OTA’s structure reflects an organizational commitment to utilizing the board of directors as strategic advisors and long-term thinkers, the staff as program planners and implementers, and the members as lenders of knowledge and expertise to the board and staff.
OTA’s Board of Directors consists of fifteen people, each of whom serves a term of three years. A Board member cannot serve more than three consecutive terms.
OTA Board members are elected by OTA trade members each year. The Board is made up of nine at-large members elected by the general membership, two Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) representatives who have been elected by the general membership of COTA and four members who are appointed by elected Board members. There is also a dedicated Farmer Board seat.
 President Kim is Senior Manager of Environmental, Natural and Organic Policy Government Relations & Corporate Sustainability for J.M. Smucker. Kim has been involved in organic farming sustainability her entire life, and has over 30 years experience and expertise regarding organic and non-GMO compliance and standards; her commitment to organic has been shown in her voluntary work with OTA throughout her career, both as a leader and a participant. |
 Vice President Melissa is Chief Mission Officer and General Counsel for Organic Valley, the nation’s largest and oldest organic dairy cooperative. Melissa, who says her passion for organic food and people is her compass and that serving a co-op of farmers creating a better future is a perfect fit, currently serves on USDA’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture. |
 Treasurer Rick Collins is Executive Vice President of Sales for Clif Bar & Company, a leading maker of nutritious and organic food and drinks. Guided by the company’s five bottom lines of Sustaining its People, Business, Brands, Community and the Planet, Rick oversees Clif’s global strategic sales and customer marketing efforts. |
 Secretary Marci is founder of Under the Canopy, a sustainable lifestyle brand of certified organic, eco-friendly home fashion, apparel, and hotel textiles made and manufactured by socially responsible methods. She is also founder and CEO of Metawear Organic, the nation's first turnkey GOTS certified garment factory. For over two decades, Marci has been a visionary, authority and ambassador of an organic/sustainable lifestyle, and is working with OTA to protect and build the organic industry |
 Vice President, Canada Ryan is president of Teldon Media Group and alive Publishing Group, leaders in Canada’s health and wellness publishing sector for 39 years. Ryan’s approach to business embodies a combination of vision and execution, and his commitment to giving consumers the tools they need to live healthier and happier lives has translated into his work with OTA to help educate the public about organic. |
 farmer board seat, Governance Committee Perry is owner of Pleasantview Farm, his family’s certified organic dairy operation in Ohio. Perry has been a passionate supporter and fully engaged member of the organic community for 15 years, transitioning his family’s 133-year-old farm to an organic grass-based dairy, and wants to use his resources and knowledge to further promote organic through advocacy and working with OTA. |
 Community Relations Committee, Chair Doug and his wife Anna own and operate Vilicus Farms, a 5,000-acre certified organic dry-land farm growing 12 to 15 grain, pulse, broadleaf and oilseed crops annually. Having started the farm “from scratch,” they share a passion for beginning farmers. Doug has been an active member of the Farmers Advisory Council and regular participant in OTA’s Policy Conference and Hill Visits. Prior to launching the farm, Doug managed the State of Montana’s Organic Certification Program. |
 Governance Committee Bob Kaake is Director of Innovation, Technology and Quality at Annie’s Inc. He leads a passionate team of product development and quality professionals to ideate, develop, and bring innovations to market that drive Annie’s long-standing mission to create great-tasting foods that are better for people and the planet. Bob firmly believes meaningful partnerships across all levels of the organic supply chain are the key to a successful food company. |
 Community Relations Committee David Lively farmed professionally before joining the staff as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing and serving on the Board of Organically Grown Company. He is a co-founder of the Sustainable Food Trade Association, Organic Produce Wholesalers Coalition and the Organicology Conference. He has also served on the Boards of Oregon Tilth and the Organic Seed Alliance. |
 Community Relations Committee Britt Lundgren is the Director of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture at Stonyfield Farm. With over a decade of experience working to advance agricultural sustainability through policy and supply chain initiatives including six years at Stonyfield, she brings much relevant knowledge and enthusiasm to the Board. |
 Community Relations Committee Mike Menes is Vice President of Food Safety and Technology at True Organic Products, a leader in organic fertilizers. His responsibilities include oversight of food safety and organic integrity. Using his chemistry background, Mike has centered his career interests over the years on biological systems and how modification of surroundings can influence the ways these systems interact. |
 Governance Committee, Chair Kelly is Vice President of Trade Relations for Danone North America Public Benefit Corporation, home to pioneer organic brands Silk Soymilk and Horizon Organic. A member of OTA for over 25 years, Kelly stresses the importance of the organic industry coming together as a community with one voice to the media, to lawmakers and politicians, and to shoppers to educate on the multiple benefits of organic. |
 Community Relations Committee Mark Squire is co-owner and manager of Good Earth Natural Foods. His career began in the 1960s after reading J.I. Rodale and Sir Albert Howard, which instilled in him a deep conviction of the need to move agriculture from pesticide dependence and the foundation of our diets to natural system approaches. This led him to Good Earth Natural Foods where he has worked for the past 48 years. During that time, he spent three years out of retail to transition a family farm in North Carolina to organic production. |
 Governance Committee Leslie is co-founder of Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) and has been PCO’s Executive Director for 17 years. A lawyer and an organic farmer for nearly 30 years, Leslie have been involved with OTA for several decades; she says everyone in the organic community needs to pitch in to keep the organic sector strong, and to help OTA effectively protect and preserve organic integrity in Washington and around the world. |
 Community Relations Committee James is the CEO of Yorkshire Valley Farms, a producer and marketer of organic poultry products. During James time as the CEO, the company went from a grassroots startup to a Canadian leader in organic poultry. James has also been successful in implementing new programs that helped support and enhance the organic chicken industry both domestically and internationally. James is excited to increase his involvement Canada Organic Trade Association. |
