Farm Hands West: Taylor nominated USDA trade undersecretary

President Joe Biden has tapped Alexis Taylor as the Department of Agriculture’s trade undersecretary. Taylor served as deputy undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service during the Obama administration before going on to lead the Oregon Department of Agriculture in late 2016.

Biden has also selected Stacy Dean to lead the Department of Agriculture’s nutrition programs as the next undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. Dean is currently the FNCS deputy undersecretary, where she has jurisdiction over USDA’s nutrition assistance efforts and programs.

USDA Nominee Alexis Taylor

APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea has picked Mark Davidson as the new deputy administrator of Plant Protection and Quarantine at USDA. Davidson has been acting in this role since Osama El Lissy retired in January. Before his time in the Administrator’s office, Davidson served as the deputy administrator for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Business Services. Before that, he spent 19 years with Veterinary Services.

Carl Sam Maggio and Mark Nickerson, co-founders of Prime Time International, have announced their retirement. Prime Time Managing Partners Mike Way and Jeff Taylor will take over leading the company.

Joe Vargas has been hired as the director of business intelligence for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and North American Blueberry Council. Most recently, Vargas was the director of marketing, business development and business intelligence for FirstFruits Marketing in Yakima, Washington, and a lecturer at Central Washington University, where he taught graduate and undergraduate data analytics courses. 

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has been added to the House Agriculture Committee. Kaptur has been in Congress since 1982. She also sits on the House Appropriations Committee, the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. 

Chris Lucas, Terry Arbit, and Elizabeth (Libby) Mastrogiacomo have joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as staff for Commissioner Summer Mersinger. Lucas has been tapped as chief of staff and counsel. Arbit and Mastrogiacomo will both serve as senior counsel. Most recently, Lucas was with BNY Mellon, where he was co-head of U.S. government affairs. Arbit has been with CFTC for 17 years. He most recently worked in the office of former Commissioner Dawn Stump. There, he provided legal and policy advice on matters arising primarily from the Division of Market Oversight, the MarkLindsey Farrellet Participants Division, and the Legal Division. Mastrogiacomo formerly served as senior counsel to Stump.

The U.S. Grains Council has promoted Emily Byron to director of global programs. She was previously the manager of global programs. Byron has been with the council since 2015.

Audra Weeks started a new position with Edible, a Daniel J. Edelman company. Weeks has been brought on as an account supervisor for crisis and issues management. Weeks previously served as press secretary to Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and before that worked in the communications office at the Department of Agriculture during the Trump administration. 

Jim Cudahy has been named the new CEO of the Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies. Cudahy most recently served as a managing director at Virtual, a professional services firm. He has also served as the president and CEO of the National Investor Relations Institute as well as the National Court Reporters Association. Joe Vargas, USHBC and NABC

The Food and Drug Law Institute has tapped Christine M. Simmon as its new president and chief executive officer, effective July 5. Simmon will replace Amy Comstock Rick, who is leaving at the end of June after eight years leading the organization. Simmon most recently served as the executive vice president of the association for accessible medicines.

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