AgForestry Leadership

What AgForestry Leadership does

AgForestry Leadership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1977 and legally registered as the Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation, headquartered at a Spokane, Washington mailing address. The organization operates the only leadership development program in Washington State specifically focused on adult leaders in natural resource sectors including agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Its core product is a roughly nine-month cohort program featuring nine in-state seminars across Washington, a Washington D.C. seminar on federal policy, and an optional international seminar (recent destinations include Vietnam, Cambodia, Ecuador, India, and Southeast Asia). Candidates are selected through a competitive application process and represent producers, processors, shippers, and marketing/sales professionals across natural resource industries. The organization has graduated 44+ classes since 1978, with Class 45 in session and Class 47 applications underway as of 2024-2025.

The organization has no proprietary technology product. Its supporting offerings include a monthly newsletter (The Dirt), a webinar series (AgForestry To-Go) delivered in partnership with Washington State University, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, and Gonzaga University, the Albert Roberts Leadership Fund scholarship for small producers, and an online merchandise store. Marketing channels include a website, social media presence on Facebook/X/YouTube, alumni referral networks, and in-person seminars and graduation events. The program emphasizes collaborative leadership, policy literacy, civil discourse, and cross-sector relationship building.

AgForestry's revenue model is multi-stream and characteristic of a small nonprofit. Primary funding comes from corporate and individual donations organized into tiered levels ranging from $5,000 (Patron) to $75,000+ (Premier), with named Premier donors including AgWest Farm Credit and Weyerhaeuser. Secondary revenue streams include participation fees from current class members, event sponsorship, ticket sales for graduation receptions and seminars, and merchandise. Donor concentration is high, with long-tenured corporate sponsors such as Port Blakely supporting the program for over 20 years. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors with no parent company, institutional investor, or M&A activity disclosed.

Name

AgForestry Leadership

Legal name

Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation

Website

https://agforestry.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AgForestry Leadership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs Washington State's only adult leadership development program for natural resource professionals, delivering a nine-month cohort-based curriculum with seminars across the state and Washington D.C.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development and Professional Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership & People Skills (Influence, Managing Up, Supervisory Readiness) (EDAAAKAI)

Keywords

• Leadership development programs
• Natural resources training
• Nonprofit education services
• Professional cohort programs
• Alumni network programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The organization is a 501-c-3 non-profit receiving donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations at various tier levels from Premier ($75,000+) to Ambassador ($7,500+) to Patron ($5,000+).
2. Participation Fees: Current class members pay participation fees for the leadership program. These fees offset seminar costs and program delivery.
3. Event Revenue: Graduation events, networking receptions, and seminars generate sponsorship revenue and ticket sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AgForestry Leadership runs the Natural Resources Leadership Program (NRLP), a tuition-based personal leadership development program targeted at working professionals in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The organization complements its core program with alumni engagement activities (Dirt Newsletter, webinars, gatherings), a small branded merchandise online store, and the Albert Roberts Leadership Fund, which provides tuition scholarships to program participants.

Product overview

AgForestry Leadership is a leadership development program operated by the Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation. The core offering is the AgForestry Leadership Program, a nine-month intensive program for adult leaders in agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries. The program includes in-state seminars, a Washington D.C. seminar, and optional international travel. Supporting offerings include The Dirt newsletter, the Albert Roberts Leadership Fund (a scholarship for small producers), an online merchandise store, and periodic educational webinars. The organization has graduated 44+ classes since 1978.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Albert Roberts Leadership Fund: A legacy fund established to offset tuition costs of the AgForestry Leadership Program for small farmers, ranchers, or foresters across Washington State.

Products and services

• Natural Resources Leadership Program (NRLP)
• Albert Roberts Leadership Fund
• Dirt Newsletter
• Online Store
• Webinars

Quantifiable outcome

• Alumni have become leaders in agriculture, forestry, fishing industries, and government positions statewide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• William D. Ruckelshaus CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Joint public policy effort of Washington State University and University of Washington. Presented the Collaboration Series for AgForestry including Introduction to Collaborative Governance, Collaborative Competencies, Situation Assessments, and Collaboration in Action.
• Gonzaga University School of Leadership StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Presented the Communication Series including Emotional Intelligence modules and Communicating with Emotional Intelligence series through Dr. Rachelle Strawther, Director of Leadership Training and Development.
• Washington State University VancouverminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Dr. Caitlin Bletscher, Assistant Professor of Community Development, presented Communication Across Difference webinar series.
• Experience InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Founded by Charlie Walkinshaw, former Executive Director and now Advisor/Tour Leader for AgForestry. Complementary missions focused on leadership development, capacity building, and technical/cultural exchange in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and natural resource management. Has facilitated over 3,000 practical trainings and cultural exchanges. Charlie guided Class 40's International Seminar in Ecuador.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Center for Creative Leadership: Global leadership development provider with a broad portfolio of open-enrollment programs, custom corporate training and applied research, far exceeding AgForestry's regional, sector-specific scope. A benchmark for enterprise-scale leadership training but not a direct cohort or natural-resource competitor.

Others

• BoardSource: National nonprofit focused on strengthening nonprofit governance and board leadership through training, resources and member support. Comparable as a leadership-capacity builder for the civic sector, though not a cohort-based or natural-resource program.
• Experience International: Founded by a former AgForestry executive director, this nonprofit delivers agricultural and natural-resource capacity-building and exchanges domestically and internationally — including guiding AgForestry Class 40's seminar in Ecuador. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct cohort competitor.

Direct peers

• Leadership Idaho Agriculture: Idaho's cohort-based leadership program for agriculture professionals, offering multi-session seminars in-state and a national/international capstone. Operates in a neighboring state to AgForestry's footprint with overlapping agricultural and natural-resource donor networks.
• California Agricultural Leadership Foundation: Operates the longest-running state-level agricultural leadership program in California, delivering cohort-based seminars across two years with regional, national and international travel. Directly comparable to AgForestry in mission, cohort model, donor-driven funding structure and curriculum focus on policy and civil discourse.
• Nebraska LEAD Program: University of Nebraska-led two-year leadership program for Nebraska's agricultural and natural-resource professionals, featuring in-state seminars, a national study/travel seminar and an international experience. Comparable cohort model and natural-resource focus.
• LEAD NY Program (Cornell): Cornell University's two-year leadership program for professionals in New York's food, agriculture and natural-resource industries. Cohorts participate in multi-session seminars, policy immersion in Albany and Washington D.C., and an international study tour — directly paralleling AgForestry's model.
• Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership (TALL) Program: Texas A&M AgriLife's flagship two-year leadership program for agricultural professionals, using a cohort-based seminar model with in-state, national and international components. Closely mirrors AgForestry's structure, including alumni-driven recruitment and corporate-sponsor base across the agricultural value chain.
• Oregon Leadership Agriculture (OLA): Oregon State University's cohort-based leadership development program for agricultural and natural-resource professionals, with in-state travel seminars, a Washington D.C. component and an international capstone. Closest geographic peer to AgForestry with highly comparable curriculum and donor structure.
• KARL Program (Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership): Kansas-based two-year cohort leadership program for agriculture professionals, comprising in-state and national/international travel seminars. Comparable to AgForestry in selective admissions, corporate-sponsorship model and emphasis on policy and civic discourse.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AgForestry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AgForestry/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/agforestryleaders
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/washington-agriculture-and-forestry-education-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AgForestry Leadership