California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed John Reynolds as the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission. Reynolds will “build on the governor's agenda to deliver 100% clean electricity by 2045, combat energy costs, modernize our electricity delivery system, and protect families and businesses from the growing impacts of extreme heat and catastrophic wildfires,” according to the press release. He’s held numerous roles at the commission, most recently as commissioner and also as interim chief of staff to former Commissioner, Genevieve Shiroma.
Ben Rodriguez, chief of staff for Rep. Adam Gray, D-Calif., has departed the office to join Gozzo Strategy & Campaigns as a consultant. Earlier, he was finance director on the Caraveo for Congress campaign.
Bengard Ranch, a vegetable grower/shipper based in the Salinas Valley, hired Christian Bengard as sales executive. A third-generation family member in the business founded in 1961, he brings over six years of produce sales experience from Well-Pict/Gem-Pack. Bengard will be responsible for supporting sales, business development, and product management with a focus on building customer relationships, activating commercial growth initiatives and contributing to strategic advancements across key markets.
Ally Triolo, press secretary for Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., has departed Capitol Hill to become election integrity communications director for the Republican National Committee. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Triolo had been with Fong’s office for one year.
Ryan Young of Oakland was appointed as a public adviser on the California Energy Commission. Young has been with the commission since 2024, recently as deputy public adviser. Earlier, he was policy director at Dream Corps and held multiple positions at the City and County of San Francisco from 2014 to 2022.
CropLife America hired Frank Plescia as director of state government relations. He has pursued contract government affairs work for the past four years f
Christian Bengard (Bengard Ranch photo)ocused on maintaining the availability of vital crop protection products in targeted states, as well as energy-related advocacy. Plescia worked for Monsanto for two decades.
Molli Myers of Weitchpec was appointed to the North Coast Water Quality Control Board. Myers is the chief operating officer for the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group.
Tiger Ricchetti was named executive director of the Congressional Labor Caucus. Earlier, he was a federal campaign researcher and policy specialist at AFL-CIO. During the Biden administration, Ricchetti was a senior adviser for governmental affairs at the Department of Transportation Office of Governmental Affairs. He is returning to Capitol Hill where he earlier was a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.
Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., hired Tristan Justice as communications director. He was a senior speechwriter at the Department of Transportation's Office of Public Affairs. Earlier, he was a correspondent for The Federalist.
Joe Kalmick of Seal Beach was reappointed to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. He has been an appointed member since 2023.
Christy Puffenbarger, vice president of technical services at Aviagen Turkeys, was elected chairwoman of the National Turkey Federation. She is the first woman to hold the leadership role in the organization's more than 80 years. Puffenbarger brings more than three decades of experience in turkey production and live operations. Prior to joining Aviagen in 2006, she worked for Rocco/Cargill in a variety of production leadership roles for 17 years. Puffenbarger succeeds Jay Jandrain, president and CEO of Butterball, who served as chairman in 2025. Russ Dierenfield of Tyson Foods will serve as vice chair and John King of Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative as secretary treasurer. Jandrain will move into the role of immediate past chair. Additional NTF executive committee members include: Brandon Achen, Kevin Atkins, Ryan Downes, Darrin Froemming, Peter Gruhl, Dr. Michelle Kromm, Blair McCorriston, Matt Schrupp, Curtis Walcott, Jordan Woodbury, and John Zimmerman.
Bryan Malenius (Center for Food Integrity pho
Bryan Malenius was named president of the Center for Food Integrity board of directors. He is currently director of reputation communications and public affairs at Chick-fil-A and has been on CFI’s board since 2021. The board named Nathan Capps, science and technical director for Bush Brothers and Co., vice president. Jill Manata, senior vice president of sustainability affairs for Dairy Management Inc., was elected secretary/treasurer. Elected as an at-large executive committee member is Sara Payne, chief marketing and communications officer for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig has announced four senior staff appointments in his office. Emma Johnston was hired as a senior agriculture adviser. She was previously a senior policy adviser to Senate Ag Committee member Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., managing an agriculture, trade, energy, and environment portfolio. Johnston has worked on Capitol Hill for nearly a decade, holding positions in the offices of former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. Brooke Nethercott was named director in the Office of Public Affairs. She was recently deputy communications director for the House Financial Services Committee under Chairman French Hill, R-Ark. Earlier, Nethercott was a senior consultant in strategic communications at FTI Consulting and worked in digital media for WebMD and Pandora Music.
Meghan Tente and Elizabeth Mastrogiacomo were named senior advisers to the chairman of CFTC. Tente has held multiple leadership roles at the CTFC, including as chief of staff to acting chairman Caroline Pham and acting general counsel. Tente was previously acting director of the Division of Market Oversight. Mastrogiacomo was senior counsel to former CFTC Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Dawn Stump. Before joining CFTC, Mastrogiacomo practiced law in the derivatives group of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP.
Athina Lawson, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s press secretary, is leaving Capitol Hill to become senior adviser for public affairs at the Treasury Department. Lawson was previously deputy communications director for the House Appropriations Committee.
Kristina Aleksander joined the Association of Equipment Manufacturers as policy communications manager. She has been communications director for Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., and earlier was a communications specialist for the Iowa secretary of state.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., named Matt Meyer the committee’s new staff director. He succeeds Mark Roman, who held the role the last three years and recently joined Deloitte’s Washington national tax practice. Meyer has been chief of staff in Smith’s personal office since 2021 and chief of staff for former Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn.
Ray Goldberg (obituary photo)Ray A. Goldberg, a path-breaking professor who schooled thousands of farm and food industry leaders, died Feb. 16 at his Cape Cod home. He was 99. His career spanned more than seven decades at Harvard’s Business School and Kennedy School. He is credited with coining the term “agribusiness,” establishing a new field of study combining the broad sweep from farm inputs to human nutrition. As the George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business and founder of the Agribusiness Senior Management Seminars, he brought together leaders from across the food and agriculture sectors for case studies to solve problems. Goldberg was the first president of the International Agribusiness Management Association and held advisory roles with USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Bank and chaired a National Research Council subcommittee on global development. In 2020, Harvard established the Ray A. Goldberg Professorship of the Global Food System, the first university-wide professorship.
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.
