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Keystone Policy Center Update
Dear Friends of Keystone Policy Center,
If 2017 was a year of achievement for Keystone Policy Center, we have embraced 2018 as the year to take the organization’s work to new heights and to new audiences.
We recently launched our Keynotes blog to showcase the ideas behind Keystone’s innovative and collaborative work. We also have rethought and relaunched new programmatic areas, including Emerging Genetic Technologies; Energy, Environment, and Climate; Agriculture and Food; and Health Policy and Public Health. These refocused program areas will enhance and expand Keystone’s work to inspire leaders to embrace and engage on tough, but solvable, policy challenges.
Keystone also is expanding its staff and board to help us in these endeavors. In addition to Berrick Abramson, who Keystone recently hired to lead the Education team, we also recently brought on board Franklin Holley, an experienced and thoughtful leader in agricultural and conservation policy dialogues.
Our founder, Bob Craig, always dared us to challenge ourselves and to take risks. Although this is a new approach for Keystone, I am confident it will help this venerable organization continue to lead the dialogue around actionable solutions and to continue to inspire others join us in seeking common higher ground.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Christine M. Scanlan
President and CEO
Keystone’s Work
Guiding the Way
Keystone, through its work with the Next 100 Coalition and community partners, led a series of critical discussion and workshops around the 2018 Outdoor Retailers Show in Denver. Through a series of social events and discussions, Keystone team members facilitated, advised, and contributed to a range of activities around inclusivity and diversity in public lands policy and the role outdoor recreation can play in improving health.
Keynotes Blog
Keystone Policy Center has worked for more than four decades to inspire leaders to rise above entrenched positions to reach common higher ground. It’s our mission and the idea that enlivens much of our work, but it’s not the whole story. That’s why Keystone recently launched a new blog, Keynotes.
Keynotes will explore the issues, ideas, and people behind Keystone’s mission, history, and work. The blog will bring to the fore the perspectives of Keystone’s leaders, Board of Trustees, and other team members.
Check out our recent posts at keystone.org/keynotes/ and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for all of the latest Keynotes posts.
Keystone’s Leadership
CNN highlighted the expertise of Keystone Trustee and March of Dimes Chief Medical Officer Paul Jarris in its coverage of infant mortality rates across the United States.
The Star-Tribune profiled the recent efforts of Keystone’s partners at General Mills, The Nature Conservancy, and other organizations in its coverage of sustainability trends in food and agriculture. Keystone Board Co-Chair and General Mills’ Chief Sustainability Officer Jerry Lynch notes the substantial investments his company is making in soil health: “You’ll see us invest in this for quite a while because it is a very large lever to pull that can move us forward on so many metrics. It’s very rare that you will find one thing that helps you sequester carbon in the soil, improve water quality, improve water retention, improve biodiversity on the landscape, reduce the need for chemical applications, and improve productivity.”
Keystone recently welcomed Franklin Holley as a Senior Policy Director to lead multi-stakeholder food and agriculture initiatives focused on soil health, water quality and scarcity, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and ensuring solutions to these challenges work for agricultural producers, the supply chain, and end-users.
Senior Policy Director Berrick Abramson recently urged education leaders in a guest opinion piece in Colorado Politics to “lead through listening” following the recent turnover in local school board.
Business Wire highlighted the leadership of Pam Strifler, a Keystone Trustee and Vice President, Global Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement at Monsanto, in helping the company achieve its sustainability goals.
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.