Eric Girdler is AEA’s Chief Operations Officer and leads the manufacturing development of the company. After 20 years of operations management and experience in supply chain management, problem solving and budgetary controls, he wanted new challenges, so he joined AEA. He is motivated by growing the regional and plant teams, particularly contributing to their development and watching them all come together. The individual time with employees helping them grow is extremely satisfying for Eric. He has a passion for empowering individuals and teams to develop transformational, sustainable change. In his personal time, Eric loves to spend time with his wife and daughter, exercise, and participate in outdoor activities.

Richard P. Bedell is a CPA/MBA who, after nine years with Hausser + Taylor, a regional accounting firm, has spent his career managing the finances of small to mid-size companies ranging from $10 million to $1.1 billion in a variety of industries including international sports management (IMG), manufacturing, not-for-profit, human resource management and the Cleveland Browns.

Richard has an undergraduate degree from John Carroll University and an MBA from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He is a member of the Ohio Society of CPA’s and The Northeast Ohio Chapter of Financial Executives International, serving as President in 1999. He currently serves on the board at Walsh Jesuit High School, acting as Chairman in 2015 and 2016, as well as the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. He and his wife Kathy reside in Stow, Ohio and have four grown children.

Aaron Jimenez is the support staff for the AEA team. He is also a tech whiz and serves as the IT support for the entire company. He holds a BS in Business Management, and served 13 years in the Marine Corps prior to working for AEA.

Aaron lives in Stow, Ohio. His hobbies include playing volleyball and basketball, reading romance novels, and refinishing furniture.

Tom Fuhrman handles all things regulatory, from the ingredient sourcing and product development stage to market entry and organic input material registrations. His background is in the environmental regulatory arena with emphasis on policy and analytical confirmation. Tom was drawn to AEA by his passion for growing hops. Researching how to prevent spider mites led Tom to discussions on targeted nutritional integrity and how best to analyze for it. He now uses his ability to dissect and interpret complex regulations and language to help bring vital crop nutrition products to market.

Prior to working for AEA, Tom worked for nearly 8 years with the state and federal EPA, industry groups, and federal motor carrier regulations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy from Oregon State University (2014). His greatest motivation at work is when a certified organic grower thanks him for helping with their farm certification, because he knows he has helped the grower and the people consuming the food grown on that farm. He enjoys working with others to accomplish their goals.

A lifelong resident of northeast Ohio, Tom spends his free time working on his hobby hop farm and enjoying all things baseball. He was a former licensed pesticide applicator and became interested in regenerative agriculture the first time he tried to cook a grass-fed steak. Naturally, the steak was ruined and Tom had to re-learn how to cook real, healthy and sustainable food.

David comes from a teaching background and found profound correlations of how a student's diet affected their mental clarity in the classroom. From there he began an independent consulting business driven by a desire to put nutrition back into food.

David joined AEA in 2011 and has a passion to teach farmers how to regenerate their farms by capitalizing on how plants and soils interact. His specialties include orchards and small fruits, especially blueberries. As the leader of the education effort, he directs ongoing education for new and existing consultants.

To learn more about David Miller, visit his LinkedIn profile.