Meet The Staff

Jesse Darlington

Jesse Darlington is the show manager for the Penn State's Ag Progress Days. He has been a vital part of Ag Progress Days for 30 years and took over the show manager position in 2017. Jesse tends to all of the maintenance of the show grounds as well as managerial duties in the office.

Debra Ellis

Debra Ellis is the program manager for the Penn State Ag Progress Days. She has been a vital part of the show for 18 years. She tends to the responsibilities in the office located on the Pennsylvania State University Campus including office policies, exhibitor registrations, financials, event coordination, programming, and marketing.

Ryan Boonie

Ryan Boonie is a graduate of Penn State University and has been a part of the team at Ag Progress Days for 6 years. He resides in Tyrone with his wife and two boys.

John Lake 

John Lake is a part-time facility assistant. He comes from a farming family and has farmed all his life. He has been working for Ag Progress Days since 2019 alongside Jesse, Ryan & Nick.