Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee | Meeting Minutes 

Agency/Program Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) | Specialty Crops Program (SCP) 

Meeting Purpose To discuss general Federal Advisory Committee operations for newly appointed representatives, 

hold elections, receive updates from USDA offices, and perform a series of administrative 

actions. 

Date/Time Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | 10:00 AM Eastern Time 

Meeting Location Virtual Webinar 

Meeting Facilitator FVIAC Designated Federal Officer (DFO) Darrell Hughes 

Attendees See attendance/registration report (page 2) 

Next Steps (Task, Assigned To) Owner Due Date 

Schedule subcommittee (workgroup) meetings. CHAIR and DFO Within 15 days 

Begin processing federal register notice for next public meeting. DFO Within 30 days 

Decisions Made (What, Why, Impacts) 

• The FVIAC Representatives amended the policies and procedures manual to include new operations in 

response to virtual work environments and corrected errors. 

• The FVIAC elected a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. 

o Kay Swartz Rentzel, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Chair) 

o Reginald Marshall, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Vice Chair) 

o Angel Santiago, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Secretary) 

• In advance of the public meeting, FVIAC representatives selected their preferred subcommittees. During the 

meeting, FVIAC representatives on each subcommittee volunteered to serve as workgroup leads. 

o Christopher Ciruli, FVIAC Representative | Lead for Consumption & Nutrition Subcommittee 

o Julie Masser Ballay, FVIAC Representative | Lead for Data Reporting & Analysis Subcommittee 

o Darwin Inman, FVIAC Representative | Lead for Food Safety Subcommittee 

o Michael Briano, FVIAC Representative | Lead for Infrastructure & Sustainability Subcommittee 

o Bruce Frasier, FVIAC Representative | Lead for Labor & Production Subcommittee 

Discussion 

• FVIAC representatives determined April 2023 as the best month for the next full committee meeting. FVIAC 

subcommittees (also referred to as workgroups) determined it would be best to share schedules after the 

January 25th meeting to schedule each subcommittee’s first working meeting. 

Miscellaneous Items 

• FVIAC representatives and public participants received a series of presentations from various USDA subject 

matter experts. The presentations will be made available via the Resources section of the following link: 

o https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/usda-fruit-and-vegetable-industry-advisory-committee-virtualmeeting-0 

Page 1 of 2 
 

 

 

 

Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee | Meeting Minutes 

Panelist (Speaker) Details Registration (Public) Details 

Alyssa Melendez, FVIAC Representative 

Amy Baker, FVIAC Representative 

Andrew Garcia, FVIAC Representative 

Angel Santiago, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Secretary) 

Anthony Mirisciotta, FVIAC Representative 

Bruce Frasier, FVIAC Representative 

Christopher Ciruli, FVIAC Representative 

Darwin Inman, FVIAC Representative 

David Van Eeckhout, FVIAC Representative 

David Einstandig, FVIAC Representative (Not Present) 

Donna Garren, FVIAC Representative 

Haven Baker, FVIAC Representative 

Isabel Freeland, FVIAC Representative 

James Benson, FVIAC Representative 

Jenifer DeAtley, FVIAC Representative 

Jorge Vazquez, FVIAC Representative 

Julie Masser Ballay, FVIAC Representative 

Karla Stockli, FVIAC Representative 

Kay Swartz Rentzel, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Chair) 

Michael Briano, FVIAC Representative 

Morris Hodges, FVIAC Representative 

Nathan Pumplin, FVIAC Representative 

Rebecca Serratos, FVIAC Representative 

Reginald Marshall, FVIAC Representative (Elected as Vice Chair) 

Susan Sutphin, FVIAC Representative 

Oscar Gonzales, Assistant Secretary for Administration 

Erin Morris, AMS Associate Administrator 

Ken Petersen, SCP Associate Deputy Administrator 

Heather Pichelman, SCP Associate Deputy Administrator 

Travis Hubbs, FTPP PACA Acting Director 

Tara Ponds, RMA Specialty Crops Liaison 

Lane Webb, RMA Risk Management Specialist 

Margaret Applebaum, FNS Child Nutrition Program 

Audrey Draper, USDA FDA Liaison 

Kimberly Mercer, SCP Market News Advisor 

Lesley Ett, AMS National Organics Program 

Carrie Sayasithsena, SCP Inspection Division 

Betsy Rakola, T&M Associate Deputy Administrator 

Bethany Slater, ASL Interpreter 

Melissa Hardison, ASL Interpreter 

Shellie Jackson, SCP Office Manager 

David L. Durkin, OFW Law 

Jamie Clover Adams, MI Asparagus Advisory Board 

Uriel Lopez, Wholesale/farmer 

Allison Moore, FPAA 

Karey McKinnon, Southern Press and Packing Inc. 

