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 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, while taking a lighthouse trip to South Africa for the first time he saw how he could use his expertise in agriculture and environmental science to help build a global kingdom regaining the dignity in farming as a steward of creation.
Bicksler continued his education receiving an MA and PhD from the University of Illinois in Natural Resources and Environmental Science.
Beginning at ECHO in 2013 Bicksler led as director of the Asia Impact Center located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to give localized solutions for farming and sustainability issues that the heart of Southeast Asia faces. Bicksler grew the ECHO seed bank to support seed sovereignty in the area while preserving biodiversity with farmers.
From 2018-2022, Bicksler served as Agricultural Officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. He worked to strengthen Agroecology, creating sustainable food 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.
Working as a global network to partner and strengthen members, to implement localized sustainable farming practices and create a transformed world to honor God through dignified faring and stewardship of creation.
“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.”