PART ONE: 15 Years of Memories for WIA Summit’s 15th Anniversary
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By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (July 14, 2026)
Fifteen years ago, a new kind of event platform took root: Women in Agribusiness (WIA). Sparked by the all-too-familiar experience of attending industry gatherings dominated by male voices, WIA was created to offer something different – a dynamic space dedicated to connection, collaboration and knowledge-sharing for women across the ag sector. In 2012, the inaugural Summit in New Orleans brought together 200 bold, curious women under a shared mission to recruit, retain and promote female talent in agriculture. What began as a leap of faith quickly became a catalyst for change, planting the seed for a groundbreaking event that many have since sought to replicate.
Make no mistake – it is these engaged women who have shaped WIA into the vibrant, collaborative community it is today. Year after year, they draw in new members and organizations, enriching the network and expanding the ideas, connections and content that define it. Together, they create a space where women – and their advocates – can grow, lead and shine, while setting the tone for the year ahead.
With this, we recognize six (and there are more out there I’m sure – let me know if so and we’ll profile you!) women who have attended and supported the WIA Summit for nearly all 15 years. (The first three are below; look for a feature on the other three in next Tuesday’s WIA Today blog post.))
They also all happen to be members of the WIA Advisory Board! We are deeply grateful for their time, expertise and voices in championing and supporting WIA through the years.
Here’s what keeps them coming back to support Women in Agribusiness:
GLORIA BASSE
A seasoned executive who was most recently VP of the U.S. Pork Business at Zoetis, Gloria Basse now actively consults for businesses in the agriculture food chain with a high performance and strategic growth approach. Basse grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and holds a BS in animal science and ag journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester, N.Y. She also serves on the board for Immucell, an animal health biologics company serving the dairy and beef industries.
WIA TODAY: How did you get involved in WIA, and why does the event resonate with you?
BASSE: As an executive woman in agriculture, the WIA Summit was a “shining star” for me to actively connect with some of the best female ag leaders, learn from their experiences and gain global understanding from the content offered at these conferences. I was committed to bringing back to my team a rich level of diverse insights and thoughts to inspire and challenge our current business practices. I’ve attended other women leadership conferences, but WIA never disappoints with the energy, diverse thinking within the ag sector, and solutions for how to shape our biggest challenges into opportunities for a better future.
WIA TODAY: Best memory from a WIA Summit?
BASSE: My best memory from a WIA Summit was early on when I accepted the challenge to take on what felt like a “cluttered mess of ag women gathering” and create a stand-alone special activity – the annual protein dinner at the Summit. This often-sold-out dinner “meet and greet” to network at the beginning of the Summit paved the way to reconnect throughout the WIA Summit to share insights and back then -- business cards.
Years later, this “Women in Protein” dinner continues to gather like-minded women in the protein sector for a superb plated dinner and conversation and connection that build lifelong business partners and friendships.
WIA TODAY: Top three reasons to join the WIA community?
Personally, my top reason to join the WIA community was a key desire to help build an annual gathering space for women in agriculture to build professional relationships, learn critical content from keynote experts and establish a community of strength with women across various ag businesses.
Then, I kept returning each year because of the women leaders I met and my quest to reconnect F2F to dig deeper into current ag-related issues, which then challenged me to think differently given the broad content and speaker insights during the Summit.
WIA is an active community. It’s not just a conference, but rather a connected group of dedicated women working and willing to help other ag-focused women in their career journey. Whether that be in celebration or a proverbial “Y in the Road” situation where others whom I met at WIA have helped to provide guidance on a future pathway.
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SHARON BEALS
Sharon Beals is executive director of the Women’s Meat Industry Network (WMIN); Food Safety & Regulatory Executive with Beaconpoint labs; and founder of SKKB-LLC, which specializes in organizational design, M&A risk assessments, sanitation and common-sense food safety systems. Previously she held senior roles in food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance with US Foods, Maple Leaf Foods, Smithfield and Arby’s, respectively. She sits on several boards and holds many awards, such as the WIA Demeter Award of Excellence 2024.
WIA TODAY: How did you get involved in WIA, and why does the event resonate with you?
BEALS: Kim Rice, a dear friend and colleague, invited me to attend in 2014, and I have been hooked ever since. The energy, the openness of the attendees to meet new people and actively network was something I had never seen before at any conference. And the diversity of attendees, united by a love of ag, is unparallelled.
WIA TODAY: Best memory from a WIA Summit?
BEALS: This speaks to the diversity of attendees: My first conference went something like this: Breakfast with a dairy vet that had pulled a calf before coming to the conference that morning. Lunch with two ladies who had sold crop insurance for over 60 years between the two of them. A cocktail with someone who traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor.
And mostly making lasting, meaningful connections and friendships with women I’ve met at WIA Summits through the years.
WIA TODAY: Top three reasons to join the WIA community?
It’s a community of Get Stuff Done women with a shared passion about ag, spanning the breadth and depth of the space.
It’s a welcoming atmosphere where attendees are purposeful about meeting new people.
It’s a great place to meet students and learn about their aspirations, while they pepper you with lots of questions because they are vibrant go-getters who are setting the pace for their generation.
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MICHELE FITE
Michele Fite is chief commercial officer at ELO Life Systems, with responsibility for Elo’s commercial organization and leading the execution of its business model. Prior to this, she was chief commercial officer with Motif FoodWorks, a startup, and before that, president of Kerry’s Dairy and Culinary segment. In addition to holding executive roles at a number of companies, Fite was the founding CEO at Cadena BioSciences, a startup focused on gut microbiomes. Fite holds a degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from the University of Oklahoma.
WIA TODAY: How did you get involved in WIA, and why does the event resonate with you?
FITE: I was introduced to WIA in the early days - around 2010 - through my leadership at DuPont. At the time, there was a real push to elevate more women into leadership roles across agriculture and food.
WIA wasn’t just another event. It was a catalyst.
I brought together women across DuPont Nutrition & Health and Pioneer, and what started as a small internal network quickly became something bigger, because WIA gave it a place to grow.
It created both an internal community and an external foundation.
It resonated then and still does. Because it’s not about checking a box. It’s about building real relationships, confidence, and momentum for women in an industry that needs all three.
WIA TODAY: Best memory from a WIA Summit?
FITE: There have been so many powerful moments, but one that stayed with me was hearing Temple Grandin speak. Her story is extraordinary. Not just what she accomplished, but how she did it.
She challenged how we think about leadership, difference, and contribution. As the first openly autistic person to gain prominence in agricultural sciences, her impact on both livestock welfare and the understanding of autism is profound. It was a reminder that leadership doesn’t look one way. And that sometimes the most important voices are the ones that don’t fit the expected mold.
WIA TODAY: Top three reasons to join the WIA community?
Women who genuinely support other women.Not performative. Not transactional. Real support, real advocacy.
A place to grow; personally, and professionally.WIA brings together perspectives across the entire ag-food value chain. You don’t just learn, you expand how you think.
A network that stays with you.These aren’t one-time connections. They become part of your career, your sounding board, your support system, and often, your friends.
You can learn more about the stories of these accomplished women and steadfast WIA champions on our website, and register here to celebrate alongside them at the 15th annual Women in Agribusiness Summit in New Orleans, September 22–24, 2026.
And, stay tuned next week for Part Two of these interviews which includes three more profiles of decade-plus WIA Summit attendees…
