Curtis Gram

President

I am husband to Rachael Gram and a father to 9 kids. I was raised on an orchard/farm in Paris Ohio, just East of Canton. There is where I was instilled with the values of farming. In 1999 I attended Pittsburgh Technical Institute for Associates in Electronic Technologies. I spent about ten years in the telecommunications industry before being drawn back to the family orchard/farm part-time. I attended the OSU Bootcamp program in 2013 and started setting up pilot systems to see if this is something I can sustain a family on and enjoy the work. We started building our fish farm facility at our home in Hopewell, OH. In the Fall of 2018, I quit my corporate job and became a full time farmer.

I look forward to the future of aquaculture and the role it is playing in the industry. We might be a small piece of the overall agriculture industry in Ohio but I still see great potential in the future. We have a strong state association with a good group of members. I still have a lot to learn about the industry, but I look forward to being your president and helping to navigate and guide the association into the future.

Mike McGraw

Vice President

Michael McGraw studied music and performance art technologies at the University of Michigan before heading to Nashville to begin his career in Music and A/V production. After a number of years in the entertainment industry, Michael decided to move back home to Cincinnati, Ohio, to start Roothouse Aquaponics in 2018. Construction began in 2019 and business began in 2020. Roothouse Aquaponics raises 5 varieties of living head lettuce, kale, swiss chard, microgreens, edible flowers, select herbs, and Tilapia. They provide fresh, natural produce and fish to various restaurants, retailers and farmers markets throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Products are harvested to order and Roothouse offers direct delivery from the farm.

Alycia Brehm

Secretary

Alycia has been an OAA member for over 15 years. She was introduced to aquaculture through her husband Matt, and now helps run Brehm’s Perch Farm. She raises two boys on the farm, and also owns Hillside Greenhouse in West Liberty. Alycia has previously served as the OAA program coordinator, and looks forward to serving as secretary.

Matt Smith

Treasurer

Matt Smith has been an OAA member for over 8 years. He received his M.S. in fisheries and aquaculture from the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, and his B.S. in fisheries management from Auburn University. Matt worked in aquaculture Extension for about 8 years before moving over to the private industry. He currently works for YSI Inc., a Xylem brand as an aquaculture sales rep. He and his wife, Kailey, are also co-owners of Millcreek Perch Farm in Marysville, Ohio.

Matt is currently on the National Aquaculture Association Board of Directors, and he has previously been on the Board of Directors for the USDA NIFA's North Central Regional Aquaculture Center, United States Aquaculture Society, and the World Aquaculture Society. Matt received the USAS "Distinguished Early Career Award" in 2023.

Ashtyn Chen

Trustee

Shortly after graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Biochemical Engineering, Ashtyn started The Ocean’s Friend Aquaculture, LLC (TOFA for short) with his parents, all while working full-time as a Chemical Engineer in industry during the week. TOFA was the first commercial saltwater shrimp facility in Ohio, established in 2015 in Gratiot, Ohio.

Ashtyn knows it’s an honor to serve both on the OAA Board and on the Ohio Aquaculture Cooperative Committee. In addition to promoting the growth of his own personal work he knows it is a necessity to promote the growth of the Ohio Aquaculture Association, fellow aquaculture producers (and potential producers), and the entire aquaculture industry. In that light, please feel free to contact him.

Chris Kirk

Trustee
 

Chris Kirk graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. As fish production manager for Jones Lake Management, he oversees all fish-related activities, including fish inventory levels and daily delivery orders. Currently, Chris serves on the board of directors for the Ohio Aquaculture Association.

Herbert Quintero, Ph.D.

Ex-Officio Board member

Program Director for Aquaculture Extension College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University

quinterofonseca.1@osu.edu

Herbert Quintero has a doctorate degree in fisheries and aquaculture from Auburn University and is responsible for continue developing an extension and research program for the Ohio Aquaculture industry. In this capacity he will also provide support to research and extension faculty, staff, students, as well as local fish and shrimp farmers, and aquaponics producers.

Previously, he has held faculty and research positions at the University of the Virgin Islands, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of British Columbia and Auburn University. He has a master’s degree in biological oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico, and a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota (Colombia).

He has worked on fish and shrimp production, nutrition, water quality, and fish reproduction. His experience includes collaborating in technology transfer projects in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and assisting food fish, baitfish and sportfish aquaculture producers in Arkansas and Alabama.

Nicole Wright

Ex-Officio Board Member

Nicole Wright (wright.1128@osu.edu) is the Aquaculture Extension Educator and Coordinator for the Lake Erie and Aquatic Research Network (LEARN) with Ohio Sea Grant at The Ohio State University. As an extension educator, she connects research, agency, and industry professionals to identify research, education, and outreach needs and develop resources that support aquaculture producers and grow aquaculture literacy.

She leads Ohio Sea Grant’s efforts for the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC), a regional Sea Grant partnership to support an environmentally responsible, science-based, competitive, and sustainable aquaculture industry in the Great Lakes region, and is the state contact for the Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder, a website that connects consumers with aquaculture and commercial fishing businesses in the region.

Nicole has a research and extension background in agricultural production and food systems where she has worked towards community-informed, science-based solutions that build sustainability and resilience in food, agricultural, and environmental systems for more than a dozen years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in agricultural science from The Ohio State University.