Ricky Telg was born and raised in Bryan, Texas, next door to College Station, home of Texas A&M University, where he received two degrees. Telg attended Bryan schools before his family moved to “the farm” near Caldwell, Texas, in his sophomore year of high school, where his love for agriculture began. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M, he was hired at KBTX-TV in studio production, and then later moved to news reporting. He later was a reporter and editor for a Dallas suburban newspaper and a radio personality before returning to Texas A&M to pursue his doctorate and work in the Department of Agricultural Communications as its broadcast coordinator. After completing his doctorate in 1995, he was hired as an assistant professor with the University of Florida’s Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, where he has been ever since.

Over the 31 years he has been at UF, Telg has created and taught courses in digital media production, policy communication, news writing, and instructional technologies. Telg currently serves as the director for the University of Florida/ Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ (UF/IFAS) Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center). The PIE Center conducts and disseminates applied social science research impacting agriculture and natural resources.

Telg has been an ACE member since 1992. Over more than three decades as an ACE member, he has served in many capacities within the organization, including serving on conference planning committees, as an officer in three Learning Communities (previously Special Interest Groups), on the board and chair of ACE’s Journal of Applied Communications, and, most recently, as an officer on the ACE Board of Directors.

Telg has twice received UF’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ Undergraduate Advisor of the Year and Undergraduate Teacher of the Year awards. He is the recipient of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture’s Teaching Award of Excellence, the American Association of Agricultural Education’s Distinguished Agricultural Communications Educator Award, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching.

Whitney Stone is an assistant professor of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Communications at Oregon State University (OSU). Whitney teaches various courses in agricultural and natural resources (ANR) communications including Social Media Advocacy in ANR, Risk and Crisis Communications in ANR, Advancements and Messaging in ANR, and Communicating ANR Topics to the Public. She was appointed by her Department Chair as Program Lead for ANR communication programming at the OSU Corvallis Campus in 2023. As Program Lead, she assists with recruitment and retention of students and serve as the faculty advisor to the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) student club, which she helped establish in 2023. She earned her B.A. in Art History and B.A. in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina, her Master of Agricultural and Environmental Education from the University of Georgia, and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida, in Agricultural Education and Communication. Her research focuses on mental health communication and underrepresented populations in agricultural and natural resources communities.

With over a decade of experience in social media management, Shelby Dittman has built a strong career shaping digital strategy and brand presence across higher education and public agencies. She entered the field of Higher Education social media in 2021 when she joined Texas A&M University, where she developed and executed content that supported institutional goals and strengthened audience engagement.

In 2022, Shelby transitioned to Texas A&M AgriLife, a comprehensive organization within The Texas A&M University System that encompasses multiple state agencies and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In her role, she manages social media strategy and daily operations for several major accounts, including Texas A&M AgriLife, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on elevating organizational visibility, supporting statewide initiatives, and creating cohesive, mission-driven storytelling across platforms.

Dave began his career as a freelance writer, photographer and cinematographer from 1972-76. In 1976 he joined the faculty at Oregon State University as a filmmaker and science writer with the Agricultural Experiment Station Communications. He spent 14 years at Oregon State and among other productions, co-produced a national documentary special for PBS entitled The Cowboy in Mongolia.

In 1990 Dave moved to Purdue University as department head of Agricultural Communication Services. He also began work with the USDA during this time. He established the first national Impact project and was responsible for the initial design work for the national eXtension initiative.

In 1998 he moved to Indianapolis as the executive director of the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System. While there, he was responsible for building a statewide network providing Internet access to universities, colleges, schools and libraries across the state.

In 2006, Dave moved back to Oregon, and became the Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement leading the Oregon State Ecampus with a portfolio of more than 60 fully online degree and certificate programs.

In 2017 Dave spent a year as the special assistant to the Provost for Innovation at Oregon State, and then after more than 45 years of professional communication work, retired in 2018.

Dave and his wife Nanci now spend their time between their four grandchildren and traveling the world.