Sierra Club California hired Asha Sharma as deputy director. She was previously organizing co-director for Pesticide Action Network North America and state policy manager at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, where she focused on environmental justice and climate programs.
Jessica Bonitz of Sacramento was appointed deputy public adviser at the California Energy Commission. She was previously deputy attorney general in the Land Use and Conservation Section at the California Department of Justice. She completed legal internships at the California Air Resources Board and the California Coastal Commission, as well as multiple positions at the California Energy Commission from 2015 to 2019, including student assistant, energy analyst and planner.
Aubrey Bettencourt (Almond Alliance of California photo)Buckley joined NRCS in March 2025 as chief of staff and was promoted to associate chief in November. Earlier, he was CEO of the National Association of Resource Conservation & Development Councils and was a senior strategy manager at Turning Point USA, a conservative political organization founded by Charlie Kirk.
The National Pork Producers Council hired Katie Hall as director of state policy. She previously was senior director of advocacy for the Iowa Soybean Association. Earlier, Hall was based in Iowa as director of state and local government relations at Cargill, and was director of government affairs at the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made appointments to the 20th District Agricultural Association – Gold Country Fair Board: Mitchell “Mitch” Dion of Newcastle and Anupriya “Anu” Ramraj of Granite Bay. Dion is a senior consultant at Zanjero, Inc. and director of business analytics at MSD Science and Engineering. Earlier, he held numerous water and power management roles at the City of Pasadena Water and Power, Calaveras County Water, San Diego County Water Authority, and the Western Region for American Water. Ramraj is founder and chief executive officer of Vaultzy, an AI and blockchain technology to help people organize, secure, and share vital records. She has held roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Unisys, and DXC Technology.
Forest Michael Kaser of Berkeley was appointed director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. He worked for the California Public Utilities Commission since 2015 in numerous roles, including most recently as chief deputy executive director. Kaser was also previously a senior project manager at Energy Solutions and a staff research associate at University of California, Berkeley.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also made appointments to the 21st District Agricultural Association – Big Fresno Fair Board: Diana Gomez of Parlier and Edward “Ed” Lujano of Fresno. Gomez is senior product director and vice president at HNTB. Earlier, she was district six director at the California Department of Transportation and Central Valley Regional Director at the California High Speed Authority. Lujano was CEO of Castle Family Health Centers from 2006 to 2025. He is a member of the Merced Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Atwater Chamber of Commerce, and Atwater Rotary.
Allegiance Retail Serv
Steve Pearce (Congressional office photo)ices named Jason Ferreira as acting chairman of the board and CEO. He has served on the company’s board of directors since 2021 and has been a co-op member since 2013. Ferreira currently serves on the National Supermarket Association board of directors and was recognized with the Exceptional Independents Award in 2025. He will serve as acting chairman until the board and chairman appointments are finalized at the Allegiance Annual Member Meeting scheduled for May 20.
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The National Association of Conservation Districts hired Courtney Curenton-Baker as director of membership engagement. She was previously assistant director at the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts.
The Senate confirmed former Congressman Steve Pearce to lead the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management. A New Mexico native, Pearce led the state’s Republican party as a congressman and earlier founded an oil and gas company in southern New Mexico.
Michael Dykes will retire as president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association at the end of the year. He has led the trade association representing the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry for a decade. IDFA’s executive council officer group is forming a committee to support the process for selecting the association’s next leader. “Michael has been a transformational leader for IDFA and for the U.S. dairy industry,” said Daragh Maccabee, chair of the IDFA Executive Council. “Over the past decade, he has strengthened IDFA’s credibility, expanded its influence, and helped position the association and the dairy industry for long-term success.” Watch Agri-Pulse's Meet the Farm Hand interview with Dykes in 2019.
Sara Fuentes was named president of the Transportation Institute. She has been with the organization for seven years, recently as vice president for government affairs.
Brad Matsik was named the head of Wells Fargo’s new Food, Beverage & Agribusiness division. Matsik has more than 33 years of banking experience, including working at Wells Fargo in various divisions for more than 20 years. Matsik has also advised food and beverage clients for more than 15 years and led major transactions across the sector, including the sale of Harris Ranch to Central Valley Meats, the Lagunitas Brewing transactions with Heineken, and the sale of Kevin’s Natural Foods to Mars.
Shannan Townsend, current head of Wells Fargo Food & Agribusiness, plans to retire at the end of the year after serving clients across the U.S. and Canada, and holding numerous senior leadership roles since joining a Wells Fargo predecessor in 1987.
The American Association of Port Authorities named Sang Yi as president and CEO. Yi was previously deputy administrator of the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy hired David Friedman as senior director for research. He previously held roles at Rewiring America, the Department of Transportation and Department of Energy.
Alex Smith was promoted to legislative manager at The Russell Group. He’s been with the agriculture and food lobbying firm for a year, recently as a legislative assistant. A Texas A&M University graduate, Smith was previously government relations coordinator and PAC manager at CropLife America.
The Plastics Industry Association hired Shira Rawlinson as vice president of communications. She most previously led communications for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Jaden Kindt (LinkedIn photo)Jaden Kindt was selected as the next manager of pork industry relations at the National Pork Producers Council. A recent graduate of Oklahoma State University, Kindt participated in a two-year Pork Industry Immersion Program created by NPPC, the National Pork Board, and state pork associations to cultivate early-career leaders through three eight-month rotations with each organization. Kindt was a student worker in the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center on OSU’s campus.
Richard Kloster was confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Surface Transportation Board. He has worked at multiple rail industry consulting firms and founded his own company, Integrity Rail Partners, in 2019. Kloster is intended to fill the seat vacant since the retirement of former Chair Martin J. Oberman, and would serve through Dec. 31, 2028.
Lilia Ledezma joined the Senate Committee on the Budget Republican staff as a professional staff member. She previously worked for the Congressional Budget Office as a senior principal budget analyst.
The Electric Power Supply Association hired Stephanie Johnson as assistant vice president of regulatory affairs. She was most recently director of regulatory affairs at the National Oilseed Processors Association.
Betsabe Mantilla Perez was promoted to North America row crop production agronomy lead at Bayer. She has been North America soybean product design lead for the past five years.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility hired Tony Irish as senior counsel. He previously worked at the Department of the Interior for more than 20 years, recently as associate solicitor for general law.
Indiana Farm Bureau promoted staff members. Sarah Peterson has been elevated to digital communications manager to oversee member outreach, digital newsletters, internal announcements and member communications. Jesse Cordray was promoted to director of grassroots advocacy. He will be focused on strengthening grassroots advocacy efforts and deepening engagement across the state.
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.
