Staff Directory

Ed Luttrell, a native of Sandy, Oregon, was elected the 22nd President of the National Grange in November 2007. A second generation Granger, he is the immediate past Leadership/Membership Development Director for the National Grange. He is also an immediate-past Trustee on the Oregon State Grange Foundation having been the President of the board for six years.  Read more biography

Go to The President’s Page.

Jessie Cope is the Executive Assistant and Meeting Planner for the National Grange. She joined the Grange in 2009 after 15 years of event planning in higher education. Cope earned a B.A. in Communications and a Master’s degree in Counseling and Personnel Services from The College of New Jersey. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Cope lived in Trenton, N.J., and Farmville, Va before setting into her current home in Rockville, Md.

Amber Bell is the Comptroller for the National Grange. Bell was born and raised in Roanoke, Va.  After graduating from high school, Bell attended a couple of colleges before ending at Greensboro College in Greensboro, N.C. After her college graduation, Bell continued to reside and work in Greensboro for another seven years. In 2003, Bell decided she needed a change of scenery, so she moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Here is where she married and had one child.  Next to her family, Bell’s greatest passion is bowling. Amber is the Treasurer for Potomac Grange No. 1. 

Amanda Leigh Brozana is the Director of Communications for the National Grange. Brozana holds degrees from Wilkes University and the University of Mississippi and has completed doctoral coursework at the University of Alabama. She has previously taught journalism, public relations and speech communications at several universities. Most recently, Brozana was a staff reporter for the Pottsville Republican-Herald in Pennsylvania. Brozana, of Orwigsburg, Pa., is a resident of Southeast D.C. Brozana is a member of Jefferson Grange No. 1384 in Pa., and serves as Steward for Potomac Grange No. 1 in Washington, D.C.

Stephanie Wilkins is the IT Manager for the National Grange. Her responsibilities include website management, phone and network services, and membership/officer database management. A native of Washington, D.C, Wilkins received her certification in website management from EEI Communications in 2002. In her spare time, Wilkins enjoys spending quality time with her husband, family, and friends. Wilkins is a member of Potomac Grange No. 1.

I was raised on a cattle ranch in a very small town. I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as an Ag Business Management student. I got my MRS. Degree when I married Bill Booth. We have been married 34 years and this was a Grange marriage. That story is for another day. We have three daughters – Amanda, age 31; LoRee, age 29, and KayLynn, age 26. All of us love music, reading, Broadway shows (not Bill so much), anything Disney, and anything computer/technical (especially Bill).
I joined as a Junior Granger at age 7. Bill was State Grange Master from 1989 to 1993. We have both served in numerous positions in the Grange in local, county and State levels. This break has actually given us a different perspective on things we would like to bring to the Grange. Sometimes we can be too close to something that we can’t see it clearly enough. When it comes to Grange — the statement “been there/done that”…. In our house it is “Been there. Done that. Bought the t-shirt, hat, plate, belt buckle, bolo tie, scarf, pin, necklace, earrings and jacket”. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t something new around the corner and we keep looking forward to what’s next.

Michael J. Martin, Ph.D., is the Membership/Leadership Development Director for the National Grange. Martin, a native of Cummington, Mass., has been an active Grange member for over three decades. Martin said he is looking forward to giving back to the organization that provided leadership experiences for him as the Master of local subordinate and Pomona Granges in Massachusetts. He also served as Membership Director and state officer of the Massachusetts State Grange. As a young adult, Martin served on the National Grange Youth Team as National Grange Youth Ambassador. ”The leadership skills learned in the Grange are exemplified in community leaders across rural America,” Martin said. He is looking forward to working with Grange leaders across the nation. ”The future of our country rests on the strength of our agricultural and rural communities,” Martin said. Prior to joining the National Grange staff, Martin was a Cooperative Extension professional for 25 years and most recently served as executive director of the North Carolina 4-H Development Fund where he spearheaded the initiative to raise funds to support the 4-H youth development program in North Carolina. Martin has experience as a 4-H youth development agent in Massachusetts, Vermont and Pennsylvania. He was an International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) Representative to Costa Rica, and also worked to establish and strengthen the 4-H youth development programs in the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Armenia. Martin holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, and M.Ed. from Cambridge College. He earned a Ph.D. in Workforce Education and Development from the College of Education at Penn State University. Martin and his wife Wendy reside in south central Pennsylvania. Mark is a member of Valley Grange in Pa. 

Beverly Mitchell is the Marketing Coordinator for the National Grange. She joined the Grange in 1998 as an assistant to the Communication and Sales Department. Mitchell was trained and received certification from Pitney Bowes UPS Mailing System Technician to accommodate the Communication and Sales Department mailings, then was quickly promoted to handle Membership/Recognition Sales. Prior to working for the National Grange, Mitchell spent 16 years at Sutton Place Gourmet as a gift basket designer, which is her real passion, She is a native of North Carolina. She has many hobbies, but her favorite past times are spending time with her family, designing gift baskets, traveling, cooking and gardening. Mitchell is a member of Potomac Grange No. 1.

Leon Wilkins works at the National Grange Printing Department part-time, and he is responsible for producing various Grange literature, newsletters, brochures, and other material from the National Grange Headquarters. Wilkins attended school at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C. He first gained experience printing while attending T.C. Williams High School then later, Wilkins was hired for Defense Printing at the Pentagon. He is currently working for the Government Printing office in Washington, D.C. In his spare time, Wilkins enjoys exercising and spending quality time with his family and friends.

