Pathways To Opportunity: Careers in International Affairs, Agriculture, and Trade

The WITA Academy Pathways to Opportunity program consists of a series of career pathways sessions hosted by trade professionals from the Washington D.C. policy community. The curriculum, divided between the public and private sector, highlights different roles and career paths that are available in Washington D.C. and around the world.

Students will gain insight from trade professionals, pose questions to policymakers, and learn about exciting career opportunities in international affairs, political science, business, and trade. Students come away with an understanding of the trade policy-making community, the role of its key players, and the opportunities for internships and careers available to them.

This online event was free and open to ALL students. Hosted in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Yeutter Institute.

Registration was free for students and faculty – must use university email to register.

AGENDA

All times US/Central

2:00 PM – 2:03 PM CT: Welcome & Introduction

• Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy; Managing Director, Washington International Trade Association
• Jill O’Donnell, Director, Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Darci Vetter, Principal, Sower Strategies, LLC; former Diplomat in Residence, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; former Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (B.A. Drake University; M.P.A. Princeton University)
• Kenneth I. Levinson, Chief Executive Officer, Washington International Trade Association (B.A. University of Massachusetts; M.A. New York University)

2:15 PM – 2:45 PM CT: Careers in the U.S. Public Sector

• Abby Goins, Legislative Assistant, Office of Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways & Means, House of Representatives (B.S. Kansas State University)
• Deanne De Lima, Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, and APEC, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (B.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
• Moderator: Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy; Managing Director, Washington International Trade Association

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM CT: Careers in the Private Sector – Public and Government Affairs 

• Peter Tabor, Senior Policy Advisor, Co-lead, Food and Agriculture, Public Policy & Regulation Group, Holland & Knight LLP (B.A. UC Santa Barbara; M.A. Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey; J.D. Loyola Law School, Los Angeles)
• Tony Rice, Trade Policy Director, National Milk Producers Federation (B.S. Penn State University; M.S. The Johns Hopkins University)
• Moderator: Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy; Managing Director, Washington International Trade Association

Conclusion 

• Diego Añez, Executive Director, WITA Academy; Managing Director, Washington International Trade Association (B.A. The University of Georgia)

Speaker Biographies 

Ambassador Darci Vetter is General Manager for Public Affairs at Edelman. Formerly Chief Agricultural Negotiator and Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture. At Edelman, Vetter will lead the Public Affairs practice, collaborating across the full scope of offerings in the D.C. office. She will report to Lisa Ross, president of Edelman’s Washington, D.C. office. As the vice chair for Agriculture, Food and Trade, Vetter will work to spearhead the firm’s push to strengthen its support to clients in the commodities, supply chain, agribusiness and global trade arenas.

“Darci’s experience in Washington and negotiating around the world make her an incredible resource for our clients who are looking to protect their brands and grow and evolve their businesses in a complicated world. Our Trust research tells us that consumers are looking for businesses to have a voice on an increasing number of issues, and she can help them do just that,” said Ross. “Darci’s expertise will also help our clients identify new opportunities and open doors in food and agriculture in the U.S. and globally.”

Vetter, a longtime D.C. veteran, was most recently a consultant on international trade for food and agriculture, developing strategies for agricultural companies and trade associations on how best to engage foreign trading partners, foreign governments and U.S. government agencies. Previously, she served as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she led the development and execution of agricultural trade policy and negotiations for the U.S. government and negotiated the agricultural package of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement. Before that she was Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she provided policy direction for international programs and oversaw the Foreign Agricultural Service.

“I am excited to apply my experience negotiating complex trade, agricultural and environmental issues in the government arena to world of strategic communications, helping companies and organizations navigate increasingly complex supply chains, policies and consumer expectations,” said Vetter. “I can’t think of a better place to do so than with the talented and innovative team at Edelman.”

Vetter has been awarded some of the agriculture industry’s most prominent awards, including the U.S. Meat Export Federation Michael J. Mansfield Award in 2016. She was named Woman of the Year in 2015 by the Organization of Women in International Trade. She also sits on the CME Group’s Agricultural Markets Advisory Council, and on the Board of Directors for the Neogen Corporation and the Farm Foundation. Vetter is a graduate of Drake University and received her Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

Abby Goins is a Legislative Assistant for the Office of Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade. Abby advises Congressman Smith on trade, agriculture, and energy policy. Prior to this role, she spent three years in Congressman Tracey Mann’s (KS-01) office. Abby is from Oswego, Kansas and is a graduate of Kansas State University, where she studied Agricultural Economics and Global Food Systems Leadership. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors, reading, baking, and spending time with family.

