Keynote Speakers

Jay T. Akridge | Bickford Speaker
Jay T. Akridge, Trustee Chair in Teaching and Learning Excellence, Professor of Agricultural Economics, and former Purdue University Provost, will be a speaker at 50th NAADA. He served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity at Purdue from 2017-2022, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture from 2009-2017, and Director of the Purdue Center for Food and Agricultural Business from 2000-2007.

Matt Painter
Matt Painter is the head coach of the Purdue University men’s basketball team. Painter played college basketball at Purdue under legendary coach Gene Keady. After starting his coaching career as an assistant, he became the head coach at Southern Illinois in 2003 before returning to Purdue in 2004 as Keady’s successor. Since taking over in 2005, Painter has built Purdue into a perennial Big Ten contender, known for developing talent and emphasizing strong defense and team play. Under his leadership, Purdue has won multiple Big Ten titles and made deep NCAA Tournament runs. Read More

Amy Jo Jones
Amy Jo Jones is a dairy farmer’s daughter turned growth strategist, known for bringing honesty, humor, and heart to everything she does. A proud Purdue Boilermaker (twice over), Amy holds degrees in Landscape Horticulture and Agriculture/Extension Education. Her career kicked off with a decade at Purdue, shaping future ag leaders through 4-H, plant sciences recruitment, and as an Assistant Director of Academic Programs - overseeing Undergraduate Recruitment for the College of Agriculture. From there, she jumped into the ag tech startup world, helping scale a company 3x over—building teams, developing people, and keeping culture front and center along the way. Read More