Women in Produce — Angela Fraser

Ask around about Angela Fraser, and you hear rave review after rave review. “When I think of Angela, I think of really good things – it makes a smile come to my face,” said Marty Craner, owner of Orange, Calif.-based B&C Fresh Sales. “She is so upbeat about life and she is such an inspiration.”

As director of trade affairs for the Irvine-based California Avocado Association, Fraser’s work includes exhibit management, CAC’s influencer program, coordination with USDA, reviewing contracts, and more.

Shawn Peery, vice president of produce and floral for Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., got to know Fraser while they were serving as co-chairs of the 2020 Fresh Summit committee.

“She’s a great leader,” Peery said. “As leaders, you have to ask tough questions, and last year was a lot of tough questions, and she would be the first and foremost to ask, ‘What about COVID?’ This was early on. ‘What if we can’t have a show?’ No one wanted to talk about it, but Angela was the first one like, ‘What are we going to do?’”

He credited her for challenging the group to address that possibility sooner versus later and then working diligently to make sure the new format would work for companies across the supply chain.

Dick Spezzano, owner of Monrovia, Calif.-based Spezzano Consulting Service, also praised Fraser’s leadership. “She wants to hear from everybody,” Spezzano said. “If she notices somebody is not saying much, she’ll call on them and say, ‘Hey Mary, what do you think about this?’ to get them more involved in a meeting, and I think it’s great to get that kind of consensus all the time.”

On top of her work at the commission, Fraser is graduating soon with her paralegal degree. She plans to get a degree in psychology next and then go on to law school.

“She just has a thirst for learning more,” said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for CAC. “It just creates this persona about her that is just so excellent. She always wants to learn what she can from a situation, and then she’ll share that information with others.”

Fraser’s industry peers also noted her deep faith and her drive to serve others.  “At the end of my life, I want to know that I stood for something, that I did something good and that I made a difference,” Fraser said.

Read more Women in Produce profiles here.