Hover over each image to learn more about the incredible professionals comprising this year’s speaker lineup. Click on each image for a full biography.
2025 Conference Speaker Lineup
Carlos Garriga is the St. Louis Fed's Director of Research, Senior Vice President, and a member of the Bank's Executive Leadership Committee. Dr. Garriga has more than 26 years of experience with the Federal Reserve System.
During his career at the St. Louis Fed in the Research Division, Dr. Garriga has advised Bank Presidents William Poole, James Bullard, and Alberto Musalem on current issues related to monetary policy and the broad economy. Since 2017, he has attended the FOMC meeting in Washington, D.C.
Under his leadership, the Research Division is in the top 1% of all economics research departments worldwide. Dr. Garriga’ s research focus is in the area of macroeconomics, monetary economics, housing and credit markets, asset pricing, and public economics. He oversees global products such as Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), and system products such as FRED, FRASER, Fed in Print, Economic Education, and the Native Economic and Financial Education Empowerment (NEFEE). He oversees Federal Reserve History, a system initiative created as part of the commemoration of the Federal Reserve centennial in 2013-14.
He has been visiting researcher and presenter at leading international central banks (Deutsche Bundesbank, Reserve Bank in New Zealand, Sveriges Riksbank, European Central Bank, Banco de España, Banca d’Italia, Banque de France, and Swiss National Bank), Federal Reserve Banks (Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Board of Governors) and research visitor in international Universities (the London School of Economics, Queen Mary University in London, European Institute, the University of Minnesota, the University of California Santa Barbara, Washington University in St. Louis).
Dr. Garriga has participated in more than 300 conferences, seminars and lectures around the globe. He has published peer-reviewed articles in leading journals in economics and finance (the American Economic Review, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, European Economic Review, Journal of European Economic Association) and chapters in books published by the University of Chicago Press and MIT Press. His research has received funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia.
Prior to joining the St. Louis Fed in 2007, he served as an assistant professor of economics at Florida State University and at the Universitat de Barcelona. Dr. Garriga received a BS and Ph.D. in economics from the Universidad de Barcelona (Spain).
For over 20 years, Angela has served as a trusted advisor to members of the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch as well as to CEOs and senior executives in complex, multi-national organizations.
Angela currently serves as the head of Government Affairs for JCPenney, a 120-year old national retailer with operations in 49 states and Puerto Rico. In this position she oversees the company’s local, state, federal and international government relations. She additionally leads the organization’s sustainability and corporate responsibility initiatives.
She began her career with the Honorable Senator Max Baucus in 1989 as a congressional liaison in the State of Montana. After receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana in 1997, she served as legislative counsel for agriculture and trade in Washington, D.C. and later as International Trade Counsel on U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
In 2002, Angela joined Walmart Stores, Inc. leading trade policy in the Washington Office. She later moved to headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas and served in a number of executive roles including as Vice President, International Corporate Affairs, at Walmart Stores, Inc. where she led the company’s external engagement in 40+ retail, ecommerce and sourcing countries around the world. She also launched innovative public-private chain capacity building projects focused on transparency, building safety, agricultural development and women’s economic empowerment in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
In 2015, she founded World Strategies, LLC, a woman-owned government affairs and policy consulting firm providing strategic, innovative solutions to accelerate global investment, manage risk, enhance reputation, and drive cost savings. In this role she co-founded and led Farmers for Free Trade a non-profit supporting American agricultural producers and agro-industry through grassroots efforts which delivered the bipartisan U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as well as hosted thought-leadership roundtables including AgTalks.
Most recently she served as Vice President, International Trade and Supply Chain Resiliency, for Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office where she advised clients on global trade as well as assisted organizations in developing resiliency plans to ensure greater visibility to, and accountability over complex, global supply chains. She additionally served as a Senior Advisor to Eurasia Group where she launched the organization’s Industrial and Consumer Corporate Practice, specializing in geopolitical risk impacting global manufacturing, logistics, retail, and consumer goods multinational organizations in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Angela is a staunch advocate for women’s empowerment and continues to be active in the Organization of Women in International Trade ("OWIT") a voluntary, non-profit association of professionals interested in international trade.
Angela currently serves as the head of Government Affairs for JCPenney, a 120-year old national retailer with operations in 49 states and Puerto Rico. In this position she oversees the company’s local, state, federal and international government relations. She additionally leads the organization’s sustainability and corporate responsibility initiatives.
