The Department of Agriculture has added six new members to its senior staff team and promoted one in its latest rounds of hires.
Kevin Shea, USDAKevin Shea has been named senior adviser in the Office of the Deputy Secretary. He has over 40 years of experience at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, including serving as the administrator since 2013. He also served as the acting deputy secretary from February 2023 to July 2023. Michael Watson has been selected to fill Shea’s position as the administrator of APHIS. Watson has been the associate administrator of APHIS since 2018 and served as the acting administrator when Shea was appointed acting deputy secretary.
Georgette Furukawa is now the chief of staff for the Agricultural Marketing Service. She comes to USDA from the White House, where she was an adviser to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander team in the Office of the Chief of Staff.
Jayme Holliday has been hired as a senior adviser for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. She comes to USDA from Capitol Hill, where she most recently worked as a senior policy adviser to Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, D-M.P.
Sarah Dietch is returning to Rural Development as chief of staff. Dietch previously worked at the Peace Corps, where she served as director of Peace Corps Response. Before that, Dietch held senior roles at USDA’s Rural Development, the Transportation Security Administration Office of Legislative Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Legislative Affairs.
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan is now the administrator for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. She will replace Karama Neal, who is leaving to return to Arkansas. Dirksen Londrigan was serving as USDA’s Rural Development state director for Illinois, a position she assumed in January 2022.
Jimmy Dahman has been promoted from acting chief of staff for Rural Development to senior adviser for communications and external engagement.
Veronica Nigh has joined The Fertilizer Institute as the new senior economist. She previously worked for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Veronica Nigh, TFIErin Davis has been appointed CEO of Quality Roasting, a soybean meal and oil products manufacturer. Davis joined the company in 2016, and most recently was the director of business operations.
Dustin Sapp has been appointed as the new CEO of Traction Ag, replacing Ian Harley, who will take over as the company’s chief operating officer and remain an executive board member. He most recently was the president of Formstack.
Kaytlin Bemis has taken on a new job with the National Corn Growers Association as the manager of public policy. She most recently worked for the Minnesota Farm Bureau as a public policy specialist.
The American Soybean Association has hired Juliana Nicolini as the new SoyPAC manager. The Texas native previously worked as the PAC and grassroots advocacy manager for the American Urological Association.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) has named Colleen Callahan as its interim executive director. The former NAFB President and Hall of Fame awardee owns and operates Colleen Callahan Consultancy. She previously served as the director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and was the Illinois director of USDA’s Rural Development office.
Taylor Lekin has joined the American Feed Industry Association as the new marketing and program development coordinator. She recently graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in agriculture and rural policy studies.
Midwest Dairy CEO Molly Pelzer has announced she will be retiring from her role in March. A registered dietitian, Pelzer started her career with Midwest Dairy in 1984 as a program director working with schools and health care professionals. She became CEO of the organization in 2019. Midwest Dairy’s board is currently accepting applications to replace Pelzer.
Aaron Wolfinger has joined Farm Credit of the Virginias agribusiness lending team as a relationship manager. Before joining FCV, Wolfinger was a consulting forester for a local forest management company for the last two years.
Five people were selected to participate in the 2024 cohort of the National Conservation Foundation's Next Generation Leadership Institute. The participants include Excell La Fayette, Jr. of Oklahoma; Kelli Bowen of North Dakota; Vincent Thompson of Kentucky; Kirk Daniel of Tennessee; and Glenn Takai of Guam.
Aaron Wolfinger, FCVAna Davis has been appointed to a three-year term as treasurer and member of the executive board at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Davis is the head of health, safety and environment for North America at Syngenta.
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Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed four new members to fill vacancies on the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Federal Advisory Committee. The new committee members will serve three-year terms. The new appointees include Ted Fang, San Francisco; Qiana Mickie, New York; Jeffrey Young, Shepherdsville, Kentucky; and Kate Greenberg, Denver.
Ron Seeber was elected as the new chairman of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City at the group’s annual meeting. Seeber is the CEO of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Grain and Feed Association, and Renew Kansas Biofuels Association. Kristie Larson, strategic relationship manager at The DeBruce Foundation, was elected vice chairwoman. Newly elected to serve a two-year term on the board includes Davin Althoff, Missouri Farm Bureau; Tom Brand; Chelsea Good, Livestock Marketing Association; Terry Holdren, Kansas Farm Bureau; Chris Klenklen, Missouri Department of Agriculture; Jackie McClaskey, American Royal; Amber Oerly, Fulcrum Global Capital; Paul Schadegg, Farmers National Company; Matt Teagarden, Kansas Livestock Association; and Robin Wenneker, Wenneker Properties.
Kendall Hodgson of Kansas has been selected as the new chairman for the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. Other officers include Vice Chairman Ethan Miller, Missouri; Treasurer Kim Baldwin, Kansas; and Secretary Zack Rendel, Oklahoma.
Cliff Becker passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 30. He was the vice president of new campus development for the American Royal and also previously served as the chairman of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City. He had over 39 years of experience in ag media, previously working for Farm Journal and Vance Publishing Corporation.
Former National Renderers Association CEO Russell John of Huntsville, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 27. He was 91. An Army veteran, John got his master’s degree in animal nutrition and spent the beginning of his career working for companies such as Thompson Hayward Chemical Company, Farnam Companies, now a part of Central Garden and Pet, and Farmland Industries. He later served as the chairman of the nutrition committee and then president of the American Feed Ingredient Association.
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