SALINAS, CA - April has been a month of milestones for the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), as it marked not only the organization’s 17th year of operations, but the seating of a new Advisory Board. Among the leadership slate is Jan Berk, Chief Executive Officer of San Miguel Produce; Matt Amaral, Vice President of Post Harvest at D’Arrigo Brothers of California; and Chris Drew, President and CEO of Ocean Mist® Farms.
“The LGMA continues to be fortunate in having talented and committed individuals filling our board ranks. We welcome the return of Jan, Matt, and Chris as officers, each bringing a fresh and unique approach to LGMA,” said Tim York, CEO. “It has been a privilege to work with them this last year, and I look forward to their continued leadership and guidance.”
Berk has been named as the Advisory Board Chair, Amaral has been appointed Vice Chair, and Drew is serving as Secretary-Treasurer, according to a release. The newly elected leaders will serve for the next two years, with York continuing his third year with the organization.
Currently, there are 83 leafy green handlers that are members of the California LGMA food safety program. The organization recently asked produce buyers to make LGMA certification mandatory to ensure strict and consistent guidelines for safety across the board.
In their new roles, these leaders will help the California LGMA continue its mission to ensure the safety of leafy greens.
“For the advisory board, we have several new members. Megan Chedwick moved from an alternate to a Board Member and brings strong hands-on food safety experience, as well as a multi-generational Salinas Valley farming family. Tony Benegas has served us with experience and insight on the technical committee and is a visionary and innovative leader. Jake Odello has also served on the LGMA Technical Committee and brings new insights and practical approaches to food safety. Steve Church, one of the founding leaders of LGMA, has returned and brings his decades of industry experience to the board. Marcus Shebl is new to the LGMA, but not to food safety. At Taylor Farms, he serves as VP of Operations and brings a passion for novel ways of addressing field sanitation,” added York. “All of these leaders will help LGMA to remain the industry standard for food safety, and I look forward to working with them. I’d also like to acknowledge and thank Kristina Nunes and Mitch Ardantz for their recently ended terms serving on the LGMA board.”
To see the full board list, click here.
Congrats to these newly appointed members of the board!
