Dairy Management Inc., the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association elected new officers to guide the national dairy checkoff. Marilyn Hershey, a Cochranville, Pa., farmer was reelected as DMI chair. Additional officers include: Mary Kraft of Fort Morgan, Colorado, as vice president; Roger Fluegel of Visalia, California, as secretary; and Becky Nyman of Hilmar, California, as treasurer. Additionally, new officers elected for the National Dairy Council include: Audrey Donahoe as chair, Perry Tjaarda as vice chai
Lolly Lesher (DMI photo)r, Sutton Rucks as secretary, and Michael Ferguson as treasurer.
The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, which carries out coordinated promotion and research programs to help build demand and expand domestic and international markets for dairy products, elected new officers: Lolly Lesher of Bernville, Pennsylvania, as chair; Marv Post of Volga, South Dakota, as vice chair; Arlene VanderEyk of Tulare, California, as secretary; and Gail Klinkner of Viroqua, Wisconsin, as treasurer.
The United Dairy Industry Association, a federation of state and regional dairy farmer-funded promotion organizations that provide marketing programs developed and implemented in coordination with members, also elected new officers. New leadership includes: Charles Krause of Buffalo, Minnesota, as chair, Kris Wardin of St. Johns, Michigan, as first vice chair; Audrey Donahoe of Clayville, New York, as second vice chair; Daniel Buttars of Lewiston, Utah, as second vice chair; Daniel Buttars of Lewiston, Utah, as secretary; and Tom Walsh of De Graff, Minnesota, as treasurer.
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives hired Danielle Griffin as communications manager. She will be focused on expanding NCFC’s social media presence, website, thought leadership, and media engagement. Griffin earlier worked at the Veterans Health Administration in strategic communications and at the Georgia Symphony Orchestra.
The House Ways and Means Committee named Rosie Wilson as communications director. She was previously deputy communications director for the House Republican Conference and communications director for Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas.
Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee clerk Morgan Ulmer has left Capitol Hill to join Cornerstone Government Affairs as a principal. She supported the ag appropriations committee for nearly seven years. Earlier, Ulmer was legislative director for Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Ducks Unlimited promoted Karen Waldrop to chief operating officer. She joined the group in 2019 as chief conservation officer and has overseen an expansion of DU’s conservation delivery footprint across the United States. Earlier, she worked at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for 20 years in multiple roles, including wildlife division director and deputy commissioner.
Natalie Wolpert (ASTA photo)The American Seed Trade Association hired Natalie Wolpert as meetings coordinator. She will be focused on planning and executing ASTA’s signature conferences and events. Earlier, she worked at Association Headquarters where she managed the full lifecycle of meetings for 19 state chapters. She’s also held roles with Scott Circle Events and Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Allyson Aves was promoted to legislative assistant in the office of House Ag Committee member Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, focused on agriculture issues. A recent graduate of Iowa State University, Aves completed internships with the National Milk Producers Federation and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
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House Ag Committee member Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., named Britt Van as legislative director. She was previously a senior policy director at the National Housing Conference and policy director for the New Democrat Coalition.
Blair Taylor was named communications director for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. She was previously a partner at Seven Letter and earlier a professional staff member supporting the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Callie Strock is now deputy communications director for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. She was previously a senior adviser in the Small Business Administration Office of the Administrator and deputy chief of staff for California Republican Rep. Young Kim.
House Ag Committee member Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., hired Juan Ayala as communications director. He was previously communications director at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.
The Women in Agribusiness Advisory Board added four new members for three-year terms to provide strategic advice and expertise on agribusiness and related industries to continue to grow and promote the annual Women in Agribusiness Summit. This year marks the 15th year of the event, which will be held in New Orleans Sept. 22-24. Joining the 12-member advisory board include: Kathy Eichlin, head of corporate and crop protection communications at Syngenta North America Crop Protection; Jacqui Fatka, lead economist for farm supply and biofuels at CoBank; Amanda Martin, president and CEO of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation; and Jen Tonder, director of member governance and shared services at Land O’Lakes.
Top to bottom, left to right: Amanda Martin, Jen Tonder, Jacqui Fatka and Kathy Eichlin. (Photo: WIA)California Sen. Adam Schiff hired Sami Eastton as a field representative. She was previously a government affairs assistant at the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and completed an internship with California Sen. Alex Padilla.
Padilla, a Democrat, named Jackie McGuinness as communications director. She was previously communications director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and press secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Biden administration.
The National Wildlife Federation promoted Ross Griffin to associate vice president of government affairs. Earlier, he worked for former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Katey Linkous joined the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley as a field representative. She was previously state outreach coordinator and a program technician at USDA's Oregon State Office. Linkous is a graduate of Washington State University and Portland State University.
AgCulture Marketing hired Emily Smith as a content strategist. She previously held roles in community engagement and communications with Farm Journal, Woodruff, and HLK.
Former Interior Secretary, U.S. senator and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 74. No cause was given in the statement., but he was diagnosed with colon cancer last year. Kempthorne, a Republican, was elected mayor of Boise in 1985 at age 34. He later won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Sen. Steve Symms in 1992. He went on to become Governor of Idaho and later Interior secretary during the George W. Bush administration. During his tenure at DOI, he lived on a houseboat docked in the Potomac River.
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