Madison Kirkendoll

Madison Kirkendoll

Director of Professional Development

Madison joined IAOM in September 2023 as the director of professional development. In her role, she will be the primary liaison to the IAOM standing committees, and responsible for maintaining and growing IAOM’s professional development program. She is a dynamic, enthusiastic and motivated trainer and educator with over 7 years of experience in designing learning material, public speaking, presenting and communicating with clients and learners to develop professionally. Prior to joining IAOM, Madison was an educator and learning and development specialist in the Kansas City, Missouri public education systems. She has a master’s in curriculum and instruction, and a bachelor’s in elementary education from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Whitney Fox

Whitney Fox

Director of Meetings & Exhibitions

Whitney joined IAOM as the director of meetings and exhibitions in July 2022, and is responsible for the full scope of event and conference management, and the coordination and logistics responsibilities for IAOM’s major annual conferences, committee and board meetings, and educational courses. She is also responsible for advertising and sales for the Association’s publications. Prior to joining IAOM, Whitney was an events program manager with the Cerner Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. She also has 15+ years of experience as a catering and summer conference manager at the Kansas Memorial Union in Lawrence, Kansas.

Annette Peterson

Annette Peterson

Office Coordinator

Annette joined IAOM as the headquarters’ office coordinator in July 2014, coordinating general office operations for IAOM. Her key responsibilities include facilitating the correspondence courses, maintaining member records, order fulfillment and bookkeeping. Annette is also the point person for conference and short course registration, and district event coordination. Originally from Prairie Village, Kan., Peterson moved back to the Kansas City area after living and working for 34 years in Texas. Peterson has a bachelor’s degree in horticulture industries from Kansas State University. Prior to joining IAOM, Peterson had served as the office coordinator at Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, South Texas Natives Program in Kingsville, Texas, for eight years.

Melinda Farris

Melinda Farris

Chief Executive Officer

Melinda has served as IAOM’s chief staff officer since June 2007; and was IAOM’s director of communications from 2004-2007. As CEO, she is responsible for implementing board policies, managing the association’s overall operations and staff, as well as IAOM’s in-house publications, which include the International Miller, membership directory and website. Melinda has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Baker University, and a master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Kansas. Melinda has been a member of the executive management team for the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI) since 2007. Since 2010, she has held the Certified Association Executive credential from the American Society of Association Executives. Melinda was president of the Kansas City Society of Association Executives from 2015-2016, and served on its board from 2012-2017. Prior to joining IAOM, she was communications manager for the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia.