U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council selects Steve Sothmann as executive director and DTB AgriTrade for management team.
December 9, 2024
The U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) announced that it has selected DTB AgriTrade LLP for its new association management team.
USAEDC is comprised of U.S. agricultural trade associations, farmer cooperatives and state regional trade groups that represent the export promotion interests of growers, processors and shippers of U.S. agricultural products. Members collaborate closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to increase worldwide knowledge, preference and demand for U.S. agricultural exports.
For the last several months, the USAEDC Executive Committee has solicited, reviewed and interviewed a wide range of candidates for the role, and on Dec. 3, 2024 DTB AgriTrade was formally selected, with Steve Sothmann appointed to serve as the organization’s new executive director.
DTB AgriTrade is a boutique consulting firm located in Washington, D.C., whose partners advise trade associations and individual companies on agricultural trade policies and issues with their decades of combined experience managing cooperator organizations, export trading companies and other agricultural trade organizations.
According to the USAEDC website, DTB AgriTrade joined the management team in February 2024 to help manage day-to-day operations of the association.
The new management team brings strong connections with the cooperator community and FAS, as well as a deep understanding of the complex challenges that face U.S. agriculture, the news release said. In addition, since August 2024 the DTB AgriTrade team has served as the acting interim caretakers of USAEDC, organizing and executing the association’s annual workshop in November. DTB will ensure a smooth transition for USAEDC and guide it into its next chapter.
USAEDC executive committee chair Greg Tyler stated that “the USAEDC Executive Committee and board of directors are thrilled with this selection and look forward to the DTB team’s leadership in guiding USAEDC. We are confident in their ability to advance the organization, building on our past successes while addressing the new challenges and opportunities faced by the 70-plus agricultural trade associations that make up this unique group. We also deeply appreciate the continued support and partnership of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and trust that the DTB team will work to further strengthen this collaboration, enhancing our joint efforts to expand U.S. agricultural exports worldwide.”
As executive director, Sothmann will bring strategic leadership, guidance and vision to USAEDC, with his deep familiarity with and commitment to the mission of USAEDC, its membership and its importance to the broader cooperator community, according to the news release. A trade lawyer by training, Sothmann joined DTB AgriTrade as a partner in 2024 and has over a decade of experience in chief executive roles for agricultural trade associations, including cooperator groups. He brings skills in consensus building, relationship management, advocacy, international trade expertise, market access and expansion and grant program management to this role.
Gina Tumbarello will be joining DTB as a partner in February 2025, at which time she will also assume the role of managing director for USAEDC. In this capacity, she will oversee all aspects of USAEDC’s vision, mission and strategic goals while managing its day-to-day operations. She brings a wealth of experience as she transitions from her roles as senior director of global strategies, policy and trade at the American Feed Industry Association and executive director of the Food & Agriculture Export Alliance, the news release said. Tumbarello, a respected leader in international trade, policy and association management, has nearly two decades of expertise in advancing U.S. agricultural export initiatives.
Sothmann and Tumbarello will be supported by Anna Thorn as communications director and Violeta Gutierrez as member services director.
USAEDC’s mission is to facilitate the USDA-Cooperator public/private partnership to preserve, differentiate and expand U.S. agricultural exports, according to the organization’s website. USAEDC serves as an information resource for its members on regulatory and legislative issues that may affect their ability to export their products. USAEDC also serves as the positive media voice for export development programs and the cooperator community and provides a platform for its members and USDA to discuss the operation and implementation of these programs overseas.
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
