In our ongoing series highlighting SILT board members, we’re excited to share the story of Sheila Knople-Odole, whose path from northeast Iowa farm roots to SILT’s founding table exemplifies the expertise that shaped our organization.

Sheila’s connection to sustainable farming runs deep. Growing up in northeast Iowa in the 1970s, she spent time on her grandparents’ diverse dairy farm with rotational corn, bean, and oats crops, plus chickens, pigs, and cows.

While attending the University of Iowa, Sheila worked at New Pioneer Co-op. This position ignited her passion for sustainable agriculture. “It was during this job that I discovered the world of sustainable farming and organic food,” she explains.

After traveling to Nigeria in 1994 and finishing her degree, Sheila moved to Washington D.C., where she became office manager at the Center for Food Safety. Working alongside attorneys suing the USDA, FDA, and EPA over GMO regulations, she found herself at the heart of national sustainability policy. Her office helped write the first organic rules that were passed into law.

As a single mother back in Iowa City, Sheila pursued a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa, focusing on land use and sustainability, followed by law school at Drake University. Her biggest takeaway from planning studies became central to her SILT work: “It is far cheaper to be proactive than to be reactive. There are solutions to the problems we face.”

The pivotal moment that led to her ongoing work with SILT came in 2014. One of Sheila’s planning professors recommended her to a group exploring a new approach to farmland conservation in Iowa. That year, she found herself at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa, part of the discussions that would birth the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust.

“We decided there was a need for underrepresented farmers to have access to land and to preserve land for growing local food,” Sheila recalls of that founding meeting. The urgency was clear to everyone in the room.

“With climate change, we will be facing crop failures and food shortages. Iowa has some of the richest land in the world and we import 90% of our food. We need to have a local food system to be able to feed the local population as it is no longer efficient to transport food from 1,500 miles away.”

Sheila didn’t just help found SILT, but instead continues to show up and work to achieve SILT’s goals and mission. She served as executive director in 2016, helping plan crucial early fundraising efforts that gave the organization its footing. After her executive role, she transitioned to the board, where she discovered new dimensions of organizational leadership.

“Learning what a board does has been one of the most interesting aspects,” she reflects. “Having the ability to shape policy and being involved in work I’m incredibly passionate about has been crucial.”

From that founding meeting in Perry, Sheila has watched SILT protect over 1,000 acres of Iowa farmland. She’s witnessed successful farm connections first hand, like connecting two beginning farmers, Carly and Ethan, to the SILT protected Luzum farm.

“To see our mission accomplished and see land access created for farmers has been incredibly exciting,” she says. “It’s been amazing to see SILT blossom and start to grow as an organization.”

From that December 2014 meeting at the Hotel Pattee to today’s organization, Sheila’s journey with SILT represents the power of bringing together diverse expertise around a shared vision. Her unique combination of farm roots, policy experience, and legal training helped transform an ambitious idea into several farmland conservation success stories.

Today, Sheila sees community engagement as SILT’s next frontier. Last year’s successful Des Moines SILTfest showed what’s possible when communities rally around local food systems. “I would love to see more events to bring together communities to show how we can preserve land to feed the urban centers,” she says.

Her message to Iowans is simple: “Show up to events and engage with your community.”

Learn more about SILT’s work or attend our upcoming events by subscribing to our Newsletter or reaching out to info@SILT.org to see how you can be part of Iowa’s sustainable agriculture future.