USMEF officer prepared for leadership role

With her selection as secretary-treasurer of the US Meat Export Federation board of directors, Indiana pork producer Danita Rodibaugh takes on a new level of leadership responsibility in the nation's most vertically integrated trade association representing the US meat and livestock industry. However, it is a role for which Rodibaugh is extremely well-prepared, based on many years in the top leadership of the US pork industry.

“My connection to USMEF goes back to the 1990s when I was on the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) board of directors,” Rodibaugh said. “I learned the importance of USMEF, and also became very familiar with its budgeting and planning process.”

Rodibaugh was appointed to the National Pork Board (NPB) in 2001. She later chaired the NPB budget committee and was elected NPB president in 2005.

“As president of the Pork Board, I was selected [...] to serve on the executive committee in an at-large position,” she said. “That experience has given me strong insight into the mission and programmes of USMEF, and I'm very excited to be joining the USMEF officer team at a time when exports are so critical to the success of our livestock industry.”

“Danita brings a wealth of experience and a long history of livestock industry leadership to our officer team,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “USMEF is really fortunate to have individuals of this calibre who are willing to serve as our volunteer leaders.”

In her role as a USMEF officer, Rodibaugh's top priorities include producer communications and strategic planning. “Danita's environmental expertise is a real asset to the pork industry and to USMEF,” said USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers, a pork producer from Swaledale, Iowa. “The livestock industry has made great strides in reducing our impact on the environment, and that's a message that needs to get out to consumers across the nation and throughout the world. Danita is the kind of experienced leader who can help us do that.”

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