IDFA Women's Summit

Becky Rasdall Vargas joined the International Dairy Foods Association in July 2020 as Vice President, Trade Policy and International Affairs where she is responsible for advocacy strategy on international trade and supply chain policy issues impacting the global competitiveness of U.S. dairy products.  Becky also currently leads IDFA’s Women in Dairy initiative.

Before she joined IDFA, Becky served as a Senior Advisor with the Foreign Agricultural Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a Deputy Director for Agricultural Affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Throughout her government career, she obtained extensive experience in negotiating technical resolutions to trade barriers for U.S. dairy exports, as well as representing the United States in trade agreement negotiations, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), China Phase One Agreement, and other negotiations with the European Commission and India.

Prior to joining the U.S. government, Becky managed regulatory compliance for ConAgra Foods’ export business and also worked for the International Food Information Council and former Congressman Dave Camp (MI-04). Becky holds a Master of the Arts in International Relations from the University of Warwick in England, and a Bachelor of the Arts in International Political Science from Hope College in Michigan, and speaks German and Spanish.

Mary Beth is an executive coach who brings clients the best of a 30-year career managing teams, leading nonprofits, and practicing law. Mary Beth challenges and inspires clients to deepen self-awareness and strengthen emotional intelligence leading to growth, empowerment, fulfillment, successful teams, and great leadership.

Coaching changed Mary Beth’s life, and she wants to bring that deeper level of self-awareness, perspective shift, and alignment to others. Her warmth and open presence create a safe environment where her insightful questions challenge and inspire. Clients appreciate her balance of support and drive for action.

She coaches leaders and teams on emotional intelligence, communication, change, and growth.  She mentors coaching students in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance at American University, Rutgers University, and NC State through Heidrick & Struggles in Washington, DC.  She is PCC-certified with the International Coach Federation (ICF). She served on the Board of Directors of ICF Metro DC, the largest local chapter worldwide, where she co-founded the Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and founded and chaired the governance committee.

She is certified in individual and team assessments that provide powerful insight to clients including DISC, Driving Forces, and EQ, through TTISI. Mary Beth works with a variety of clients including nonprofits, corporations, government, universities, and individuals. She has Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) status with the DSLBD (DC’s Department of Small and Local Business Development).

A New Orleans native, Mary Beth graduated from Vanderbilt University and LSU law school. She practiced law in Hong Kong (Exxon Chemical and Hyatt International), Louisiana (Davenport, Files & Kelly), and Washington, DC (MCI Communications Corporation). She was elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the largest ANC district in DC, where she served two terms. She co-founded and served as president of Van Ness Main Street.  She is a member of the External Advisory Council of the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She has been married to Sheldon Ray for 36 years, and they have two adult children.

Mary Beth is an executive coach who brings clients the best of a 30-year career managing teams, leading nonprofits, and practicing law. Mary Beth challenges and inspires clients to deepen self-awareness and strengthen emotional intelligence leading to growth, empowerment, fulfillment, successful teams, and great leadership.

Coaching changed Mary Beth’s life, and she wants to bring that deeper level of self-awareness, perspective shift, and alignment to others. Her warmth and open presence create a safe environment where her insightful questions challenge and inspire. Clients appreciate her balance of support and drive for action.

She coaches leaders and teams on emotional intelligence, communication, change, and growth.  She mentors coaching students in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance at American University, Rutgers University, and NC State through Heidrick & Struggles in Washington, DC.  She is PCC-certified with the International Coach Federation (ICF). She served on the Board of Directors of ICF Metro DC, the largest local chapter worldwide, where she co-founded the Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and founded and chaired the governance committee.

She is certified in individual and team assessments that provide powerful insight to clients including DISC, Driving Forces, and EQ, through TTISI. Mary Beth works with a variety of clients including nonprofits, corporations, government, universities, and individuals. She has Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) status with the DSLBD (DC’s Department of Small and Local Business Development).

A New Orleans native, Mary Beth graduated from Vanderbilt University and LSU law school. She practiced law in Hong Kong (Exxon Chemical and Hyatt International), Louisiana (Davenport, Files & Kelly), and Washington, DC (MCI Communications Corporation). She was elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the largest ANC district in DC, where she served two terms. She co-founded and served as president of Van Ness Main Street.  She is a member of the External Advisory Council of the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She has been married to Sheldon Ray for 36 years, and they have two adult children.

