To view the Event video, click here.
Featuring
Jaime Castaneda, U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) & National Milk Producers Federation
Gary Martin, North American Export Grain Association
Melissa San Miguel, Global Strategies for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
Tom Stenzel, United Association Fruits & Vegetables
Moderator: Ambassador Darci Vetter, Clayton K. Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance, University of Nebraska
Jaime Castaneda is currently the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Trade Policy for the National Milk Producer Federation (NMPF) in Arlington, VA. In this position, he is responsible for leading the National Milk Producers Federation in a number of domestic policy initiatives, including immigration reform and Labor issues. In addition, Mr. Castaneda handles International Trade Affairs for the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and international Trade negotiations for the U.S. dairy industry. In that capacity, Jaime serves as a private sector Advisor to United States Trade Representative and the USDA Secretary on Advisory Committees, and regularly provides guidance to the Administration on a number of policy issues. Since March 2012, Jaime has also served as Executive Director of the Consortium for Common Food Names. In this position, Jaime works with food organizations in the United States and around the world defending the rights of consumers, buyers and producers to continue the use of a variety of generic food names. Jaime has over 30 years of experience in food and agriculture. His background also includes an extensive knowledge of U.S. agricultural policy including jobs with the US Department of Agriculture, the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy and in marketing with the U.S. poultry and oilseed industries as well as the Agricultural Division of a leading U.S. Pharmaceutical company.
Joe Glauber is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC where his areas of interest are price volatility, global grain reserves, crop insurance and trade. Prior to joining IFPRI, Glauber spent over 30 years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture including as Chief Economist from 2008 to 2014. As Chief Economist, he was responsible for the Department’s agricultural forecasts and projections, oversaw climate, energy and regulatory issues, and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. From 2007-2009, Glauber was the Special Doha Agricultural Envoy at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative where he served as chief agricultural negotiator in the Doha talks. He served as economic adviser at the so-called Blair House agreements leading to the completion of the Uruguay Round negotiations and was senior economist for agriculture at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He is the author of numerous studies on crop insurance, agricultural policy, and agricultural trade issues. Dr. Glauber received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 and holds an AB in anthropology from the University of Chicago. In 2012, he was elected Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and was named as Chevalier de l’Ordre du Merite Agricole, Republique Francaise.
Christine A. LoCascio joined the Distilled Spirits Council, a national trade association representing U.S. producers, marketers, exporters and importers of distilled spirits products, in 2001. Ms. LoCascio is responsible for coordinating and implementing the Council’s international trade policy objectives. She participated in the successful lobbying efforts on behalf of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S. business coalitions supporting passage of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia Panama, Australia, Chile and Singapore, and other trade legislation, including the WTO accessions of Vietnam, Russia and China and Trade Promotion Authority. In addition, Ms. LoCascio oversees the Distilled Spirits Council’s promotional activities in connection with the Council’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP). She also supervises the Council’s MAP budget and ensures compliance with relevant USDA regulations. Since February 2008, Ms. LoCascio has served as an advisor on the Agricultural Technical Committee for Trade (ATAC) in Processed Foods, which provides technical advice on U.S. agricultural trade issues to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). She also currently serves as Chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce and USTR’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Consumer Goods (ITAC 4). She is a member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and currently serves as a Member of Board of the WITA Foundation. She is also a member of Women in International Trade (WIIT), and served as a Member of the WIIT Board from 2006 to 2008. Ms. LoCascio received her B.A. in History and Italian Language and Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Gary C. Martin has served since June of 2000 as President and Chief Executive Officer of the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA,) www.naega.org. Since 2104 he has served as the President of the International Grain Trade Coalition www.igtcglobal.com. In addition, his many industry leadership activities include service as a Co-chair of U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialog for Trade Agreements, and a Co-Chair of the Canada-U.S. Grain and Seed Trade Task Group www.canada-usgrainandseedtrade.info. Before assuming the presidency of NAEGA, Gary was a NAEGA Board Director and officer, representing Farmland Industries, Inc. At Farmland he had several responsibilities including Director of Trade and International Relations, Director of Grain Marketing, and Founder and President of Farmland Graños in Mexico. From 1990 to 1992 Mr. Martin served the Administration of George H.W. Bush at the US Department of Agriculture as Deputy Administrator of Commodity Operations and as an officer of the Commodity Credit Corporation. In the first year of the Clinton Administration, from 1992 to 1993, he served as an advisor to the Special Ambassador to the former Soviet Union at the US Department of State. Gary earned a B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics, with highest honors, from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is also a graduate of the University of Missouri, Institute of Cooperative Leadership, and has graduate studies in International Transactions at the George Mason University. Gary and his wife Denise reside in Ashburn, Virginia USA.
Melissa A. San Miguel is Senior Director of Global Strategies for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). Prior to joining GMA, Melissa served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, where her most recent assignment was as Special Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. She was also previously assigned to the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and U.S. embassies in Brazil, Jamaica, and Honduras. Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tom Stenzel is President and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association, a position he has held since 1993. Tom is a frequent speaker on industry issues and has been recognized for his leadership frequently throughout his career. He was honored as the 2002 Produce Man of the Year by The Packer newspaper. United Fresh is widely known for its work in shaping government policy that affects the produce industry, developing tools and services to assist member companies in addressing complex issues such as food safety and supply chain logistics, and bringing together companies throughout the supply chain to build business relationships that promote growth and profitability. The United FreshMKT and FreshTEC expos in Chicago provide an important platform for the industry to explore innovation and make connections across the total produce supply chain from grower to retail and restaurant customer. Tom has testified numerous times before Congress, and works closely with leaders at the White House, USDA, FDA and other U.S. regulatory agencies. He also leads the United Fresh Start Foundation, the association’s charitable foundation focused on increasing children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The Foundation and its partners have donated more than 5,000 salad bars to schools in all 50 states, and provides a community grants program to support after-school, weekend and summer programs increasing kids’ access to fresh produce. Tom is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 leading trade association CEOs, and the Key Industry Associations Committee of the American Society of Association Executives, from which he achieved the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1990. He is also an Advisory Board member of the International Food Protection Training Institute. Tom served as President of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) from 1986-1993, and is a 1977 graduate of the University of Richmond. He is a native of Portsmouth, VA, and resides in Alexandria, VA.
Ambassador Darci Vetter was named Diplomat in Residence, Clayton K. Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance, University of Nebraska in July 2017. Previously, served as Chief Agricultural Negotiator with the rank of Ambassador at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2014 until January of this year. She was responsible for bilateral and multilateral negotiations and trade policy coordination regarding agricultural trade, including negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership agricultural package. Before returning to USTR, Ambassador Vetter served as Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at USDA, where she oversaw the department’s international activities. She had key responsibilities in international trade negotiations and export assistance programs, and coordinated USDA’s role in international food aid and trade capacity building activities. Ambassador Vetter also served as an International Trade Advisor on the Democratic Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, where she advised Chairman Max Baucus and other Committee members on trade issues relating to agriculture, the environment and labor, including the 2008 Farm Bill. She began her career as a civil servant at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she worked on both agricultural and environmental issues, including the WTO Doha Round and NAFTA implementation. Ambassador Vetter received her Master of Public Affairs degree and a Certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, and her undergraduate degree from Drake University in Des Moines. She grew up in Nebraska on a family farm, and lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two small children.