Be willing to collaborate, but don’t conform to the fresh produce industry, LeAnne Rhodes Ruzzamenti said.
Based in Portland, Ore., Ruzzamenti is the director of marketing and communications at Equitable Food Initiative, which works with growers and retailers to create a transparent supply chain, a safer food system and healthier work environments.
“Every company and every industry benefits from diversity,” she said. Ruzzamenti would tell young women just entering the industry to avoid trying to blend in too much.
Ruzzamenti was attracted to the initiative’s mission to bring all the stakeholders in the industry together to find mutual benefit because she could relate to each of the different perspectives.
Before, she was marketing director for the Dairy Council of California and held marketing roles in other organizations outside the food sphere.
Read other Women in Produce profiles here.
The organization’s principles run deep in Ruzzamenti’s life.
Ruzzamenti grew up on her family’s apple orchard in Hudson Valley area of New York, where Jamaican H-2A workers were warmly welcomed back each year. The business was expanding in the 1980s.
Then, public attention and media confusion over the danger of the Alar chemical used on apples struck growers, including her family.
“I witnessed the devastation of the business that never fully recovered,” she said.
So these days, Ruzzamenti loves raising awareness of the farmers and farmworkers who contribute to our food system.
“I think it’s our role as an industry to better educate consumers, and I’ve really enjoyed partnering with EFI-certified growers to highlight the people and processes to make those connections,” she said.
When Ruzzamenti joined the initiative in 2016, the organization faced a lot of skepticism from an industry built on decades-long relationships. The initiative had representation in its multi-stakeholder approach from farmworker unions.
“It was understandable that growers might proceed with caution, until it became clear what our workforce development solutions were about,” she said. “Our approach was to remain open and transparent and approach each situation as a partner — one who would listen and adjust and focus on the goal of advancing the industry for all stakeholders.”
Often called EFI, the brand strives for collaboration, transparency and integrity, she said: “It’s been so fulfilling to see the trust that has developed by staying true to those values.”
Ruzzamenti has been practicing that collaboration and transparency among the organization’s staff, too — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Ruzzamenti was dealing with the simultaneous challenges of early stage breast cancer and two children attending school virtually.
“Having a boss and team that supported me, remained flexible and ensured that my health and family came first, I think that I will forever be a more empathetic and supportive colleague and supervisor,” she said. “Life inevitably happens to us all, so keeping open lines of communication and realistic expectations is a true gift that we can offer one another.”
Ruzzamenti is inspired by Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, director of social responsibility for Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce/GoodFarms, who remains calm and steady through crises and busy schedules. She appreciates how Zimmerman-Lommel supports and cheers on employees at all levels in their personal and professional goals.
Supporting other women in this industry is important and will help the industry as a whole, Ruzzamenti said.
“Your ideas, perspective and opinions are valued and greatly needed in an industry faced with constant change and new challenges,” she said. “Let your voice be heard. You are paving the way for future women every day.”
