Farm Hands on the Potomac: Linder tapped to serve at NCGA

John Linder has been elected to serve as the first vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, effective Oct. 1. Linder runs a fifth-generation farm raising corn, soybeans, soft red winter wheat, and soybeans for seeds alongside his wife and brother in central Ohio. Linder serves as the Corn Board liaison to the Market Access Action Team and chairs the Finance Committee. He also represents NCGA at the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research... NCGA also brings on Michael Granchè as the new market development manager and will serve as a contact for NCGA’s animal agriculture partners. He will cover export and transportation issues and will be based out of the St. Louis office. Granchè holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and applied economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is working on his master’s degree in agricultural sciences. 

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) tapped Sarah Hackney to serve as the new coalition director. Hackney will begin in the new role in mid-July. She started at NSAC in 2011 where she served as the grassroots director.

John Phipps has been named the new deputy chief of the USDA Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry programs. He most recently served as the station director for the service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Colorado. Before that he served as the senior adviser to the deputy chief of State and Private Forestry.

Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture, was elected to serve as vice president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) for the 2019-2020 year. SASDA is made up of the commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The U.S. Wheat Associates board of directors installed new officers at its annual meeting in Whitefish, Mont. The officers serving in the 2019-2020 year were elected in January 2019 at the board of directors meeting. They are: chairman Doug Goyings; vice chairman Darren Padget; secretary-treasurer Rhonda Larson; and past chairman Chris Kolstad.

Alabama farmer Larkin Martin has been elected to serve as the chair of the Farm Foundation board of directors. She will serve a two-year term and succeed Joe Swedberg, a retired executive of the Hormel Foods Corporation. Jerome Lyman was elected as vice chair of the board. Lyman is a retired executive of the McDonald’s Corporation.

The American Feed Industry Association added Mallory Gaines as its new manager of market access and trade policy, effective June 10. Gaines founded Gage Group Consulting, a consulting firm based in Denver, after managing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s international standard-setting initiative.

Dave Kuntz is the new communications manager for the Environmental Defense Fund. He previously worked for Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., as the deputy communications director.

Charyssa Parent joined the Republican National Committee and the Trump 2020 campaign team as the director of broadcast media. She previously served as the communications director for Rep. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. Katie Sawyer and Eric Pahls have taken over Parent’s responsibilities in the meantime.

Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow hired Adam Tarr to work on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry's staff as a senior professional staff member managing conservation issues. He most recently handled the portfolios of agriculture, environment and energy issues as a senior policy adviser for Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. Before that, Tarr worked at USDA, where he was a senior adviser to Secretary Tom Vilsack. Tarr joins Rosalyn Brummette, policy analyst, in covering conservation issues. Sean Babington, senior professional staff, will take on a new role managing climate change policy across the committee’s jurisdiction, while continuing to handle forestry and pesticide issues.

Daniel Greene is the new staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce under Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. He previously served as Sen. Ed Markey’s, D-Mass., legislative assistant.

Sarah Czufin has left the office of Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., where she served as the legislative director covering the agriculture and food, energy, foreign trade, and environmental protection portfolios. As of right now, Baird’s office has not filled the position.

Laura Stein has left the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., where she served as scheduler. She began a new job as an operations strategist for General Motors.

Bryan Doyle is now the communications director for Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. In his last job, he served as the communications director for Rep. Antonio Cárdenas, D-Calif. Doyle replaces Vedant Patel, who left the office to become the Nevada communications director for the Biden for President campaign.

Jen Newman is the new legislative aide for Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. Newman comes from the office of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., where she served as a legislative correspondent.

Chance Russell has left the office of Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., where he served as staff assistant. He moved to the House Education and Labor committee as a legislative assistant. Hannah King joins Roe’s team as staff assistant. She previously worked as an intern in Roe’s office.

Abby McHan is promoted to legislative assistant covering the agriculture and food, animal, science and technology, and small business portfolio for Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas. She was previously serving as the press assistant and legislative correspondent. … Logan White has left Cloud’s office where he served as staff assistant and Alyson Gritter has been hired to fill the role.

Wyatt Ronan has left the office of Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., where he served as the communications director, to now serve as the communications director in New Hampshire for the Beto for America presidential campaign. Right now, Ronan’s responsibilities are being handled by press secretary Susan Curran.

Emma Polefko has left the office of Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas., to return home to the state of Texas. She served as the communications director and the office has not yet named a replacement.

Alyssa Mendez becomes the staff assistant for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Mendez replaces Samuel Lehn, who left to join the Marine Corps. 

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, added Ellen Wainwright to her team as a staff assistant.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., brought on Karly Renee McQuitty to be a new staff assistant.

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