Board of Directors
PSA is led by its Board of Directors, which comprises up to 24 individuals representing the members from different member categories.
- Growers have 6 seats
- Processors have 6 seats
- Fresh Packers have 3 seats
- Buyers have 3 seats
- NGO’s have 2 seats
- Allied Industry has 2 seats
- At-large has 2 seats
Board seats are filled at the annual meeting at Potato Expo when the nominations committee, made up of members from each sector, puts forward a slate of candidates which are voted on by all PSA member organizations.
Canadian Growers
Chad Berry
Under the Hill Farms Ltd.
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Chad is a partner in Under The Hill Farms and Over The Hill Farms in Cypress River Manitoba. The farm includes 13,000 acres of growing and processing potatoes for Simplot, corn, dry beans, wheat, barley, oats, sunflowers, canola, grass seed, flax, and rye. It is a family farm, and Chad farms with his father, uncle, and cousin.
The farm is always working towards making the farm sustainable through cover crops after potatoes, and have started to grow cover crops before potatoes to improve soil health and water holding capacity. They have been minimal till on as much of the farm as possible for 30 years and they have started to one-pass seed their potatoes to reduce erosion and fuel consumption. Their goal on the farm is to grow the best quality crop they can on the least resources possible.
Greg Nakamura
Nakamura Farms
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To say that Greg was born into the potato business would be an understatement to say the least. Greg’s family established Nakamura Farms in 1948 in Southern Alberta with Greg’s grandfather starting the business, which was passed down to his father and in turn to Greg and his brother Bruce. Today the next generation of Nakamura’s has started the transition of taking over the family operation. Greg has served on the PGA Board of Directors and has been a part of the PGA Negotiating Committee for over 30 years. Much of that time he has been the chairman of that committee. Greg also served as vice-president of the PMANA for a number of years.
Jean-Marie Pelletier
U.S. Growers
Andy Diercks
Coloma Farms
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Andy Diercks is a fourth generation potato grower in Coloma, Wisconsin. With his father, Steve they operate Coloma Farms, a 2,700 acre potato and grain farm. Both are very active within the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) and serve on several committees related to marketing, research, environmental issues, and government relations at the state and national levels. Coloma Farms and the WPVGA work proactively with researchers and leadership within the UW system to address issues in the vegetable industry. Andy received a BS from UW-Madison in Agricultural Engineering and currently serves on the citizen board for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and is a director at the Farming For The Future Foundation.
Chris Olsen
L.J. Olsen Inc.
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Ritchey Toevs
Toevs Farms
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Ritchey Toevs is a second generation potato grower from Aberdeen, ID. He and his family raise 950 acres of frozen processing potatoes. He also grows wheat and barley.
Active in National Potato Council, Potatoes USA, and Idaho Potato Commission, Ritchey believes “the greatest pleasure is living, working and doing business with the best people in the world.”
Ritchey and his wife Joanne have four children: Ellen, Meredith, Abigail and William. He received his BS in Agriculture from the University of Idaho.
Processors
Gerhard Bester
Senior Director, Frito Lay
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Gerhard is Senior Director of Global Agriculture Capabilities & Solutions and responsible for setting the global strategic capability priorities. He is responsible for developing and aligning the capability training strategy with the sector and business unit (BU) agriculture teams.
Gerhard holds a Ph. D in Agricultural Science in Plant Nutrition (Focussed on the influence of potassium, calcium and magnesium fertilizer ratios on the quality and keeping quality of potatoes).
He grew up on a potato farm in South Africa and was a director with the Agricultural Research Council responsible for potato and vegetable research. He joined PepsiCo in South Africa as the Agricultural Operations Director with support roles for Europe, Africa and Middle East. He transferred to Frito Lay North America in 2000, and held several positions including the Director of Potato Procurement for Latin and South America, and Senior Director Global Procurement at Frito Lay North America, responsible for variety development and commercialization that included the proprietary potato variety program in Rhinelander Wisconsin, and sustainability/pep+ programs for Frito-Lay’s North American operations. He is well known in the North American potato industry for his leadership with the potato ZC research, identifying the vector and pathogen.
Richard Burres
Sustainable Agriculture for Lamb Weston
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Richard Burres grew up working summers on his grandfather’s dryland wheat ranch in Central Oregon. Bucking bales or changing hand-lines for neighbors was also typical summer work along with tending stock, fixing fences, and cleaning barns. He worked for NorPac’s Hermiston facility processing vegetables for a number of years before leaving as Quality Assurance Manager to take a position with Watts Brothers Farms. This opportunity allowed him to oversee quality assurance for their processing operation in Paterson, WA as well as the packaging facility in Boardman, OR. Richard’s responsibilities grew to include harvest operations and trucking.
When Watt Brothers Farms was purchased by Lamb Weston, Richard started managing Sustainable Agriculture, interacting with growers and farms across the US as well as with major customers. He has held this position for over 10 years.
