AALA members may now vote in the 2024 election for president-elect and AALA directors until 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, August 16, 2024.

President-Elect

Ashley Ellixson

A recognized expert in business operations, strategy development, legal governance, sustainability, and commodity sales & trading, Ashley Ellixson has a proven track record of success in the dairy industry. Most recently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at the United Dairymen of Arizona, Ellixson built a global commodity trading team from scratch, marketing products throughout the Americas, LATAM, and EMEA. This role involved aggressive growth of PnL results through strategic implementation, talent development, and a customer-focused approach, bolstered by scalable electronic systems.

Previously, as Chief Business Operations Officer, and was instrumental in aligning business operations with sales opportunities, implementing inventory management technologies, and enhancing employee retention through HR process overhauls. In the role of Executive Vice President of Legal & Risk Management, Ellixson led departments across legal, HR, IT, and communications, contributing to company-wide strategic planning and overseeing significant corporate legal functions.

Ellixson’s career began with legal and environmental affairs, where strategic legislative priorities were developed and executed at both state and national levels. Her expertise extends to lobbying, litigation oversight, and sustainability strategy.

With a diverse educational background including an LL.M in Agricultural & Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law, a J.D. from Texas Tech University, and a B.S. in Business Finance from Arizona State University, Ellixson combines legal acumen with business savvy. She is actively involved in various industry boards and committees, including the United States Dairy Export Council, the International Dairy Foods Association and the American Ag Law Association, demonstrating a commitment to advancing the dairy and legal industries through leadership and innovation.

Director Election 1

Julia Schatz

Julia grew up in a small town about an hour west of Toronto, Canada. After graduating high school, she moved to Montreal, Quebec to complete a Bachelor of Science in Neuropsychology at McGill University and obtained her LLB from the University of Toronto.

Julia is a partner in the litigation and regulatory groups in the Canadian national law firm of Bennett Jones LLP. She has a robust regulatory practice in which she advises on a broad range of product regulation matters, including in the agribusiness and food industries. Her advice covers issues relating to the registration, recall, licencing and compliance requirements in the federal Safe Food for Canadians Act, the Pest Control Products Act and the regulations under each. In addition, she provides product regulatory and due diligence support to her corporate colleagues on commercial transactions, including in the food, agribusiness and pet food spheres.

Julia has specific expertise in pesticide registration and regulation, including in respect of compliance matters, licencing and permit obligations and data compensation issues.

Julia became a member of AALA in 2018 and has appreciated the opportunity to share cross-border perspectives with others working in the ag-space.

When not in the office, Julia is a member of Echo, a women’s choir committed to bringing the joy of music to the community. She enjoys spending time at her farm with her husband, John, and their three sons.

Kale Van Bruggen

Kale Van Bruggen is a shareholder at Rinke Noonan Law Firm in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where he concentrates his practice in agriculture and water law, and environment and natural resources.

Kale primarily represents clients on administrative and litigation matters, including NRCS certified wetland determinations, Clean Water Act compliance, wetland banking and mitigation, conservation easements, Minnesota’s Wetland Conservation Act and public waters law, and drainage permitting laws in North Dakota. In Minnesota, Kale represents counties and watershed districts in their capacities as drainage authorities and in North Dakota, county water resource districts on matters pertaining to establishment, construction, and management of water drainage systems and water quality enhancing projects. In the courtroom, Kale represents farmers and landowner on matters pertaining to water and drainage law. He is licensed in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa.

Kale holds a Business Administration degree from North Dakota State University and a law degree from Drake University Law School with a certificate in Food & Agricultural Law.

Kale has been a member of AALA since he attended Drake Law School starting in 2009, and has attended many symposiums. He has also served as member and as Co-Chair of the AALA Distance Education Committee and member of the Membership & Marketing and Symposium Planning committees. He and his partner Joan live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Director Election 2

Chelsea Good

Chelsea Good is a livestock industry lawyer and lobbyist with a lifelong passion for agriculture and track record of productive board leadership. Since 2013, Chelsea has served as the Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs and Legal at Livestock Marketing Association (LMA), the national trade organization representing livestock auction markets.

Having been involved in AALA since 2012, Chelsea regularly serves on the symposium planning committee. Chelsea is the current chair of the National Institute of Animal Agriculture Board of Directors. She also serves on the boards of Kansas Agriculture Rural Leadership and the United States Animal Health Association.

Chelsea’s advocacy has been instrumental in representing LMA’s interests in federal, state, and industry environments. Her leadership has enabled the successful updating of the Packers and Stockyards Act, enhancing protections for livestock sellers through the Dealer Statutory Trust and modernizing requirements.

Chelsea is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law. She also attended Kansas State University, where she earned a master’s degree in communications studies and bachelors’ degrees in agricultural communications and journalism; political science; and public relations.

Chelsea previously worked at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, first as the Communications Director and then as a Staff Attorney specializing in animal health law and policy. In addition to her role at LMA, Chelsea is engaged in cattle feeding, agriculture consulting, and investing.

Chelsea lives in Leawood, Kansas with her husband, Chad Tenpenny, and two teenage stepdaughters. Chad is the owner of Tenpenny Law. Family hobbies include golf, travel, and concerts.

Caitlin Klingenberg

Caitlin Klingenberg, currently serves as Intellectual Property Counsel for Vermeer Manufacturing and has been an AALA member since 2013. Vermeer Manufacturing, based in Pella, Iowa, is an equipment manufacturer in the agricultural, environmental, and infrastructure industries. In her role at Vermeer, Caitlin supervises all intellectual property matters for the company, including their portfolios of patent and trademark assets, litigation, and licensing. She also assists with product liability and HR/immigration matters, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Vermeer, Caitlin worked in private practice in the Des Moines area, serving clients in the spaces of intellectual property, litigation, and employment/immigration law.

Within AALA, Caitlin has served as co-chair for the Students and Young Professional Committee since graduating from Drake University Law School in 2016 and has previously served on Symposium planning committees. During her time at Drake, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, obtained her certificate in Food and Agricultural Law, and was active in Drake’s Agricultural Law student organization.

Outside of work, Caitlin is active in her community as a member of various community boards and committees. She and her husband, along with their son, make Pella their home and frequently visit her family’s row-crop operation in Western Iowa.

A link to the ballot can be found here. Members will need their login credentials to vote. If you need to reset your username and/or password, please click on this link prior to voting. For any other questions, please contact the AALA office by filling out this form.