About Us

Charlie Arnot

CEO

Charlie started this whole thing back in 2004. A member of NAMA and PRSA, Charlie is recognized as an industry leader on food and agriculture issues and is a thought-provoking writer and speaker. His incredible leadership skills and knack for forming genuine connections mean he’s met practically everyone there is to know in food and agriculture. Chances are, you’re already connected.

Winner of an Associated Press award for Best Radio News Reporting, Charlie began his career in journalism and worked in film and video production prior to working in public relations and corporate communications. Today, he provides innovative strategic insight and helps leading companies and associations find new solutions to persistent challenges regarding issues management, communications and public affairs.

Growing up in rural Nebraska, his family always had horses, cattle, chickens and a couple of pigs every now and then. His first paying job (besides putting up hay) was working in a restaurant, and he loves to cook. Try his pulled pork sometime—it’s the best.

Russ Walker

Russ’s communication expertise spans financial and business, sustainability, and marketing messaging.

Russ works with Look East clients to plan and deploy strategic communications internally and externally. He is a creative storyteller and enjoys helping others develop thought leadership strategies.

Russ worked at John Deere for more than 30 years in a variety of capacities. His experiences at a Fortune 100 company and Interbrand best global brand enable him to understand the needs of today’s agribusinesses both in B2B and B2C communications.

A proud graduate of both the University of Illinois and the University of Missouri – Kansas City, Russ is enjoying a new phase of life where he is called Grandpa. He is passionate about sustainability, a champion of diversity, and a fan of the Oxford comma.

Karleen Lensing

Project Manager

Karleen first honed her skills for managing complex projects growing up on her family’s heritage farm in Iowa. She now uses those talents to serve Look East’s clients.

As project manager, Karleen provides day-to-day management and execution of all types of client programs, all while tracking goals and managing budgets. Karleen enjoys serving agriculture and food clients because it gives her the opportunity to collaborate on issues and topics that are important to her.

After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa, Karleen worked in the banking industry, then served at a full-service marketing agency before joining Look East.

When she is not keeping Look East organized, Karleen likes to do things with her three younger sisters – as long as they don’t have to pick rocks out the fields like they did growing up. She enjoys outdoor activities and exploring places in the world she’s never been before.

Grace Graham

Project Manager

Detail-oriented with a knack for organization, Grace keeps our clients and team on track to ensure success across projects.

Born and raised in rural Nebraska, she moved to Kansas City after graduating from Northwest Missouri State with a bachelor’s in communication: public relations and a minor in business. Grace has extensive experience on the agency scene as a project and content manager, event coordinator and public relations professional. Now, she is delighted to be living back in Nebraska where roots on her family’s farm run deep and working at Look East using her skills to help clients build trust in today’s food system.

When she’s not managing timelines, wrangling budgets or strategizing new projects, Grace can be found on the farm tending her garden, cooking up a new recipe, traveling or coordinating a wedding.

Kelly Leighton

Vice President

Kelly is an accomplished communications, marketing and business development executive, driven by a passion for connecting brands and people through meaningful experiences and purposeful engagements. She is part of Look East’s association management team where she leads growth and development for The Center for Food Integrity.

Kelly spent her formative years on her grandparent’s farm and canning operation in Georgia, where she had a front-row seat to the process of how the vegetables are grown on the family farm, then harvested, canned and sold on grocery shelves under the Margaret Holmes brand name (her great-grandmother).

From that early age, Kelly developed an interest in and passion for how our food is grown, processed, packaged, marketed and ultimately consumed.  Kelly turned that curiosity around the “how”, into a career articulating the “why” and the “how-to” – a career steeped in the importance of honest communication and humanizing brands through storytelling.

With 20 years of leadership experience, Kelly has created communications and marketing strategies for organizations including The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, Cargill, the NBA and a number of emerging CPG brands. At The Center for Food Integrity, she leads member development, facilitates stakeholder engagement and helps organizations across the food/ag value chain build trust in today’s food system.

