Elisha Modisett Kemp was promoted to head of U.S. government and industry affairs at Corteva Agriscience. She has been with the organization for seven years, recently as state government and industry affairs leader. She also worked for Dow AgroSciences for 15 years before the company merged with DuPont to form Corteva.
Duane Simpson, former vice president and head of North America public affairs, science and sustainability in Bayer's Crop Science Division, took over as the leader of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives this week during the group’s annual Washington Conference. He succeeds Chuck Conner, who is retiring. Simpson has worked for Bayer and Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018, for 17 years.
Michelle Albee Matto (IDFA photo)The International Dairy Foods Association promoted Michelle Albee Matto to vice president of regulatory affairs and nutrition. She provides technical and regulatory leadership to advance IDFA’s nutrition and health advocacy, ensuring dairy maintains a central role in federal nutrition programs and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Prior to joining IDFA, Matto has worked at the Food Research and Action Center. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Society for Nutrition, and is a past board member of the D.C. chapters of the Institute of Food Technologists and the Society for Nutrition Education.
David Bergstein was named communications director for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. He was previously communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Previously, he was director of battleground state communications for the Democratic National Committee.
Industry
Mike Spier officially assumed the role of president of the U.S. Wheat Associates on July 1. He succeeds Vince Peterson, who has retired. Spier has been with the organization for nearly six years, recently as vice president of overseas operations. He has traveled to more than 50 countries, gaining experience in grain merchandising, international wheat trading, market analysis and negotiation of ocean freight contracts.
Brian Liedl, who has two decades of experience in wheat trading and logistics, joined USW to fill Spier’s role as vice president of overseas operations. He worked for the United Grain Corp. for the past 14 years, recently as director of merchandising. Liedl began his career in the grain industry as a market analyst at CHS Hedging, where he provided risk management services and authored daily market commentary.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about agriculture news from coast to coast! Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news. Simply click here.
Iowa Select Farms named Scott Stehlik as vice president of support operations for the pork production company. He will oversee health services, production well-being, transportation and crew services. He was previously director of integrated swine and poultry technical services at Merck Animal Health and earlier held operations roles at The Maschhoffs.
ClearPath hired Jackson Blackwell as a policy fellow to support the clean power, natural resources and research team with a focus on geothermal energy development and critical minerals policy. He previously held roles at the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and the Climate Solutions Fund.
Wynnie Zuchowski was named global di
Hans Fredericksen (Dairy West photo)rector of marketing at GENEX. She was previously the global category marketing director at AgroFresh.
Dairy West hired Hans Fredericksen as controller. He previously worked in financial management, accounting operations and process improvement across the real estate development, healthcare and public accounting industries. Fredericksen is a licensed CPA.
Samantha Miller has left Corteva Agriscience, where she led U.S. crop protection regulatory efforts for the past five years. She is now director of corporate business development for agricultural research and graduate education for the Purdue University College of Agriculture. Earlier in her career, Miller worked for Beck’s Hybrids.
Former National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Dana Peterson is now an adviser for Bridgeforth LLC, an organization specializing in guiding farm transitions. She is currently founder and principal consultant at Growing Leaders Group. After leading NAWG, she served in numerous positions with the Agriculture Department, including as chief of staff for the Farm Service Agency during the first Trump administration.
Kurt Sieren joined Novus Ag as vice president of retail operations. He worked for Helena Ag for the past 16 years, recently as senior business development manager.
Capitol Hill
Sarah Rosnick was named chief of staff for House Ag Committee member Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind. She was previously head of partner risk operations for Stripe, an internet technology infrastructure company. Earlier, she worked for Meta Platforms and Dell Technologies.
House Ag Committee member Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, named Mitch Abeln press secretary. He previously worked for public affairs firm LS2 Group in both St. Louis, Missouri, and Des Moines, Iowa.
André Béliveau joined the office of Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, as a senior adviser focused on energy and environmental protection issues. He was previously senior manager of energy policy at the Commonwealth Foundation.
Ellen Hamilton was named executive director of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation supporting Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Hamilton has worked for Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., the past 13 years, recently as chief of staff.
Andres Kardonski joined the office of Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., as a communications adviser. He was previously communications director for Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.
Are you changing jobs, getting promoted or receiving an award? Know someone who is? Email Lydia@Agri-Pulse.com to be featured in next week’s edition of Farm Hands on the Potomac.
