David Shabazian was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the State Board of Food and Agriculture. He has been director of the California Department of Conservation since 2019 and was a rural-urban connections strategy program manager at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments from 2000 to 2019. There is no compensation for his position.
Rick Alcocer, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Duda Farm Fresh Foods, is retiring. Alcocer began his lifelong career in the produce industry after graduating from the University of Southern California in 1980. Since then, he has worked for Dole Fresh Vegetables, Tanimura & Antle and Duda Farm Fresh Foods. He dedicated much of his time to the fresh produce industry, including serving as a Canadian Produce Marketing Association board member for over 25 years and the first American chair from 2017-2018.
Rick Alcocer, Duda Farm Fresh FoodsLuke Tomanelli joined UPL as head of U.S. government and industry affairs. He has led North America public policy and advocacy for Bayer Crop Science and was a senior staffer on Capitol Hill. Berries Paradise elected César Ortiz as CEO. He succeeds Roberto Samano, who is departing after a decade leading the group.
Genevieve O’Sullivan departed as vice president of communications at CropLife America after eight years.
Nizar Haddad was tapped as director of innovation and business development at Fresh Del Monte. He will also oversee De l’Ora Bio, a Fresh Del Monte-led partnership with Vellsam Materias Bioactivas, as general manager. Haddad is the former director of the National Agricultural Research Centre in Jordan.
IMG Citrus added Bekah McMurrain to staff as a citrus business developer in the Southeast market. She will expand established programs and develop new initiatives with food retailers in her area. McMurrain brings nearly 10 years of agriculture and citrus experience to the position.
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Soil sensing technology company Earth Optics and Pattern Ag’s agronomy business are merging to focus on digitizing soil health for advanced crop management and climate sustainability around the globe. The merged entities will operate under the EarthOptics name. Both companies began in 2018. Earth Optics offices are in Raleigh, North Carolina; Arlington and Blacksburg, Virginia; Minneapolis, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Pattern Ag is based in Emeryville, Calif.
Katie Talbot was appointed deputy director of public affairs at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. She was most recently communications director for state Assembly Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon.
Invariant added Emerson Houser to the food and agriculture government affairs team. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he interned with the American Beverage Association while in college.
Ben Bliven joined Fox Solutions as senior manufacturing and operations manager. He will oversee day-to-day operations to ensure production targets and quality standards are met. Bliven has more than 15 years of experience in the manufacturing and operations sector.
Ben Bliven, Fox SolutionsCBA also promoted Sarah Gallo from vice president of product policy to senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs, and John Hewitt from vice president to senior vice president of packaging and sustainability and state affairs. The reorganization comes after CEO David Chavern left to become president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.
The American Agricultural Law Association named incoming board members Ashley Ellixson as president-elect, and Chelsea Good and Kale Van Bruggen as directors. An Arkansas and Texas Tech alumnus, Ellixson is chief commercial officer at United Dairymen of Arizona. Good is vice president of government and industry affairs at the Livestock Marketing Association and has experience as a staff attorney at the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Van Bruggen has worked at Rinke Noonan Law Firm for 12 years.
Grace Hogue joined the National Association of State Foresters as a policy coordinator. She is a recent graduate of American University and has experience working for Bunge as a government affairs intern.
POET LLC hired Paige Lindgren as director of public affairs. Lindgren has worked on Capitol Hill since 2017 for an array of members including Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and David Perdue, R-Ga., and Reps. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.
Matt Caswell left Ag Processing Inc. after 10 years to join Green Capitol as a partner. He was vice president of corporate relations and government affairs at AGP. He has worked for nearly 25 years for Syngenta, BP America and the Iowa Soybean Association.
Nolan Melchiori joined the personal office of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., as deputy scheduler. Melchiori is a recent University of Michigan graduate.
Wendy Vlieks, former United Soybean Board vice president of communications, joined The Genome Partnership as president. She brings more than 20 years experience to the role. She succeeds Lisa Zigman, who retires in February 
Matt Herrick, IDFAafter a decade with the organization.
Matt Herrick was promoted to executive vice president and chief impact officer at the International Dairy Foods Association. In the newly created role, he will lead policy, advocacy, communications, and social impact strategy. He was senior vide president of public affairs and communications at the association.
Jennifer Crouse joined the Association of Public Health Laboratories as director of conferences and events. Crouse worked at the American Seed Trade Association for 21 years, most recently as senior director of meetings and services.
Tyson Foods appointed interim chief financial officer Curt Calaway to take the position permanently. Calaway succeeds John R. Tyson, who was suspended this summer after an arrest for driving while intoxicated. The company said Tyson remains with the company on health-related leave.
Caroline Sowinski was promoted to policy manager at Torrey Advisory Group. A University of Florida and American University alumnus, Sowinski specializes in food waste, global food security and policy research.
Topsoe tapped Kamil Lungu as a government and public affairs coordinator. Lungu recently graduated from Georgetown and completed internships with the Corn Refiners Association, Bracewell LLP and Cheniere Energy, Inc. while in college.
Corteva hired Robert Nixon as global stewardship launch lead. He will oversee stewardship product launch planning for new seed technology innovations. He joins Corteva from Bayer, where he most recently was a North America portfolio commercialization and stewardship director. Nixon is also a Monsanto alumnus.
Nicoletta Pavese was promoted to director of value chain engagement at Bayer. In the new role, she will work with the sustainability and strategic engagement team to advance regenerative agriculture. Pavese was most recently senior manager of agriculture engagement and activation partnerships.
Agriculture Future of America added Savannah Peterson to staff as a marketing specialist. A recent Kansas State graduate, she brings multimedia production and social media management experience.
AgSpire tapped Sydney Sebulsky as vice president of producer programs and technical assistance. Most recently, Sebulsky was the North American marketing lead for seed treatment at BASF. She has also worked in global and U.S.-based roles focused on providing innovative solutions for farmer customers.
Vestaron Crop Protection tapped Juan Estupinan as president and CEO. He had been in the role in an interim capacity.
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