She began her career with the Honorable Senator Max Baucus in 1989 as a congressional liaison in the State of Montana. After receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana in 1997, she served as legislative counsel for agriculture and trade in Washington, D.C. and later as International Trade Counsel on U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
In 2002, Angela joined Walmart Stores, Inc. leading trade policy in the Washington Office. She later moved to headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas and served in a number of executive roles including as Vice President, International Corporate Affairs, at Walmart Stores, Inc. where she led the company’s external engagement in 40+ retail, ecommerce and sourcing countries around the world. She also launched innovative public-private chain capacity building projects focused on transparency, building safety, agricultural development and women’s economic empowerment in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
In 2015, she founded World Strategies, LLC, a woman-owned government affairs and policy consulting firm providing strategic, innovative solutions to accelerate global investment, manage risk, enhance reputation, and drive cost savings. In this role she co-founded and led Farmers for Free Trade a non-profit supporting American agricultural producers and agro-industry through grassroots efforts which delivered the bipartisan U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as well as hosted thought-leadership roundtables including AgTalks.
Most recently she served as Vice President, International Trade and Supply Chain Resiliency, for Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office where she advised clients on global trade as well as assisted organizations in developing resiliency plans to ensure greater visibility to, and accountability over complex, global supply chains. She additionally served as a Senior Advisor to Eurasia Group where she launched the organization’s Industrial and Consumer Corporate Practice, specializing in geopolitical risk impacting global manufacturing, logistics, retail, and consumer goods multinational organizations in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Angela is a staunch advocate for women’s empowerment and continues to be active in the Organization of Women in International Trade ("OWIT") a voluntary, non-profit association of professionals interested in international trade.
László J. Kulcsár is a Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography at the Pennsylvania State University, where he currently serves as the Senior Associate Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, following his appointments as the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. His field of expertise is social demography, with an emphasis on migration, urbanization, aging, and regional development. His research on population dynamics and community development in rural areas focuses on aging, depopulation, and the use of natural resources. Dr. Kulcsár has published numerous papers, contributed chapters to many books, gave more than a hundred talks, taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, and served as the editor of Rural Sociology between 2017 and 2020. Before joining Penn State in 2017, he was a faculty member and department head at Kansas State University in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. Prior to embarking on his academic career, he consulted for the European Union on various rural development projects in Eastern Europe and worked in the public opinion polling industry in Hungary. He has two master’s degrees from Hungary, one in public administration studies and one in sociology, and he earned a PhD in development sociology from Cornell University.
Gary Adams assumed the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cotton Council in 2015. He plays a key role in guiding the industry’s seven segments to reach consensus on critical policies affecting U.S. cotton, with the mission of helping all U.S. cotton industry segments compete effectively and profitably in global markets. Before moving into his current position, Gary served the Council for 13 years as the Vice President of Economic and Policy Analysis.
Gary currently represents the U.S. cotton industry as a member of USDA’s Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining the Council, Gary was a Research Assistant Professor with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.
Gary has B.S. and M.A. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri. Gary and his wife, Carol, have four children.
Gary currently represents the U.S. cotton industry as a member of USDA’s Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining the Council, Gary was a Research Assistant Professor with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.
Gary has B.S. and M.A. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri. Gary and his wife, Carol, have four children.
Chris Kramedjian is the Managing Director at Shearwater Commodity Research, where he leads research on commodity markets, especially cotton. He began his cotton journey in 2010 as a Risk Management Consultant at INTL FCStone (now StoneX), providing training and advice on derivatives and market trends. Chris brought his knowledge and experience to Plains Cotton Cooperative Association in 2016 as the Director of Risk Management, overseeing risk management and analytics for the firm. In 2022, he left PCCA for his current role at Shearwater Commodity Research. Chris is known for his strong analytical skills and his ability to turn complex issues into practical insights.
Mark Pryor is Chairman and CEO of The Seam, a Memphis-based agtech and commodities trading firm. He joined the company at its inception in 2000 and led the development of its technology platforms, which have supported the trading and management of tens of millions of cotton bales, millions of tons of peanuts, and billions of dollars in settlement transactions.
With over 30 years of experience in software and financial systems, Mark has focused on advancing digital services in agriculture, with work spanning blockchain, sustainability, and supply chain traceability. He serves on the Agribusiness Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the executive board of Agricenter International, and advises multiple cotton and peanut industry organizations. Mark and his wife Brenda live in Somerville, Tennessee.
With over 30 years of experience in software and financial systems, Mark has focused on advancing digital services in agriculture, with work spanning blockchain, sustainability, and supply chain traceability. He serves on the Agribusiness Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the executive board of Agricenter International, and advises multiple cotton and peanut industry organizations. Mark and his wife Brenda live in Somerville, Tennessee.
Kevin Brinkley leads Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA), a grower-owned cooperative based in Lubbock, Texas, that markets sustainably grown cotton from Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas to textile mills worldwide.
A native of Burnet, Texas, Brinkley holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural & Applied Economics from Texas Tech University. His career spans over three decades, including roles as an economist for the National Cotton Council and Chairman and CEO of The Seam, an innovative agri-tech and online trading company. He has served as PCCA’s CEO since 2015.
Brinkley strongly advocates for U.S. cotton farmers and is Chairman of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He also advises U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on agricultural trade policy.
