Leigh Adcock, Executive Director

WFAN’s executive director since 2008 is Leigh Adcock, a Laurens, IA, native who grew up on a half-section family farm and has a degree in communications and journalism from the University of Northern Iowa. Her work experience includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, public relations and various environmental and agricultural non-profit groups, most recently five years as the office manager of the Iowa Farmers Union.

Leigh lives north of Gilbert, IA, on five acres with her husband Ed and sons Richard and David. She keeps a flock of laying hens, three goats, and three cats.

Email Leigh.

515.460.2477

Lynn Heuss, Program Coordinator

Lynn Heuss is WFAN’s Program Coordinator. Lynn has lived in Iowa since 1970.  She was a stay-at-home mother for 14 years and was active in church, community and school activities during that time.  She has three children: Jessica, a veterinarian living in Las Vegas, Alec, a recent ISU Business/Marketing graduate and Samantha, studying to be a legal assistant.  She received her bachelor's degree in religion from GrandView College in December, 2002 and has done some post-graduate work in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. 

In mid-2003, she was hired as the executive director of The Connection Café, a volunteer-operated free-meal program for the homeless, low-income and working poor of Des Moines.  She remained there until leaving to pursue work in the political arena, where, over the next several years, she staffed several political campaigns, state and national, in a variety of capacities.

Although she has been supportive of diversity all her life, her engagement in work that would support a diverse agricultural/food landscape in Iowa really began in May of 2009, when she was hired by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) as a grassroots organizer.  She worked to champion mandatory funding for the farm to school program during the 2009 Child Nutrition Act re-authorization process.  Following the successful passage of this legislation, she went to work with the National Farm to School Network, as a member of the Midwest Regional Team.

She has also done work with the Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign and the Iowa Food Cooperative.  She’s currently employed as the full-time Program Coordinator for WFAN and part-time with the Leopold Center working on the Local Food and Farm Plan.

Email Lynn.

515.201.9405

Carol Schutte, Program Assistant

Carol Schutte joined us shortly after her retirement from 25 years as an instructor in Biological Sciences at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City. While at NIACC Carol co-led many extended field courses to destinations that included Belize, the Pacific Northwest, Costa Rica, and 25 camping trips to northern Minnesota. She has been an active member of the Iowa Association of Community College Biology Teachers since its inception in the 1990s. She received the Outstanding Teaching Award for Two-Year Teachers Section of NABT as well as NIACC’s outstanding teaching award. 

Carol chaired the 2000 North American Prairie Conference, hosting 570 attendees, and the 2005 Midwest Environmental Education Conference. In 2004 she spent six weeks volunteering for the Nature Conservancy in the jungles of Belize, collecting butterflies. She is a member of her county REAP board and active in community environmental issues and events.

Growing up on an acreage north of Omaha, Carol attributes her love of the country life to that home and numerous family camping trips. Today she lives on a small, much-loved acreage outside of Clear Lake, IA, where she delights in sharing the country life with her two sons and their families, whenever they can make it home. Life is GOOD in the country! Though she knows she will miss her students, Carol looks forward to her new role serving WFAN and people everywhere who treasure the land.

Chelsey Teachout, Communications Assistant

Chelsey grew up on her family’s fifth generation farm outside of Shenandoah, IA and now is a senior at Drake University in Des Moines, IA. She is majoring in journalism and writing.

She has had the opportunity to work with organizations such as Waterbury Publications, Buy Fresh Buy Local, the World Food Prize, and AmeriCorps. After graduation, Chelsey hopes to continue work in sustainable agriculture.

In her free time Chelsey volunteers at a local produce farm in Johnston, IA called Grade A Gardens. Chelsey is also a member of the Iowa Farmers Union.