Alberto Obregon has been hired as director of global procurement for Vision Import. In this position Obregon will manage and maintain relationships with the company’s grower-partners. Obregon brings more than 20 years of experience overseeing export and import programs. He most recently worked for a private citrus company in Mexico, where he spent 13 years directing the general operation, managing export and domestic programs. Before that, he worked for the Secretary of Agriculture of Mexico from 1997 to 2007.
Patrinka Crammond has been brought on to work in business and program development for Shanley Farms. She previously worked as a retail program director at Savor Fresh Farms,and has also held role as a principal at Primo Sabor Marketing and a key account manager at Frieda’s Specialty Produce.
Juan Sánchez Muñoz is headed to the San Joaquin Valley to be the new chancellor of UC Merced. Sánchez Muñozcurrently serves as the president of the University of Houston Downtown. The Los Angeles native received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Santa Barbara, his master’s in Mexican American Studies from Cal State Los Angeles and his doctorate in philosophy from UCLA. He taught at Cal State Fullerton and East Los Angeles, Pacific Oaks and Whittier Colleges. Before taking the helm at the University of Houston, he served as vice provost for undergraduate education and student affairs and senior vice president for diversity, equity and community engagement at Texas Tech University. Muñoz succeeds Dorothy Leland, who stepped down last year, and Nathan Brostrom, who served in the interim.
Juan Sánchez Muñoz
Founder and president of McDill Associates, Melissa “Missy” McDill, has died at the age of 65. A native of Salinas, Calif., McDill established McDill Associates in the 1970s, which served the marketing needs of companies in various industries. More recently, McDill was focused on the agency’s clients in the natural foods category, the rebrand of Pink Lady and the global launch of Cosmic Crisp apples.
AMVAC, an American Vanguard Corporation company, brought on Glen Donald as the director of portfolio management and business development. He replaces Neil DeStefano, who is retiring. Glen comes to AMVAC from Phytelligence Inc., where he served as president and chief operating officer.
Michael Torrey Associates has added Cassandra Kuball and Perry Harlow to its team. Kuball has been hired as the new vice president and Harlow as the Member and Events Manager. Before joining MTA, Kuball served as a vice president of public affairs at Edelman, providing counseling to the firm’s clients in the commodities, supply chain, agribusiness and global trade sectors. Before that, she worked for the Corn Refiners Association. Harlow comes to MTA from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation where he worked as the coordinator of programs and grants.
Zachary Gihorski has joined the team at NASDA as the new associate director of public policy, focusing on issues related to NASDA’s food systems and nutrition and plant agriculture and pesticide committees. Gihorski recently got his law degree from Penn State Dickinson Law. He most recently worked at Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC as a government relations, policy, and legal intern.
Jeff Bahr has been appointed to head of the sales and service team for Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS). He is responsible for leading growth opportunities for RCIS and its agents across the U.S. Most recently, Bahr was vice president and general manager of the west division for Zurich Direct Markets, an automotive insurance business. He is based in Overland Park, Kan.
Jeff Bahr
The Farmers National Company has promoted Matt Gunderson to senior vice president of sales and marketing. Gunderson has been with Farmers National Company since 2014 and previously served as the vice president of farm and ranch management.
The World Food Program USA appointed Wendy Rhein to be its new chief of staff. She previously served as the managing director of UNICEF USA’s mid-Atlantic office. Before that, Rhein served as chief of staff as well as director of campaigns and new initiatives at UNICEF USA.
The African Green Revolution Forum has hired Adebisi (Debisi) Araba, effective May 4, as the new managing director for AGRF. Araba will be based in Kigali, Rwanda. He succeeds Adam Gerstenmier, who is departing due to emerging engagements on the 2021 Food Systems Summit. Gerstenmier will stay involved with AGRF in an independent capacity through the end of the year in order to help ensure a smooth transition. Araba previously worked for the CGIAR system, where he served for the past four years as the Africa Region Director at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
Amy Skoczlas Cole has been named executive vice president of Farm Journal’s Trust In Food Initiative. She will take over the day-to-day leadership and strategic direction of Trust In Food from Mitch Rouda, who will shift to executive adviser as he begins to make the transition toward retirement over the next two years. Before joining Farm Journal, Cole served as managing director of The Water Main, a social impact enterprise of American Public Media.
Edwin (Ed) Jaenke, former governor of the Farm Credit Administration, died Tuesday, May 26, of complications of lung cancer. He was 89. Jaenke’s career kicked off when he was named the agricultural economist on the staff of Sen. Stuart Symington, D-Mo. On that committee, he was assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee staff during an investigation of USDA’s handling of farmer-elected county committees during the Eisenhower Administration. He worked on President John Kennedy’s presidential election serving on the Farmers for Kennedy-Johnson committee. He was appointed associate administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), predecessor of the Farm Service Agency, and vice president of the Commodity Credit Corporation. He became governor of the Farm Credit Administration in 1969, at age 38 the youngest person to hold the office. To read more on Jaenke, click here.
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