NA Director Planet-Friendly Practices at McCain Foods
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Her areas of expertise include supply chain optimization, decarbonization, environmental policy and legislation. She is passionate about connecting with stakeholders across the network to drive meaningful impact, addressing challenges such as circularity, ensuring environmental compliance and advising on community outreach.
Audrey graduated from an MBA in the UK with a focus on international business and sustainability.
John MacQuarrie
Director of Environmental Sustainability for Cavendish Farms
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John MacQuarrie is the current Director of Environmental Sustainability for Cavendish Farms. He has long served in the Canadian government, working first in the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture before becoming the Deputy Minister of Agriculture from 2001 to 2004. From 2004 to 2011, MacQuarrie was Deputy Minister for the Department of Environment. He currently serves as the chair for the Potato Sustainability Initiative.
Jolyn Rasmussen
Senior Manager of Raw Product Development & Sustainability for J.R. Simplot
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Jolyn Rasmussen is the Senior Manager of Raw Development and Sustainability for the Food Group at the J.R. Simplot Company in Boise, Idaho. Jolyn oversees agronomy, variety development, and sustainability. She joined the JR Simplot Company in 2011 as an Agronomist in the Plant Sciences division and later became Technical Services Manager. Prior to joining Simplot, Jolyn worked at the University of Wisconsin – Hancock Ag. Research Station and Del Monte Foods.
Ryan Vroegindeway
Campbell Soup Company
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Ryan Vroegindewey is Senior Manager of Sustainable Agriculture at Campbell Soup Company. In his role, Ryan partners with growers to strengthen the resilience of farms and food supply, while helping to communicate this work to consumers and other stakeholders. Ryan has 15 years of experience in agriculture and food systems, including, as a published researcher, consultant, and program manager for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He holds a M.S. and PhD in agricultural, food, and resource economics, and in sustainability, from Michigan State University.
Fresh Marketers
Stephen Moorehead
Director of Agronomy, Research & Quality Assurance for Little Potato Company
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Stephen Moorehead is the current Director of Agronomy, Research & Quality Assurance at the Little Potato Company. Stephen joined LPC in 2011 and is responsible for leading the company in developing the programs and processes required to sustainably grow the Little Potatoes consumers love. Prior to this, he spent a decade as the Regional Agronomist for McCain Foods in Prince Edward Island.
Tracy Shinners-Carnelley
Vice President of Research, Quality & Sustainability for Peak of the Market Ltd.
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Tracy is the Vice President of Research, Quality & Sustainability at Peak of the Market Ltd. She leads research on variety evaluation, improved pest management, and agronomic practices for fresh market potatoes. Tracy also spends time working with growers in their fields and packing houses, supporting activities in these same areas. She has a passion for working closely with the industry on challenging crop protection and production issues, both provincially and nationally. Prior to joining Peak of the Market, Tracy spent ten years with Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives, as a plant pathologist and potato pest management specialist. She has a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Dalhousie University, a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Alberta. In 2020, Tracy was appointed as an Adjunct Faculty of Graduate Studies in Agriculture at Dalhousie University.
Steph Teclaw
FSQA & Regulatory Program Manager at RPE LLC
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Steph currently serves as FSQA & Regulatory Manager for RPE, LLC, an industry leader in reliable year-round organic and conventional potato and onion supplies.
She is responsible for the development and execution of RPE’s Food Protection & Regulatory system, which includes Food Safety, Quality, Regulatory, Sustainability and Social Compliance.
Steph serves on Wisconsin’s DATCP Produce Safety Advisory Board and as a member of IFPA’s Food Safety Council with additional presence on their Food Safety and Sustainability Task Force.
Prior to her work at RPE, LLC, Steph worked in neuroimmunology research at Mayo Clinic and most recently, spent the last 10 years within the grocery retail sector in Food Protection & Regulatory Affairs.
She is a passionate advocate for forward-thinking, common-sense change and solutions amongst the spaces she oversees and prioritizes connecting the realities of agriculture/produce and industry initiatives to better serve RPE’s grower partners and customer base.
Buyers
Anna Blitz
Vice President – Corporate Social Responsibility at The Wendy’s Company
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Anna Blitz is currently the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at The Wendy’s Company where she is responsible for implementing Wendy’s Good Done Right program, including the company’s corporate responsibility goals in emissions reduction, responsible sourcing of priority food categories and sustainable customer-facing packaging. She has 25 years of experience building and evolving sustainability programs, primarily in the food and beverage sector, focusing on capability building and cross-functional collaboration. Anna holds a B.S. in Hydrogeology from Winona (MN) State University, an M.S. in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Amanda Marti
McDonald’s U.S. Sustainability – Circularity & Regenerative Agriculture (Potatoes & Oil)
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Amanda graduated from Michigan State University with bachelor’s degrees in Food Industry Management and French. She also holds an MBA from Wayne State University. Having built her career in esteemed food and beverage organizations like Anheuser-Busch, Domino’s Pizza, and now McDonald’s, Amanda has developed a keen understanding of the food industry and its suppliers and is excited to dive deeper into the world of potatoes with growers and farmers.
