Katie Little, California League of Food ProducersDaniel Mathieson has been tapped as the next president of the Americas for Driscoll’s. Mathieson is currently the CEO at Zespri, the world's largest kiwifruit company, located in Singapore. In the coming months he will transition to Driscoll’s and move his family back to the U.S.
Nicole Gordy has been promoted to CEO of Sage Fruit Co., based in Yakima, Wash. Gordy previously was the director of business analytics. She succeeds Steve Clement, who has accepted the position of CEO at PNW Tree Fruit.
Katie Little has joined the California League of Food Producers as the new director of government affairs. She most recently left the California Farm Bureau where she was the senior policy advocate.
Jeff Payne is the new assistant general manager at Westlands Water District. He most recently served as the deputy regional director in the Bureau of Reclamation’s California Great-Basin Region.
MyLand, a soil health company, has brought on Kelsey Neppel as the director of ag science to lead the company’s agricultural science research and development efforts. An agronomist, Neppel previously was the agronomy manager at Duncan Family Farms and was also a research and development specialist at Bayer CropScience.
Ramon Angel and David Solis has been added to the sales team at Veg-Fresh Farms, located in Corona, Calif. Angel previously worked at Fresh Express Salads and Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce. Solis previously worked at Interfresh Inc., US Foods, Hardies Fruit & Veg and Dulcinea Farms.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has made new appointments. Meghan Hertel has been selected as the new deputy secretary of biodiversity and habitat at the California Natural Resources Agency. She previously was the North American director for the Land Life Company. Kate Moulene has been appointed to serve on the California Water Commission. Moulene is the CEO of River LA. She was also the founder and CEO of Capian Enterprises from 2002 to 2018. Newsom also reappointed Sandra Matsumoto to the California Water Commission, where she has served since 2022. Matsumoto is the director for the California Water Program at the Nature Conservancy. Sean Maguire has been also been reappointed to the State Water Resources Control Board, where he has served as a member since 2018. Maguire has held multiple positions at the State Water Resources Control Board, including supervising water resources control engineer and senior water resources control engineer. Sarah Fogarty has been appointed to the 18th District Agricultural Association, Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fair Board of Directors. Fogarty has been an elementary school teacher for the Lone Pine Unified School District since 2014.
Daniel Mathieson, ZespriStacy McBride has been named Husch Blackwell Strategies’ first executive vice president of federal government affairs. She previously was a principal. Before coming to Husch Blackwell Strategies, she was the chief of staff to former Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and was the staff director on the Senate Rules Committee.
Darren Carter has been named the new vice president of retail sales-east at Hormel Foods. He previously was the company’s vice president of sales and strategy. He succeeds Pat Schwab, who announced his retirement after serving 37 years with the company.
Stella Qian has been promoted to director of global programs administration at the U.S. Grains Council. She most recently was the senior manager of global ethanol market development.
The United Sorghum Checkoff Program has added Chef Chase Obenchain as its inaugural corporate chef consultant. Obenchain is a North Carolina native and has worked as innovation chef at Campbell’s Soup Company.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has created a Regenerative Agriculture Work Group to assist the State Board of Food and Agriculture in defining “regenerative agriculture” for state policies and programs. The 13-member group includes Doria Robinson, State Board of Food and Agriculture, Bryce Lundberg, State Board of Food and Agriculture (member) and certified regenerative organic farmer, Derek Azevedo, Bowles Farm, Dr. Daniel Rath, Natural Resources Defense Council, Dr. Cynthia Daley, Director, Chico State University Center for Regenerative Agriculture, Elizabeth Whitlow, Regenerative Organic Alliance, Dr. Jeff Dlott, Chair of the CDFA Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel, Dr. Qi Zhou, California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, Matt Byrne, Byrne Cattle, Blake Alexandre, Alexandre Family Farms, Eric Morgan, Braga Fresh, Krystal Acierto, deputy secretary for public policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency, and Virginia Jameson, deputy secretary for climate and working lands at CDFA.
