The PAA Leadership Identification and Development Committee is pleased to announce the following candidates running in the 2025 PAA Board election. Candidates were evaluated on knowledge and skill sets needed on the Board, as well as how they would contribute to help reach the goals and mission of PAA.
Those elected will take office at the close of the 2025 PAA Annual Meeting.
PAA members will receive an electronic ballot to cast their vote in this year’s board election. Voting is open through
June 26, 2025 (midnight CDT).
Ballot questions? Contact PAA
Meet Your Candidates!
Vice President (to succeed to the office of President in 2026-2027)
Jacob Blauer
Washington State University
With over two decades of experience in the potato and crop science industry, I bring a deep- rooted commitment to agriculture, scientific innovation, and community engagement. From my early days on my family’s farm to my first professional role as a Production Supervisor at Lamb- Weston—where I managed processing operations across fry, flake, and starch lines—I have been immersed in the full spectrum of the potato industry. That hands-on experience inspired a passion for problem-solving and innovation, ultimately leading me to pursue a Ph.D. in Molecular Plant Science at Washington State University. Today, as an Assistant Professor of Horticulture at WSU, I remain driven to advance potato research and foster meaningful collaboration between academia and industry.
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Secretary (to serve 2025-2028)
Dennis Halterman
USDA ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit
I grew up as the child of science and algebra teachers. During the summer, I worked on my extended family’s farms in north-central Illinois helping to raise 1500+ acres of corn and soybeans. This combination of science, math, and agriculture influenced my decision to major in biology and biochemistry at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa and went on to complete Ph.D. at Purdue University studying tomato disease resistance. I studied powdery mildew resistance in barley as a USDA/ARS postdoc before accepting my current position in 2004 with the USDA in Madison, Wisconsin. My research group has worked to identify new sources of disease resistance in wild relatives of potato and understand their role in recognizing pathogens and activating resistance.
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Director Candidates (to serve 2025-2028; two will be elected)
Graham Ellis
PepsiCo
I started my career in potatoes in 2015 and have been a member of the PAA off and on since then. In 2017, my participation with the association kicked into a higher gear when I joined the Frank L. Haynes Graduate Student competition and was elected to be the Physiology Section Chair. I continued to speak at PAA annual conferences through 2019 and published a chapter of my dissertation in the AJPR, which was recognized in 2020 as a Distinguished Paper. Once I entered the private sector, although my annual meeting attendance declined, my greater interaction with the industry soared in the form of leading biotechnology R&D projects with the J.R. Simplot Co., providing grower outreach, and generally engaging with the Northwest potato fresh and processing industries. Now I am with Frito-Lay in Texas, championing best practices for storage, soil, and water management of chipping potatoes.
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Dr. Chakradhar Mattupalli
Washington State University
I earned a B.S. degree in agriculture and an M.S degree in horticulture from India. I then moved to the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am currently an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Washington State University (WSU).
Developing high-throughput pathogen detection technologies and better understanding the biology and epidemiology of surface blemish diseases affecting potato has been a major focus of my research and extension program at the WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center.
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Ek Han Tan
University of Maine
I am currently an Associate Professor in the School of Biology and Ecology at the University of Maine where I teach genetics and upper-level genetic engineering courses, and lead the diploid potato breeding and research program which interface closely with UMaine’s conventional potato variety development and enhancement program as well as with the USDA ARS Eastern potato breeding program in Orono, ME. Our work is focused on improving, developing and selecting disease resistant potato varieties that fit potato grower and industry needs by utilizing genetics and genomics technology that are available to us. I double majored in Biology and Visual Arts (Duke University, 2005), obtained my PhD in Molecular Genetics and Genomics (Washington University in St louis, 2011) and did a postdoc on chromosome engineering at the University of California, Davis before joining UMaine in 2017.
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Alan Westra
Idaho Crop Improvement Association, Inc.
I currently serve as the SE Area Manager for the Idaho Crop Improvement Association, Inc. and am responsible for the management of seed potato certification for the State of Idaho. I have been in this position for twelve years, have over thirty years of experience in plant pathology and seed certification, and hold an M.S. in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My career has been dedicated to helping to ensure a supply of high-quality seed for the agriculture industry and to advancing seed certification through the application of sound science.
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