CropLife America hired Environmental Protection Agency alumna Venus Welch-White as director of government relations. With more than a decade in federal policy, she was acting director and senior policy adviser in the Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs at EPA. Earlier, Welch-White was national rural energy program coordinator at USDA, contributing to implementation of the 2014 and 2018 farm bills. She also worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Welch-White holds a doctorate in integrative biosciences from Tuskegee University.
Angela Hervig (LinkedIn photo)
Former Environmental Protection Agency senior legislative adviser Angela Hervig joined the office of Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., as a legislative assistant covering agriculture, food and trade. Hervig was a legislative assistant in the White House during the Biden administration and digital press secretary for Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C.
Fresh Del Monte Produce hired Miles Fraser-Jones as vice president of sales and product management, deciduous and citrus (international). He will oversee North American sales and lead international sourcing and product management for the company’s deciduous and citrus categories. Fraser-Jones will report to Danny Dumas, senior vice president of sales, product management and marketing for North America. He previously held leadership positions at Sierra Produce, AMFresh and Tom Lange International.
Veterinarian C. Mike Tomlinson was appointed to the California Veterinary Medical Board. He has worked at his own practice — Tomlinson Equine — since 1984. He has also served as CEO at Container Services Network since 2005, and chief operating officer at Snap Seals since 2005. He has led the companies RubyElf, Responde2 and EveryByte, among others. Tomlinson is a board member of Horses and Humans Research Foundation. The position does not require Senate confirmation.
Matt Bornhorst departed Meristem Crop Performance where he served as a strategic account lead. He was with the company for a year. Bornhorst is now the Western U.S. sales director for BW Fusion. Earlier, he worked for Pivot Bio and DowDuPont.
Jennifer Osborn has been appointed director at the California Department of Industrial Relations. She has served as chief deputy director at the California Department of General Services since 2021. Earlier, she was director of the division of administrative services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and deputy secretary of fiscal policy and administration at the California Government Operations Agency. The position requires Senate confirmation.
Julie Callahan, a nine-year veteran of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the agency's chief agricultural negotiator. Callahan has been working at the agency since 2016, serving as assistant USTR for agricultural affairs and commodity policy since April 2020. Agricultural industry groups had been pressing the administration to swiftly fill the position. If confirmed, Callahan would join the effort to cut deals with more than a dozen of the largest trading partners to open new markets for U.S. agriculture. Callahan spoke at Agri-Pulse’s annual Ag and Food Policy Summit in March.
Bobby Frederick is starting a new position as senior director, head of federal government relations for Cargill Inc. Frederick had been director, federal government relations for Cargill since 2022. Before that he spent seven years with the National Grain and Feed Association, most recently as the trade group’s senior vice president for legislative affairs and public policy.
The Meat Institute named Peter Bozzo, executive vice president of Michael’s Finer Meats and Seafoods, as chair of its board. He will replace former board chair Jim Snee, who retires as chief executive officer and president of Hormel Foods this year. Bozzo has been a member of the trade group’s executive board for nearly two decades and became an officer in 2023. He has been with Michael’s Finer Meats since 2011. He also worked for the Chicago Meat Authority. The 2025 Meat Institute officers include Randy Huffman of Maple Leaf Foods as treasurer; John Amidei of Swaggerty Sausage Co. as secretary; Eric R. Gustafson of Coast Packing Co. as immediate past president; and Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute. Suzanne Strassburger Reidy, owner and CEO of Strassburger Meats and Tony Catelli, president and CEO of Catelli Brothers Inc., will co-chair the group’s Meat PAC.
Drew Viguet, former National Ag Law Center staff member, has accepted a new position with the University of Arkansas. He has served as communications and special projects coordinator at NALC for nearly three years, where he planned the organization’s annual conferences, coordinated media interviews and managed communications.
Chelsea Good (Good & Associates photo)Chelsea Good, longtime Livestock Marketing Association staff member, launched her own agricultural strategy and advocacy firm: Good & Associates. She will specialize in issues manage-ment, government affairs, strategic communications and industry relations. Good worked for LMA for the past 12 years, as vice president of government and industry affairs and legal. She will continue to serve LMA as a client. She earlier was staff attorney and communications director at the Kansas Department of Agriculture. She also chairs the National Institute of Animal Agriculture and is on boards of the American Agricultural Law Association, Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership, the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City and the United States Animal Health Association. She is past chair of the Ranchland Trust of Kansas.
The Center for American Progress hired Frederick Bell as associate director of state climate policy. He was previously state director for the Delaware Democratic Coordinated Campaign.
Cary Fowler, former U.S. special envoy for global food security and 2024 World Food Prize laureate, launched the Food Security Leadership Council to seek a path to U.S. leadership on global food security. More than 25 bipartisan leaders in industry, science, agriculture, global development and government joined the council to reimagine the U.S. approach to food security. “The Council’s goals are to formulate an actionable blueprint for strategic U.S. leadership in global food security, to shed light on the impact of U.S. public policies on global food security, and to build and energize the next generation of food security policymakers,” Fowler said.
Lessiter Media hired Teresa Owens as brand manager for the ag-grower division effective July 28. She will lead strategic planning, audience engagement, brand development and marketing initiatives in Lessiter’s grower properties, including No-Till Farmer, Strip-Till Farmer, Cover Crop Strategies and the company’s events and digital platforms. Owens has more than two decades of experience in media marketing, most recently at BNP Media.
The House Agriculture Committee’s Democratic staff is adding Emma Simon as digital director. She was former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s content producer, serving as a photographer and videographer. She was deputy communications director for Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and an intern at More Perfect Union.
Louis Senn joined the office of House Ag Committee member Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., as senior policy adviser and legislative counsel. He was correspondence director for Vice President JD Vance.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., aide Maggie Angel is departing the office to join the State of Illinois Washington office as director of federal affairs. She worked in Durbin’s office since 2016, recently as legislative assistant.
Aaron Gottesman left the office of Senate Ag Committee member Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to serve as senior policy adviser in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He was chief counsel and policy adviser in Ernst’s office and served as executive director of the Senate Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus since February.
Majeda Abu-Alghanam left the House Agriculture Committee as a legislative assistant. With the committee for a year, she is now executive vice president of advocacy at CGCN Group.
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 West.
