U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has appointed Katy Mastman as the agency's acting assistant for labor. She previously worked in the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor and most recently was the deputy director of the Office of Trade and Labor Affairs in the International Labor Affairs Bureau.
Katy Mastman, USTRThad Bettner is the new executive director of the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors. He brings over 33 years of experience with irrigation and water agencies on the local, state, and federal levels. He most recently was the general manager of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District.
The North American Renderers Association has selected Jennifer Wilson to be the association’s new EU-UK representative. She succeeds Bruce Ross, who retired at the end of 2023. Wilson previously had a 27-year career with the Department of Agriculture at the U.S. Embassy in London. She left USDA to become a freelance policy and trade marketing adviser and is the principal in the consulting firm, Trade Roots Consulting.
Zurich North America has made several leadership changes. Following the retirement of Vince Santivasi, Jason Meador has been appointed to lead the direct markets business that serves auto dealers and rental operations. Meador previously was the head of Zurich’s crop insurance business, Rural Community Insurance Services. Dalynn Hoch, currently head of mergers and acquisitions at Zurich Insurance Group, will succeed Meador as the head of RCIS.
Stanford Blade is the new deputy director general-research at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Before joining ICRISAT, Blade was the dean of the faculty of agricultural, life and environmental sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has also served as the deputy director general-research for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and was the vice chair on the board of trustees of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation.
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Rachel Pick is now the senior manager of advocacy and government affairs at AmericanHort. She previously worked for U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action as the director of programs and operations.
Rachel Pick, AmericanHortMartina Graf has joined the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists as the new global manager. She will replace Hugh Maynard, who is retiring. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland and certificates from institutions in Germany, Spain and Canada. Earlier in her career, she ran the European branch of a global youth organization affiliated with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. She also worked with farmers in Switzerland, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Serbia and Slovakia, and she cofounded a Swiss-based agricultural communications firm. She also operates a small farm and agritourism business in rural Canada.
Brad McCollum is the new senior vice president for North America at Ceva Animal Health, leading business development activities in the U.S. and Canada. McCollum previously worked for Zoetis and Pfizer. Before joining Ceva, he served as the senior vice president for pet care at Zoetis.
The U.S. Wheat Associates have elected Clark Hamilton of Idaho as chairman of the board of directors and Jim Pellman of North Dakota as vice chairman. Hamilton succeeds Michael Peters, who will not serve as past chairman. Gary Millershaski of Kansas has been selected as the new secretary-treasurer.
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