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North American millers partner with AFA on intern leadership program
The program will send selected NAMA interns to the AFA Leaders Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, running Nov. 12-15.
The North American Millers’ Association and Agriculture Future of America are launching a partnership to give collegiate interns in grain, milling, and food processing industries leadership development opportunities, World Grain reported. Under the initiative, supported by AFA’s Sosland Family Industry Investment Fund, NAMA member companies can select and nominate outstanding interns to attend the AFA Leaders Conference on Nov. 12-15 in Kansas City, Missouri. The four-day conference brings together 900 collegiate leaders focused on careers in agriculture and agriculture-related businesses, with programming designed to build relationship development, collaboration, career management, interpersonal skills, cultural intelligence, and systems thinking, according to the report. World Grain said the effort includes a new NAMA Leader Development Scholarship that allows member companies to identify and invest in high-potential interns while connecting them to a broader network of emerging leaders in agriculture and food. AFA noted that the internship pipeline is focused on students interested in baking and milling careers, aiming to help them expand their network and better understand how their careers fit into the broader food and agriculture system. The report added that the Sosland family’s industry investment fund subsidizes selected students’ lodging, food, and curriculum costs for the conference, with NAMA member companies responsible for the remaining expenses. NAMA president Jane DeMarchi said the partnership offers interns a way to augment technical skills with leadership development, while AFA CEO Mark Stewart said the students can become industry advocates as they grow their understanding of the sector.