Dr. Cheng is an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Science at the University of Florida. He received his training as an American Diabetes Association Postdoctoral Fellow (Endocrinology & Metabolism) at Harvard Medical School, and a Postdoctoral Fellow (Enzymology) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, after he earned a PhD in Analytical Biochemistry at Peking
University.

Dr. Cheng yearns to help students impact communities through designed experiential learning in several courses, including Personalized Nutrition (IDS 2935), Nutrition and Metabolism (HUN 4221), Laboratory Techniques in Molecular Nutrition (HUN 4813C), Macronutrients in Human Nutrition (HUN 6235), and Nutritional Epigenomics (HUN 4936/HUN
6936).

In his teaching activities, Dr. Cheng sets high priority on building students’ critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and servant leadership through experiential learning. He has developed a teaching program that closely connects the classroom with the community. Dr. Cheng‘s research program studies the mechanisms of nutrient and hormonal signals regulating metabolism at the molecular level.

Specifically, his research seeks to address how autophagy regulates adiposity and metabolism, and how environmental factors (e.g., diets or nutrients) regulate epigenetic pathways in metabolic health & disease. His long-term goal is to develop mechanism-based strategies for disease treatment or prevention. Dr. Cheng has been a core member of the ELC for three years.

Dr. Daniel Foster is an Associate Professor Agricultural Teacher Educator and Global Teach Ag Network Co-Founder at Penn State University. He has a life-long mission to serve as a positive change agent.

Dr. Foster is driven to facilitate engaged scholarship that curates and stimulates innovation bridging industry, secondary, post-secondary, and community-centered learning in food, fiber, and natural resources. His specialties are Designing Global Learning in Agriculture and Developing Global Competency in Agriculture Workforce.

Dr. Foster draws heavily from a lifetime of engagement in agricultural education in multiple states and nations to develop scholarship that generates a global impact, one student and one community at a time. Dr. Foster's line of inquiry has focused on developing authentic experiential educational interventions that critically examine global professional pedagogical vision in perspective and practicing agricultural educators at the secondary and post-secondary levels including utilization of disruptive technologies integrated into the learning environment.

Dr. Laura Greenhaw has served on the NACTA Experiential Learning Committee (ELC) for two years and was a key facilitator of an Experiential Learning Workshop at the NACTA 2024 Annual Conference in Wooster, Ohio. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication (AEC) at the University of Florida.

Originally from Raton, New Mexico, Greenhaw earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture with teacher certification from West Texas A&M University and a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education from Texas Tech University. After teaching high school agriculture for three years, Greenhaw returned to Texas Tech University, earning a PhD in Agricultural Communications and Education with an emphasis on Agricultural Leadership. Greenhaw has taught courses on leadership theory, agricultural & natural resources issues, volunteer development, team leadership, and ethical leadership. She brings a wide variety of formal and informal teaching experiences with youth to adult audiences, and her teaching philosophy has long been grounded in experiential learning.

Dr. Greenhaw has been recognized with a NACTA Jack Everly Journal Award and NACTA Educator Award, the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Association of Leadership Educators, and the Distinguished Agricultural Leadership Educator Award from the Southern Region American Association for Agricultural Education.

Dr. Liang is an award-winning scholar who has developed a community entrepreneurship curriculum and service/ experiential learning programs that integrate science-based research and innovative teaching into outreach. She is an expert in multifunctional farm research, food insecurity issues, food system and network analysis and community entrepreneurship. Her research analyzes the opportunities and challenges for sustainable food systems and food networks regarding small-scale farmers, mixed style farming operations, rural/urban interface, and innovative opportunities and resource equilibrium. Her work has been published in Agricultural Finance Review, Agricultural Research and Technology and the Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Since 2008, Dr. Karcher has formally taught over 1,900 students in over 46 course offerings. Dr. Karcher has taught a variety of courses, including mammary physiology, animal health, and introduction to animal agriculture.

Dr. Karcher’s research in learning focuses on the development of innovative experiential learning platforms to enhance student learning and develop intercultural competencies in undergraduate animal sciences curricula. She has received numerous teaching awards at the college, university, and national level. Examples include the Purdue University Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award, Purdue University PK-12 Emerging Faculty Impact Award, NACTA Teacher Scholar Award, American Dairy Science Association Purina Animal Nutrition Teaching Award, and the NACTA Teacher Fellow Award.

Dr. Shelnutt is a Professor and Associate Dean for Extension Engagement at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. She received her Bachelor's and PhD in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida. She obtained her Master's in Clinical Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Throughout her career, Dr. Shelnutt has provided statewide leadership for her extension program that addresses obesity prevention and healthy lifestyles through the lifecycle with a focus on low-income families with. She serves as the Principal Investigator of the Family Nutrition Program (Florida’s SNAP-Education Program) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, which teach low-resource families to make better food and physical activity choices. Dr. Shelnutt has developed curricula and extension publications based on the most updated dietary guidance that are widely used throughout the state as part of her program.

Dr. Shelnutt’s research focuses on addressing food insecurity, developing evaluation tools to assess the healthfulness of neighborhoods with low income, and assessing the impact of nutrition curriculum on health behaviors. In her role as Associate Dean, her goal is to connect the UF/IFAS Extension mission to other colleges and partners across campus, the state, and the country.

Dr. Meghan Sindelar is a 100% teaching Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Agronomy & Horticulture at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She holds a BS (Iowa State University), MS (Kansas State University), and PhD (Kansas State University) in Agronomy.

Dr. Sindelar has the primary responsibility for the Agronomic Plant Science Lab and Soil Nutrient Relationships courses, both of which are required for all Agronomy majors and minors; they are taught using experiential learning practices. Her departmental leadership includes serving as co-chair of the curriculum committee and shepherd of the Agronomy major.

Dr. Sindelar has been active in pedagogical research with papers in Natural Sciences Education, Geosciences Education, and the NACTA Journal as well as serving on both ASA and NACTA committees for educational methods. She has served on the NACTA Experiential Learning Committee for two years.