Get to know CANR Alumni Board president Brian Kernohan
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EmailDrawing on his experience as a global sustainability leader, Kernohan is excited to lead the CANR Alumni Board as they embark on a strategic planning effort.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Alumni Board plays a crucial role in strengthening connections and creating meaningful engagement opportunities for the nearly 60,000 CANR alumni worldwide.
Alumni Board members take on a range of responsibilities, including amplifying philanthropic opportunities, awarding scholarships and student club grants and elevating CANR alumni leaders through the ANR Awards event. The board also supports student recruitment and mentorship initiatives.
Brian Kernohan (’92, Fisheries and Wildlife) started his term as CANR Alumni Board president at the beginning of September 2025. Currently Chief Sustainability Officer for Manulife Investment Management, Kernohan has been an active leader in the CANR alumni community. He was recently part of the Alumni Board Scholarships committee and together with his wife Jessica, served as a lead donor for CANR’s 2024 Give Green Day campaign.
As he steps into this new leadership role, Kernohan is focusing on building a strategic plan that aligns Board priorities with student and alumni needs. He is excited to use his platform to advance the mission of the college and create new opportunities for students.
What motivated you to join the CANR Alumni Board and what most excites you about your new role as the board president?
My initial reason was that it was time to give back. However, the more I thought about it and in looking at what CANR was doing, the more excited I got about engaging because taken as a whole, CANR is about advancing global sustainability. As a chief sustainability officer for a global investment firm, I’m tackling sustainability challenges every day. Having the power of MSU and CANR in our corner is inspiring.
What are your top priorities as the new CANR Alumni Board President?
I believe the Alumni Board has more to offer CANR so my top priority is the development of a strategic plan for the Board so that we have purpose and accountability to our students and alumni.
Given that scale and size of the college, how does the CANR Alumni Board keep our alumni community united and feeling like everyone is part of the same team, regardless of what department they earned their degree from?
Events like our CANR Tailgate and scholarship programs are great examples of a ‘one CANR community’. Through our strategic planning effort, I hope we can create more ‘one CANR’ experiences for students, faculty and alumni while enabling individual departments to continue to connect with their alumni.
As a leader in the CANR alumni community, what do you think makes this college so unique?
CANR is set apart by its people, programming and pioneering mindset through its deep historical roots, global reach, and a strong emphasis on real-world, hands-on experience.
What is your favorite memory or moment from your time as a student at MSU?
I interned for Dr. Gary Roloff over the course of two years when he was a PhD student in Fisheries and Wildlife, long before he became a professor and chair of the department. The practical skills learned and friendship that developed kicked off a career that would have been very mediocre without his mentorship and the department we were part of.
The CANR Alumni Board consists of volunteer members representing each of the college departments, MSU Extension, young alumni and at-large members. Serving as liaisons between academic departments, industries and stakeholder groups, members meet four times a year: September, December, March and July in East Lansing.
To learn more about how you can get involved or serve on the CANR Alumni Board, please contact Aaron Wittbrodt.
