The International Dairy Foods Association’s NextGen Leadership Program is building the next generation of dairy leaders. Designed for emerging leaders ready to advance their careers, the program brings together professionals from across the dairy value chain to strengthen leadership skills, expand networks, and deepen their engagement in industry advocacy. Through this experience, participants gain the skills and perspective to lead within their organizations and across the broader dairy community.
That impact is already visible at the highest levels of the industry. We spoke with three alumni who have gone on to serve on the IDFA board and are helping shape the future of dairy. In the following blog, they share how the program influenced their leadership journeys, the value of the connections they built, and how NextGen prepared them for leading at the next level.
Sarah Schmidt – Cohort 4 Alumni
Sarah Schmidt is vice president of marketing for Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), a dairy cooperative headquartered in New Ulm, Minn. In this role, she shares AMPI’s story with a variety of audiences to help grow revenue and foster relationships, and identify and develop new opportunities. She leads the cooperative’s marketing, communications, government relations, and stewardship and sustainability efforts. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities with a degree in animal science, Sarah has received numerous accolades, including the Cooperative Communicators Association’s Michael Graznak Award and three National Milk Producers Federation Outstanding Achievement in Communications Awards, and she was honored with the University of Minnesota Gopher Dairy Club’s Golden Graduate Award. Sarah and her husband, Kelly, live on a farm near New Ulm where they are raising three daughters. The family enjoys raising and showing beef and dairy heifers, and hogs. They are active in 4-H, FFA and junior livestock associations.
How has participating in the NextGen program shaped your career and leadership journey, and how has your leadership evolved since then?
My participation in the NextGen Leadership Program came at a time in my life, professionally and personally, where I was really hungry for something different, but I really liked my job. I liked the co-op that I worked for, the dairy farmers I worked for, but I wasn’t quite ready for that next step in an education, maybe down the MBA pathway, for example. So NextGen came at a really good time for me to grow in professional skills, to grow in my network, to grow in my experiences. And that’s really what the program provided for me.
Since that time, I have found that the conclusion of the program was really just the beginning of what it could be. And so becoming more involved in IDFA through service on the Segment Board has been a way for me to get plugged back in to all that IDFA is doing, but then also to reconnect with some of those great people I met during my time with the cohort.
What has the experience been like serving on one of the Segment Boards?
I don’t remember exactly when in life, but somebody told me about the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds in photography and design. I like to think of the rule of thirds in life as well.
And so, for me, this was just another piece of that puzzle. NextGen was the first third, serving on a segment board was the second third. And who knows what the next third would be. But it’s about taking the connections, the resources, that whole network you first met in the NextGen cohort and building on that.
And so now I look around the room and I better understand who works where, and where they came from. What role they have now as compared to the role I knew they had years ago. So, it’s just about layering on that knowledge, experience, and the network along the way.
Sean Steichen – Cohort 4 Alumni
Sean Steichen is currently the Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Diversified Foods Inc. In this role, Sean works with DFI’s Executive Leadership Team to lead and develop the company’s strategic business plan. In addition, Sean works with DFI’s many industry & key strategic business partners to promote the benefits of Shelf Stable Pantry Fresh Milk as an incremental solution & partner to the dairy industry. Sean also works collaboratively with the DFI Sales team on many of the DFI strategic sales initiatives. Sean joined the DFI team in September 2020 and has spent the last 12+ years working in the dairy industry specializing in fluid dairy space- HTST, ESL, and Aseptic UHT contract manufacturing sales & partnerships. Sean resides in Minnesota with his wife Stacy, daughter Lily (6), and son Danny (3.5).
How did the NextGen program shape your career and leadership journey, and how has that growth continued since?
The NextGen program has certainly helped reshape my commitment to my leadership journey through Diversified Foods. It allowed me to apply the learnings and opportunities that we went through back to my real-life opportunities, which allowed me to grow and to become the Chief Commercial Officer at Diversified Foods today.
It has reshaped my commitment to leadership development. I think I always knew I wanted to grow and become a better leader, but going through the NextGen program has really allowed me to hone in on those skills and opportunities and commitments. It also allows me the opportunity to apply back internally at work.
Since leaving the program, what aspects of your experience have made a lasting impact?
Since leaving the NextGen program, there are certain opportunities and things that I always fall back on. I think the most basic is really the cohort network that we went through, you know, being focused and fluid, you kind of get kind of singular focused on maybe your own opportunities and challenges.
But as the market and dairy industry as a whole navigates many things, I think using those leadership qualities to look through the cohort and lean on your peers, individuals, to apply it back to whatever circumstance you’re going through has been a good opportunity. So, I think using your peers and using those leadership memories and opportunities, you learn through with your peers to fly back has been really helpful.
Doug Martin – Cohort 5 Alumni
Doug Martin is General Counsel, Vice President of Compliance for Blue Bell Creameries, where he serves as the company’s chief legal, compliance, and governance officer, overseeing five departments focused on protecting the business, its products, and its people. He advises the board of directors and executive leadership on legal, risk, regulatory, and governance matters and manages board and shareholder records. Previously, Doug worked in the Investigations, White Collar, and Fraud group at Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., leading global teams on complex legal issues including FCPA, trade regulation compliance, consumer protection, pharmaceutical regulation, higher education, and more. He also serves as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, with more than 14 years of active and reserve service in roles including judge advocate and civil affairs officer, and currently advises at the Pentagon on legal and policy matters. Doug holds degrees from Texas A&M University, New York University School of Law, and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and lives in The Woodlands, Texas, with his wife and two children.
How did participating in the NextGen Leadership Program shape your career and leadership journey, and how has your career progressed since completing the cohort?
Participating in the NextGen program was a real value add to my career trajectory. I’ve always strongly felt that leadership as a study was important. But getting the type of leadership, say, that NextGen program offered was a new approach.
Since I finished the program, I’ve taken the things that I learned from that and tried to impart some of that to the people that I lead with in my own organization. And also, some of my peers as well, incorporate those lessons and attributes. And best practices in my day-to-day work.
What has it been like to grow within your role as a member of the NextGen Cohort to now being a member of the IDFA Board?
Witnessing the work of the board in person for the first time was really eye-opening, learning the different complexities within the industry and the different sectors of the industry that I really didn’t have that exposure to was really valuable. Moving from being a spectator to a participant was really rewarding. But also, it created this feeling of responsibility because now I actually can shape the decision-making within our industry. And I would not have felt as comfortable doing that without the context provided by the NextGen program.
The application period for this program is now open for Cohort 8! Visit the NextGen Leadership Program page to learn more about the program, schedule throughout the year, and how to apply.