Janet Ady
Focus Study Director & Client Product Research
Ms. Ady is President of Voltedge, Inc., a Madison-based marketing and communications firm. She will assist the DBIC team with research on client products through conducting, analyzing and reporting on consumer focus groups, as well as assess overall trends in product and label acceptance and help document the DBIC client model.
Maggie Anderson
Administrative & Project Assistant
Ms. Anderson grew up in rural Green County in southern Wisconsin. She is a graduate of UW-Madison where she completed a degree in Geography and a certificate in Environmental Studies with a concentration in human-environment interaction. She spent the last four years co-managing an urban, organic, community-supported, vegetable farm in Madison, Wis., where she also educated youth about farming, started a new business growing packaged sprouts and connected low-income families to fresh, healthy food. Her primary interests are in promoting and protecting small-scale family farming, the local economy and the environment in Wisconsin.
Kate Arding
Artisan & Farmhouse Cheese Specialist
A native of Britain, Ms. Arding has worked with the specialist farmhouse cheese industry for 15 years. She is a past Wholesale Manager for Neals Yard Dairy in London. In 1997, she moved to California to help establish Tomales Bay Foods and Cowgirl Creamery. She has spent considerable time involved with both U.S. and overseas dairy development projects. She offers expertise in the following areas: pasture management and herd health, milk quality, cheese maturation and affinage, sales and marketing strategies and implementation and staff training.
Kathy Brown
Administrator
A rural native of central Illinois, Ms. Brown worked 19 years for the Illinois Department of Agriculture in the domestic and international marketing arenas, promoting food and agribusiness products. After moving to Wisconsin, she continued to work in the marketing field before forming her own company in 2002, Planning Options, which offers administrative support to non-profit organizations and trade associations.
Daniel J. Carter
Founder and Chairman
A native of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Mr. Carter earned degrees from UW-Madison and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. In 1965, following ten years of sales and marketing experience in Washington and New York, he became National Sales Director for Purity Cheese Company, Mayville, Wisconsin, and created national distribution of specialty cheese under the "International Cheese Center" marketing logo. In 1975, with his wife, Jane, he co-founded Dan Carter, Inc., a consulting and sales company positioned to promote the small to medium sized cheese factory and served as corporate CEO until retiring in 2003. He is the recipient of several dairy industry awards, including "Life Member" of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association,the International Dairy Deli Bakery's "President's Award" and most recently, the "Annual Lifetime Achievement Award" from the American Cheese Society.
Jim Cisler, DATCP
Client Services Co-Director
A native of a family dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin, Mr. Cisler earned his B.S. degree in Dairy Science from UW-Madison. He started his career in production management with Foremost Dairy Cooperative, moving on to plant management for Kerry Ingredients. Before joining the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a Dairy Value Chain Consultant, Mr. Cisler worked in operations management for Land O'Lakes Dairy Cooperative. He works on all aspects of the supply chain from the farmer to consumer.
Laurie Greenberg
Client Services, Research & Training
Dr. Greenberg's background includes 18 years working with small businesses and non-governmental organizations in small-scale agriculture, economic development and natural resource management in the Upper Midwest and in 13 Latin American nations. Currently, she is conducting research on the specialty cheese industry in Wisconsin and advises several Wisconsin artisan food producers' groups and individual businesses.
Tom Johnson
Artisan Business & Market Strategy
Mr. Johnson is a cheesemaker, writer and entrepreneur. He and his wife, Kristi, founded and operated Bingham Hill Cheese Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. Bingham Hill's artisan cow, sheep and mixed milk cheeses earned 45 national and international awards over six years, including Best Blue Cheese and Best American Cheese at the World Cheese Awards. Mr. Johnson's prior experience as a professional writer and communicator helped garner Bingham Hill's products national exposure in the press, as well as distribution through a number of specialty and mainstream grocery channels. He brings to DBIC expertise in market identification, marketing communications, product selection, and product placement.
Neville McNaughton
Technical Analysis Director
A native of New Zealand, Mr. McNaughton manufactured specialty cheeses for 13 years. He joined the New Zealand Dairy Board and traveled to the U.S., spending nine years as technical support manager for cheese sales. Mr. McNaughton moved to the enzyme and culture technology industries and today consults with cheese manufacturers around the world on quality cheese production. He is president of CheezSorce, based in St. Louis, Missouri and offers expertise in the following areas: plant design and process efficiency, business siting, equipment utilization, product options and development, expansion planning and options, and process optimization strategies.
Andrea Neu
Client Services & Brand Positioning Director
Ms. Neu earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from UW-Madison. She offers more than 30 years of experience in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), focusing on the U.S. food and dairy industry. Ms. Neu served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Vice President of Marketing Services with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. In 2001 she launched Image Maker, a marketing and corporate communications consulting practice dedicated to business and product/brand positioning.