Kelly earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!), while competing as a middle-distance runner on the UGA track team.  She and her family now make their home in Minneapolis, where Kelly continues to enjoy running around Lake Minnetonka or exploring the great outdoors with her children.

Susan Wallace

Content Manager

Susan thinks of writing as working a puzzle and she enjoys taking facts, figures and pieces of information and fitting them together to create a picture. As content manager, she works with Look East clients to develop and deploy digital communication strategies including websites, newsletters, news releases, webinars and thought leadership.

She brings extensive journalism and writing experience to Look East, having served as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers for more than a dozen years. She has also served as communications director for an agriculture non-profit and was a member of the local University Extension Council.

Susan grew up in a big family on a small farm in rural Missouri. Lessons learned on hot summer days in the hay field—teamwork, doing a job right the first time and sticking with a chore until it’s done—have proven valuable. She and her husband recently bought a small acreage and are enjoying life where the roads are paved with gravel.

Amy te Plate-Church

Vice President

Not only does Amy enjoy working with people, but she’s a joy to work with. Her positive energy, enthusiasm and knack for bringing others together to collaborate toward a common cause.

On a day to day basis, she works with agribusinesses and farm groups to create and carry out trust-building communication strategies. Each organization she works with has different and changing needs, which makes for a challenge she really enjoys.

Amy is well-regarded as a speaker, writer, public relations pro, educator and facilitator. Before joining us, she spent 20 years with a dairy and livestock cooperative, where she led public relations, marketing and business development projects.

Amy loves to cook, and when she has time, she likes to pick a new recipe and completely concentrate on the ingredients and process. Her family then votes if it’s a “keeper” or not.

Deb Gibson

Deb is a veteran of the CPG industry having spent time in new product innovation at Campbell Soup and The Hershey Company. Her role as Director of Product Transparency at Hershey and her leadership of the creation of the national SmartLabel program have given her a deep appreciation for the complexities of communicating with the public about how food is grown and produced. With a previous career in management consulting and organizational development, Deb is keenly aware of the organizational change challenges today’s businesses face.

Deb is passionate about building consumer trust in the food system and in helping companies with transparency strategy. In her off hours, you will find Deb cycling the hills of central PA, in a hot yoga class or lounging with her dog and a good book.

Randa Niederhauser

Business Manager

Randa does everything not PR. She manages accounting, HR, IT and facilities, and she’s got a knack for staying calm under pressure.

Previously, Randa worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in financial planning and budget and cost analysis. The dynamics of agriculture fit very well with Randa’s interest in economics. The concepts of opportunity cost, supply and demand and markets have always interested her.

A recovering soccer mom and hopeless Francophile, she is active in her church’s music program and The Mission Project, an organization that enables capable adults with developmental or cognitive disabilities to live independently and safely in community with minimal support.

Keely Coppess

Account Director

One generation removed from the family farm, account director Keely loves food and the people who produce it. She has spent the last 15 years helping food, agriculture, construction and manufacturing clients tell their stories.

From arranging product placements and hosting media events to navigating tough situations like the COVID-19-related meat processing plant shutdowns, Keely enjoys helping the ag community and building relationships along the way.

Keely is a native Iowan and has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Iowa State University and earned a master’s in communication degree from Drake University. She is an avid Iowa State Cyclones football fan, a recreational runner and enjoys traveling to explore new places.

Donna Moenning

Senior Account Director

Donna is known for her insight on consumer confidence in food and agriculture, and her strategic and creative initiatives in communicating values to build trust.  From project management to video production, Donna has the ability to bring refreshing new ideas to the table that cut through the clutter to achieve the desired communication goals.

She joined our team in 2013 with three decades of leadership experience in public relations and issues/crisis management including seven years with the former National Live Stock and Meat Board, and nine years with the Midwest Dairy Association. Donna’s journey also includes a number of years behind the microphone as a broadcast journalist. She believes all effective communication begins with understanding your audience, which is why she value’s Look East’s consumer trust research.