Her Excellency Rosemary Banks is New Zealand’s ambassador to the United States, having been reappointed in June 2024 after initially serving in the role from 2018 to 2022. With over four decades of distinguished diplomatic experience, she served as Chair of the NZ-US Council before her latest appointment. Banks’ extensive career includes roles as New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and ambassador to France and Portugal. As Deputy Secretary in New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Banks was responsible for multilateral, legal and consular affairs. Banks later served as a Crown negotiator for the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. She was also a member of the University of Canterbury Council and a Senior Adjunct Fellow in the Department of Political Science. Banks has provided diplomatic trade craft training for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Treasury, the New Zealand Defence Force and the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs. Banks has a Master of Arts degree in Russian with First Class Honours from Canterbury University and a Master of Science from London School of Economics.

As Executive Vice President, Federal Government Affairs, Stacy McBride leads the firm’s team of federal lobbyists in its Washington office. Stacy is an experienced public policy strategist whose diligent work over twenty years in Washington has earned her the respect and friendship of leading elected officials of both parties on Capitol Hill.

Stacy recently served eight years as Chief of Staff and Committee Staff Director to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and was responsible for managing a staff of more than 60 professionals while working alongside the Senator as he led the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the Republican Policy Committee and served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.  Stacy is an authority on how Congress operates and has successfully counseled lawmakers through some of the most critical and lasting legislative achievements of recent sessions of Congress. Stacy was responsible for managing a staff of more than 60 professionals while working alongside the Senator in developing significant public policy; responding to national crises; facilitating the legislative process among senate offices and committees; liaising with House leadership and Administration officials; and the planning and implementation of the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States.

Earlier in her career, Stacy served as the Republican Subcommittee Staff Director for the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies which provides over $140 billion in annual mandatory and discretionary funding for the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. She also served for six years as a Professional Staff Member on the Appropriations Committee and prior to that as a Special Assistant in the Commissioner’s Office of the Food and Drug Administration.

Stacy is a native Arkansan and earned her bachelor’s in political science and master’s in public administration from Arkansas State University.

Ambassador Darci Vetter is global public policy leader working at the intersection of agriculture, sustainability and international trade.  Throughout her career, she has been consistently focused on building more resilient food systems, serving in the public, private or non-profit sector.

Darci served as Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), a Senate-Confirmed Presidential Appointment. In this role, she negotiated the agricultural package of a 12-nation Free Trade Agreement with countries in the Asia-Pacific, and completed agreements with Brazil, China and other trading partners.

As Deputy Undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), she oversaw the Foreign Agricultural Service, working to expand market access for U.S. agricultural products worldwide, and directing USDA’s capacity building and food assistance programs.

She has served on the professional staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, working to secure passage of trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, and as a director in both the environment and agricultural affairs office at USTR, where she helped craft a variety of international agriculture and environmental agreements.

After leaving federal service, Darci served in executive roles in both the private and non-profit sectors.  She helped to establish the Yeutter Institute for International Trade and Finance, as a Diplomat in Residence at the University of Nebraska, and later as Head of Global Public Policy and Government Relations at the Nature Conservancy, expanding the organization’s policy and public funding focus outside of the United States to better prepare the organization to address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

She later joined PepsiCo as Senior Vice President for Global Public Policy, developing enterprise-wide policy positions and engagement strategies on critical issues for the agriculture and food sector, including regenerative agriculture, health and nutrition, advancing renewable energy, and reducing plastic packaging and waste.

Darci currently consults with organizations to help them navigate an increasingly complex global policy environment, with a focus on aligning incentives throughout the food and agriculture value chain to support the transition to more resilient food systems.

Darci is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National 4H Council and serves on the Mid-Atlantic selection panel for the Truman Scholarship Foundation.  She holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, and an undergraduate degree from Drake University. She resides in Washington, DC with her spouse and two teenage children.

Danielle Quist leads IDFA’s work on environment, sustainability, packaging, worker safety, financial regulation, and environmental compliance, where she advocates industry positions and monitors regulatory issues impacting dairy processors. She has more than 20 years of legal experience and serves as IDFA’s legal counsel.

Before coming to IDFA, Quist worked as senior counsel for public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), where she co-led AFBF’s legal advocacy program, advised lobbyists on policy matters, and lobbied federal agencies on behalf of farmers and ranchers for almost 14 years. Before that, Quist worked on Capitol Hill as a counsel on the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs for former Congressman Doug Ose (CA). Previously, she was an associate at Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP, and served as a law clerk to Judge Eugene Sullivan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Quist earned her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and her Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science from Columbia College of Columbia University in New York City. She is a member of the D.C. and New York Bars. Originally from southern California and New Mexico, she speaks Spanish.

Alexis Taylor is the Chief Global Policy Officer at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), where she leads the association’s global public policy agenda and oversees the Government Relations team. With nearly two decades of experience in trade and agriculture policy, she works to strengthen the industry’s global influence and advocate for policies that promote a prosperous and sustainable future for the fresh produce and floral sectors.

