The California State Senate unanimously confirmed Karen Morrison as director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation. She has been with DPR since 2018, recently as chief deputy director. Earlier in her career, Morrison was a senior environmental scientist at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) and was city commissioner for the City of West Sacramento Environment and Utilities Commission.
California liberal environmental leader John Burton died. He was 92. During his decades-long career in politics, he was elected to roles in the California state assembly and statehouse as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. After many years as a politician, he led the California Democratic party from 2009 to 2017. After retiring, he founded a nonprofit to serve foster youth.
Karen Morrison (DPR photo)The Smart Electric Power Alliance named Monica Trauzzi chief communications officer. She was senior director of energy and climate public affairs and strategic communications at Invariant and worked at the Nuclear Energy Institute and E&E News.
The California Democratic Party hired new staff. Helen Amelga was named organizing and training director. She was previously a Southern California organizing director on Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and has worked for Hilltop Public Solutions as a campaign consultant. Emma Lenz was named the party’s communications director. She was previously a communications associate at Swanson Communications. Earlier, she organized volunteers at Make-A-Wish® Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., hired Eddie Mendoza as policy and political adviser. He previously worked in the offices of the California Senate president pro tempore.
Amanda De Jong was named CEO of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers effective Sept. 3. She succeeds Brian Stockman, who retired. De Jong was head of government affairs and policy engagement at Pivot Bio. She was Iowa state executive director of the Farm Service Agency during the first Trump administration and has held roles with Landus and the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Her family farms in Iowa.
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Mary Beth Schultz joined the Wiley law firm’s food and drug practice as a partner. She has more than two decades of government and legal experience as acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel at USDA, chief counsel to the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Schultz also has worked as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice. 
Cindy Long (Manatt, Phelps & Phillips photo)
Cindy Long, former USDA deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a national adviser in the firm’s health care group. She will focus on health care issues across food, nutrition and agriculture, according to the firm's news release. Long worked for the Food and Nutrition Service for more than 10 years.
Devin Cole was named chief operating officer at Tyson Foods. He joined Tyson in August 2024 and was promoted to president of poultry in February. Tyson said Brady Stewart, former group president of prepared foods, beef and pork and chief supply chain officer, would depart effective immediately.
Autumn Veazey Price will be leaving food wholesaler UNFI in November. She was vice president of government affairs the past three years. She worked for Land O’Lakes earlier.
Farmers for Sustainable Food promoted Jamie Fisher to managing director. She has been with the organization since 2019 supporting farmer-led watershed groups in Wisconsin and Minnesota and executing sustainability projects. Fisher will expand leadership and oversight of the organization’s vision and sustainability initiatives. She succeeds Lauren Brey, who is now chief experience officer at the multistate collaboration committed to amplifying the voice of dairy farmers, Voice of Milk.
Jeff Loessin is now director of business development at Corteva Agriscience where he leads global relationships with collaborators and innovators. Based in Indianapolis, he was a business intelligence leader focused on crop protection.
Combest, Sell & Associates hired Greyson Castillo as an associate in the firm’s Lubbock, Texas, office. Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, he completed an internship with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
Jody Zimmerman joined the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as manager of producer education. She was an economics intern at the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
Politico ag news reporter Jordan Wolman has left the news service to relocate to Boston where he is a senior reporter at the CommonWealth Beacon.
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