L’Tonya Davis
L’Tonya Davis is the U.S. Department of Agriculture Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO). The CDIO will lead USDA in its ongoing efforts to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) across the Department and will oversee the implementation of USDA’s first-ever DEIA Strategic Plan. Davis joins USDA after serving at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where she most recently was director of the Office of Communications and Project Management in the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA). Ms. Davis led ORA’s strategic communications, public affairs, project management, and executive secretariat activities. She also served for 10 years as ORA’s official executive DEIA champion where she provided senior executive leadership and strategic direction to foster and promote an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible culture and established ORA’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) infrastructure strategic goals.
A.G. Kawamura
A.G. Kawamura is a third generation produce grower and shipper from Orange County, California. From 2003 to 2010 he served as the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He is founding co-chair of Solutions from the Land, a nationally recognized non-profit that is developing innovative and sustainable climate smart collaborations for 21st century agriculture. He serves on multiple boards and advisory committees including the UNEP Farmers Major Group Facilitators Committee; Farm Foundation Board; Western Growers Board and former Chair; Ag Advisory Committee for the Chicago Council; Bipartisan Policy Center, Ag & Forestry task force; Southern California Water Coalition, Executive Committee. For over 45 years Mr. Kawamura has pursued a lifelong goal to work towards an end to hunger and malnutrition. Locally, he is founding chair of Solutions For Urban Ag (SFUA.org) and serves on the Orange County Farm Bureau Board. He has worked closely with Regional Food Banks and stakeholders to create dynamic urban ag projects that focus on nutrition, hunger, education and advanced food systems. As a progressive farmer, Mr. Kawamura has a lifetime of experience working within the shrinking rural and urban boundaries of Southern California. A.G. graduated with a BA from UC Berkeley and was a member of Class XX of the Calif. Ag Leadership Program.
Jim Wiesemeyer
Since 1978, Mr. Wiesemeyer has frequently reported on and interviewed senior government officials, including Presidents Reagan and Carter, as well as USDA Secretaries since Earl Butz. He has traveled extensively in his assignments and is a frequent speaker on farm policy and trade issues. Wiesemeyer rejoined Pro Farmer in June this year, after serving as their Washington consultant for 19 years while at InformaEconomics, and before that an employee of Pro Farmer, then owned by Oster Communications. Mr. Wiesemeyer also is one of the writers for the Agriculture Letter, formerly the Kiplinger Ag Letter, now owned by Farm Journal Media. Mr. Wiesemeyer also was the Washington bureau chief for Futures World News (FWN), formerly owned by OsterCommunications. Prior to Pro Farmer, he was a Washington editor with Doane’s Agricultural Report and Washington editor and managing editor of the Washington Farmletter.