President/CEO

Dr. Abram Bicksler, the President and CEO, leads ECHO as a global partner in agroecology to strengthen our diverse network of over 19,000 organizations and individuals. By implementing localized sustainable farming practices, he works to create a transformed world that honors God through dignified farming and stewardship of creation.

While receiving his BS in Environmental Biology from Taylor University, Bicksler studied abroad at Jerusalem University College for a semester. While taking a lighthouse trip to South Africa he saw how he could use his expertise in agriculture and environmental science to help build God’s Kingdom, regaining the dignity in farming as a steward of creation.

Bicksler continued his education receiving an MS and PhD from the University of Illinois in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, focusing on sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Beginning at ECHO in 2013, Bicksler led as director of the Asia Impact Center located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The center provides localized solutions for farming and sustainability issues in Asia. Bicksler grew the Asia team and started developing the Small Farm Resource Center and the Asia seed bank to support seed sovereignty and help preserve farmers’ biodiversity.

From 2018-2022, Bicksler served as Agricultural Officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy. He worked to strengthen Agroecology, creating sustainable food and agriculture systems and protecting pollinators, a necessity to agriculture and healthy biodiverse ecosystems.

“Abram’s passion and strong leadership capacity are just what we need to lead ECHO into the future,” said Mark Carlson, ECHO’s Board Chairman. “Abram has shown incredible leadership to improve the livelihoods of the small-scale farmers that ECHO serves.

“I am very excited to be leading the ECHO team,” said Dr. Bicksler. “I look forward each day to helping ECHO accomplish its vision of honoring God by empowering the undernourished with sustainable hunger solutions and propel its 40-year focus on identifying, verifying, disseminating, and monitoring innovative ideas and hunger solutions to its diverse network around the globe.”