NACD Officers
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President Gary Blair – Starkville, MS
President Gary Blair retired from Southern AgCredit, ACA, formally known as Federal Land Bank, in 2016 after 36 years of service to agriculture in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. Currently he has a private consulting business, Legacy Land & Financial Consulting. He has several clients including Addicus, a multifamily office financial business located in Tupelo and Oxford, Mississippi. Blair is the Managing Member of Blair Legacy Tree Farm located in Carroll County, Mississippi and is a member of the Forest Landowners Association.
Blair is a 1981 Graduate of Mississippi State University with degrees from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (BA- Agribusiness) and the College of Business (BBA-General Business Administration). He is married to the former Johnna Pulley of Jackson, Miss. They have one son Jonathan, 31, a graduate of Mississippi State University, College of Business.
Blair is a former President of the Mississippi Forestry Association, Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts, Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce, United Way and Lions Club. He was a Council Chairman for the Lions of Mississippi, National President of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association and member of the board of director of the Mississippi State University Development Foundation. He was also the Mississippi State University representative on the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) for Land Grant Universities.
He currently serves as a board member for the Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District, Mississippi Forestry Foundation and Mississippi State University Fellowship of Christian Athletes Chapter. He has served NACD as a Southeastern Executive Board member, Mississippi Board member, Finance Committee Chairman, Communications Committee Vice Chairman and Forestry Resource Policy Group Vice Chairman. He has also served on the NACD Legislative and Resolutions Committees.
He has been named Mississippi State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumnus of the Year.
First Vice President Mark Masters – Georgia
First Vice President Mark Masters has been a supervisor on the Lower Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District in southwest Georgia for over ten years and currently serves as President of the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts. As Executive Director of the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center, he is well-versed on issues related to water use and management and has participated in a large portfolio of conservation research and outreach projects across the United States.
Mark is active on a number of local, state and national advisory boards and has been recognized as Georgia’s Supervisor of the Year (2020), a Georgia “Clean Water Hero” (2017) and, proudly, as a graduate of the National Conservation Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Institute (2022). Mark operates a beef cow and timber farm with his family and, along with his wife Amy, enjoys watching their three beautiful daughters make other kids look foolish on the soccer field
Second Vice President Ryan Britt – Missouri
Second Vice President Ryan Britt has served on various boards, such as the Randolph County Soil and Water Conservation District; Randolph County Farm Bureau; Missouri Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts; National Association of Conservation Districts; Paseo Biofuels, LLC; and the Randolph County Cattlemen’s Association. Ryan was in the inaugural Next Generation Leadership Institute Cohort in 2020 and previously served as the NACD North Central Region Executive Board Representative.
Ryan is a fifth-generation farmer who, with his father and the support of their families, produces corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, and cow-calf to finished beef through practices that incorporate the use of technology and innovative partnerships to maximize efficiency and sustainability. Ryan and his wife Rebecca enjoy raising their three children, Lydea, Luke, and Lynelle on the family farm near Thomas Hill Lake.
Secretary-Treasurer Karl Jensen – South Dakota
Secretary-Treasurer Karl Jensen serves as Chairman of the Lawrence County Conservation District in western South Dakota and has been a supervisor for that District for nearly 30 years. He also serves as Treasurer and founding member for the Belle Fourche River Watershed Partnership (2003-present) and the South Dakota Agricultural Land Trust (2021-present), two NGOs involved with conservation and watershed protection. He served as President of the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts for six years (2016-2021) as well as Alternate Board Member for NACD for that period, represented South Dakota for two years as Board Member (2021-3), two years as Executive Board member representing the Northern Plains (2023-5), and is proud to be elected by his peers to be Secretary-Treasurer for the upcoming term. He was selected by the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts for the District Official Award of Excellence (2010) and for the Environmental Achievement Award by the EPA in 2007. He is also on the Executive Board of the Presidents Association, a NACD affiliate.
After graduating from Yankton College, South Dakota, in 1973, Karl served three years in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines. The next 22 years were invested in developing small and microenterprise financial systems and banks for a variety of international institutions in SE Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Karl and his wife Celia returned to the U.S. in 1994 and partnered with his brother in a farm and ranch operation originally established by his great grandfather. They are the proud parents of two children and five grandchildren.
Immediate Past President Kim LaFleur – Plympton, MA
Immediate Past President Kim LaFleur is the state advisor and program director for the Massachusetts FFA Association and an independent consultant to agricultural organizations and associations. LaFleur has served as president (2007-2010) and vice president (2010-2012) of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts, an NACD board member (2007 to 2013) and an NACD executive board member (2013-2016). In 2012, she was the recipient of the NRCS/NACD Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award.
LaFleur, along with her husband Jeff and two sons Cameron and Logan, reside in Plympton, Massachusetts, where they own and operate Mayflower Cranberries, a 112-acre cranberry farm and agri-tourism business. LaFleur also breeds and shows World Grand Champion miniature horses and serves as the chair on the Plymouth County Conservation District’s board. For five years (2009-2014), LaFleur was executive director of the Massachusetts Farm Wineries and Growers’ Association. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife and fisheries biology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters – Washington, D.C.
Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters joined the staff of NACD in 2006 and became the association’s Chief Executive Officer in April 2015. Peters manages the association and leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts.
During his career with NACD, Peters has served as Chief Operating Officer as well as Legislative Affairs Manager. Earlier in his career, he served as Federal Policy Director for American Farmland Trust and directed climate, conservation and energy programs for National Farmers Union. He previously worked on Capitol Hill for former Congressman Earl Pomeroy, D – N.D., who sat on the House Agriculture Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.
Peters grew up on his family’s farm raising cattle in Wise County in rural southwestern Virginia. He holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and history from Emory and Henry College, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.