The University of California Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences named Ashley Stokes as college's new dean effective July 1. She currently serves as a professor of veterinary large animal clinical sciences at the University of Tennessee and was dean of UT's Institute of Agriculture Extension from 2021 to 2024, overseeing a budget of $100 million and 1,000 faculty and staff. Stokes earlier held leadership and teaching positions at Colorado State University and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Stokes succeeds Helene Dillard, who has served as dean of CA&ES for 11 years and announced her retirement in 2023.
Ashley Stokes (John Eisele/CSU photo) Tanimura & Antle hired Laura Rosemeyer as a national account manager. She previously worked at Soli Organic as a senior account manager where she oversaw retail sales, managed broker teams, and executed strategic growth initiatives for a national account. Rosemeyer also previously worked at Empire Marketing Strategies.
Jaana Syme joined the Congressional Western Caucus as policy adviser. She was previously legislative assistant for Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah.
The New York Produce Show and Conference named Jessie Gunn trade show and events director to lead planning and marketing initiatives for the conference. Gunn was previously working in marketing and business development at Dohi and also previously led marketing and events at Farm Journal.
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The Mushroom Council added two new marketing staff members to the organization. Cristie Mather was hired as vice president of marketing. She previously worked at Curious Plot as vice president, management supervisor and food domain lead. Mather was previously director of communications for Pear Bureau Northwest. Adriane Rippberger was hired as director of marketing. She also previously worked at Curious Plot for 12 years, most recently as a group account director. Rippberger also previously worked for Adsoka as a marketing and PR manager.
Phoenix Media Network hired Carlos Sanchez as account executive to help lead sales across the southern United States. He has worked at Blue Book Service as a field and service representative for nearly a decade where he has attended many produce industry events.
Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, announced his plans to retire near the end of the calendar year. He has been with the organization since 2017. NACE is accepting applications to fill the position through the end of March. 
Christie Mather (LinkedIn photo)
Fresh Del Monte Produce appointed Deema Anani as chief commercial officer focused on driving commercial growth within specialty ingredients and innovation. She will work closely with Nizar Haddad and Imad Farhat to lead Fresh Del Monte’s Biomass initiative working to transform residues and byproducts into high-value solutions that support a circular economy.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, undersecretary for research, education and economics and USDA chief scientist, has retired. A career employee, Jacobs-Young was administrator of the Agricultural Research Service for eight years among other roles during 23 years at the agency. “My colleagues know that through the years I have been vocal about the exact day and time in 2027 that I would retire," she wrote. "So last week, I simply left my equipment and my badge on a desk and exited federal service for what might be my last time.”
Karen Budd-Falen is returning to the Interior Department as associate deputy secretary. She served in the Reagan and first Trump administrations, recently as deputy solicitor for national parks and the Endangered Species Act. She and her husband own Budd-Falen Law Offices in Cheyenne, Wyoming, representing property owners, farm and ranch groups and local governments.
Riley Padgett returned to USDA, this time as chief of staff for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Padgett was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., and was chief of staff for the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement during the first Trump administration.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture hired Logan Moss as associate director of public policy. He will be responsible for animal agriculture and natural resources and environment policy committees. A University of Arkansas graduate, Moss was extension associate for the Flinchbaugh Chair in Agricultural Policy at Kansas State University.
Sean Lokken was promoted to senior policy adviser for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., covering agriculture, food, energy and animals. Lokken has been on Cortez Masto’s staff since the 2016 campaign.
Terrain hired Marc Rosenbohm as senior grain and oilseed analyst. He joins the team from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute where he provided outlooks and projections for 18 crops, from corn and soybeans to alfalfa and dry beans. He is based in Columbia, Missouri.
John Owen (USGC photo)The U.S. Grains Council hired John Owen as global programs coordinator based in Washington. He worked at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service as a specialty crops market reporter in the market news division. A Texas Tech University graduate, he was agricultural affairs and commodity policy intern at the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Lisa Foust Prater was promoted to Successful Farming executive editor of family and rural issues at Dotdash Meredith. The host of the "15 Minutes with a Farmer" podcast, she has been with the company for 26 years.
USDA has named additional communications staff. Jolene Pumphrey will be deputy press secretary. She was digital director for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and previously worked for Fox News as a special assistant and production assistant. Pumphrey was also a multimedia intern at the Heritage Foundation. Mason Prickett was hired as a press assistant.
The National Agri-Marketing Association announced the organization’s top industry award winners. Bob Petersen, retired leader of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City, was named Ag Association Leader of the Year. Petersen was influential in launching the Ag Outlook Forum and assisting the relocation of some USDA agencies to Kansas City. Mark Orr, CEO of GROWMARK, was selected as Agribusiness Leader of the Year. NAMA says Orr “propelled GROWMARK’s growth by fostering strategic partnerships, advancing supply chain solutions, and championing sustainable agronomic practices.” Michele Egan of Novonesis and formerly North America marketing manager at Chr. Hansen, was named NAMA Marketer of the Year for her marketing strategies in the animal nutrition sector.
Roy L. Prosterman, founder of the Rural Development Institute, which changed its name to Landesa in 2011, a pioneering land reform advocate, died Feb. 27 at his home in Seattle. He was 89. He had Parkinson’s disease. A lawyer, Prosterman is credited with helping millions of agricultural workers in developing countries to secure legal rights to land they worked.
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