The Office of the United States Trade Representative has a temporary new chief transparency officer. Acting General Counsel Juan Millán has been designated to serve as the agency’s CTO on an acting basis. According to a USTR announcement, Millán will lead the agency’s efforts to put into place transparency principles that were released in 2021 after President Biden took office. Millán also is supposed to “identify further opportunities for improving transparency in the development of U.S. trade policy.”
Amy O'Shea | Flagship PioneeringAmy O'Shea has joined Flagship Pioneering as CEO-Partner and Invaio as chief executive officer and board director. Bringing more than 20 years of experience spanning across the agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical industries, she most recently served as president and CEO of Certis Biologicals, a division of Mitsui & Co. She has also held multiple leadership positions at FMC Corp., an agricultural sciences company.
Mike Glymph has been hired by Monument Advocacy as the new vice president of government relations in the organization’s food and agriculture practice. He previously worked for Diageo as the government relations manager. Before that, he was the director of government relations for Feeding America.
Gizelle Wray returns to the Solar Energy Industries Association, where she has been selected as the new vice president and general counsel. She will oversee the organization’s legal and governance work as well as its consumer protection initiatives. She previously led regulatory affairs activities for Savion, a Shell portfolio company and utility-scale solar and energy storage developer. Before that, she was SEIA’s senior director of regulatory affairs and counsel.
The U.S. Grains Council has promoted Milla Par and Tatiana Ciobanu in the company’s accounting department. Par, who most recently served as the manager of program funding, has been promoted to the newly created position of manager of international accounting. She will be responsible for ensuring compliance and handling of USDA’s funding in global accounting operations. Ciobanu has been promoted to the role of manager of program funding following Par’s promotion. She will be responsible for the tracking of funding and expenditures for programs such as the Market Access Program, Foreign Market Development program and Regional Agricultural Trade Promotion programs.
Thomas Mills is leaving his position as director of federal government relations for CropLife America after two years in the job. He previously worked on Capitol Hill, and he was the deputy director of public engagement and agriculture outreach at EPA during the Trump administration.
Anthony Cruz has joined the staff of Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, as her new communications director. Cruz previously worked for Microsoft as an account executive. Miller-Meeks has also added Anthony Fakhoury as the new deputy communications director. He previously worked for Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., as her press secretary.
Mike Glymph, Monument AdvocacyEdge Dairy Farmer Cooperative has hired Paige Kirnberger as a sustainability project specialist and Kayla Mayer as the marketing and communications manager. Kirnberger will help support farmers with the Farmers for Sustainable Food Climate-Smart Program. She previously was a technical specialist for Zoetis Animal Health. Mayer previously worked for Emmer Real Estate Group as the director of operations. She and her husband own a small herd of registered Brown Swiss and Red and White Holsteins, which they bring to national-level cattle shows.
MyLand has brought on Nicole Small as the senior manager of marketing and communications, overseeing marketing initiatives and boosting the company’s service options in the soil health space. She most recently graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in business administration and a focus on marketing, promotion and communication.
Lorenzo Pope died on March 25. He was 79. Pope was a plant breeder whose work in rice research spanned more than 45 years. He was an executive at Rice Researchers and served for decades on the California Rice Commission Board of Directors and many of its committees, including the Rice Promotion Board.
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George Denny Hickman, chairman emeritus of Peco Foods, a Tuscaloosa, Alabama, poultry integrator, died March 27. He was 83. Hickman worked in the family business alongside his father, John Herman Hickman, who founded the company, and was elected president in 1987. He retired in 2022.
Paige Kirnberger, Edge Dairy Farmer CooperativeMichael Malecha died unexpectedly on March 27, in Washington, D.C. He was 71. Born on July 6, 1952, to George and Delores Malecha, he was the oldest of 10 children, and was raised in Northfield, Minnesota. According to his obituary, he “was a proud big brother and farm kid.” He graduated from the University of Minnesota, where he kicked off a long career in agricultural business and renewable fuels. He was involved with many agriculture groups, including the National Grain and Feed Association. A visitation will be held Thursday, April 18, at Bierman, Benson & Langehough Funeral Home from 4-7 p.m., and continue Friday, April 19 at 10 a.m. at Church of St. Dominic. A celebration of life will be held at the church Friday at 11 a.m., followed by a private burial. Memorials in Mike’s honor may be directed to the Malecha Family 4-H North Star Scholarship benefiting college-bound 4-H members at the University of Minnesota, North Dakota State University, and South Dakota State University or U of M Foundation - Fund 25432, PO Box 860266, Minneapolis, MN 55486. Online condolences may be made at the funeral home web site, NorthfieldFuneral.com
