Tyler Strom
Executive-in-Residence, Open Prairie Ventures
TEACHES :
ISEN 471 Sustainable Food (0.5 credit)
Tyler Strom is an adjunct faculty for Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program. He is an Executive-in-Residence at Open Prairie Ventures, an investment firm focused on supporting innovative companies across agriculture, food, energy, and related industries. In this role, Strom brings his experience in agri-food systems, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and cross-sector collaboration to help evaluate and support emerging companies and technologies.
Prior to joining Open Prairie, Strom served as Managing Director of the Illinois Agri-Food Alliance (ILAFA), where he led the organization as a neutral platform for cross-sector collaboration addressing economic, environmental, and societal challenges across Illinois' diverse agri-food ecosystem. He was involved in ILAFA's development from its origins with the FARM Illinois RoadMap in 2014 through 2025.
Prior to ILAFA, Tyler was a Fellow of Global Agriculture and Food at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. With expertise in agri-food systems, sustainability, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and systems thinking, he has advised and consulted with initiatives at local, state, regional, and national levels. He serves on the board of the Delta Institute and the Kane County Extension Council for the University of Illinois Extension unit serving DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties. He has also participated on numerous advisory and steering committees, including the Midwest Climate Collaborative, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor's Equity and Food Insecurity Initiative, the Chicago Wilderness Agriculture Committee, the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education (ILCAE), and the NASA-funded Climate-event Framework for Analysis of Macro-Environmental Systems (C-FrAMES) project.
Tyler is a former McCloy Fellow to Germany and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Sweden. His connection to agriculture and environmental stewardship is rooted in his heritage as a fourth-generation farmer in Kane County, Illinois, where he owns and operates a diversified direct-to-market specialty crop farm and apiary. Tyler holds a BSc in agricultural business and economics from Iowa State University and an MSc in environmental studies and sustainability science from Lund University, Sweden.