By: Ben Rhodes, Executive Director, Nebraska Ethanol Board
It’s amazing what four years can do.
In the summer of 2022, I was working in the pharmaceutical industry, feeling uninspired and wondering with increasing urgency what my career would look like. Whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t what I was doing, but Indeed and LinkedIn were cesspools of fake jobs and buzzwords. I wanted something real, something meaningful—and to my endless gratitude, it fell to me in a completely unexpected way. An old friend texted me, saying that he was running a state government agency dedicated to promoting ethanol. Ethanol? I thought. What’s that?
These were pre-AI days, when Google still worked. I thus soon learned that ethanol is a homegrown biofuel made from corn, and my beloved home state of Nebraska was a major producer. Huh—having grown up in an Omaha suburb, with no background in agriculture, this was all news to me. But my sixth sense was tingling, and something about the opportunity told me it was one to accept. I said goodbye to my tech writing gig and entered what I quickly discovered was a fascinating, critically important industry filled with smart, passionate, and highly welcoming people.
Today, after four years in renewable fuels, this industry feels like home. Like many others, I didn’t find ethanol—ethanol found me. I find great fulfillment in promoting and developing this industry that so benefits my state, my region, my country, and the world. It’s simple: ethanol solves problems. It sits at the center of so many critical issues we face today—energy security, transportation, the ag economy, etc.—and as a lifelong problem-solver, ethanol speaks my language. I also can’t say enough how wonderful the people in the biofuels industry are; I’ve made terrific connections from all over, and everyone I’ve met has always taken the time to answer the million questions I have. One of the many great things about ethanol is that you never stop learning.
My ethanol story is still being written, but the first chapter is closing as I transition from the Nebraska Ethanol Board to the American Coalition for Ethanol. I can’t wait to see what’s next.