The Science of Communication: Setting Yourself up for Success

Professionals early in their career who are looking to polish their communication skills as well as individuals who are looking for advancement within their company but may be limited in how they have presented themselves to future employers. 

Content is designed for employees in the animal health, animal nutrition, animal science, veterinary medicine and pet food sectors who may be working in roles in product development, research and development, marketing, sales and technical support.

• Participants will learn the importance of effective communication, including tools and resources designed to improve communication of scientific and/or complex topics via in person, video call and PowerPoint presentations, among others.
  
  
• Understand the importance of creating an authentic personal brand, how to create one and communicate it effectively. 

Haley Larson, Ph.D.

Haley Larson, Ph.D., is a teaching assistant professor of animal health at Kansas State University's Olathe campus. 

Larson earned her B.S. in Animal Science and Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition from the University of Minnesota. Her graduate studies focused on understanding how manipulation of growth and fermentation patterns in feedlot cattle effects animal performance. While completing her degree, Larson began working as a senior scientist for Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health. In that role, she designed and developed the company’s dual-flow continuous culture system – the first fully automated dual-flow system for cattle rumen simulation. This system, and the data she generated, is still being used for new product development and fermentation modeling within the company today. During her time with Cargill, Larson was also presented with many opportunities to develop and deploy on farm technologies for dairy, beef, swine, poultry and aquaculture.

Larson teaches and advises graduate students in various programs related to animal health. She teaches several animal health graduate-level courses within the department of applied and interdisciplinary studies as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine’s diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. Her teaching interests involve topics such as regulatory affairs for animal health and nutrition, research strategies for product development, zoonotic pathogens in the food chain and the interconnections between animal nutrition and health. Her passion for educating the industry’s next generation of agricultural professionals shines through in her courses, particularly those focused on interdisciplinary approaches in animal agriculture. In her role at K-State Olathe, Larson designs academic courses and professional development programming tailored to Greater Kansas City's growing animal health industry.

Amanda Welsh

Amanda Welsh has been the Director of Marketing in the U.S. Cattle Business at Merck Animal Health for almost 5 years.  During her tenure at Merck, she has been focused on improving the digital customer experience, integrating the recently acquired Allflex business into the cattle product portfolio, and launching several products.  Prior to Merck, Amanda spent more than 20 years in variety of marketing roles in human health pharmaceuticals ranging from primary care medicines, to specialty medical devices and orphan drugs.  She has experienced all facets of product lifecycle from pre-development, launch through sunsetting brands.  Amanda holds an undergraduate degree in Microbiology from Southern Illinois University and an MBA in marketing from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Amanda lives in Lenexa, Kansas, with her husband, two daughters and four dogs.   

1:30 p.m. | Introductions  

1:45 p.m. | Presentation 1  

2:30 p.m. | Build your brand activity  

3 p.m. | Presentation 2

3:45 p.m. | Activity with networking  

4:20 p.m. | Wrap-up   

4:30 p.m. | Dismiss