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Fifteen new members have been appointed to serve on USDA’s Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers. The newly appointed members are: Sarah E. Bell, Alabama; Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, California; Jacqueline Bido, Florida; Sedrick K. Rowe Jr., Georgia; Jeremy L. Hendrix, Louisiana; Carolyn G. Jones, Mississippi; Delmar Stamps, Mississippi; Anita Lee, New York; Julian R. Mangano, New York; Arnetta Cotton, Oklahoma; Elsa Sanchez, Pennsylvania; Willette M. Crawford, South Carolina; Kimberly M. Ratcliff, Texas; Christina Chanes, U.S. Virgin Islands/U.S. Territories; and Mercy Kariuki-McGee, Washington.
The International Dairy Foods Association has announced the new members of the organization’s executive council, and the new directors for the group’s five Industry Segment Boards, which cover fluid milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy-derived ingredients. The new officers include Chair Patricia D. Stroup, senior vice president and chief procurement officer of Nestlé S.A./CEO, Nestrade S.A., Vice Chair Mike Durkin, president and CEO of Leprino Foods Company, Secretary Terry Brockman, chief business officer of Saputo Dairy Division USA, Treasurer David Nelsen, group vice president of manufacturing at Albertsons Companies, and Immediate Past Chair David Ahlem, CEO and president of Hilmar Cheese Company. The new chair of the Cheese Board is Kurt Epprecht, owner and vice president of cheese quality and dairy policy at Great Lakes Cheese Co. Vice chair is Sheryl Meshke, president and CEO of the Associated Milk Producers. Chair of the Fluid Milk Board is Joe Diglio, president and CEO of Michigan Milk Producers Association. The vice chair is Tim Kelly, senior vice president and general manager of Shamrock Foods Company. The new chair of the Ice Cream Board is Andy Jacobs, CEO of Turkey Hill Dairy, and vice chair is Richard Graeter, president and CEO of Graeter’s Ice Cream Company. The chair of the Ingredients Board is Daragh Maccabee, CEO, Idaho Milk Products, and vice chair is Gustavo Acosta, director global purchasing and dairy, Abbott. The new chair of the Yogurt and Cultured Products Board is Courtney Bidney, director of labeling and regulatory compliance at General Mills. The vice chair is Marc De Schutter, chief cycles and procurement officer of Danone North America.
The International Food Information Council has added Milton Stokes to its team as the new senior director of food and nutrition. Before coming to IFIC was a consultant to commodity boards, public relations agencies, restaurants, and startups in food, nutrition, and agriculture.
IFIC also welcomed new members to the board of trustees. They are as follows: Arti Arora, The Coca-Cola Company, Regan Bailey, Texas A&M University System, Regina Benjamin, Bayou Clinic Inc., & Former U.S. Surgeon General, Susan Bond, Kerry, Inc., Jessica Campbell, General Mills, Russ Dyer, Mondelēz International, Mario Ferruzzi, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Jeneen Fields, Purdue University, Simin Meydani, Tufts University, Amy Preston, The Hershey Company, Tia Rains, Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc., Dojin Ryu, University of Missouri-Columbia, Barbara Schneeman, University of California, Davis, Timothy Sellnow, University of Central Florida, Anna Maria Siega-Riz, University of Massachusetts- Amherst, Jessica Smith, Mars, Inc., and Jeffrey Zachwieja, PepsiCo.
Napa County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Klobas died at the age of 45. There have been no details released about the cause of his death. He joined the Farm Bureau in 2017 as policy director and was promoted to CEO in 2018. Before that, he advised the governor of California on environmental issues and made recommendations for appointments to state environmental boards and commissions. He also was the chief of staff to Contra Costa County Supervisor Mary Piepho. Before that, he was the campaign manager and political strategist for candidates of the California State Assembly and U.S. Congress.
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