Alexandra (Alex) Dunn has been named the new president and CEO of CropLife America. She has been a partner in the environmental, safety and incident response group at the international law firm Baker Botts since 2021. She previously served as assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. She will begin her new role in March.
Alexandra Dunn, incoming president and CEO of CropLife AmericaSmithfield Foods has named Kraig Westerbeek president of its hog production operations, effective Feb. 29. He began his career with Smithfield in 1993 as an environmental manager for Quarter M Farms, which later merged with Murphy Family Farms. In 2022, he was named chief development officer of Monarch Renewables, a joint venture between Smithfield Foods, Roeslein Alternative Energy and TPG Rise Climate.
David Sindall is now the partnership coordinator at the U.S. Forest Service. He previously was a management analyst at USDA.
The Port of Oakland has appointed Carolyn Almquist to be the new maritime marketing manager. She brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, previously working with American President Lines, most recently as head of cargo flow for the Americas.
Lia Biondo has joined the Congressional Research Service as an ag policy analyst covering the livestock, dairy and commodities portfolio. She spent the last nine years at Western Skies Strategies, most recently as senior associate.
DeShawn Blanding has joined the Union of Concerned Scientists as the senior Washington representative for the food and environment program. He previously was a senior policy analyst on the minority staff of the House Ag Committee.
Ivan Goh has returned to the U.S. Wheat Associates as the biscuit, bakery and noodle technologist in the South and Southeast Asia market, based in Singapore. He will also take on the additional responsibility of running courses at the UFM Baking and Cooking School in Bangkok, Thailand. Goh joined USW in March 2018 and left in late 2022 to work in the private industry.
Lillie Zeng has left the American Sugar Alliance where she was the director of communications. Before going to the Sugar Alliance she was the press secretary for Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on the Senate Ag Committee. Before that she worked at USDA as a public affairs specialist.
Lia Biondo, Congressional Research ServiceJazmine Kemp no longer works in the office of Rep. Dusty Johnson where she was the deputy chief of staff and communications director. She also served as the Republican Main Street Caucus’ executive director. She left to spend more time with her family.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
Adrian Deveny has left Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., office where he was the energy and environmental policy director. He has been on Schumer’s staff since 2019.
Robert Rainey has left the FMC Corp., where he was a retail market manager. He was with the company for the last eight years.
Dan Glickman has been tapped to chair the board of directors for Hunger Free America. He has served on the board since 2020. Glickman was secretary of agriculture during the Bill Clinton administration.
Vern Hawkins has been appointed to serve on Taranis’ board of directors. Hawkins is Syngenta’s president of crop protection and regional director of North America.
The National Association of Conservation Districts has elected Gary Blair as president-elect of the organization. He will assume the role of NACD president in 2025. He has been on the NACD board since 2015. He most recently served as the first vice president.
Joe Nicosia has been selected chairman of the National Cotton Council for 2024. Nicosia has been a member of the board of directors since 2011. Patrick Johnson has been tapped as vice chairman.
Cotton Council International has tapped Lee Cromley to serve as president for 2024. Other officers elected were first vice president Carlo Bocardo, second vice president John C. King, III, secretary Gary Adams, treasurer Richard Gaona, and assistant secretary Bruce Atherley. CCI is the National Cotton Council’s export promotion arm.
The American Coalition for Ethanol board of directors reelected its officer team which includes Dave Sovereign as president and Troy Knecht as vice president. Sovereign works for Golden Grain Energy and is based in St. Ansgar, Iowa. Knecht works for Redfield Energy at Redfield, South Dakota.
Stephanie Wise has been elected as the board chair of Compeer Financial, a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative based in the upper Midwest. Dan Erickson was selected as vice chair, and Sara Jansen was appointed to serve on the organization’s board of directors. Wise is a fifth-generation corn, soybean and popcorn farmer, and previously served as vice chair on the Board.
A pioneer in agriculture electronics, Bob Lanphier passed away on Dec. 30 in Springfield, Ill. He was 91. In the middle of his career, he left electrical engineering to be the CEO of DICKEY-john Corp., which designed and sold electronic agricultural instrumentation. He became a Farm Foundation round table fellow in 1986 and became an honorary life fellow in 2010.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
