Emerging Leaders: Midwest Professionals Sharpen Their Skills and Take Their Learnings West
In August, AFT’s Midwest team program staff completed the Soil & Water Conservation Society’s Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) and attended the 80th Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Annual Conference in Costa Mesa, California.
A response to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) has worked to educate farmers and landowners about the soil erosion crisis and their role in the mitigation of future soil and overall natural resource depletion as we are witnessing today.
To uplift the incoming conservation-focused professionals, the Emerging Leaders program facilitates time for professionals to spend a year connecting with peers across the country who are within the first five years of their career in conservation. They also take time to learn about key topics that can support their professional development in the field such as communication, event planning, and leadership skill building.
Midwest staff Rachel Lechuga, Floreal Crubaugh, and Marlee Giacometti are AFT’s most recent graduates of the second class of the Emerging Leaders Program (fun fact:  Helen VanBeck, our Midwest Program Manager)  graduated from the first-ever program. Here’s a look back at what the program meant to them and the snapshots that capture their achievements:
Marlee Giacometti, AFT Midwest Program Specialist
“My time in the Emerging Leaders Program gave me tools to reflect on my leadership style and provided resources to improve event planning and facilitation. During my time in the program, I was coordinating women’s learning circles on soil health and farmland succession planning across northern Illinois. Planning these events alongside the trainings helped me access tools to improve my planning process and build my confidence as a facilitator.” – Marlee Giacometti, AFT Midwest Program Specialist.
Floreal Crubaugh, AFT Midwest Farmland Associate
 “Participating in the Emerging Leaders Program strengthened my work at AFT and deepened my understanding and practice of leadership. I was able to utilize the skills and resources provided through the program to enhance the Wisconsin Farmland Protection Partnership’s education and outreach strategies and bring more voices to the table through facilitation and stakeholder engagement. The culmination of the program resulted in a more engaging and intentional Dig into Soil Health Field Day at Ravensholme Farm Preserve in Waukesha, WI.” - Floreal Crubaugh, AFT Midwest Farmland Associate
Rachel Lechuga, AFT Midwest Outreach Specialist
“Being a part of the 2025 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program gave me the opportunity to envision the type of leader I aspire to be. The program facilitated my growth to learn more about my leadership style and learn in collaboration with other cohort members and the talented staff at the Soil & Water Conservation Society. I improved my skills of event planning through planning and hosting a conservation tour, From Farm to Filtration: A Tour of Conservation in Action with the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership. The tour included networking time and three stops to discuss various conservation topics such as, cover crops, nutrient management, water filtration, and water treatment— a full celebration of conservation. The ELP program equipped me with new tools to take my event planning and partner engagement to a new level. I look forward to continuing to reinforce my learnings from the program as I amplify my skills as a conservation leader.” – Rachel Lechuga, AFT Midwest Outreach Specialist Â
Helen VanBeck, AFT Midwest Program Manager
“SWCS takes a refreshing approach to conservation, building connections across expertise and disciplines while emphasizing both the scientific, and often overlooked, artistic elements of our profession. Membership in SWCS and participating in the Emerging Leaders program offered me transformative opportunities for education, professional development, and networking. As an alumna of the program, it has been encouraging and inspiring to watch the next class of leaders get involved in their conservation communities and remain committed to advancing conservation, especially given all the uncertainties and instability our collective work has faced over the past year.” - Helen VanBeck, AFT Midwest Program Manager
Sharing Their Expertise in Costa Mesa, CA
All four graduates had a chance to showcase their expertise and learnings from the Emerging Leaders Program during the 80th annual SWCS conference. During the conference, Midwest team members spoke on their lessons learned from their projects, including policy action and unified effort for farmland protection, multi-partner collaborations to amplify the Midwest Perennial Bioenergy Coalition, and practicing unified messaging for collective action as seen in the framework of the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership.
In addition to celebrating Midwest achievements, the SWCS Land of Lincoln Chapter in Illinois received recognition for their work on a conservation professionals panel discussion in February of 2025. The panel discussed the variety of entry points into conservation and featured Midwest team member, Rachel Lechuga, who spoke on how she found her way into the career of conservation agriculture.
Participation in the Soil and Water Conservation Society is needed more than ever. As climate pressures and uncertainties continue to build, future professionals in this arena need the support of like-minded people to add fuel to the flames to continue conservation efforts across the industry.
Joining SWCS as a member, utilizing SWCS resources, participating in the Emerging Leaders Program, or joining a local SWCS chapter are all ways to build community and coalition to contribute your time and expertise to healthy land and clean water. The future of the land is in the hands of a few, and it’s up to us to act and be involved in the creation of a sustainable future.
For those reading in Illinois, if you’re interested in joining the Land of Lincoln Chapter, please reach out to Krista Kirkham at [email protected] to begin your journey of finding your community and contributing to the success of conservation agriculture in Illinois.
