FAS Israel, US Embassy, Tel Aviv
www.israel.usembassy.gov/fas
Yitzhak Simon — Eliyahu, Israel Aquaculture Specialist
Dr. Steven A. Slack — Wooster, Ohio Co-Chair, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University (Retired)
Dr. Dave Smith — Urbana, Ohio Founder & President, Freshwater Farms of Ohio www.fwfarms.com
Gene Steiner — Lebanon, Ohio President, Gene Steiner Mgt Co. Inc. (GSM Inc)
Bryan Stubb — Cleveland, Ohio President and Executive Director of The Cleveland Water Alliance www.clevelandwateralliance.org
Tom Sudow — Cleveland, Ohio Director, Business Development, Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, Cleveland Clinic
Tim Sword — Columbus, Ohio Global Agriculture Program Manager at Ohio Department of Development, Office of Community Services www.development.ohio.gov
Yael Vodovotz, Ph.D. — Columbus, Ohio Director, Center for Advanced Functional Food Research and Entrepreneurship & Professor, Food Science and Tech, Food Innovation Center, The Ohio State University www.fic.osu.edu
John Werkman — Columbus, Ohio Chief, Business Services Division, Ohio Development Services Agency www.development.ohio.gov
Sam Hoenig — Beachwood, Ohio is a founder and President of the Negev Foundation, the OIACI’s parent organization. Sam has had over 25 years of experience with foreign and domestic agricultural and land related projects. He has assisted the United States Department of Agriculture and Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and coordinated agricultural transfer initiatives between the United States and Israel. Sam has also served as a consultant to the Minister for Agricultural Affairs to North America at the Israel Embassy in Washington. Sam attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Wisconsin, and then went on to the University of Southern California and Hebrew Union College for graduate degrees.
Julia DiBaggio – Cleveland, OH,Program Director for the Ohio-Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative, has over 10 years of experience working for Cleveland nonprofits, including social service agencies and community development corporations, in fundraising and programs. Julia was responsible for securing grant funding and managing fundraising events increasing overall funding for multiple organizations. Julia particularly enjoyed community work, bringing together different voices for a common goal of making neighborhoods more livable. Julia graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in English and Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs with a M.A in Environmental Studies.
Dr. Sarah Horowitz — Shaker Heights, Ohio, Consultant for the Ohio-Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative. Until she retired in 2018, Sarah served as the Program Director of the Ohio-Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative for 16 years. Sarah has over thirty years of research experience in microbiology and biotechnology in industry and academia. She has written over 90 publications, patent applications and technical reports, and has given numerous presentations at professional seminars. Prior to becoming Program Director of OIACI, Sarah served as Administrative Director and President of UPAH Tech, Inc., Environmental and Aquaculture Microbiology Consulting and Service in Cleveland, Ohio, Senior Project Leader, Biotechnology Branch, British Petroleum Research Center in Cleveland, Research Associate and Instructor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology in the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and as a Research Associate in the Department of Biochemistry at Michigan State University. Sarah attended Tel-Aviv University in Israel where she received a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Microbiology. She received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Louisville, KY.