Leadership

Laura Colby is a principal scientist in dairy foods at Land O’Lakes Inc.’s farmer-owned cooperative, where she has worked since 2016 in dual roles as a technical leader and people leader. She had experience working at Kraft Heinz, Quest International (acquired by Givaudan), Monsanto, and General Mills prior to joining Land O’Lakes. Colby studied food science and chemistry at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her areas of focus include natural cheese, cheese, dairy flavor generation, cultures and enzymes, enzyme-modified cheeses, novel fermentations, cheese quality improvements, and more. She is passionate about developing technical leaders while delivering business value.

Colby has served ADSA in volunteer roles over the past seven years, including as a member-at-large of the Dairy Foods Division, judge for the Dairy Foods Division Graduate Student Poster Competition, chair and judge for the Dairy Foods Division Graduate Student Oral Presentation Competition, member of the ADSA Dairy Foods Student Engagement Subcommittee, and as an abstract reviewer. Colby is engaged with National Dairy Foods Research Centers and recently served on a strategic planning team for the Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center. She has previously served in numerous leadership roles within the Institute of Food Technologists sections, divisions, and student association, where she influenced and improved programming, governance, student involvement, outreach, marketing, and more, having served on both Chicago and Minnesota Section Institute of Food Technologists boards. Colby has had formal leadership training as well as informal leadership development through practice over more than two decades. She is excited about the future of ADSA and its role in advancing dairy animal agriculture and the dairy foods industry.

Hadi is a Research and Development Manager at Tillamook County Creamery Association. He holds a PhD degree in Food Science from University of Guelph, Canada. He obtained his MS degree in Dairy Product Technology from California Polytechnic State University- San Luis Obispo. Prior to moving to the United States, Hadi received a DVM degree from Karaj University in Iran.

Hadi’s areas of expertise include dairy chemistry and processing, casein micelle functionality in different dairy systems as well as cheese technology and aging. Hadi has several years of experience in the industry leading the full lifecycle of projects from ideation to commercialization. In his current role at Tillamook, he leads new product development in multiple product categories in addition to managing Tillamook’s long term external research collaborations with the national dairy research centers and other academic and industry partners. Prior to joining Tillamook, Hadi worked at the Kraft Foods as a research and product development scientist, where he worked on brands such as Philadelphia and Velveeta, etc.

Hadi has been the primary author and co-author of several publications in the areas of milk proteins processing and functionality. He currently serves on the industry advisory board to Oregon Dairy Industries and several dairy research centers across the U.S. including BUILD, CDR, SDFRC. Since 2019, Hadi has also served as an adjunct industry partner to the Food Science Department at Oregon State University, where he leads research collaborations with the faculty and graduate students.

Hadi has been involved with the Dairy Foods Division of the ADSA ever since he was a graduate student and continued his support of ADSA as an industry professional over the years. He has served on different technical committees as a member and been the Chair to MPE (Milk Proteins and Enzymes committee) since 2020.

Haotian Zheng is an associate professor of Food Chemistry at NC State University, Raleigh, NC, and is affiliated with the Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Raleigh, NC. He holds a PhD in Food Science (University of Otago, New Zealand), an MS in Food Technology (Wageningen University, the Netherlands), and a BEng in Food Science and Engineering (Northeast Agricultural University, China).

Zheng has held several positions within the dairy foods division of ADSA; his service began as a member-at-large (2019–2022) and progressed to secretary (2022–2023), vice chair (2023–2024), and chair (2024–2025). He has also been an editorial board member for the Journal of Dairy Science since 2022.

Zheng’s research mines techno-functional properties of proteins from milk and other agricultural products to improve processed food stability, texture, and nutrient delivery efficacy via colloid, interface, and soft matter approaches. His lab develops diverse food structures, such as suspensions, emulsions, foams, and gels, utilizing proteins as the principal “building block.” He also teaches food chemistry and food ingredient functionality at NC State. As of spring 2026, his lab hosts 5 PhD students and 2 postdoctoral research associates; his students have won awards from organizations including ADSA, ADPI, and IFT.

Zheng was named an ADSA Foundation Scholar in 2024. Before NC State, he was a tenure-track assistant professor and interim director for the Dairy Products Technology Center at California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, CA), with prior professional dairy research experience in industry (Fonterra R&D headquarters) and academia (Riddet Institute and Lincoln University) in New Zealand.

Michelle (Shelly) Rhoads is currently an associate professor in the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her recent research involves investigating aberrations in metabolic and endocrine profiles, with a particular focus on interactions between fertility, insulin, and glucose in heat-stressed dairy cattle. Additional topics of research interest include growth hormones, insulin-like growth factor-1, ghrelin, and the reproductive hormones of cattle. The primary aim of her research is to elucidate factors involved in the regulation of fertility in order to develop management programs that optimize reproductive capacity.

Rhoads was born and raised on her family’s dairy farm in mid-Missouri, where she was active in day-to-day operations and eventually built her own small herd of Holsteins. After receiving a BS in animal science from the University of Missouri, Rhoads went on to earn an MS from Cornell University with W. Ronald Butler, then returned to the University of Missouri for her PhD with Matthew Lucy. Before coming to Virginia Tech, Rhoads was a USDA-funded post-doc and assistant professor at the University of Arizona. She is a frequent invited speaker at local, national, and international meetings, where she shares her research findings with producers, students, peer scientists, industry professionals, government officials, and other stakeholders.