Deanne de Lima is the Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, and APEC.  Ms. De Lima served as the Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for APEC and previously as the Director for APEC in the same office.  In these roles, Ms. De Lima has served as the U.S. representative to the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment, and has been responsible for APEC Ministerial policy planning, APEC statement negotiations, and USTR coordination across various APEC trade-related workstreams, committees and sub-fora, including during the recent 2023 APEC U.S. host year.

Prior to joining USTR in 2022, Ms. De Lima worked on the APEC Senior Officials’ Team at the U.S. Department of State.  In 2021, Ms. De Lima served as a Brookings legislative fellow in the U.S. Senate.

Ms. De Lima has also worked on bilateral trade issues with economies in North Africa in the State Department Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (2012); economic development at the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia in Bangkok, Thailand (2013); and consular issues at the U.S. Consulate in Quebec City, Canada (2007).  Ms. De Lima began her career at Pyxera Global, a DC-based international development non-profit.

Ms. De Lima holds an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University, a BA in International Studies and French from the University of Nebraska, and certificates from Fundação Getulio Vargas (São Paulo, Brazil) and Centre de Linguistique Apliquée (Besançon, France). Ms. De Lima is originally from Kansas, and currently lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and two children. 

Peter Tabor is a Senior Policy Advisor in Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm’s Public Policy & Regulation Group. He is a co-leader of the group’s Agriculture & Food Policy Team. Mr. Tabor advocates for clients on regulatory, trade and sustainability issues in food and agriculture. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from a combined 20 years in federal government and the food/agriculture industry.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Tabor served as the vice president, regulatory and international affairs, for the trade association advocating for the interests of U.S. dog and cat food makers.
His recent engagements include:

• leveraging his significant executive branch knowledge, contacts and resources to secure inclusion of language in the China Phase One Agreement, signed in January 2020, to provide legitimate Chinese market access for U.S. dog and cat food; exports tripled in the first six months that the agreement was in place and are projected to reach $300 million in the near term, up from $10 million in 2019.
• coordinating and leading an industry working group, comprised of more than 200 companies and associations, in engaging key congressional members and committee staff to encourage passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
• leading an industry effort to review proposed rules issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food Safety Modernization Act and then drafting the industry response, resulting in significant changes to the final rule, and assuring U.S. pet food makers’ continued ability to operate.
• leading an industry-wide sustainability working group that coordinated a university research study on the sustainability and nutritional value of animal proteins in pet food and an industry survey evaluating the challenges to improving recycling rates of pet food containers.

Preceding his role advocating for pet food makers, Mr. Tabor served in a variety of capacities of increasing responsibility with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). He led a FAS division tasked with addressing trade and market-access barriers for all exports of U.S. plants and plant products (valued at $70 billion); worked extensively on agricultural biotechnology trade and regulatory policy; and was a key member of the U.S. negotiating teams for several bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Korea-U.S. FTA and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) party biotechnology policy discussions.

Mr. Tabor has extensive and in-depth knowledge of international organizations affecting food and agriculture production and trade, having served as a key member of the U.S. delegation to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ work on plant and animal genetic resources. He worked closely with industry stakeholders to evaluate foreign country sanitary, phytosanitary and technical measures reported to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Mr. Tabor used industry insights and concerns to draft and deliver official U.S. comments to the WTO.

Throughout his career in food and agriculture policy and regulation, Mr. Tabor’s fluency in Spanish has been an asset in establishing and maintaining ties with key foreign officials (including embassy officials) and industry representatives throughout Latin America and the world.

Tony Rice is a Trade Policy Director at National Milk Producers Federation, He works with NMPF’s Trade Policy team to develop, implement and communicate NMPF’s work to support policies that promote U.S. dairy exports, seek removal of policies that impede those exports and address foreign barriers to U.S. dairy sales. NMPF does this work in concert with the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Tony also manages supply chain policy for both organizations.

A native of a Pennsylvania dairy farm, Rice has a master’s degree in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree in agribusiness management from Penn State University. He currently lives in Arlington, VA.

The mission of the WITA Academy™ is to make trade education and career opportunities in international trade accessible to communities in the United States and around the world, and to make the trade community itself more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

The WITA Academy works with trade leaders in businesses, law, academia, NGOs, embassies and the U.S. Government to help stakeholders, students, and others to better understand and navigate the U.S. and global trade policy apparatus.

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