Lawrence Madden, AGRIPRO Marketing Services 

Scott Carter, Conduit Government Relations 

John Baillie, JACK T BAILLIE COINC 

Nano Tafolla, Cargil Farms Produce 

Tonya Harris, RMA-USDA 

Kinsey Porter, North Bay Produce, Inc. 

Merirut Cohenour, Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry 

Richard VanVranken, Rutgers Cooperative Extension - Atlantic County 

Lyle Allen, The Reva and David Logan Foundation 

Joel Tenney, ICA 

Alyssa Houtby, California Citrus Mutual 

Tim Short, United Vegetables Growers Cooperative 

Olga Osthus, Perricone Juice Company 

Barbara Ruhs, Avocados From Mexico 

Roy Holliday, Manulife Ag Services 

Steve Brazeel, SunTerra Produce Elevated Foods 

James Rothenberger, Meridian Capital LLC 

Brandon Leyert, Meridian Capital 

Andrea Cutler, Michael Cutler Company 

Dr Dana Nettles , Owner (Entity Name Not Provided) 

Vanessa Davis, ISK Biosciences Corp. 

Regina Milkovich, Hazel Technologies 

Catharine Weber, USDA ERS 

Mason Weeda, OFW Law 

Kimberly Flores, Pro Citrus Network 

Radheshyam, CCSHAU 

Michael Gardinier, Farm Fresh First LLC 

Sarah Wise, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 

Tracey Chow, Western Growers 

Jae Kindle, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank 

Tony Freytag, Crunch Pak 

Brenda Trujillo, Snake River Produce Company, LLC 

Benjamin Filippo, Bare Root Consulting 

Veti Veah, City Seed 

John Dyrek, NutriFoods 

Yetunde Ogunyewo, Nil 

Natasha Nelson USDA-FNS 

Troy Brownrigg, Brownrigg LLC 

Tim Gluch, Willowcreek Produce, LLC 

Enamul Haque, BISHAL AGRO 

Elizabeth Silvia-Chandley, Congress 

Page 2 of 2 
 

From: Kay Rentzel 

To: AMS - SCP FVIAC 

Cc: Angel Santiago Colon; reginald marshall 

Subject: [External Email]Re: Please Approve - FVIAC January 2023 Meeting Minutes 

Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 2:55:25 PM 

[External Email] 

If this message comes from an unexpected sender or references a vague/unexpected topic; 

Use caution before clicking links or opening attachments. 

Please send any concerns or suspicious messages to: Spam.Abuse@usda.gov 

I approve. 

Kay 

On Tue, Feb 7, 2023 at 10:36 AM AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> wrote: 

Thank you, Reggie. 

Kay and Angel: Please use reply-all when you respond. 

Thanks! 

Darrell 

From: reginald marshall <reginald_mrshll@yahoo.com> 

Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 9:46 AM 

To: AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

Subject: Re: Please Approve - FVIAC January 2023 Meeting Minutes 

I approve. 

Reggie Marshall 

Sent from my iPhone 

On Feb 7, 2023, at 7:09 AM, AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

wrote: 
From: Angel Santiago Colon 

To: AMS - SCP FVIAC 

Cc: mountaintopmanagement@gmail.com; reginald marshall 

Subject: Re: Please Approve - FVIAC January 2023 Meeting Minutes 

Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 10:56:42 AM 

Attachments: imglsi00.png 

I approve 

Angel Santiago 

Sent from my iPhone 

Angel Santiago Colon 

Chief Business Officer 

1413 Ave. Ponce de Leon Suite 301 00907 San Juan 

T. (787)-680-0037 | M. 787-925-8181 

Email: angel@gruponavis.com 

On Feb 7, 2023, at 11:37 AM, AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

wrote: 

Thank you, Reggie. 

Kay and Angel: Please use reply-all when you respond. 

Thanks! 

Darrell 

From: reginald marshall <reginald_mrshll@yahoo.com> 

Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 9:46 AM 

To: AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

Subject: Re: Please Approve - FVIAC January 2023 Meeting Minutes 

I approve. 

Reggie Marshall 
Sent from my iPhone 

On Feb 7, 2023, at 7:09 AM, AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

wrote: 

Good morning Kay, Reggie and Angel: 

I’ve attached the January meeting minutes for review and approval. 

Please respond to this email approving the minutes. A simple “I approve” 

will suffice. 

Thank you, 

Darrell 

<image001.png> 

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<FVIAC-Minutes_1.25.23.pdf> 

<FVIAC-Minutes_1.25.23.pdf>