Rhoads has served as a member of the ADSA Physiology and Endocrinology Program Committee (2022–present), a member of the Journal of Dairy Science (JDS) Editorial Board (2017–2022), and an invited Speaker at the ADSA Annual Meeting (2018). She is a frequent contributor of publications to JDS and JDS Communications as a corresponding author and frequently reviews for both journals. In addition to the ADSA activities listed above, Rhoads has served on the Editorial Board for Frontiers in Animal Science (Animal Nutrition section). She is a member of two USDA-NIFA Multistate Research Projects (NE2227 and NC1201). Her experience with NE2227, in particular, has prepared her for the ADSA Board, as she served in multiple capacities (director, secretary, and chair) and hosted and organized two of the annual meetings. She has served on multiple committees for the Society for the Study of Reproduction in addition to multiple committees within her institution at the university, college, and departmental levels. All of these experiences have prepared her for working with peers at multiple institutions to accomplish a common goal and have taught her the importance of timeliness in completing tasks.

Trevor DeVries is a professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Animal Biosciences at the University of Guelph (Guelph, ON, Canada). DeVries received his BSc in agriculture in 2001 and his PhD in 2006 from The University of British Columbia. Following that, he spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In 2007, he was appointed faculty at the University of Guelph.

DeVries maintains a very strong, productive research program focused on understanding the links between dairy cow behavior, nutrition, and management. His work has led to fundamental discoveries and practical solutions that have collectively contributed to improvements in dairy cattle performance, health, welfare, and efficiency. Over his career, he has authored or coauthored more than 225 peer-reviewed papers. He joined the JDS Club 100 in 2019 with over 100 papers published in the Journal of Dairy Science (JDS). His accomplishments in research over the years have been recognized in his reception of several awards from ADSA and other professional organizations. DeVries is committed to extending his research work to the field, as evidenced by over 375 invited research presentations to audiences worldwide.

DeVries’ teaching at the University of Guelph has spanned diploma, degree, and graduate students, including instructing applied diploma and undergraduate courses in dairy production, dairy cattle nutrition, and dairy herd management. He is also the coach of the University of Guelph Dairy Challenge team.

>DeVries works diligently in public service, serving on several university committees as well as various local, national, and international professional committees. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge. For ADSA, he has served as the Production Division Council chair, the Overall Program Committee chair for the 2022 ADSA Annual Meeting, and a member of several section committees.

DeVries has served as an editorial board member for JDS and JDS Communications for several years and has recently joined JDS Communications as a section editor. He was also an invited section editor and chapter author for Large Dairy Herd Management, a book published by ADSA.

Jillian Bohlen is an associate professor and state dairy extension specialist in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, with an appointment spanning teaching, extension, and applied research. Her program focuses on supporting the sustainability and progression of the dairy industry through integrated efforts that connect students, producers, and industry stakeholders. Her applied research examines factors influencing reproductive success and the use of technology to improve decision-making on dairy operations. She has shared information and findings in refereed journals, peer reviewed extension publications, industry outlets, and invited national presentations, including ADSA symposia.

As an educator, Bohlen teaches 16 credit hours annually across lecture, laboratory, and on‑farm learning environments. She has mentored students at more than 60 professional development events, including 17 national ADSA meetings with 39 national student presentations, and has guided more than 70 undergraduate researchers, several of whom have completed funded, independent projects. She coaches the Dairy Challenge team and has hosted two southern contests as well as the national contest (2019). Her students have earned national recognition through presentations, awards, and elected leadership roles. Her instructional excellence has been recognized with the ADSA Undergraduate Student Division National Outstanding Advisor Award (2008, 2022) and the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2023).

Bohlen’s extension program encompasses statewide youth and adult outreach efforts. She directs six major annual dairy youth programs, engaging more than 250 young people each year, and has secured more than $200,000 in external support during the past 10 years to ensure accessibility and growth of these opportunities. Her commitment to young people was recognized with the Hoard’s Dairyman Youth Development Award (2021). Her adult programming includes more than 100 educational programs, delivered in partnership with extension agents and producers, addressing needs in reproduction, technology adoption, emerging management challenges, and communicating with consumers. She also leads competitive grant‑supported initiatives focused on technology education and antibiotic‑reduction strategies in dairy systems.

Bohlen has maintained nearly two decades of active involvement in ADSA. Her past ADSA roles include national advisor to the Undergraduate Student Division, president of the ADSA Southern Branch (2019), and participation on several awards committees. Her current roles include vice‑chair of the Production Council, president of the ADSA Southern Branch, and member of the Teaching Undergraduate and Graduate Education Committee. She is a graduate of LEAD21 Class 20, reflecting continued investment in leadership and professional service.

Bohlen’s more than twenty years of integrated contributions across teaching, extension, research, and professional service reflect a long-standing commitment to supporting the dairy industry.