Staff
Whether out in the fields or in the office, our expert staff are dedicated to growing the organic movement and assisting farmers through rigorous research, education, and outreach.
Executive Team
Jeff Moyer
Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Moyer is a world-renowned authority in organic agriculture. His expertise includes organic crop production systems with a focus on weed management, cover crops, crop rotations, equipment modification and use, and facilities design. Jeff is perhaps most well-known for conceptualizing and popularizing the No Till Roller Crimper for use in organic agriculture. His vast experience and knowledge regarding organic farming has provided the media with a reliable source and perspective for information on current agricultural issues.
Jeff has been on staff at Rodale Institute for over 44 years. He spent over 30 years as Farm Manager/Director, was appointed as Executive Director of the Institute in September 2015, and became CEO in September of 2019. Jeff was project leader on the highly acclaimed Organic No-Till project and is the author of two books on this subject: “Organic No-Till Farming – Advancing No-Till Agriculture Crops, Soil, Equipment” and “Roller/Crimper No-Till – Advancing No-Till Agriculture.” He is a past chair of the National Organic Standards Board and currently sits on the boards of Regenerative Organic Alliance, the Soil Health Institute and advisory board of The Real Organic Project. Jeff is a founding board member of Pennsylvania Certified Organic and past Founder and Board Chair of The Seed Farm, a new farmer incubator project.
Becca Kahle
Human Resources Director
Becca Kahle has over 30 years of human resource experience in the healthcare, insurance, telecommunications, and software industries. Becca manages all the people-related functions of Rodale Institute and enjoys working with each team member to make a difference in their professional life as they work to make regenerative organic agriculture the norm.
Elaine Macbeth
Chief Financial Officer, Senior V.P. of Administration
Elaine manages the Institute’s budget, all aspects of the organization’s finances, internal controls and human resources for the organization. She has more than 17 years of experience in finance and significant expertise in nonprofit accounting.
Dr. Andrew Smith
Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Andrew Smith oversees the research and farm operations at Rodale Institute and is passionate about growing the organic movement by providing science-based solutions to farmers and facilitating opportunities to expand the number of organic farmers and farmland across the globe. He has over twenty years of experience working in the organic industry as an agronomist, researcher, and farmer. While trained as an entomologist, his motive for entering the organic industry was to reduce the use of chemicals for food production that end up in our environment, food, and bodies. He now has the opportunity to support an amazing group of dedicated people working diligently on many projects to transform the food system and the way we farm to improve the lives and health of all people and the planet. He also continues to live and work on his own organic family farm.
Jeff Tkach
Chief Impact Officer
Jeff Tkach serves as the Chief Impact Officer for the Rodale Institute. Jeff is responsible for expanding Rodale Institute’s global influence in healing people and the planet by unlocking the transformational power of regenerative organic agriculture.
As Chief Impact Officer, Jeff leads the development and execution of the Institute’s core strategies, overseeing opportunities for partnership and co-investment that drive positive outcomes for Rodale’s philanthropic and programmatic initiatives.
Jeff served on the Rodale Institute’s Board of Directors in 2016, where he was instrumental in fostering relationships between the organization and business leaders in the organic food industry.
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