The California Association of Winegrape Growers elected new officers and board of directors members. John Chandler of Chandler Farms in Selma was elected chair of the board, succeeding outgoing chairman Gregg Hibbits of Grapevine Capital Partners. Aaron Lange of LangeTwins in Acampo and Molly Scott of JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles were elected as vice chairs. Craig Ledbetter of Vino Farms in Lodi will serve as treasurer. Duff Bevill of Bevill Vineyard Management in Healdsburg will continue as secretary. The new officers begin their term on Dec 1.
CAWG also elected new directors: John Azevedo of Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, Dirk Heuvel of McManis Family Vineyards in Ripon, and Davindar Mahil of Creekside Farming Co. in Madera, plus Stuart Spencer of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and Caleb Mosley of Napa Valley Grapegrowers have been elected to serve as directors-at-large.
Darrin Monteiro was promoted to chief member relations officer at California Dairies. He has been with the group nearly 15 years, recently as senior vice president of sustainability and member relations.
Friant Water Authority CEO Jason Phillips announced he will step down in January to transition to the private sector. The FWA board “will evaluate options to ensure a smooth and orderly leadership transition,” according to the group’s news release.
Former California Ag Leadership Foundation CEO Dwight Ferguson joined the Vanguard Food LP board of managers. He has decades of leadership in the global fresh produce and perishable goods industries, including experience as CEO of Naturipe Farms, Eurofresh and Florimex International BV. Ferguson has served in multiple industry positions, including chairman of the Produce Marketing Association and currently as immediate past chair of the Foundation for Fresh Produce. He also worked for Chiquita Brands International, Procter & Gamble and Pepsi-Cola earlier in his career.
Dave Puglia (Western Growers photo)The Agriculture Workforce Coalition elected American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall and Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia as the new coalition co-chairs. The pair succeeds Chuck Conner, who retired as CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives earlier this year.
National Grange elected new officers. Christine Hamp of Spokane, Washington, was selected to serve a second term as president. A fourth generation Grange member, Hamp oversaw the launch of the Rural Life Initiative and Project Sustenance focused on strengthening communities during her first term. Additional officers include John Benedik of New Jersey as vice president. William “Buddy” Overstreet of Texas and Walter Hartley of North Scituate, Rhode Island, were named to the two additional executive committee seats. Richard Stonebraker of Hagerstown, Maryland, was elected lecturer and program director. Susan Noah of Oregon and Joseph Stefenoni of California are continuing their service on the executive committee.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced appointments related to climate and air quality. Jane Sadler is now a senior policy adviser for the California Air Resources Board. She previously worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute and as a researcher at Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Cedric Rutland was appointed to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Rutland is the chief executive officer and medical director at West Coast Lung – Rutland Medical Group. Paulette Brown-Hinds was appointed to the California Transportation Commission. She founded Voice Media Ventures and was publisher at Black Voice News. Earlier in her career, Brown-Hinds was an adjunct professor at the University of California, Riverside.
Seth Meyer, USDA's chief economist for nearly five years, will lead the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Pat Westhoff, who has held the position since 2011 and is retiring March 1, the university said in a statement Tuesday. Prior to Meyer’s appointment as the USDA's top economist, he served as associate director for FAPRI and also headed USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board, a key office in assessing supply and demand for domestic and global crops.
The Seed Innovation Protection Alliance tapped Chris Reat as executive director to drive expanded business opportunities in the U.S. seed market. He has been working in agriculture-related areas for 30 years where he gained experience with crop inputs, seed, biotechnology, intellectual property protection, and strategic partnerships from an array of industry companies, including Meristem Crop Performance, FMC Corp. and UPL, among others. Reat succeeds retiring Executive Director Eloy R. Corona.
Dairy West hired Sarah Orr as director of human resources. She previously worked for Boise Cascade Co. as a region human resources business partner and project manager. 
Sarah Orr (Dairy West photo)
The Department of Health and Human Services announced five new leaders to advance the Make America Healthy Again agenda. Brian Christine is now assistant secretary for health. Christine completed his residency in urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He will lead the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps composed of more than 5,000 public health professionals. Alex J. Adams was confirmed as assistant secretary for family support, administration for children and families. He was previously the Idaho state department of health and welfare director.
Additional HHS leaders include Gustav Chiarello as assistant secretary for financial resources. He was previously senior special counsel to the House Committee on the Judiciary. He has also served as an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission and as an attorney adviser to acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen during the first Trump administration. Michael Stuart is now general counsel. He was confirmed as a U.S. attorney in 2017 and then directed and led all federal enforcement throughout the southern district of West Virginia. Stuart has also served as partner of two major law firms and as a West Virginia state senator. Alicia Jackson is now director of the advanced research projects agency for health. She previously worked for Evernow, a company she founded focused on enhancing women's health and longevity.
Former USDA political appointee Anne Knapke is now a fellow at the Food Security Leadership Council. She served as deputy chief of staff at USDA during the Biden administration. Earlier, Knapke was legislative director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
The U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council announced new officers. Karen Horan, vice president of global business development at the National Confectioners Association, was named chair. Donn Zea, executive director at the California Prune Board, was selected as vice chair, and Rose Braden, president at the Softwood Export Council, was named secretary/treasurer.
The National Confectioners Association added new staff. Julie Moss was named vice president of food safety and scientific affairs. She was previously director of the FDA’s human foods program in the office of international engagement. Sarah Brandmeier also joined NCA as director of nutrition policy and scientific affairs. She previously worked for the Consumer Brands Association and the American Frozen Food Institute.
Matthew Perin was promoted to vice president of government relations and regulatory affairs at Kroger. He has been with the company nearly nine years, recently as head of government relations and regulatory affairs. Earlier, Perin focused on agriculture and environment federal relations for Bayer.
Harrison Pittman receives the American Agricultural Law Association symposium's distinguished service award. (AALA photo)
National Ag Law Center director Harrison Pittman was awarded the distinguished service award at the American Agricultural Law Association 2025 symposium. He has been with the center for more than 20 years.
The American Clean Power Association hired Ashley Smith as director of federal government affairs. She was previously deputy staff director for the House Agriculture Committee.
The Healthy Family Project promoted Amanda Keefer as vice president to lead strategy, operations, marketing and partnerships. She has been with the group for nearly 15 years, recently as senior director of marketing and communications.
Molly Lee was named director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health and the executive director of the Institute for International Cooperation of Veterinary Medicine. She serves as associate director and lead public health veterinarian at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Lee replaces Jim Roth, distinguished professor of veterinary medicine at the university, who retired last summer.
Phil Sgro left the American Clean Power Association where he served as director of media relations. Sgro is now vice president of the climate and energy public affairs practice at Antenna Group.