Amanda has been with McDonald’s since July of 2019. Since then, she’s held roles sourcing restaurant seating and décor at a global scale, in addition to supporting the company’s Global Impact and Sustainability teams at sourcing third party partners to support their initiatives. At the core of every role she’s had, Amanda has demonstrated a profound passion for sustainability and believes in the power of innovative practices to shape the future of the industry. This passion transitions nicely into her current role, where she’ll be spearheading efforts that impact McDonald’s US restaurants in circularity, packaging, and recycling. She’ll also be supporting the US supply chain by working closely with potato and oil suppliers to establish regenerative agriculture and farming frameworks.
Shane Sampels
Senior Director of Quality Assurance for Sysco
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Shane Sampels has thirty years of food industry leadership and technical knowledge. Industry recognized leader in food safety, quality assurance, sustainable agriculture development, and processing. Product knowledge base includes agricultural products of canned, frozen, produce, beverage, and manufactured grocery. Successfully implemented several innovative programs within the food industry; including sustainable agriculture initiatives, produce food safety databases, and plant design and construction including new business start up.
Shane is currently acting as the Senior Director of Quality Assurance at Sysco and the subsidiary FreshPoint. FreshPoint is a leading distributor of fresh products specializing in produce. Shane previously was also Director of Quality Assurance for produce, frozen, canned and beverage products for the Sysco Brand Product Programs. Shane holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science from Oregon State University.
Allied Industry
Erika Wagner
Agronomy Solutions Manager for Yara North America
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Erika Wagner is an Agronomy Solutions Manager for Yara North America based in Boise, Idaho and is focused on potatoes. As an Agronomy Solutions Manager at Yara, Erika works with teams across North America to understand the role of crop nutrition in sustainable potato production. She also manages a Potato Incubator Farm located in the Pacific Northwest which serves as a place to foster collaboration across the industry, a place for exploration of sustainable solutions, and a place to implement professional research of practical solutions.
Tara McCaughey
Head of Technology Solutions & Sustainable Agriculture for Syngenta Canada
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Tara McCaughey is Head of Technology Solutions & Sustainable Agriculture for Syngenta Canada. She leads a diverse team that is accountable for ensuring confidence in both products and technologies from Syngenta. Her team is comprised of agronomists, technical experts and digital ag specialists who are focused on understanding the needs of Canadian growers and delivering products and services that bring value to the farm.
Tara provides leadership and direction for the development and deployment of technical products, services and new product introductions as well as enabling fit for purpose digital tools that help farmers optimize their operations and lead in smart farming practices. Additionally, Tara and her team are leading initatives to support progress in advancing sustainability and working with the value chain in supporting sustainable agricultural outcomes.
Tara brings broad experience to this role gained over the course of her 28 year career with Syngenta. She holds a B.Sc in Land Resource Science and a M.Sc in Weed Science from the University of Guelph and has held roles in regulatory, crop protection development as well as product and customer marketing.
Syngenta Canada is an agribusiness whose ambition is to be the most collaborative and trusted team in agriculture, providing leading seeds and crop protection innovations to enhance the prosperity of farmers and ensure the continued sustainability of agriculture.
Environmental NGO
Cameron Ogilvie
The Soil Health Institute
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Cameron Ogilvie is a Soil Health Educator with the Soil Health Institute where he leads education programs for farmers, agronomists, and food companies as they work to implement profitable, resilient, and climate-smart regenerative soil management systems. Prior to joining the Institute, he served as the Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator for Soils at Guelph, a soil science outreach initiative of the University of Guelph. He has an MSc in Cropping Systems & Agronomy from the University of Guelph where he studied the on-farm impacts of cover crops on water and nutrient cycling
Brent Rudolph
Pheasants Forever
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As Director of Sustainability Partnerships, Brent collaborates with the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever team, members, and partners to promote their vision: “Sustaining a healthy environment, people, and prosperous communities through quality upland experiences and habitat.” He works to maintain positive relationships to ensure an open, collaborative, and inclusive approach to developing scientifically grounded programs, and increasing support through diverse, sustainable funding and partnerships.
At Large
Mike Wenkel
Chief Operating Officer for National Potato Council
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Mike Wenkel joined the staff of the National Potato Council (NPC) in June of 2019 as the Chief Operating Officer. His responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations for the organization as it works to represent the interest of the U.S. potato industry in Washington, D.C.
He is responsible for the creation and operations of the Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) who’s inaugural fundraising campaign exceeded $2.1 million in 18-months.
A native of Michigan, Mike brings over 25 years of organizational experience to the organization. He served as the Executive Director of Michigan Potato Industry Commission (MPIC) for seven years prior to joining NPC; was employed at Michigan Farm Bureau, where he served as the Manager of the Membership and Field Services Department. His responsibilities included managing all aspects of membership for the organization’s 193,000 members; including the annual volunteer membership campaign, coordinating and overseeing the training of new field staff and developing training for county leadership
Who is putting potato sustainability into practice?