Officers
Chairwoman
Kathy Altman is principal of Kathy Altman, Consulting which does agri-business, agri-tourism, and other consulting. The business assists agri-business start-ups; companies interested in expansion and entrepreneurs locate funding resources to achieve their goals.
Mrs. Altman also works part-time as a research and grant specialist for The MEK Group, based in Carmel Indiana. www.themekgroup.com
Kathy served in policy positions in state government for 11 years under Governors Bayh, O’Bannon, and Kernan. For four years she was director of value added business development and marketing for the Indiana Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture. In addition to responsibility for oversight and administration of state grant programs during that time, Kathy also wrote and won numerous federal grants for the state of Indiana.
For the seven years prior to that, Mrs. Altman was executive director of the Indiana Commission for Agriculture and Rural Development where she helped formulate state agriculture policy, wrote the state strategic plan for Indiana agriculture, maintained liaison and communication with 86 commodity groups, and organized public forums on agricultural issues across the state.
She provided the leadership and initial staff work for the formation of Indiana’s Cooperative Development Center, which was created as a method to finance the many forms of technical assistance needed by agribusinesses. And she spearheaded Indiana’s Agri-tourism Initiative.
Kathy Altman worked with Congressman Jim Jontz for 6 years as the Indiana Director of what was then the 5th Congressional District. She managed district offices in Kokomo and Valparaiso, a large congressional staff, casework, policies, schedule and constituent services for the 20-county district. She volunteered in the Jontz campaign office in the evenings and on weekends.
Kathy’s first and favorite political experience was serving as the (volunteer) White County Coordinator for the 1972 (losing) and 1974 (winning) campaigns of Congressman Floyd Fithian. She strongly believes that volunteers are always better than staff, because they are working for altruistic reasons, and are passionate about their beliefs. Volunteers can make a huge difference for White County and for the world — would you like to join Kathy in volunteering for a role in the White County Democrat party?
Ms. Altman may be contacted at:
Kathy Altman, Consulting
211 S. Main Street Monticello, Indiana 47960
574-583-8050 Cell: 574-870-2194
kaltman@sugardog.com
Vice President – John Mitchell
Secretary – Kathy Cotner
Treasurer – Melba Fleck
