AFF appoints 3 to leadership roles

The Alliance for Food and Farming has appointed industry professionals Kyla Oberman, Lauren M. Scott and Jim Morris to serve on AFF leadership positions. 

Oberman, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, has been appointed as AFF’s new secretary/treasurer. Scott, chief strategy officer for the International Fresh Produce Association, and Morris, marketing communications manager for the Pear Bureau Northwest, have both been appointed to AFF’s management board. 

Oberman, who joined California Giant Berry Farms in 2020, has more than 15 years of experience in the fresh produce marketing industry, formerly working as a marketing manager for such California growers as Jacobs Farm del Cabo, Tanimura & Antle and Naturipe Farms, according to a news release. 

“Kyla has been integral to the AFF through her work on both the board and the communications committee, and we are excited to have her serve in this leadership role on the AFF’s executive committee,” AFF Chair Kate Tynan said in the release. Tynan is also senior vice president with the Northwest Horticultural Council. 

Scott has more than 20 years of experience in the consumer products industry, formerly working at PepsiCo in marketing roles that included brand management, foodservice, national promotions and cultural branding, according to the release. Morris brings more than12 years of combined retailer and marketing experience, the release said, most recently serving as retail marketing manager at Keen Footwear.

“Their consumer marketing experience and expertise will make them valuable additions to our board, and we look forward to the ideas they will bring to the table as we implement the AFF’s 2022 program,” Tynan said in the release of Scott and Morris. 

A  key component of the AFF’s 2022 program includes a comprehensive consumer research survey project, which will measure consumer attitudes and concerns about food safety, as well as identify information that might help to reassure consumers about their choices when shopping for produce, the release said. 

“This consumer research is distinctive because it is a broad-based, national research project specific to food safety and produce,” Alyssa Houtby, AFF communications chair, said in the release. Houtby is also senior director of federal affairs for California Citrus Mutual. “The AFF’s survey work will fill a significant information need for our members since much has changed over the last two years due to the pandemic, and we need to better understand consumers’ food safety perceptions.”

Results from the project will be shared with AFF members, Teresa Thorne, AFF executive director, said in the release, “so they have the opportunity to use this research to evolve and refine their communications as (they) share stories with consumers about their care and commitment to grow these healthy foods.”

The AFF is a nonprofit organization representing both traditional and organic farmers and focused on providing produce safety information to consumers. More information about AFF can be found at https://foodandfarming.info/about-us/.