Before joining IFPA, Alexis served as the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (TFAA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she led efforts to expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products worldwide. Prior to USDA, she was Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, focusing on agricultural promotion and sustainability. She also held key positions on Capitol Hill and at USDA, supporting U.S. agriculture and global food security.

An Iowa native, Alexis grew up on her family’s heritage farm and is a graduate of Iowa State University. A U.S. Army veteran, she served in Iraq with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion and continues to advocate for veterans.

With her farm roots and more than a decade of agricultural policy experience, as Counsel at the law firm Alston & Bird, Kristi provides agricultural and food clients insights and solutions on legislative and regulatory issues impacting farm businesses and rural America. Before joining Alston & Bird, Kristi served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she implemented the secretary’s priorities and advised the secretary on decision-making. Kristi also held a policy role at the White House, where she served as the agricultural voice in drafting H-2A regulatory reforms and immigration legislation. Before her time in government, she served as the director of congressional relations at an agricultural trade association, where she advocated Congress for legislative change for farm members.

J. David Carlin leads the association's legislative, political and economic policy activities. He was a partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP until joining IDFA and has extensive experience in food and agriculture policy. Carlin has represented numerous food and agricultural companies, cooperatives and trade associations before the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Carlin joined Akin Gump in 1988. In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed him to serve as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations under Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman at USDA. As head of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Carlin served as the primary USDA liaison with Congress and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. He returned to Akin Gump in 1998 to focus his practice on public law and policy matters. His interest in agricultural and public policy began on the family dairy farm founded by his grandfather in 1940.

Robert Rosado joined the IDFA team in January 2021. He works with members on policy development and legislative strategy while advocating for dairy foods companies and the dairy industry before the Congress and the Administration. Before joining IDFA, Rosado served the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry as senior professional staff for nutrition and specialty crops policy. There, he drafted, managed, and led successful final bipartisan negotiations on the nutrition and specialty crops provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill and led the U.S. Senate COVID-19 policy response efforts impacting food assistance, nutrition, retail/foodservice supply-chain, and specialty crop agriculture.

Rosado has extensive experience in advocacy on behalf of food trade associations in the nation’s capital, having worked in the policy shops at the Food Marketing Institute, Biotechnology Industry Association, and American Meat Institute. He also served in the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Bush administration.

Rosado holds an M.A. in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University in Arlington, Va., and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from Drew University in Madison, N.J.

As Senior Director, Legislative Affairs, Donald Grady advocates for IDFA’s legislative policies and objectives with policymakers and other stakeholders, as well as assists with developing IDFA’s legislative goals and strategies. He comes to IDFA from the office of U.S. Representative Jim Costa (D-Calif.) where Grady served as a legislative assistant. He coordinated and managed all legislative efforts and constituent services related to the agriculture industry and the House Agriculture Committee. Before that, he was a legislative correspondent for U.S. Representative Jim Marshall (D-Ga.). Grady earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Denison University.

Carmen Rottenberg departed USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in March of 2020, after thirteen years of service, in order to launch Groundswell Strategy, a consulting firm focused on customizing strategic approaches for clients that interact with regulatory agencies.

Carmen held several leadership roles at USDA, including Acting Deputy Under Secretary for the Office of Food Safety from August 2017 through January 2019, and FSIS Administrator from May 2018 to March 2020. From April 2016 to August 2017, Carmen served as FSIS Deputy Administrator. In those leadership roles, Carmen executed a budget of over $1 billion, prioritizing resources and resolving disputes, advancing the Agency's vision and goals, and leading innovative solutions to challenges in FSIS.

Carmen spearheaded strategic planning at FSIS and implemented numerous initiatives to strategically move the agency forward. She implemented two major reorganizations leading to a more streamlined, efficient Agency better positioned to carry out its food safety mission. Through her leadership and oversight, an early governance process matured into an established systematic approach to agency decision-making, resulting in more deliberative, science-based decisions that consider enterprise-wide risks and benefits.
Carmen is also credited with leading and implementing several key transformative initiatives in recent years including modernizing food safety inspection systems, implementing Siluriformes inspection, and establishing and updating pathogen performance standards. Through her leadership and oversight, an unprecedented level of collaboration was achieved with federal, state, and municipal agencies, as well as other Stakeholders.

Carmen began her federal career in the Federal Trade Commission's Office of General Counsel, and has experience working in the public and private sector. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and a Juris Doctor Degree from American University's Washington College of Law.

