NEWARK, DEL.  — The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has named a new vice president of US government relations.

Rebeckah Freeman Adcock joins a team led by IFPA Chief Policy Officer Robert Guenther, whose staff is focused on issues ranging from nutrition and health (Mollie Van Lieu), labor/immigration (John Hollay), supply chain/environment (George Szcezpanski), and political affairs/grassroots (John Toner and Angela Tiwari).

“Rebeckah brings an incredible knowledge base on topics such as environmental law, water, and crop protection tools, all of which our members have said are critically important to their businesses,” said IFPA U.S. Government Relations Chair Brian Kocher, president and CEO of Calavo Growers. “Those IFPA members coming to Washington for our Policy and Regulatory Forum next month will have an opportunity to meet Rebeckah and the full government relations team as we take our industry’s most important priorities to Capitol Hill.” 

Prior to joining IFPA, Adcock was a former US Department of Agriculture Administrator for Rural Development, Senior Advisor to USDA Secretary/Regulatory Officer, Senior Government Affairs Director for Crop Life America, and Lead Counsel to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. 

In addition, IFPA has expanded the role of Mollie Van Lieu to Vice President of Nutrition and Health and has added Brandon Barnett as Government Relations Coordinator.  

To enhance the organization’s internal team of policy and regulator experts, IFPA has also teamed up with several outside partners that will deepen IFPA’s reach in policy and regulatory circles. 

“We have doubled our investment in government advocacy and leadership. Our members are counting on us to build and maintain a positive business climate in the US as well as global engagement to promote free and fair trade and standards harmonization.  It is required to promote worldwide growth in consumption.” said IFPA CEO Cathy Burns. “This added talent and experience will complement our existing staff capabilities to ensure we deliver member value on these commitments to grow our members’ prosperity.”