Spudman February 2023 - 36

Tracy Shinners-Carnelley
Jolyn Rasmussen
Ritchey Toevs
Tommy Jackson
Meet the new Potato Sustainability
Alliance Executive Committee
By Potato Sustainability Alliance
The Potato Sustainability Alliance's
board of directors selected new
executive committee members at
its winter board meeting held in
January during the 2023 Potato Expo
in Aurora, Colorado.
The board elected Tracy ShinnersCarnelley
of Peak of the Market to
serve as secretary and Ritchey Toevs
of Toevs Farms as treasurer. Each will
serve a two-year term.
Beginning their second year of
service, Jolyn Rasmussen of J.R. Simplot
Company will continue as chair of the
board and Tommy Jackson of Syngenta
as vice chair.
Between board meetings, the
executive committee provided
guidance to PSA staff and oversight on
the organizational strategy, budget and
annual work plan.
" PSA is a lean, responsive
organization, and our ability to
meet the needs of our stakeholders
is reliant on the commitment of
our board members, " said Executive
Director John Mesko. " Our
executive committee plays a
36
Spudman * February 2023
critical role in helping us navigate
the potato industry, and our new
committee is just right for the busy
year ahead of us. I'm excited and
grateful to be working with them. "
Jolyn Rasmussen, chair: Rasmussen is
the senior manager of raw development
and sustainability for the food group
at the J.R. Simplot Company in Boise,
Idaho. She oversees agronomy, variety
development and sustainability.
Rasmussen grew up on her family's
dairy farm near Markesan, Wisconsin.
She holds a B.S. degree from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in
agronomy and dairy science and an
M.S. in horticulture. Rasmussen joined
J.R. Simplot in 2011, where she has held
positions in biotech agronomy research,
raw development and sustainability.
This is her second year as board chair.
Tommy Jackson, vice chair: Jackson
is the executive account lead for U.S.
markets at Syngenta. Having worked
at Syngenta for the past 31 years, he
has had the opportunity to work both
globally and nationally. Jackson has
held positions in crop protection,
seeds, marketing, human resources,
learning and development, and
supply chain. He has a B.A. in public
administration from Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio, with a focus on
policy analysis.
Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, secretary:
Shinners-Carnelley is the vice president
of research, quality and sustainability at
Peak of the Market. She leads research
on variety evaluation, improved
pest management and agronomic
practices for fresh market potatoes.
Prior to joining Peak of the Market,
Shinners-Carnelley spent 10 years with
Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural
Initiatives as a plant pathologist and
potato pest management specialist.
She has a B.S. in agriculture from
Dalhousie University and a Ph.D. in
plant pathology from the University of
Alberta. In 2020, Shinners-Carnelley
was appointed as an adjunct faculty
of graduate studies in agriculture at
Dalhousie University.
Ritchey Toevs, treasurer: Toevs is
a second-generation potato grower from
Aberdeen, Idaho. He and his family raise
950 acres of frozen processing potatoes
at Toevs Farms, where they also grow
wheat and barley. Toevs is active in
the National Potato Council, Potatoes
USA and Idaho Potato Commission. He
received his B.S. in agriculture from the
University of Idaho.
The Potato Sustainability Alliance
consists of growers, supply chain
partners, nonprofit organizations
and advisors working together to
improve the economic, environmental
and social aspects of potato
production in the United States and
Canada. For more information visit,
potatosustainability.org.
http://www.potatosustainability.org
Spudman February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman February 2023
