The Kern County Water Agency board of directors named Eric Averett as the next general manager. He has a long history with the agency dating back to 1991 when he started in an entry-level field staff position and rose through management roles for 17 years. He left to serve as general manager of agency member unit Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District for 13 years. He has served as chief executive officer of Atlas Water since 2021. Averett was recently on the Kern County Water Agency’s board of directors, but he stepped down in early October.
Lisa Nunez Safarian has been named CEO of the seed technology company Inari and CEO-partner of Flagship Pioneering, Inari’s founding company. Safarian has been on Inari’s board since May. Inari co-founder Ignacio Martinez has been serving as interim CEO and board chair of Inari. Safarian spent more than 30 years with Monsanto and then Bayer. She helped build Monsanto’s seed and crop protection businesses before becoming president of Crop Science North America for Bayer.
Kimberly Nesci has launched her own consulting business after decades at the Environmental Protection Agency and USDA. Nesci was most recently director of the Office of Pest Management Policy at EPA.
Michael Berube (Calstart photo)Calstart, a zero-emission vehicle industry consortium, named former auto industry executive Michael Berube as CEO. He worked at the U.S. Department of Energy for the past nine years, recently as deputy assistant secretary for sustainable transportation. Earlier, Berube held senior roles at Fiat Chrysler and Daimler-Chrysler. He will succeed Calstart’s longtime chief John Boesel in November as he retires after leading the organization for 24 years.
Consalo Family Farms hired Judy Spires as chair of retail strategy and industry relations. She previously served as president of Albertsons’ Rocky Mountain Division, Acme Markets and Albertsons’ Dallas–Fort Worth Division. Spires has also served as chairman and CEO of KB US Holdings. She currently serves as a board member of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.
Elizabeth Williamson of Walnut Grove was appointed chief deputy director of the California Department of General Services. She has been with the department since 2021, recently as strategic initiatives and policy adviser. Earlier, she held multiple positions at the California National Resources Agency including deputy secretary for strategic initiatives and deputy secretary for external affairs. Williamson is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento.
Xiaoping Zhang has retired from the U.S. Soybean Export Council where he served as greater China regional director. Zhang has been at the heart of building the soybean trading relationship between China and the U.S., according to USSEC president and CEO, Jim Sutter. Zhang joined the American Soybean Association in 2000 as deputy director of the Beijing Representative Office where he led marketing programs funded by the Soy Checkoff and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. He became deputy director when USSEC was established in 2005 and was later promoted to Greater China Country director in 2011.
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The American Feed Industry Association hired Megan Provost as chief operating officer. Native to her family's farm in central Indiana, Provost was recently president of the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. Earlier, she held roles with the Farm Foundation, Dow AgroSciences and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Provost has also worked on Capitol Hill and with USDA.
Megan Provost (AFIA photo)
James Miller, administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, is leaving the department for the Department of Health and Human Services. He has been with USDA since spring. Babs Hough, a senior policy adviser who worked under Miller, is also leaving USDA to take a role at HHS, as reported by Politico. USDA’s Deputy Undersecretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Patrick Penn will serve as acting FNS administrator until a replacement is named.
Timothy Schell was named director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, which regulates animal food, drugs, and devices intended for pets and animals that produce meat, milk and eggs for human consumption. Schell joined CVM in 2000 as a reviewer of new animal drugs for swine and poultry. He’s held an array of roles during his tenure, including as deputy director of the Division of Animal Feeds and in leadership roles at CVM’s Office of Research. Most recently, Schell led CVM’s Office of Surveillance and Compliance. Schell also worked for Elanco Animal Health where he led regulatory affairs strategies in several areas.
Jamie Jonker, chief science officer at the International Dairy Foods Association, was awarded the honorary member award at the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit in Chile. The distinction recognizes his leadership and commitment during his five-year tenure as chair of the IDF science and program coordination committee.
Emily Buckman joined John Deere as a manager of government affairs. She was with the American Farm Bureau Federation for the past four years. Earlier, Buckman was a policy adviser at USDA and director of national affairs at Kentucky Farm Bureau.
The National Chicken Council elected new officers. David Jackson, chief operating officer at Simmons Foods, will serve as the group’s 2025-26 chairman. Kevin McDaniel, president and chief executive officer at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, will serve as vice-chairman, and Kevin McAdams, chief executive officer and president of Perdue Farms, will serve as secretary-treasurer. Additionally, the group selected Harrison Kircher to serve a second term as NCC president.
Nicole Nelson Miller is now commodity director for produce at Feeding America. She will focus on developing strategy and building partnerships across the agricultural supply chain to secure fresh fruits and vegetables for the Feeding America network. Miller worked at USDA the past 18 years, recently as deputy associate administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
CAPTION: Dr. Jack Bobo, Julie Borlaug, World Food Prize Foundation CEO Tom Vilsack, and World Food Prize Foundation President Mashal Husain with Ambassador Kenneth Quinn. (CAST photo)Kenneth Quinn, a former U.S. ambassador and president emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation, was awarded the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to advancing the global future of food and agriculture through agricultural science, technology and communication. Quinn, whose nearly six decades of service span diplomacy, agricultural development, and international leadership, described the recognition as a “perfect capstone” to his career.
Jeffrey Koscelny is now CEO at Innovative Seed Solutions. He was previously wheat commercial lead at Bayer Crop Science and earlier an agronomist manager at Monsanto.
The Bank Policy Institute hired Drew Ruben as a senior vice president and associate general counsel on the regulatory and policy affairs team. He worked at the Federal Reserve Board for three years, recently as senior counsel in the legal division.
The American Bankers Association elected Kenneth Kelly as the group’s incoming chair. He is chair and CEO of First Independence Bank in Detroit.
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.
