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by Franklin Holley
At the Keystone Policy Center, we work with a steady hand through difficult issues, tough conversations, and with diverse, and sometimes divergent, stakeholders. It is our job to help our partners reach consensus on controversial and complex topics in agriculture, the environment, health and education. We don’t often toot our own horn, but occasionally, we are recognized for our work. This is one of those such times, and we are very proud to be sharing this moment with the Monarch Collaborative and Farmers for Monarchs.
This week, the Business Intelligence Group named the Keystone Policy Center-led Monarch Collaborative and Farmers for Monarchs for the Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award in the 2018 Sustainability Awards program. The Sustainability Awards honor those people, teams and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission.
In recognizing our work, Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group said, “We are proud to reward and recognize the Keystone Monarch Collaborative for their sustainability efforts. It was clear to our judges that their vision and strategy will continue to deliver results toward a cleaner, more sustainable world. Congratulations!”
The Monarch Collaborative seeks to encourage and enable the voluntary expansion and establishment of pollinator and conservation habitat, including planting milkweed and other habitat along the monarch butterfly seasonal migration route in North America. Farmers for Monarchs is a broad-based initiative within the Collaborative aimed at addressing on-farm conservation. It is a united effort by farmers, ranchers, landowners, the agriculture industry, conservation groups and others.
“Farmers can make a huge difference in conserving monarch butterflies within their current operations to benefit and support monarch habitat needs,” said Pete Berthelsen, The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund Partnership Coordinator. “Farmers for Monarchs and the Monarch Collaborative helps farmers identify such opportunities and connects them to needed resources to successfully plant and restore pollinator and conservation habitats, including milkweed, on their lands while continuing to provide the food we need for a growing population.”
When you’re a problem-solver, like so many of our staff and partners, you’re often searching for or are handed the next sticky wicket. When meetings adjourn, we at Keystone keep plugging away on follow-up and the next steps. We rarely stop to pat ourselves on the back and appreciate how rewarding partnerships and consensus-based processes can be. I keep this picture from our Monarch Collaborative Annual Meeting field visit at ISU’s Field Extension Education Lab and Farm as a reminder, since it’s better than any trophy.
It’s been so gratifying to work with members of the Monarch Collaborative who are dedicated to thriving habitat and thriving ag lands. Congratulations!
About the Monarch Collaborative
Monarch populations have declined over the past two decades. Because they face serious challenges today, the Monarch Collaborative is working to identify how partnerships in the farming and ranching community can support and enhance habitat for a sustainable monarch population. The Collaborative’s initial conversations, held in spring of 2015, have led to ongoing efforts to develop collaborative strategies to promote and implement actions that will support monarchs in agricultural landscapes. To learn more, please visit the resources section of our website, including a link to our Webinar on Engaging Farmers and Ranchers in Monarch Conservation Planning, FAQs, and why working lands matter for monarch butterflies.
Effective March 1, 2025, Thomas J. Vilsack, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa, became the first Chief Executive Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation. In this new role, Governor Vilsack is focusing on expanding the Foundation’s global network, and will further position the Foundation as a leader in addressing global food and nutrition insecurity, continuing his lifetime of public service.
Shelby Coffey III is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and thought leader whose career has helped shape the landscape of American news and public discourse. Over several decades, Coffey has held some of the most influential roles in journalism, including serving as editor of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of ABC News, and deputy managing editor of The Washington Post. His editorial leadership extended to key roles as president of CNN Financial News, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and U.S. News & World Report.
Jerry Steiner has spent 40 years involved in agriculture following growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He began his career with Monsanto, in multiple business leadership roles. From 2003-2013 he served as a member of the Executive team, as the company’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs. He led the company’s global Government, Public and Industry Affairs teams across the 70 countries where Monsanto conducts business. This experience got Jerry connected to the Keystones centers work in agriculture. Key among his responsibilities were shaping the company’s public policy and building partnerships aimed at helping farmers around the world produce more food, while conserving valuable resources like water and energy. Two unique partnership that developed under his leadership were drought tolerant corn with 5 African countries, CIMMYT and the Gates foundation, and a building a sustainable business model in Brazil with the value chain leading to significant multi-company investment and soybean varieties that can protected themselves.
Jennifer Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, leading a team of nearly 6,000 staff working in more than 80 countries and territories tackling the dual crises of the 
Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Black Member of Congress in Colorado history. In December 2022, Rep. Neguse was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), becoming the first Coloradan to serve in a senior elected leadership role in the House in over 85 years. He serves on the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees, and was also appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to serve as one of four Democrats on the prestigious Rules Committee. Rep. Neguse serves as Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he previously Chaired in the 117th Congress.
Llewellyn King was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He went into journalism as soon as he turned 16, stringing for Time magazine and United Press in Africa.
Steven Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo North America, overseeing a more than $48 billion business that spans PepsiCo’s Foods and Beverage operating units. His leadership encompasses more than 125,000 associates and over 900 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Steven joined PepsiCo in 2001 as part of PepsiCo’s acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company, which he joined in 1997, and has held leadership positions of increased responsibility since.