Casey Creamer has departed as president and CEO of California Citrus Mutual. In a release from the group, board of directors chair Julia Inestroza said, “I am writing to share that California Citrus Mutual and Casey Creamer have parted ways, effective February 11, 2026. We appreciate his service to our industry and wish him the best in his future endeavors. … Our day-to-day operations will continue under the direction of our experienced staff, and the Board has begun the process of identifying CCM's next leader.”
Caroline Thomas Jacobs of El Cerrito was appointed director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. She has been director of California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety since 2021, and earlier was director of the Wildlife Safety Division at the California Public Utilities Commission.
Eric Stevens (IFPA photo)The International Fresh Produce Association hired Eric Stevens as vice president of food safety and regulatory affairs, assigned as liaison to U.S. regulatory and food safety agencies and global and regional regulatory and standard-setting bodies. He was a vertical segment manager at Hygiena and worked for 10 years at the Food and Drug Administration as an international policy manager in the Human Foods Program and a public health adviser in the Office of Regulatory Science. While at FDA, he was also a delegate to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and FDA’s Codex Alimentarius Manager. In 2026, he was selected by the World Health Organization and UN Food and Agriculture Organization to participate in a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the use of Omics for Microbiological Risk Assessment.
American Seed Trade Association Board Chairman Dave Treinen, who also serves as head of GreenLeaf Genetics at Syngenta, has stepped down from the organization. First Vice Chair Bryan Gerard of JoMar Seeds, Inc., has assumed his role and Crystal Fricker of Pure Seed, is now first vice chair. Asked about the change, Syngenta sent Agri-Pulse the following statement. “Syngenta has made the decision to suspend participation in the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). We’ve been proud supporters of ASTA for over 60 years, and we wish the best for this important organization. We look forward to supporting the continuing growth and evolution of America’s seed industry.” The Syngenta Group, based in Switzerland, is owned by Sinochem Holdings, a Chinese state-owned group created from the combination of Sinochem Group and ChemChina. Syngenta has just under 4,000 employees in the U.S. ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne said in an email: “We respect their decision. As you can imagine, we do not comment on the activities of individual member companies.”
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives announced staff changes. Lisa Van Doren, vice president and chief of staff, will leave "to pursue other career opportunities," NCFC's press release said. Justin Darisse has been promoted to vice president of strategy and external affairs, responsible for aligning NCFC's external engagement, member-facing activities and organizational strategy on a newly formed NCFC leadership team. Zach Gihorski was promoted to senior director of government affairs to continue advancing federal policy priorities and take on expanded responsibilities for grassroots political engagement with members, coordinating NCFC's political action committee and managing the NCFC intern program.
Adam Tarr (IDFA photo)
Former congressional aide Eric Bohl has launched Bohl Government Affairs. He was recently a principal at Bockorny Group and earlier served as director of public affairs and advocacy at Missouri Farm Bureau. Bohl worked six years as chief of staff to prominent members of Congress, including Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. He spent five years in private law practice before government service.
The International Dairy Foods Association hired Adam Tarr as vice president of legislative affairs. With more than 20 years of federal policy experience, he recently was a principal at Invariant. Earlier, he was senior professional staff member on the Senate Agriculture Committee Democratic staff for conservation and biotechnology. Tarr worked at USDA for six years during the Obama Administration as senior adviser to then-Secretary Tom Vilsack and chief of staff in the Office of Food Safety. He joins IDFA March 9 and will report to Chelsie Keys, IDFA’s senior vice president of government affairs, and partner with Rob Rosado, vice president of legislative affairs, on advocacy priorities.
Gunnar Griggs-Bell joined the Corn Refiners Association and Plant Based Products Council as manager of government relations. He was a graduate assistant in the dean’s office at Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Griggs-Bell also completed internships with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
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Additionally at CRA and PBPC, Keniece Barbee was promoted to chief operating officer, and Danielle Beck was promoted to vice president of external affairs. Barbee has been with CRA since 2016 and with PBPC since the organization's founding in 2019, and was recently chief of staff. Beck has been with the groups since 2025. Beck's new title reflects a broader focus on government affairs, communications, and strategic positioning with external stakeholders.
The Office of Personnel Management named Kurt Dykstra general counsel. He has nearly three decades with complex workforce issues, regulatory compliance, internal investigations and governance in corporate law, higher education, financial services and public service.
Mel Gunewardena was named director of the Office of International Affairs and senior markets adviser to Chairman Michael S. Selig at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He has been a managing director in global markets trading divisions at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and State Street. He led trading, prime brokerage and derivatives, overseeing risk businesses in North America, Europe and Asia. Gunewardena also was chief market intelligence officer at CFTC from 2019 to 2022 and subsequently senior adviser for global markets to the chief executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
Lance Trover is now communications director in the personal office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. He was press secretary for former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's presidential campaign.
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies selected Dave Kostersky as contractual principal Canadian liaison. He worked for Ducks Unlimited Canada in various roles for the past 31 years. Most recently, Kostersky was national director of continental relations and partnerships. Kostersky succeeds Dean Smith, who has held that role for 16 years and will assist Kostersky in his transition into the new role.
Caroline Gleaton is retiring after a 47-year career as administrative coordinator in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Economics. Gleaton maintains one of the most extensive cotton marketing databases in the country, with price history dating back to 1790 including data from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. She has logged daily, monthly and weekly cotton prices as far back as 1986, making the “biggest cotton market database on earth,” according to AgriLife Extension cotton marketing economist John Robinson.
Syngenta Canada named Steve Gomme head of crop protection key accounts. He has been with the company for 18 years in marketing, digital agriculture strategy and product lead in the U.S, and Canada. Gomme succeeds David Hoar, who was promoted to head of sales.
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