Biography:
Caren Wilcox
Executive Director
Caren Wilcox has served Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association since March 1, 2006. She brings to OTA a wealth of experience in the world of agriculture. She is experienced at managing domestic and international programs, and has served in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. Attentive to the needs of consumers, Wilcox has skills in developing effective communications and public policy programs for government, business and academia; association membership development; and strategic planning. She has handled food safety and quality issues, rural development matters, and environmental issues throughout her career. Wilcox has worked with a diverse cross-section of individuals from the agriculture, business and academic sectors, as well as with local, state and federal elected and appointed officials and their respective offices.
Wilcox was the first director of government relations for Hershey Foods Corporation in Hershey, PA, and was the first Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1997 to 2001. Prior to coming to OTA, she served as a senior advisor to the Ranking Member on the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, where she worked on such issues as sustainability, food security, specialty crops, and water and energy.
While operating her own firm, Caren Wilcox & Associates LLC, from 2001 to 2004, she and her colleagues provided advice on various strategic issues to several land grant universities as well as to World Health Organization's Codex Alimentarius officials. Among her other international experiences, she led the U.S. food delegations to meetings of the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, and was head of delegation to discussions on food issues among the "Quad Countries" - Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Wilcox is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds an M.A. in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
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