by Geitner Simmons | IANR Communications
Lincoln, Neb. —Terry Hejny, director of the Nebraska LEAD Program, will retire in June after more than 16 years heading the comprehensive statewide agricultural leadership development program.
LEAD participants, who are currently active in production agriculture and agribusiness, are selected each year for a two-year fellowship in which they develop their leadership skills and deepen their understanding of Nebraska institutions and public issues.
Hejny, a Seward County native, is a former agricultural education instructor and Nebraska Extension educator who was a participant in Class 20 of the LEAD Program. The current class is LEAD 42.
“It has been an honor to serve as the director of the Nebraska LEAD Program since September of 2007,” Hejny said. “I was following in the footsteps of LEAD’s founding director, Dr. James Horner, and then longtime director, Dr. Allen Blezek. Dr. Horner and Dr. Blezek were my college professors, long before LEAD got its start in 1981.”
Hejny also will be retiring as president and chief operating officer of the nonprofit Nebraska Agricultural Leadership, which governs the LEAD Program in cooperation with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Hejny’s last day will be June 30, 2024.
“During the next seven months,” he said, “I will continue to do everything possible to wrap up my duties as well as prepare my staff, NALC board members, and Nebraska LEAD Class 42 for a smooth transition.”
LEAD alumni have gone on to become leaders in Nebraska agriculture as well as civic and governmental life, serving in the State Legislature and other positions.
“For more than 40 years, the Nebraska LEAD program has helped cultivate knowledgeable, prepared and passionate leaders from throughout the state and across nearly every faction of the state’s agriculture industry,” said Mike Boehm, NU vice president and Harlan Vice Chancellor for UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “I’m grateful for Dr. Hejny’s leadership of this critical program over the past 17 years. His impact will be felt years into the future through the service and leadership of LEAD graduates from across Nebraska.”
In 2022, the International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leadership selected Hejny as its Outstanding International Leadership Program Director.
Hejny grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Seward County. He received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and began his career as an agricultural education instructor, FFA advisor and Young Farmers advisor for the Geneva Public Schools in Filmore County. During his 18 years with the school system, he was a head or assistant coach in football, track and field and volleyball.
He received a master’s degree in curriculum from Doane University and in 1998 became a Nebraska Extension educator. Much of his programming involved marketing, risk management and cropping systems education for producers.
After becoming director of the Nebraska LEAD Program in 2007, he received a doctorate in Human Sciences with a specialization in leadership studies. “Seeing the impact this program has made on the lives of our participants and our state is truly gratifying,” Hejny said.