Donna lives on a crop and livestock farm with her husband and three children in southeast Minnesota.  Her life experiences include (but are far from limited to) competing in a combine demolition derby, working with Julia Child and Baseball Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan, and speaking to food system stakeholders in more than 35 states and Canada.

Sherry Hunter

Administrative and Special Projects Assistant

Sherry is the first person you encounter when you visit or call Look East. Sherry’s organizational skills keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes at Look East, while her energy and creativity provide a warm and welcoming experience for customers and visitors.

Sherry has more than 20 years of experience as an executive-level assistant in various fields – from supporting the Leadership Team and the Board of Directors at University Health (a multiple facility healthcare system) to managing the daily operations of a value engineering firm (with employees in multiple states and international projects) to performing immigration background checks with the Department of Homeland Security.

She graduated cum laude from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, where she met her husband. They married on a cruise (so long ago that the ship is no longer in service!) and continue to enjoy cruising around the world. When not on the high seas, they make their home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jamie Rzewnicki

Senior Manager, Digital

Jamie works with clients to create social media and digital strategies that collaborate with marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns. To do so, she researches top influencers, competitors and trends in the food and agriculture industries. She loves engaging with communities and consumers no matter the medium, and it suits her perfectly in her role as senior digital manager.

Born and raised in Liberal, Kansas, she moved to Kansas City after graduating from Kansas State University with a BA in journalism and mass communications, as well as a minor in hospitality management.

Jamie is what we lovingly refer to as a “boomerang” – Jamie spent the first two years of her career at Look East, spent two years at a global PR agency in Kansas City, and is now back on the Look East team.

When she’s not working, you can find her visiting local breweries and eats, spending time with her friends and family, traveling to new places, binging Netflix shows or curling up with a good book.

Jana McGuire

Senior Account Director

Teased for being the Look East night owl, Jana prides herself on being a good steward of her client’s time and resources, even if it’s 2 a.m. But don’t worry—she won’t call you after midnight.

Jana dons many hats to help clients reach important audiences with the right messages. Whether that’s through writing, training, video production or creative strategy, she brings a broad range of skills to the job each day.

Before Look East, Jana was a radio and television reporter and worked in public relations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before pursuing a freelance career as a writer, video producer and on-camera/voice-over talent. ABC and NBC news, “Extra” and “America’s Most Wanted” were among her clients. Billionaire Warren Buffett, rocker Tommy Lee and a woman who left her husband because he snored were some of her most memorable assignments.

Beginning at the age of 9, Jana played alongside Mom, Dad and her sisters in the family band for 21 years – and she still plays today. They were a bit like the Partridge Family – only, instead of a spacious bus they traveled in a white station wagon with wooden side panels.

Roxi Beck

President

Roxi focuses on consumers nearly 100% of the time. That means digging into research on consumer perspectives, building programs that put research findings into action to connect with consumers, and ultimately working directly with consumers by giving them unique, interactive, hands-on experiences to engage fully and transparently with those in the food industry.

A strategic PR pro and truly passionate person, Roxi joined us back in 2007 because she wanted the opportunity to apply strategy in new ways, help solve challenges for folks in the food industry, and work with a team that laughed in the face of “business as usual.”

Roxi believes that having genuine motives, a straightforward approach and solid communication skills can move mountains (this applies to clients, adversaries, kids, life partners…pretty much anyone).

Mickie French

Executive Vice President

Mickie leads Look East’s association management division and serves as the Executive Director of The Center for Food Integrity. Mickie brings a world of experience to her position — she has lived and worked in 10 countries and speaks six languages in addition to English.

Mickie believes every step of her journey has led her to the role she has today. The journey started in rural Nebraska where her first job was detasseling corn — a job she believes every teenager should hold as a right of passage — and has involved working with some of the world’s most powerful brands, including The Coca-Cola Company; Mars, Inc.; Proctor & Gamble; and Johnson & Johnson.

An advocate for global education, Mickie has served on the executive leadership committee and various other volunteer committees of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, where she earned an MBA in International Management. She was also a frequent guest lecturer at the Singapore Management University and the Budapest School of Economics.