Animal Agriculture Alliance Announces New Staff Members

Animal Agriculture Alliance Announces New Staff Members
Allyson Jones-Brimmer and Casey Whitaker join the Alliance team

 May 13, 2015 – Animal Agriculture Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith announced today the addition of two new staff members: Allyson Jones-Brimmer, membership and marketing manager, and Casey Whitaker, communications coordinator.
 As membership and marketing manager, Jones-Brimmer is responsible for facilitating membership and sponsorship development by promoting the Alliance and its activities to relevant stakeholders, as well as producing all member communication and marketing materials.“Joining the Alliance is a great fit for me because I am passionate about promoting modern animal agriculture,” Jones-Brimmer said. “I look forward to getting to know our current members and growing our membership so we can do even more to support America’s hardworking livestock and poultry farmers.”

Prior to joining the Alliance, Jones-Brimmer worked in marketing for Farm Credit East in the Watertown, New York area. She holds a bachelor of science degree in agricultural science education and animal science and a master of arts in teaching, both from Cornell University. Jones-Brimmer, a native of Lorraine, New York, has completed internships with Osborn & Barr Communications and the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition.

Whitaker joins the Alliance as communications coordinator after serving as communications intern since January 2015. In her new role, Whitaker will work with Alliance communications director Hannah Thompson to implement communication strategies that enhance the Alliance’s mission to connect key food industry stakeholders, engage food chain stakeholders and protect consumer and producer choice. Her key responsibilities will include social media engagement, written and graphic content production and maintenance of the Alliance website.

Whitaker is a December 2014 graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural communication. Whitaker, who is from Centreville, Va., interned with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System while completing her degree at Auburn.

“I am excited to be joining the Alliance full-time and continuing to work alongside a great team to promote an industry that I believe in,” Whitaker said. “Although I didn’t come from a farming background, I know agriculture is where I belong and will do my absolute best to share agriculture’s story and importance in this world.”Both Jones-Brimmer and Whitaker will be based in the Alliance’s Arlington, Va. office.

“I am confident that Allyson and Casey are the perfect additions to our small, but mighty, team,” said Johnson-Smith. “In their brief time with the Alliance, they have already proven to be invaluable as they helped execute our first Stakeholders Summit held outside of the Washington, D.C. area last week. Our members, and the animal agriculture community as a whole, will certainly see the Alliance’s initiatives reach new heights with Allyson and Casey on our team.”

About the Alliance:

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation.
Find the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.