Millennium Magazine_7th Ed

162 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY N athaniel Blum began his career in health care. While working overnight shifts in an emergency room as a technician, he pursued an Associate of Arts at Southeast Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Following graduation in 2009, Mr. Blum accepted a position as a financial advisor at Thrivent Financial. Mr. Blum volunteered with the Alzheimer’s Association as an advocate to Nebraska’s federal delegation. This experience took him to Washington, D.C., where he built a professional relationship with the member representing Nebraska’s First Congressional District. This relationship resulted in a position on the congressman’s staff in Lincoln, ultimately leading to his role as the director of agriculture policy and outreach. Following his father’s unexpected death in 2015, Mr. Blum assumed responsibility for the family’s fourth generation family farm. He became a member of the Nebraska LEAD Program. He completed the program in 2018, and now serves as the vice president of the Nebraska LEAD Alumni Association. In 2019, Mr. Blum accepted the role of executive director of the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board. His work focuses on economic and ecological sustainability in agriculture, and the revitalization of the sorghum industry domestically. Most notably, in his first year with the organization, Mr. Blum participated in trade discussions in Hanoi, Vietnam. Alongside partners at the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Grains Council, and the Foreign Ag Service, the delegation was successful in reaching an agreement on a revised phytosanitary standard for sorghum, resulting in the reopening of the Vietnamese market to U.S. Sorghum exports. Mr. Blum continues to seek opportunities for personal and professional growth. He began pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2017 and anticipates completing this degree in the near future. Mr. Blum is highly motivated by identifying and solving large-scale problems and institution-building. Mr. Blum hopes one day to serve his community and country in elected office. NATHANIEL BLUM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONSULTANT The Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board Lincoln, NE