News Release

BOWLING GREEN, KY, December 19, 2006 -- Michele Vise-Brown has been appointed by the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the association, effective January 1, 2007.   

In making the announcement today, NIAA Board Chair Scott Stuart, said, “We believe we’ve selected the ideal person to head NIAA.  Michele Vise-Brown has been with NIAA since 2003 serving as Director of Member Relations and Committee Operations; she has done an outstanding job for us.   Of particular note is the leadership she has provided this year in the absence of a full-time CEO.  Nowhere was that more evident than with ID/INFO EXPO 2006 in Kansas City last August.  She and the staff made the 2006 event the most successful in history.”

Stuart went on to say he and the rest of the Board of Directors believe that because Vise-Brown knows NIAA so well, her selection as CEO assures a virtually seamless transition and eliminates any need to relocate the office.

Vise-Brown replaces Dr. Nevil Speer, who has been the acting CEO since June.  “The association owes Dr. Speer a huge debt of gratitude for his leadership for the past six months,” said Stuart.   “I’m sure it has been a burden to him as has many responsibilities at the Department of Animal Science at Western Kentucky University.”  

“He’s been a joy and inspiration for me and the rest of the staff to work with,” adds Vise-Brown.  “We’ve all learned a lot and grown under his direction and I know I’ll be relying on him for help as I start this new challenge.”   

Vise-Brown has been involved in animal agriculture her entire life.  Before coming to NIAA, she held various positions of increasing responsibility with PIC USA, Inc. in Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin between 1996 and 2003.   She started as a Management Trainee, then was a Customer Service Specialist and finally served as Customer Service Manager where she supervised a department of eight people.  

Before that she worked at the University of Kentucky Horticulture Lab, the University’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center and Kentucky Dairy Records, Inc., all in Lexington.   Vise-Brown holds an Animal Science Degree from the University of Kentucky.  She also holds a Certificate of Management from Belmont University in Nashville.  

Born and raised on a Kentucky farm, Vise-Brown has long been involved as a youth and now as an adult in numerous livestock endeavors ranging from breeding and showing Angus and Simmental cattle, to quarter horse activities to various canine projects.  Active in the University of Kentucky livestock community as a student there, she was a member of both the dairy and equine judging teams and a member of the equestrian team.   She has had, and continues to have, a long association with  4-H and is a member of the Warren County (Kentucky) Extension Council.   

She and her husband David, live in Woodburn, about 20 miles from Bowling Green.  

NIAA’s mission is to provide forums for building consensus and advancing solutions for animal agriculture and to provide continuing education and communication linkages to animal agriculture professionals.  More information is available at www.animalagriculture.org.