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Organic Trade Association names new Farm Policy Director

Maggie McNeil
(
mmcneil@ota.com
(202) 403-8514
(202) 615-7997
)
Washington , DC
US
 (
June 25, 2018
) — 

The Organic Trade Association today announced Johanna Mirenda will join the organization’s Regulatory Team as its new Farm Policy Director. She will begin her new post on August 6.

PDF icon WSJ_OrganicTradeAoociation_11x17.pdfAn expert in organic regulations, Mirenda has served as Technical Director for the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) since 2015.  Deeply interested in organic food production and sustainable food systems, she has extensive experience in policy development, project management, and technical writing. As Technical Director at OMRI, she has overseen OMRI Standards Manuals for review of materials to USDA’s National Organic Program regulations and Canadian Organic Regime standards, and has served as OMRI’s primary point of contact for governmental and regulatory bodies, among other duties. Previous to this position, she was Policy Director for Pennsylvania Certified Organic from 2012 to 2015.

Mirenda earned her B.S. in Horticultural Science from Pennsylvania State University, with minors in Biology and Environmental Inquiry. She subsequently earned her M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College, and wrote her thesis on strengthening the National Organic Standards Board’s review of substances under the Organic Foods Production Act. She is a Certified Master Composter and participates in regional composting projects, including composting systems at elementary schools and community gardens.

As Farm Policy Director for the Organic Trade Association, she will help develop policy strategy through producer engagement, serving as primary staff to its Farmers Advisory Council and building relationships with the organic farming community. Mirenda will also serve as lead technical expert on issues related to crop and livestock materials and standards, and in-house technical lead in international standards evaluation and analysis. She will primarily work from her home office in Wilder, VT, but will frequently travel to meetings and events to represent the Organic Trade Association.

Mirenda will succeed Nate Lewis, who will be focusing more time on his certified organic farm in Washington State after serving four years on OTA staff. The Organic Trade Association looks forward to continue working with Nate as a member of the association.

Organic Trade Association members planning to attend Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore in September or the next NOSB meeting planned October 24-26 in St. Paul, MN, will have the opportunity to meet Mirenda.


The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 9,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.