The Almond Alliance says Aubrey Bettencourt is stepping down as president and CEO after three years at the helm. Bettencourt, who served in the Trump administration, has helped move the organization through some of the industry’s most challenging times, including post-pandemic port disruptions. The group also has worked with California Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration on the LandFlex partnership that pays farmers not to pump groundwater near drinking wells.
Aubrey BettencourtNona McCoy has joined the Torrey Advisory Group as a vice president. McCoy previously was a staff member on the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. She has also served in senior professional staff roles on both the House and Senate Agriculture committees and as a program specialist at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
David Hollinrake is leaving Syngenta, where he was the head of strategy and portfolio for global seeds. He was with the company for the last seven years, joining in 2017 as president of the North America Seeds business. Syngenta has appointed Glenn Walter (G.W.) Fuhr as the new head of commercial strategy and product, global seeds field crops. He has been in Brazil the last 7 months working to stabilize business as the interim regional director for Brazil and Paraguay. Carlos Hentschke has also been elevated to regional director of Brazil and Paraguay Seeds Field Crops. He most recently was the head of Brazil and Paraguay Seeds.
Tom Wojno has been promoted to chief operating officer at the International Dairy Foods Association. He previously was the senior vice president of innovation and member advancement. Before that, he was the founder and principal at Association Growth Strategies.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has appointed Lance Honig as chair of the USDA Agricultural Statistics Board as well as the methodology division director. Honig has served in an acting capacity for both roles since November 2023.
The Department of Agriculture has also hired six new individuals to senior staff positions. Alysia K. Peters has been appointed as the new director of intergovernmental affairs for the Office of External and Intergovernmental Affairs. Before joining USDA, Peters worked as the director of the Office of Gifts and Grants Management for the Peace Corps. Dr. Alexandra Lawrence has been brought on as the new chief of staff for the Natural Resources Conversation Service. She previously served as a senior adviser in the Office of Global Operations at the Peace Corps. Ethan Holmes has been hired as the new senior policy adviser for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. He previously served as a senior agricultural policy adviser and deputy assistant for the United States Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Sakeenah Shabazz has been selected as a senior policy adviser for the Food and Nutrition Service. Sakeenah previously worked at the Berkeley Food Institute, where she managed their local, state, and federal policy engagement as their policy director. Maya Cohn has been appointed policy adviser for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Cohn most recently was the director of policy and programs for the Rachel Carson Council, a national environmental organization focused on preserving the legacy of Carson through environmental justice. Maya Johnson has been brought on as a policy adviser for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Before joining USDA, Ms. Johnson was a middle school science teacher in the Prince George County Public School System. Before that, she was a U.S. Policy and Advocacy Associate for Breakthrough Energy.
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Emily German is now deputy director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She previously was a minority staff member on the House Agriculture Committee for Ranking Member David Scott, D-Ga. She handled the portfolio for futures trading, Title I commodity programs, rural development, broadband and energy policy. She was minority staff director for the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee.
Nick Shipley has left the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. His last day with the organization was April 5. He was the chief advocacy officer. Aiken Hackett is now interim head of advocacy at BIO.
Catherine White has been elevated to deputy press secretary in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She previously was a press assistant for USTR Katherine Tai.
James Akuetteh is the new manager of finance at USA Rice. Akuetteh is a CPA and brings over 10 years of finance and accounting experience to the role. He previously was a consultant with Robert Half International, where he was on assignment to USA Rice for the past eight months.
James Akuetteh, USA RiceDean Loftis has taken a new job with the Noble Research Institute as marketing and communications account supervisor. He previously worked for Advanta Seeds as North American marketing lead.
The U.S. Grains Council hired Emma Freebairn as manager of industry relations administration. She previously interned for the council and has held an internship with the Illinois Farm Bureau. She recently received her bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Iowa State University.
Susanne Wasson has been added to the board of directors for Vive Crop Protection. She brings over 33 years of experience in executive leadership roles. She most recently retired as president of the Crop Protection Business Platform of Corteva Agriscience.
Judy Culbertson, executive director of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, has announced she will retire from the helm after 40 years of service.
Edward James Barron died on April 2 at the age of 75. A New York native, he began his career in Washington, DC as a staff attorney with USDA's Office of General Counsel in 1976. He then joined the staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee when it was chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., working on issues related to hunger, rural communities, the food and farm safety net, and the Farm Credit System. He then moved committees to serve as senior staff and legal counsel to Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee and moved to become deputy chief of staff to Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. He retired from public service in 2007, but continued his career working for The Russell Group, the Air Transport Association of the U.S., Greenberg Traurig, and the Bayer Corp. “The entire time Ed worked on the Hill, which was over 20 years, whether it was dairy policy or nutrition policy, he had his finger prints on all of it … He was a terrific, terrific guy,” said Randy Russell, The Russell Group.