Claudia Tenney was first elected to serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives on November 8, 2016, after winning one of the most expensive races in the nation. As a freshman member of the 115th Congress, she served on the House Financial Services Committee. She currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Claudia was elected to the House of Representatives for a second time in November 2020 in what was yet again among the most expensive and competitive congressional races in the country.

Prior to her election in November 2016, Claudia served as a member of the New York State Assembly. She was first elected to the Assembly on November 2, 2010.

Claudia is an accomplished attorney and longtime small business owner. Claudia was the co-owner and legal counsel to Mid-York Press, Inc., a commercial printing and manufacturing firm started by her grandfather in 1946. Mid-York Press currently employs nearly 70 people in the Chenango County community of Sherburne. Claudia also maintained a private law practice in Clinton, New York.

Claudia graduated from Colgate University and the Taft College of Law at the University of Cincinnati. She is admitted to the bar in New York, Connecticut and Florida. She also is admitted to all federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Prior to opening her private practice, Claudia was a partner in the Utica-area law firm of Groben, Gilroy, Oster, and Saunders.

In 1997, Claudia established Tenney Media Group and served as its publisher and corporate counsel. Tenney Media Group, also based in Clinton, published and printed free community newspapers founded by Claudia’s parents and grandparents — the Mid-York Weekly and the Pennysaver. These publications covered three Central New York counties with eight separate weekly editions and had a circulation exceeding 100,000 households. This division was sold to Gannett in 2004.

Claudia is the daughter of the late Honorable John R. Tenney, who served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York in the Fifth Judicial District from 1969 through 2003, and the mother of U.S. Naval Academy graduate Trey Cleary, who is an active duty Major in the U.S. Marine Corps.

After decades of living in small-town southern Utah, Celeste Maloy is uniquely aware of the issues facing the Second Congressional District. She is known for being a passionate defender of land rights and ownership after spending time in the district surrounded by its rich natural resources and public lands.

Celeste was born in Cedar City and raised in small-town Hiko, Nevada with her five siblings before attending Southern Utah University and earning a degree in agriculture.

Celeste began her public service career as a soil conservationist for ten years before going on to earn her law degree from Brigham Young University and becoming a deputy Washington County attorney. She also served as a public lands attorney for the Utah Association of Counties and a staff attorney for the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Most recently, she served as Chief Legal Counsel to former Representative Chris Stewart.

Celeste joined Congress in 2023 and serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as the House Committee on Small Business. She is also proud to serve on several caucuses, including the Colorado River Basin Caucus and Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, where she can address issues directly impacting the West.

Congresswoman Maloy is honored to represent Utah’s Second Congressional District and is dedicated to solving the challenges facing the district and state, from federal overreach of Utah’s public lands to out of control government spending.

As Manager, Events and Programs Victoria helps to develop, manage, and evaluate IDFA's knowledge and programmatic assets, support external relationship management, and provide strategic support to IDFA's Membership Team. She supports all membership and program activities, member service programs and systems, and the coordination and execution of IDFA's webinars, conferences and educational programs. Victoria joined IDFA in September 2022

She comes to IDFA from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) where she served as program assistant for the department of Business Operations and Revenue Development. Before that Victoria worked at the Helicopter Association International (HAI) as their foundation coordinator.

Victoria earned her Bachelor of Science in Poultry Science and Minor in Agriculture Business from North Carolina State University.

Elle O’Flaherty is an executive coach and global conference speaker with a focus on performance and ADHD. She founded Interlace Solutions, a coaching firm helping professionals and executives to fulfill their potential.

Elle came to coaching after 17 years as a federal attorney and trade negotiator. Her work has been published in national and international media outlets and her groundbreaking course teaching career coaches how to work with ADHD clients has been lauded by participants and coaching educators.

Elle holds a J.D. from the College of William & Mary and a journalism degree from James Madison University. She is a subject matter expert on international agricultural trade and World Trade Organization dispute settlement, which doesn’t come up much. She lives in Washington, DC with her family and the most beautiful dog in the world, Penny.

Elle O’Flaherty is an executive coach and global conference speaker with a focus on performance and ADHD. She founded Interlace Solutions, a coaching firm helping professionals and executives to fulfill their potential.

Elle came to coaching after 17 years as a federal attorney and trade negotiator. Her work has been published in national and international media outlets and her groundbreaking course teaching career coaches how to work with ADHD clients has been lauded by participants and coaching educators.

Elle holds a J.D. from the College of William & Mary and a journalism degree from James Madison University. She is a subject matter expert on international agricultural trade and World Trade Organization dispute settlement, which doesn’t come up much. She lives in Washington, DC with her family and the most beautiful dog in the world, Penny.