Get to know our Board!

Jo Stanko married into a ranching family in 1966.  Since then, she has honed  and continues to hone both her tractor driving and ag advocacy skills.  She was trained as a teacher and administrator. From 1974 until she retired in 1999, Jo taught in the winter and worked cattle and drove tractor in the summer.  She became an active member of the Routt County CattleWomen in 1974.  She was active locally and doing some state work until her retirement from teaching, when she became a full-time rancher and stepped up her advocating at the local, state, and national level.  Over the years she has served on the boards, and held leadership roles and committee chairs for the Routt County CattleWomen, Colorado CattleWomen. At the ANCW level, she served on the Board of Directors, Secretary, and as a National Beef Advocacy Spokesperson.  She was in the first class of Masters of Beef Advocacy and further honed her advocacy skills by participating with the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.  Before a change in structure, she represented the Colorado Cattlemen on the Health and Nutrition Committee for many years.  Later she was appointed to represent Colorado beef producers on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board serving 2 terms where she was chair the Health and Nutrition Committee for 2 years and the six as chair of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee.  Outside of her beef industry affiliations, Jo has been honored to serve as Chairman of the Colorado Farms Services state committee chair, a member of the Colorado Ag Commission for two terms and is currently working part-time as a Regional Assistant Commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture.