Regional Advisory Committee
Jennifer Conner, DrPH,MPH,MAP
Dr. Conner has over 25 years of experience bringing together people and organizations to achieve a better quality of life and quality of place in rural communities. She has served as a subject matter expert for rural health and chronic disease prevention and was a founding board member of the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention and the Rural Health Association of Arkansas. Dr. Conner currently serves as the Vice President for Rural Health for the SouthWest Region of the American Heart Association. She also serves as a Stakeholder Advisory Committee member for the Arkansas Community Health Workers Association and a board member for the Rural Health Information Hub. Prior to joining the American Heart Association, Dr. Conner was an Associate Professor at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University and served as the Deputy Director of the Delta Population Health Institute at NYIT. She has also served as an Area Coordinator at the CDC Foundation, assisting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with vaccine and workforce surge staffing to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Conner’s prior work also includes serving as a Regional Program Associate at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, working with a variety of stakeholders ranging from agricultural workers to elected officials. This important work was highlighted at the Next Generation Rural Creative Placemaking Summit. Most recently, Dr. Conner launched the Supporting Health Advances for Rural Employees initiative, a worksite wellness program supported by USDA funding focusing on chronic disease issues and executed in partnership with Winrock International, FQHCs and community health workers.
Dr. Conner has received numerous honors and awards at the local, state and national level for building sustainable partnerships. Her commitment to serving communities was recognized in 2019, being named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader finalist. She also received the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Community Partnership Award, the Arkansas Chronic Disease Council Trendsetter Award, and Lake Village Chamber of Commerce “Woman of the Year” Award. She earned a Doctor of Public Health in leadership and policy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, as well as a Master of Public Health in biostatistics and a Master of Applied Psychology in research and evaluation design.
Robert Hagevoort
Cornelis de Hoop, MBA, Ph.D.
Corneils (“Niels”) de Hoop is an Associate Professor at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, where he has worked since 1992. Prior to obtaining his PhD at Texas A&M University, he worked twelve (12) years in the forest products industry, stly in logging supervision and timber procurement, in Canada and eastern Texas. He also worked a year with the U.S. Forest Service in Kentucky and 1 ½ years with the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. He has a Master of Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Kentucky. He teaches courses in timber harvesting and procurement. His research activities have included expert systems for diagnosis for problems with veneer lathes, assessment of cut-to-length harvesting, stormwater runoff from log yards, wood supply for chip mills, wood residue supply and demand, accidents in the forest products industry, and biomass energy. He is a regular contributor to The Louisiana Logger magazine with articles on logging safety, teaches in logging safety workshops, and is the Technical Editor of the International Journal of Forest Engineering.
Matt Nonnenmann, Ph.D., CIH
Dr. Nonnenmann is an industrial hygienist who specializes in measuring and controlling dust and bioaerosols. His long-term goal is to protect the public health through research that advances the science of exposure assessment and advances the science of characterization and control of bioaerosols. Dr. Nonnenmann has 25 years of experience working as an industrial hygienist in the agricultural and health care sectors primarily funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Google Scholar listing
Mark Shirley, M.S.
Mark is a Marine Agent in the Vermillion Parish Extension Service Office in Abbeville, Louisiana. He conducts educational programs dealing with crawfish production, alligator farming, fish pond management, and other aquaculture topics in southwest Louisiana. He also works with fishermen and landowners on coastal issues. Mr. Shirley is a respected member of his community and an invaluable member of the SW Ag Center External Advisory Committee. Mr. Shirley has been instrumental in participant recruitment for the project, Innovative Approaches to Worker Health Protection Among Shrimp Fishermen of the Gulf Coast, led by Dr. Jeffrey Levin. He also helped make local connections for a feasibility project that assessed ergonomic considerations for crawfish farmers.
Robert Williams, CSP
Robert Williams is the Safety and Risk Manager at the Noble Research Institute, LLC in Ardmore, Ok. He coordinates safety, health, and environmental activities with emphasis on agricultural safety. Robert has a B.S. in Occupational Safety and Health from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He serves on the Board of Director’s of the Oklahoma Safety Council. Robert is a Certified Safety Professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). He has been a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers since 1995 and currently serves as Chair of the Texoma Section of the Oklahoma City Chapter.
Knesha Rose-Davison, MPH
Knesha Rose-Davison is the Public Health Program Director for the AgriSafe Network. She is the staff lead for three programmatic areas which include worker safety training (OSHA), Invest in Your Health and healthcare provided targeted opioid misuse prevention trainings. Ms. Rose-Davison joined the RAC in 2021. As a new member, she will bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to the SW Ag Center team. She will also help connect the Center’s research and outreach to the national AgriSafe network.