Austin Miller is the Program Assistant for the National Grange. Miller has moved all over the country and is most recently from Memphis, Tenn. Miller moved to Washington, D.C. at the end of 2011 and, although he loves the city, he says there is something great about small town life.  He has a B.A. in English from the University of Memphis. He has worked at the Voice of America and has a strong background in media/video editing and communications. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Miller is a member of Potomac Grange No. 1 in Washington, D.C.

Grace Boatright is the Legislative Director for the National Grange. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and moved to Washington, D.C. in 2010. “My family lived in a rural area my whole life and although I love Washington, D.C., I love the peace of a small town,” said Boatright. She graduated from Concordia Lutheran University with a BBA concentrated in finance and marketing. Boatright says she is “excited to advocate on behalf of rural Americans and agriculture here in the nation’s capital.” Boatright is a member of Potomac Grange No. 1. 

Samantha Johnson is currently the Sales, Benefits, and Programs Director at the National Grange.  She has been with the National Grange for the past seven years. Johnson is originally from Mobile, Ala., but she moved to Washington, D.C. in 2004 for graduate school. Johnson received her B.A. in History from the University of Alabama in 2002 and her Masters in Political Science from American University in 2006. After graduating from American, Johnson began working at the National Grange as the Program Assistant. Her favorite thing to do is spend time with her Goddaughter, Sophie Mae. Johnson is Lecturer for Potomac Grange No. 1.

Elijah Hunter works for the National Grange Shipping Department part-time. Hunter is a native of the Washington, D.C. area. His primary duties include preparing and then shipping products and material to various Granges and members around the country. Hunter has received hands on experience and training from Pitney Bowes, Inc. In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends.

Leroy A. Watson is the Special Director for Trademark Protection and Brand Management for the National Grange, a responsibility he has held since August 2007. As director for trademark protection for the nation’s oldest general farm and rural public interest organization, Watson’s duties includes addressing both incidental and deliberate attempts by corporations and businesses to infringe on the National Grange’s famous 135 year old trademarks for the word GRANGE, the famous GRANGE LOGO and other valuable trademarks owned and operated by the National Grange for its benefit of the historic organization’s nearly 2600 local county and state Grange chapters across the nation. Under Watson’s leadership the National Grange has successfully deployed legal strategies to turn back attempts by major corporations to dilute and eventually seize control of the registration of the name GRANGE as a commercial intellectual property asset.  Major corporations such as Tyson Foods (the largest food processing company in the world) Aldi Corp. (the largest food retailer in Europe) Lidl Corp. (the second largest food retailer in Europe) and Zynga, Inc, (the largest provider of various web based computer games for the FACEBOOK website) have all been thwarted in recent years in their attempts to gain control of one or more of the of National Grange’s valuable trademarks.  In addition Watson has worked with more than 40 entrepreneurs around the nation to provide licenses for these start up companies to use the GRANGE trademark in their businesses to help generate local economic activity and local jobs in rural communities across the nation. Watson also works with many of the local, county and state chapters of the National Grange located in in rural communities across the United States to advise them on strategies for better using GRANGE trademarks to enhance their fundraising and community service programs. Watson is a native of Vermont, where he still owns and operates his family’s farm.   He has a degree in political science from the University of Vermont, and a law degree from George Mason University in Arlington, VA. He also studied administrative law at the University of Exeter in Exeter, England, and is admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Watson served as the National Grange’s Legislative Director in Washington, DC from 1999 until 2010. Watson also served as the National Grange’s Assistant Legislative director from 1985 until 1995. He subsequently was Director of Regulatory Management for the National Biodiesel Board, a non-profit trade association dedicated to the commercial promotion of biodiesel fuel in the U.S. Prior to that, he was a Regulatory Analyst for Gordley Associates, a government relations consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He has also served as Legislative Director of the Vermont State Grange, and as legislative assistant for both the Vermont Farm Bureau and Vermont State Employees Association. Watson and his family reside in Appleton, Wisconsin. Watson also volunteers as a member of the National Grange Historical Committee and as a director for the O.M. Kile Rural Leadership Fund, a small grant making foundation working to fund projects that enhance leadership skills among rural young adults.  Watson also previously served as chairman of the board for the Vermont State Grange Educational Aid Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of the Vermont State Grange that provides loans and scholarships to rural students from Vermont to continue their education beyond high school. Leroy is a Services Overseer for Potomac Grange No. 1. He is also a member of Wisconsin State Grange. He also serves on the National Grange Historic Committee. 

Charlene Shupp Espenshade is the Youth and Young Adult Director at the National Grange. She is a member of the Elizabethtown Area Grange and Oriental Grange in Pennsylvania. A fourth generation dairy farmer, Charlene and her husband Matthew reside on a dairy farm in Elizabethtown, Pa. They raise registered Guernseys and Holsteins. They have two children, Evan and Alan. Espenshade is employed at Lancaster Farming, an agricultural newspaper, as the special sections editor. She joined Grange in 1994 at the encouragement of a cousin, taking the degrees with her parents and brother. She is a fourth generation Grange member.  In Grange, she is a past member of the Pennsylvania State Grange Youth Committee, past Pennsylvania Grange Young Couple, and holds office in her local Grange. What Espenshade believes is the benefit of a Grange membership is the organization offers a wide variety of programs allowing youth to pursue their interests and it is an organization that grows with a Granger and they grow in the organization. Other agricultural awards and activities include, final four winner of the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Excellence of Agriculture Award winner; and active with the Wyoming-Lackawanna Counties Dairy Princess Program, Wyoming-Lackawanna County Farm Bureau and chairs the Elizabethtown Fair Dairy Show. She has a bachelor of science in dairy science and minor in communications from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech.)