Bridge Builder Award
2025 AFA Bridge Builder Voting is LIVE!
Agriculture Future of America (AFA) honors one exceptional alumni each year with the Bridge Builder Award. Learn more about this year's three finalists and cast your vote!
Voting closes July 7.
Meet the 2025 Bridge Builder Finalists!
Elizabeth Galbreath
Merck Animal Health
Elizabeth Galbreath is a people developer, connection builder, and passionate advocate for the agriculture industry. Based in Kansas City, she is the Senior Specialist of Future Talent Programs at Merck Animal Health, where she leads student programs and partnerships that attract, develop, and retain the next generation of animal health leaders.
Raised on a small dairy farm in Maryland and a lifelong 4-H member, Elizabeth has spent her life serving the agricultural community. She holds a degree in Agricultural Leadership and Community Education from Virginia Tech, with a focus in Applied Economic Management.
Her career spans youth programming, marketing, sales, and leadership development across nonprofits, academia, and private industry. Through her business, Cultivate Growth Co. LLC, and as a TEDx speaker, experienced presenter, and honest writer, Elizabeth brings authenticity, clarity, and contagious energy to thousands—helping others lead confidently and grow purposefully.
Outside work, she gives back to the agriculture community by volunteering with the National Agricultural Alumni Development Association, Animal Health Corridor, American Royal Association, and Virginia Tech. A 12-time AFA Leaders Conference attendee, she’s been “hooked” since 2014 and remains committed to the mission of growing future agriculture and food industry leaders.
Macy Evans
AdFarm
Macy Evans is a media planner at AdFarm, a marketing agency exclusively serving agricultural clients. In her role, she leads strategic development and execution of paid media campaigns, helping agricultural brands effectively connect with their audiences.
A proud graduate of Iowa State University, Macy earned her bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Communications and Agriculture and Society. During her time on campus, she was deeply involved in student leadership and service, contributing to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council, the Bacon Expo Executive Team, the Agriculture Exploration Peer Mentor Program, and Cardinal Key Honor Society.
Macy grew up on a generational family farm in Creston, Iowa, where she developed a passion for agriculture while raising a cow-calf herd and showing livestock through 4-H and FFA. She remains a proud alumna of both organizations and continues her involvement as a volunteer and as a judge.
Prior to joining AdFarm, Macy served as the Partnership Coordinator for the American Royal Association in Kansas City. There, she played a vital role in fundraising over $1.19 million for signature events such as the World Series of Barbecue, ProRodeo, and year-round youth programming benefitting youth scholarships and agricultural education programs. She cultivated and maintained relationships with over 250 partners and donors. Macy also managed the Uptown Hoedown event, significantly boosting its profitability and organizational impact.
Earlier in her career, Macy worked with Cargill Protein & Salt’s Turkey Business in Springdale, Arkansas, as a Business Support Services Associate. She supported internal and external communications and completed operational rotations across live production and processing, gaining hands-on experience with a multitude of roles in a harvest production facility.
Today, Macy resides in Washington, Iowa, with her fiancé, who farms and backgrounds feeder calves. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, boating, working out, reading, and spending time with friends and family. She is passionate about giving back to the rural communities that shaped her through service and community-driven projects.
John Sachse
RanchFIT Coaching
John Sachse is a dedicated Christian husband and father, 4th-generation Kansas rancher, endurance athlete and officer in the Kansas Army National Guard. As a men's resiliency coach, he has witnessed the detrimental impact of stress on our lives. Through his coaching business, RanchFIT, John empowers individuals to develop strategies that manage stress and align their lives with their true purpose. He provides essential tools and fosters a supportive community, helping clients overcome challenges and achieve their desired life goals. Moreover, John hosts an annual 5K, 10K, and 20K ruck at his family's cattle ranch. This event enables participants to push their physical limits and strive to become the best version of themselves.
A proud alumnus of Kansas State University, John holds a bachelor's degree in Animal Science and a master's degree in Agribusiness. While in college, John attended the AFA Leaders Conference tracks 3 & 4, as well as the animal science and policy institutes. His family has hosted a tour stop for the Animal Science Institute and has attended the Alliance Forum post-college. At last year’s AFA Leaders Conference, John presented a workshop on resiliency. Residing on their family’s ranch near Leavenworth, Kansas, John, his partner Kinsley, and their two sons embrace a life deeply connected to their roots, built on serving others.
Meet the 2024 AFA Bridge Build Award Winner, Ellen Zimmerman!
Congratulations to Ellen Zimmerman Director of Industry Relations at the U.S. Grains Council, for receiving the Bridge Builder Award at the 2024 Leaders Conference. An AFA alum and a champion for connection in food and agriculture, Ellen exemplifies the spirit of mentorship and industry impact.
About the Bridge Builder Award
Agriculture Future of America (AFA) honors one exceptional alumni each year with the Bridge Builder Award. This prestigious award celebrates those who continue to engage with AFA and are making notable contributions in their careers, communities, or the agriculture, food and natural resources industries.
The Bridge Builder Award not only celebrates our distinguished alumni in the industry but also pays tribute to the core principles upon which AFA was founded. Inspired by the timeless poem "The Bridge Builder" by Will Allen Dromgoole, this award embodies AFA's enduring mission to construct bridges that transcend our programs and experiences. AFA continues to forge connections that inspire and uplift, ensuring that our legacy of bridge-building thrives for generations to come.
Help us celebrate the leaders who are shaping the future of agriculture!
Voting closes July 1.
Meet the 2024 AFA Bridge Build Award Winner, Ellen Zimmerman!
Congratulations to Ellen Zimmerman Director of Industry Relations at the U.S. Grains Council, for receiving the Bridge Builder Award at the 2024 Leaders Conference. An AFA alum and a champion for connection in food and agriculture, Ellen exemplifies the spirit of mentorship and industry impact.
The Bridge Builder
by Will Allen Domgoole
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”