The National Pork Producers Council has hired Kelcy Schaunaman as manager of competition, labor and tax in the Washington office. She was a senior policy adviser for USDA’s Farm Service Agency and associate counsel and legislative assistant for the House Agriculture Committee.
The Meat Institute added two staff members. Chris Chaffee is the new director of legislative affairs. Chaffee was director of industry relations at the U.S. Farming and Ranching Foundation and during the first Trump administration was associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison for outreach to food and agriculture. Brian Peteritas was hired as marketing manager to oversee email marketing and social media. Peteritas has worked at the American Frozen Food Institute and the National Apartment Association.
Brooke AppletonBrooke Appleton, an alumna of the first Trump administration who has been vice president of public policy for the National Corn Growers Association for the past six years, has been appointed USDA's deputy undersecretary for farm production and conservation, according to a USDA source. She will support Richard Fordyce, who has been nominated to be undersecretary for farm production and conservation.
DTB AgriTrade added Gina Tumbarello as a partner effective Feb. 1. She was senior director of global strategies, policy and trade at the American Feed Industry Association, working to remove trade barriers and enhance market access for animal feed exporters. She managed international market development programs at the U.S. Grains Council. She was a private sector member of the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Grains, Feed, Oilseeds and Planting Seeds and the Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness.
Jillien Streit was appointed director of the Montana Department of Agriculture by Gov. Greg Gianforte. She currently serves as financial controller at Flat Acre Farms in Chester, the town where she and her husband run a fifth-generation family farm with their three children.
Phil Radford, former Sierra Club chief strategy officer, has been named president and CEO of Consumer Reports. Radford started his career working on environmental issues at the Public Interest Research Group and global trade issues with Public Citizen.
The Nebraska Corn Growers Association hired Kaitlin Taylor as director of public policy. She was a legislative assistant and director of operations in the office of House Agriculture Committee member and Tennessee Republican Rep. John Rose.
The American Coalition for Ethanol elected new 2025 officers. Dave Sovereign of Iowa, chairman of Golden Grain Energy’s Board, is president. South Dakota farmer Troy Knecht will be vice president representing Redfield Energy. Additional officers include part-time farmer and greenhouse gas emissions expert Ron Alverson of South Dakota as secretary, and John Christianson, founding partner and retired director of Christianson PLLP, as treasurer. Chris Studer, chief member and public relations officer for East River Electric Power Cooperative, and Bill Dartt, chief financial officer for Cardinal Ethanol, joined ACE’s board of directors.
Stop Foodborne Illness hired Sandra Eskin as CEO. She was deputy undersecretary of agriculture for food safety during the Biden administration and earlier was project director for food safety at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington.
Casey Wasser, Missouri SoybeansThe Missouri Soybean Association promoted Casey Wasser to deputy executive director. He will retain his position as chief operating officer of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council. He will work closely with Ben Travlos, Missouri Soybeans director of policy in Washington and Jefferson City, Missouri.
Brian Johnson, vice president and corporate secretary at Hormel Foods, announced his retirement. He started with the company in 1995. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel and the Society for Corporate Governance.
Conner Kaeb was promoted to associate manager of government relations at GROWMARK. The graduate of Hillsdale College previously worked for COUNTRY Financial.
David White was named dean of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Herbert College of Agriculture. He has been interim dean since the retirement of Caula Beyl in December 2022.
Heath Brandt joined the office of House Ag Committee member Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, covering agriculture, natural resources, energy and environment issue areas. Brandt was previously a policy coordinator at Torrey Advisory Group.
Johanna Herrmann was promoted to senior vice president of global communications at Merck. Herrmann was previously vice president of global communications.
Samantha Edwards has joined ClearPath as a policy adviser. She was a legislative aide for former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., focused on energy, environment and natural resources.
The National Association of Water Companies hired Ted Stiger as senior director of public affairs. He was chief external affairs and policy officer for the Rural Community Assistance Partnership and previously worked at the National Association of Development Organizations.
Environmental Science Associates hired Eric Beightel as federal strategy director. He was executive director of the Biden administration’s Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
Grocery Outlet hired Jason Potter as the company’s president and CEO, effective Feb. 3. He was previously CEO at The Fresh Market and a Canadian national grocery retailer, Sobeys. Potter will also join Grocery Outlet’s board of directors.
Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel is adding a new responsibility: leading Amazon's Worldwide Grocery Stores. He will report to Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO Doug Herrington.
The American Royal Association added Pat Macy as managing director. Macy was director of population health consulting at Oracle and worked at Cerner Corp. more than 10 years.
The U.S. Wheat As
Mike Carstensen, U.S. Wheat Associatessociates board of directors elected new officers for 2025-26. Mike Carstensen Almira, Washington, was named secretary-treasurer. His family raises soft white wheat, club wheat and feed grains. Carstensen is a member of the Washington Grain Commission. Current secretary-treasurer Gary Millershaski, Lakin, Kansas, becomes vice chairman and current vice chairman Jim Pellman, McClusky, North Dakota, will take office as chairman. Current chairman Clark Hamilton of Ririe, Idaho, will be past chair.
Josh Mueller or Halstead, Kansas, was appointed vice chair of the Kansas Beef Council. A fourth-generation farmer and rancher, he and his wife purchased El Dorado Livestock Auction in 2019 where they market nearly 70,000 head of cattle each year. He has been a representative for Superior Livestock Auction for 20 years and serves on the Federation of State Beef Councils.
Diane Wray-Cahen was named deputy director of the trade support team at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She has been with the Foreign Agricultural Service for nearly 15 years, lately as senior trade adviser for the animal division.
FGS Global hired Rachel Alexander as a managing director of the Washington office. She was previously director of public policy and government affairs at Smith & Nephew.
Tom Snipes has been appointed CEO of Ostara, a crop nutrition and wastewater treatment solutions company. He was CEO of Custom Agronomics and CEO of Plant Response Inc.
Climate First Bank hired Chris Castro as executive vice president and chief sustainability officer. Castro served as a senior adviser for the Department of Energy’s office of energy efficiency and renewable energy and was chief of staff for the office of state and community energy programs.
Trinity Fruit Co. hired Anna O’Brien as a social media and public relations specialist. With nearly five years in social media marketing, she will lead social media and public relations. O’Brien specialized in influencer marketing with Walmart, Target, Nordstrom and others.
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