Patrick Penn was appointed as deputy under secretary for the Food and Nutrition Service. He served as a state representative in the Kansas legislature for the past four years, where he championed reform to the social welfare system and regulatory landscape in the state. He is also a U.S. Army veteran.
Duane Simpson, vice president and head of North America public affairs, science and sustainability in Bayer's Crop Science Division, is succeeding Chuck Conner as president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. Simpson has worked for Bayer and Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018, for 17 years. He earlier was chief operating officer of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association. Conner will retire after overseeing NCFC since 2009.
Jennifer Clever is now senior director of the Asia and Pacific Division in the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Office of Trade Policy and Geographical Affairs. She was recently senior adviser for agricultural affairs and USDA liaison at the Department of State and earlier in her career worked at USDA in attache roles for more than a decade, including as director of the USDA FAS Agricultural Trade Office in Hong Kong and Macau.
The National Pork Producers Council hired Wendy Brannen as vice president of communications and marketing. Brannen led media relations and communications for the American Soybean Association during two trade wars, a pandemic and biotechnology, farm bill, infrastructure, pesticides, conservation, biofuels and trade issues. A native to her family’s row crop farm in Georgia, Brannen has been executive director of the Vidalia Onion Committee, handled communications for the U.S. Apple Association and was executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission in California. She will join NPPC’s Washington office June 16.
Wendy Brannen (NPPC photo)
Jimmy Peacock left Capitol Hill to join Cornerstone Government Affairs as a principal, effective June 2. He has been chief of staff for Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and managed GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson’s campaign for Congress in Iowa and was her chief of staff.
Will Sitton joined Invariant’s food and agriculture practice as senior manager of government affairs. He has worked on Capitol Hill for five years, recently in the office of Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., covering agriculture, trade, transportation and energy. He was recently legislative director.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rejoined WilmerHale as senior counsel. He will be based in the firm’s Denver office. Salazar also has been Colorado attorney general and a U.S. senator.
Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen will retire in January 2026. She is the first woman and second ISU graduate to hold the university’s highest office. Wintersteen also has been dean of ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, during 46 years with the university. She has been the 16th president of Iowa State since 2017.
The National Sorghum Producers hired Eric Washington as communications director. Prior to joining NSP, Washington co-founded and served as CEO at Two Docs Brewing Co. He has also worked in various positions at Texas Tech University and in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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The Food Research and Action Center appointed Crystal FitzSimons president. She has been with FRAC for 26 years, most recently as interim president since July. She has worked on the creation and implementation of the Pandemic and Summer EBT Programs, the push for child nutrition waivers during the pandemic that allowed schools to offer school meals to all students at no charge, and the nationwide expansion of the Afterschool Meal Program and the Community Eligibility Provision. FitzSimons also worked at Stand for Children, the Center for Community Change and Housing Comes First.
Crystal FitzSimons (FRAC photo)Rod Snyder, former director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, joined the board of directors of the Sand County Foundation, a national nonprofit working at the intersection of agriculture and environmental improvement. He is a principal and founder of Junction Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in agriculture, climate and environmental policy as well as supply chain sustainability.
The World Food Prize Foundation added Kay Kuenker as a member of the Council of Advisors. She has extensive experience working for agricultural research and development companies, including as chief executive officer at Advanced Agrilytics, executive vice president of strategy and business development at biotechnology company Cibus, and several years at Dow Agriscience, now Corteva.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America hired Ashlin Bollacker as director of pipeline safety. She worked for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for seven years.
Former U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power returns to Harvard with a joint faculty appointment. In the Kennedy School, she will serve as Anna Lindh professor of the practice of global leadership and public policy. In the Law School, she was appointed the William D. Zabel ’61 professor of practice in human rights. Before leading USAID during the Biden administration, Power was a professor of practice at Harvard from 2017 to 2021.
Raegan Kime joined the Wisconsin Agribusiness Association as director of communications. A recent Iowa State graduate, Kime completed internships with the World Food Prize Foundation, USDA Rural Development and the Iowa State Fair. She also was Iowa Dairy Princess.
Custom Ag named Scott Addy chief executive officer. He has more than 30 years in agriculture, including as vice president of brand technology at Wilbur-Ellis.
The Wisconsin Farmers Union named Danielle Endvick executive director. She joined the organization in 2014 and has been communications director and recently director of development. She succeeds Julie Keown-Bomar, who is retiring after eight years.
UNICEF USA named Patrick Quirk vice president for global policy and public affairs. He was vice president for strategy at the International Republican Institute, where he will become a senior external adviser.
The Minnesota Pork Producers Association and the Minnesota Pork Board promoted Kate Maddock to director of farmer outreach. She has been working as a sustainability outreach coordinator for the past year.
- Alabama: Twinkle Cavanaugh, Rural Development
- Alaska: Arthur Keyes, Farm Service Agency
- Idaho: Kevin Andrus, Farm Service Agency; Rick Youngblood, Rural Development
- Indiana: Steve Howell, Rural Development; Steve Brown, Farm Service Agency
- Maine: John Butera, Rural Development; Tommy Higgins, Farm Service Agency
- New York: Richard Mayfield, Rural Development
- Ohio: Donald Jones, Farm Service Agency
- Charles Tassell, Ohio Rural Development
- Pennsylvania: Richard Ebert, Farm Service Agency
- Puerto Rico: Nelson Albino, Rural Development
- Rhode Island: Robert Sullivan, Farm Service Agency
- South Dakota: Lorraine Polak, Rural Development; Roger Chase, Farm Service Agency
- Wisconsin: Andrew Iverson, Rural Development
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