The Animal Health Institute hired Ellen Hart as vice president of regulatory affairs to lead the industry’s regulatory reform effort, coordinate industry efforts in anticipation of the Animal Drug User Fee Act reauthorization, and guide industry’s work with international bodies to implement risk-based standards. Hart, a veterinarian, joins AHI from the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine, where she most recently served as director of international programs and outreach. Originally from Iowa, Hart earned her Bachelor of Science in Physiology from the University of Wyoming and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University.
The House Agriculture Committee has a new member: California Republican Rep. David Valadao. A dairy farmer representing part of the highly productive San Joaquin Valley, he is now the only Republican member of the committee from California. Valadao fills the seat of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who died suddenly in January after representing Northern California in Congress and on the Ag Committee for over a decade.
Rep. David Valadao (Valadao office photo)Former Biden-era USDA official Anne Knapke joined the Center for American Progress as a senior fellow to shape a new progressive agenda for American food and agriculture policy that supports rural communities. She previously served as deputy chief of staff at USDA at the end of the Biden administration, and earlier was the deputy assistant secretary of congressional relations. Knapke also was legislative director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and held senior roles at both the Meridian Institute and the Gates Foundation.
A new lobbying coalition, Center Market Strategies, has been launched to deconsolidate monopolies as President Donald Trump has ramped up the pushback against mega-corporations. Chris Jones, former chief government relations officer at the National Grocers Association, and Andy Green, former Biden-era USDA senior adviser for fair and competitive markets, co-launched the initiative. The bipartisan firm will offer advocacy consulting and legal strategies focused on competition policy and enforcement, with a focus on businesses that lack market power, according to POLITICO.
The American Sheep Industry Association named Mike Michener as the group’s next executive director. Most recently, he was principal consultant at Michener Strategic Advisory. Earlier, he was deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security at the U.S. Agency for International Development and minister counselor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome. Michener succeeds Peter Orwick, who retired after leading the organization since the 1990s.
Former USDA staffer Sara Eckhouse is the new director of Food as Medicine at The Rockefeller Foundation. She previously co-founded and served as executive director of FoodShot Global, an integrated capital platform with more than 20 global partners to catalyze innovation for a healthier, more sustainable, more equitable food system, according to her LinkedIn page. Eckhouse was also an adviser at Trailhead Capital, an investment firm focused on regenerative agriculture to improve human and planetary health. During the Obama administration, she was chief of staff for the Agricultural Marketing Service for four years and a senior adviser to then-Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Allie Herring was promoted to communications director for the House Agriculture Committee Republican staff. She has been with the committee since September as press secretary. Earlier, while a student at Texas Tech University, Herring completed internship positions with Agri-Pulse and Combest, Sell & Associates.
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Health and Human Services alumnus Charlie Chapman joined BGR Group as a vice president in the firm’s health and life sciences practice. Chapman was previously a policy adviser to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the legislative affairs office at HHS.
Elisabeth Armstrong was named chief of staff in the office of the director at the National Institutes of Health. She will provide strategic counsel to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and other key leaders within the organization. Armstrong previously served as director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat in the FDA, where she provided strategic guidance to Commissioner Marty Makary. Earlier, she worked in healthcare policy equity research for Raymond James & Associates’ Global Equities and Investment. She earned a doctorate in bioethics and health policy from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine; a Master of Science degree in drug development and product management from University of California, San Diego; a Master of Science degree in bioethics from Columbia University in New York; and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and philosophy from Colorado Christian University, Lakewood, where she also served on the faculty.
Madison Sifford (NASDA photo)The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture hired Madison Sifford as communications coordinator. She will focus on developing both digital and print communications, including managing NASDA’s social media platforms and website. A communications and dairy science graduate of Virginia Tech, she was most recently marketing manager at Culpeper Farmers' Cooperative.
The National Confectioners Association promoted Brian McKeon to executive vice president of public policy and regulatory affairs and Christopher Gindlesperger to executive vice president of public affairs and communications. Prior to joining NCA in 2021, McKeon was a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP and held an array of roles on Capitol Hill. Gindlesperger has been with NCA for over 11 years and earlier worked for the American Beverage Association and as communications director on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Katherine Witt joined Iowa State University as an urban ag program specialist. She was previously a community food and garden engagement coordinator for LSI Global Greens in Des Moines through AmeriCorps.
The Meat Foundation named KatieRose McCullough as president and chief scientist. McCullough previously served as chief scientist for the Meat Foundation and will continue to serve in her current role as senior director for science and public health at the Meat Institute. She succeeds Susan Backus, the vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs for the Meat Institute, who has served the foundation for the past 27 years in a variety of roles, including most recently as president.
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