Dr. Robert Aherin, PhD - Project Director

Dr. Aherin grew up on a grain and livestock farm in central Illinois. He graduated from Illinois State University with a BS in Agriculture and a MS in Occupational Safety and Health and earned a PhD in Ag Education. He is currently the Agricultural Health and Safety Specialist for University of Illinois (U of I) Extension. Dr. Aherin provides overall direction for the AgrAbility project. He coordinates the project involvement of Extension professionals from the approximately 85 local and regional Extension offices around the state.

Mike Brokaw - Program Manager

Mike Brokaw was born and raised in Texas but “grew up” on the family ranch in Wyoming. A pair of broken ankles and a wrist from a propane explosion put an end to ranching. “If it [AgrAbility] had been around in 1986 I might still be ranching.” Before coming to AgrAbility in 1999, Mike held numerous ag related positions. As program manager Mike handles all the day-to-day management activities of the program and provides the case service and technical assistance to Illinois farmers and their families.

Dr. Chip Petrea - Research Support

Dr. Petrea grew up on a registered Jersey Dairy farm outside of Iuka, Ill. He returned to the family farm following graduation from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Dairy Science in 1976. He participated in all aspects of production and management of the family farm until 1987 when he returned to the U of I to obtain both a M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Education. Dr. Petrea was the first graduate research assistant hired by AgrAbility Unlimited in 1991. He currently serves as an on-campus resource for research, evaluation, curriculum development, web content maintenance, and off-campus programming.

Jim Williams - Southern Field Coordinator

Jim Williams grew up on the family farm in southern Illinois near Galatia, Ill. He graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.S. in Agriculture. After serving in the U.S. Army in Germany, he was hired by Country Mutual Insurance Co. where managed Country Mutual’s safety program. Since his retirement, he has been active in several volunteer efforts and currently serves as southern field coordinator for the AgrAbility Unlimited Community Ambassador Program. Jim manages the recruitment and retention of the program’s ambassadors in 63 southern Illinois counties. He also helps with many other efforts for the program.

Brenda Besse - Northern Field Coordinator

Brenda Besse grew up on a 2000 acre diversified grain and cattle operation in Whiteside County, Ill. She lost her leg in a farm accident but that hasn’t slowed her down. Brenda is a nationally recognized professional golfer and world recognized Brown Swiss breeder. Brenda has been involved with AgrAbility since the early days as a spokesperson and a peer support person. She was keynote speaker at the 2001 AgrAbility National Training Workshop in Pennsylvania and has been an Illinois Community Ambassador. As northern field coordinator, Brenda is responsible for recruitment and retention of a “tremendous group of volunteers” in northern Illinois.

Elizabeth Burns - Program Assistant

Elizabeth grew up on a 120 acre diversified grain and livestock farm in central Illinois. She received a B.S. degree in Animal Science from Illinois State University and an M.S. in Ag Education from the University of Illinois. She has held positions in swine farm management, corn research, high school and community college agriculture, a student safety program and outreach for a sustainable agriculture program. As program assistant, Beth facilitates communication between staff, volunteers and the advisory board members; organizes and publishes the quarterly newsletter, helps with outreach and education efforts at tradeshows and conferences and “whatever else Mike can think up for me to do.”

NEXT: References and Resources