Janie Hipp, Native Agriculture Financial ServicJanie Hipp has started a new job as CEO and president of Native Agriculture Financial Services. She previously was general counsel at USDA. Before that, she was the CEO of the Native American Agriculture Fund.
Food for the Hungry has brought on Lisa Pino as its new chief operating officer. She most recently served as director for the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. She also served at USDA as the deputy administrator of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and later as the USDA deputy assistant secretary for civil rights.
Ray Atkinson has been promoted to senior director of external communication at Smithfield Foods. He previously was the director. Before joining Smithfield, Atkinson worked at the American Farm Bureau Federation, where he was the director of strategic communications.
Liz Payne has joined Bunge as director of government affairs, based in Washington. She most recently served as the legislative director for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
The National Corn Growers Association has hired Jennifer Sharkey as membership operations manager. She comes to NCGA from the Association of American Educators, where she was the director of membership development.
Jennifer Sharkey, NCGAMariah MacKenzie has been selected as the new communications coordinator for the International Dairy Foods Association. She previously was a communications specialist at the National Association of Conservation Districts.Don't miss a beat sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! The latest on what’s happening in Washington, D.C. and around the country in agriculture, just click here.
Karina Schoengold has joined the Nebraska Water Center as the new associate director. Schoengold is an economist and professor at the University of Nebraska.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation has brought on Kole Pederson as its director of regulatory and environmental affairs and Abby Durheim as its new marketing and communications coordinator. Pederson previously was an intern with Fredrikson & Byron. Durheim recently earned a master's degree from the University of Nebraska.
Nick Althoff has been hired as a field representative for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., based in Columbia, Missouri. He will help Hawley as farm bill discussions ramp up. Althoff most recently was an economics intern at the American Farm Bureau Federation. He also interned for former Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo.
Brandon Neuschafer has been elected as the president-elect for 2023–2024 at the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. He is a co-leader at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's international food and agriculture team. In 2024-2025, he will become the 52nd president of CAST. Alex Thomasson, Mississippi State University, the current CAST president-elect, will become president at the conclusion of the annual board meeting in November.
Silvia Abel-Caines, of Organic Valley, has joined the Organic Materials Review Institute as a member of the organization’s board of directors. Abel-Caines is a veterinarian with a doctorate in ruminant nutrition. She brings over 12 years of experience in the organic industry and has been a staff technical consultant for Continental Grain, Wayne Feeds and Hubbard Feeds.
Danny Allen Klinefelter died on July 24. He was 76. An Illinois native, he created The Executive Program for Agriculture Producers at Texas A&M University, where he was a specialist in agricultural finance.
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