Articles by Hannah Pagel

Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed six and reappointed six individuals to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture and Deputy Secretary for Climate and Working Lands Virginia Jameson has been tapped to represent the California Department of Food and Agriculture on the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council.

Tom Chapman has been selected as the next CEO and executive director of the Organic Trade Association and Dairy MAX has promoted Marty McKinzie to chief growth officer and has brought on Kay Johnson Smith as chief operating officer.

Former Almond Alliance President Elaine Trevino withdrew from consideration to be the top ag negotiator at USTR but is still expected to work in the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden has named three new state executive directors for the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency and six state USDA Rural Development directors, and Elaine Trevino has withdrawn from the nomination process to be the next chief agricultural trade negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Nine individuals have been tapped for Department of Agriculture roles leading state operations for Farm Service Agency and Rural Development offices.

Governor Gavin Newsom has tapped Christy Bouma as the legislative affairs secretary in the Office of the Governor while Kristen Smith Eshaya follows her father’s footsteps and is named the new president of JV Smith Companies.

Bayer has appointed Michael Parrish to the position of vice president of public affairs, science and sustainability, U.S., and Osama El Lissy has been appointed to serve as the secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention.

Amid growing concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine, the G7 ag ministers have joined the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in urging countries not to protect their own food supplies by restricting exports.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Rachel Zwillinger as assistant general counsel for enforcement at CalEPA. Zwillinger previously served as a water policy adviser at Defenders of Wildlife and has also worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council. The CalEPA position does not require Senate confirmation.

Kimberly Atkins is joining Laura Wood Peterson Consulting as a vice president and Kelly Gast is the new chief financial officer of Bayer’s Crop Science division.