The Wine Institute promoted Tyler Rudd to vice president of state relations. He will oversee the activities of Wine Institute’s five state relations regional counsels and directors as they address state legislation affecting the wine industry. Rudd will also coordinate Wine Institute’s legislative and regulatory activities with staff, contract lobbyists and member wineries across the 49 states outside of California. He has been with the Institute since 2016, recently as central states counsel. Rudd’s promotion follows Steve Gross being named the Wine Institute’s interim president and CEO.
Vogel Group is opening the firm’s first office in the Western U.S. as the bipartisan lobbying firm expands its footprint to Arizona. Linley Wilson, partner at sister law firm Holtzman Vogel, is leading the launch of the new office. Wilson spent nearly three years working in the Arizona House of Representatives in multiple roles, including as deputy chief of staff and general counsel for the Republican caucus. She also worked in the Arizona attorney general’s office.
Kate Folmar of Sacramento was appointed deputy secretary for communications and external affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She was previously chief of strategic communications at the California High-Speed Rail Authority, serves as deputy secretary for external affairs at the California Health and Human Services Agency, and led her own communications firm for four years. Folmar is a board member for Opening Doors.
Kate Folmar (LinkedIn photo)Turner Bridgforth has left the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as senior agriculture adviser to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Bridgforth is now deputy director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. During the first Trump administration, he held numerous political appointee roles at the Agriculture Department.
The Jane Fonda Climate PAC hired Hoang Nguyen as deputy executive director. He was previously director of policy and government affairs at AAPI Equity Alliance. Nguyen also serves as state chair for the Golden State AAPI Young Democrats statewide PAC.
Driscoll’s appointed Wyard Stomp to the newly created role of chief operating officer to work with the executive leadership team to implement strategy, lead cross-functional initiatives, and support execution aligned with the company's global plans. Stomp, who joined the company in 2012, will also continue to lead the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Chief Financial Officer of the Americas Shaily Sanghvi will expand her role to include global responsibility for strategy to oversee financial, M&A and strategic planning. Sanghvi previously held roles in corporate strategy, M&A and finance at PepsiCo and Del Monte.
Corteva added Christopher Policinski and Jean-Marc Gilson to the company’s board of directors. They fill the seats of Lamberto Andreotti and Michael Johanns, who retired at this year's annual meeting of shareholders. Policinski is the former president and chief executive officer of Land O'Lakes, a privately held agricultural cooperative specializing in dairy products, animal nutrition and crop production, from 2005 to 2018. Gilson is president and CEO of Westlake Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of vinyl, polymers and building products. Prior to this appointment, he was the president and CEO of Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation from April 2021 to June 2024.
Laura Lee Burkett is the new clerk for the Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Republican staff. She was previously legislative director for Senate Ag and Senate Appropriations Committee member Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
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Shari Rogge-Fidler has resigned as president and CEO of the Farm Foundation. She has led the organization since 2019. The nonprofit announced the appointment of Todd Van Hoose as interim president and CEO while the board conducts an executive search. Van Hoose recently completed his first three-year term on the foundation's board of directors, following a decades-long career across food and agriculture, including serving as president and CEO of the Farm Credit Council.
Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, also known as RISE, named Scott Herndon as executive director. Most recently, Herndon led U.S. government and industry affairs for Corteva Agriscience and was president of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. He worked as vice president and general counsel for the American Sugarbeet Growers Association and was a staffer in both the House and Senate, as well as the Florida Senate.
Scott Herndon (RISE photo)Karrie Kirshenmann joined the House Ag Committee Republican staff as creative coordinator. She was previously the staff assistant in the office of Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, and earlier was an intern for Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. She also completed an internship with Fox News as an SEO production assistant. She holds dual degrees in journalism and fashion media from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association hired Justin Faulb as senior vice president of policy and general counsel to oversee the association’s government affairs, regulatory initiatives, and internal legal affairs, effective May 11. Faulb previously served at the Federal Communications Commission in several senior legal and policy leadership roles, which involved significant work on the agency’s broadband and national security agendas. Most recently, Faulb was chief of staff and legal adviser for wireline and national security to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, as well as associate bureau chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Brandon Jackson is now communications director for former House Ag Committee Chairman Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla. He was previously digital director and deputy press secretary for Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
FMI – The Food Industry Association appointed Kim Visioni as director of health and well-being. She will be focused on nourishing food, wellness products, credible guidance and health-related services, along with the expansion of FMI’s relevant programs and community. Visioni previously worked at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Child Nutrition Programs, Nutrition Education and Promotion Branch where she supported the development of school meal resources and served as a grant program officer for USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative.
Carley Esser McLean departed the Senate Ag Committee to join Missouri Soybeans as associate director of policy and market development. McLean served as a professional staff member on the committee, focused on commodity programs, standing disaster programs and crop insurance for the past four and a half years. Originally from Boonville, Missouri, McLean will help lead Missouri Soybeans’ policy engagement and market development initiatives, working with farmer leaders, policymakers and industry partners to advance priorities important to Missouri soybean farmers. “After nearly a decade in Washington supporting our nation’s farmers and rural communities, it is an honor to return home and utilize that experience to focus on addressing the needs of Missouri soybean farmers,” she said. McLean will split time between Washington, D.C., and Missouri.
Agriculture Future of America named Lynn Parman president and a member of the executive leadership team. Under the updated structure, Mark Stewart will continue leading AFA as CEO and Nancy Barcus will serve as chief administrative officer. The organization continues to work toward its moonshot goal of providing access to AFA resources to every college student by 2040, and for AFA to stand as the nation’s go-to source for career enhancement in agriculture. Parman was previously chief operating officer at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Earlier, she served as president & CEO of the American Royal Association, led sales and marketing operations at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, and was instrumental in launching the KC Animal Health Corridor initiative.
John Franz, known as the scientist who discovered glyphosate, has died at 96. Franz was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1929 and completed his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1955, leading to a job at Monsanto, where he worked for 35 years. He made the find in 1970 while working in the Ag Division. “Franz’ approach to chemistry eventually led to the synthesis of glyphosate and the beginning of the Roundup legacy,” a Monsanto biography says. He received many prestigious science awards and held more than 840 patents. Franz is survived by four children, two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, his brother, and numerous nieces and nephews. He passed away April 27 in Crestwood, Missouri. More information is here.
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