Outstanding Alumni Awardees

Don Bennink ’63

A native of Chautauqua County, New York, Don Bennink began milking cows in junior high school and would continue doing so until his graduation from Cornell in 1963, upon which he earned a law degree from Cleveland Marshall University and began building a law practice. However, he never lost his love for the dairy industry and in 1980 relocated to Bell, Florida, to found North Florida Holsteins, now one of the largest dairy operations in the state.

Don Bennink is known internationally for his research in animal genetics and reproduction, specifically in the Holstein breed, for which he has developed a system of genetic selection and pioneered the use of genomic testing.

Besides serving as a center of innovation, North Florida Holsteins became a field laboratory for the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine and functioned as a core partner for Ohio State University’s international student internship program. After more than 40 years of operation, Don recently sold the dairy to new owners, who will carry on the business for future generations. He also has been a longtime volunteer and advisor for the CALS Department of Animal Science.

Don’s leadership roles in the dairy industry include serving on the board of directors of the Upper Florida Milk Producers, the Florida Dairy Farmers and Southeast Milk. In addition, he served as SMI trucking chairman for more than 25 years and as Florida Dairy Farmers president for two years. Among his many honors include induction into the Florida 4-H Hall of Fame, the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame and being recognized this September with the World Dairy Expo’s highest honor, Dairyman of the Year.

Doug DeGroff ’96

Doug DeGroff was raised in upstate New York and is the son of a prominent veterinarian. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in dairy science in 1996. While at Cornell, Doug was a member of the Dairy Fellows Program as well as Farm Credit Fellows. He was president of CUDS, the Cornell University Dairy Science Club and helped organize its first international trip in 1995. He is also a brother of the Zeta chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho, where this past April Doug was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

After graduating, Doug relocated to California where he entered the dairy industry in sales and marketing, first with the Monsanto Company and then with Cargill Animal Nutrition. In 2001 he spent a year managing a large dairy outside Green Bay, WI. After living in Wisconsin for a short time, Doug and his wife decided to relocate back to California to pursue his career in dairy nutrition.

In 2006, Doug started his own business, Diversified Dairy Solutions, a dairy nutrition and management company. He provides nutritional consultation for 20 dairies ranging in size from 1,000 to more than 10,000 cows. Due to health reasons, in January 2024 Doug merged his company and joined the team of Progressive Dairy Solutions, the largest dairy consulting firm in the world.

Doug’s leadership roles include being a member of Class 29 of the California Ag Leadership Program. He served as chair of the California Animal Nutrition Conference, and was on the advisory boards for Elanco, Balchem and the Keith Bolson Silage Safety Foundation. For several years, Doug was a Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador. He served on the Make A Wish Foundaton for the Central Valley chapter. In 2016, Doug was responsible for getting an FFA chapter started at his children’s school, Central Valley Christian. He recently just finished serving as chairman of the school board for the last three years. He was a volunteer at his church as a youth leader and also served as a deacon. 

Over the years, Doug and his wife have hosted CUDS, which has now changed to the Dairy and Agriculture Study Trip to California for tours. They have hosted 13 groups, which in total consisted of nearly 700 students over the last 28yrs. 

Doug also enjoys traveling and spending any free time he can with his wife Alison, and their 3 children, Drew, Luke and Makenna. They reside in Tulare, California on an almond and pistachio ranch.

Joseph DeVries PhD ’95

Joe DeVries has been at the forefront of agricultural development in Africa for more than 35 years. In the 1980s he built irrigation schemes in the drought-ravaged Sahel. In the 1990s he designed and led agricultural recovery initiatives in Mozambique, Angola, Rwanda, Liberia, Sudan and numerous other countries. 

He earned a Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University in 1995. In 1997, he joined The Rockefeller Foundation and turned his focus to crop genetic improvement and localized seed supply systems as a sustainable solution to hunger and low crop productivity among smallholder farmers. In 2006, DeVries co-founded the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, designing and then leading AGRA’s flagship initiative, the $300 million “Program for Africa’s Seed Systems”. AGRA/PASS helped African crop breeders to develop more than 700 new crop varieties.  By 2017, 114 private African seed companies established with AGRA/PASS support were producing 143,000 MT of certified seed annually, serving the needs of approximately 15 million smallholder farmers. 

During this period, DeVries led diverse teams in the creation of many ground-breaking initiatives, including the investment funds Pearl Capital, Injaro Agricultural Capital, and the African Seed Investment Fund, as well as the African Center for Crop Improvement at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the West African Center for Crop Improvement at the University of Ghana and the Seed Enterprise Management Institute at the University of Nairobi.

In 2019, over concern for the millions of farmers who still lack access to improved seed and other technologies in Africa, he established Seed Systems Group (SSG), which focuses on developing seed supply systems in countries typically overlooked by donor institutions.  To date, SSG has raised and deployed more than $20 million toward this mission, and implements field-based initiatives in 15 countries from its offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Lomé, Togo.

Eliese Fisher ’88

A natural innovator, Eliese finds opportunities to promote positive change, even in the most ingrained institutions – or mindsets. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC.)  Her passion for helping others pursue individual growth, lead purposeful action, and drive sustained improvements began almost 20 years ago when she was selected as a charter member of GE Capital’s Advance Leadership and Facilitation Network (ALFN) – an internal group of highly valued associates entrusted to provide both executive coaching and workshop facilitation services for GE Capital’s C-Suite leaders. She began her career, more than 30 years ago, as a finance professional in GE’s Financial Management Trainee program.

A confidant and trusted advisor, Eliese’s experience with workforce change initiatives is her foundation for helping others lead through both personal and professional transformation. She has planned and facilitated C-suite workshops & conclaves, and coached executives of several prominent multinationals including General Electric, Towers Perrin, Accenture, Kraft Foods, AT&T, Sears Holdings, and Nielsen.

Eliese holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business. She is a certified practitioner of most personality and career assessment tools including Myers-Briggs, Disc, and Emotional Intelligence.

In addition to her professional coaching certifications, she’s a certified project management professional and a certified non-profit professional.  She serves on the executive board for several non-profits including Claudette’s Kids Foundation and the South Fulton Economic Empowerment Foundation.  She’s also an active Cornell alumna serving for campus led initiatives, and within her local community of Atlanta, GA.

Prior Recipients

Prior recipients of the CALS Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award.