Meet the advisory council
Keith Best
Agricultural Producer
Keith serves as a producer representative on the council. He had bilateral upper and lower extremity amputations due to injuries he sustained in a plane crash in 1971. Keith raised cattle maintained a cow/calf operation until 1998, when he and his wife began raising hay only.
Andrea Braeutigam, J.D., LL.M.
Program Manager, Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program
Andrea is an attorney specializing in family, civil and commercial mediation, and program design and evaluation. The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program provides mediation for USDA agencies and Oklahoma producers concerning rural living issues.
Andy Fosmire, M.S.
Executive Director, Rural Health Projects/NwAHEC
Andy directs the activities of Rural Health Projects and maintains a small cow/calf operation. Rural Health Projects/Northwest Area Health Education Center is a regional center of the Oklahoma AHEC, which strives to improve access to health care in rural communities.
Chuck Gressler, M.A., M.B.A.
Field Service Coordinator,
Department of Rehabilitation Services
Chuck was a vocational rehabilitation counselor responsible for rural counties and program manager before becoming field service coordinator. Vocational rehabilitation services helps Oklahomans with disabilities get jobs in careers of their choice.
Bill Inman
Agriculture Business Management Coordinator, Central Tech Technology Center
Bill is a lifetime farmer and rancher who coordinates and teaches agriculture business management for Oklahoma CareerTech. He also spent 31 years in the National Guard as a civil engineer.
James Kuhn
Member, Oklahoma Farmers Union
As a farmer and member of Oklahoma Farmers Union, James represents OFU on the council. He has farmed for 35 years and is an active member of other farm organizations and his community. James also served as an officer in the Naval Reserve.
William J. Pettit, D.O.
Assistant Dean for Rural Health and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, OSU Center for Health Sciences
Bill came to the OSU Center for Health Sciences in 2002, after working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corp and working in an acute care clinic. He was raised on a farm in Iowa.
Val Schott, M.P.H.
Director, Center for Rural Health/OSU Center for Health Sciences
Val has worked in rural health for the last 14 years of his 30-year health services career. The Center for Rural Health helps prepare OSU Center for Health Sciences medical students for careers in family practice and primary care in rural Oklahoma.