Four employees join California Farm Bureau

» March 18, 2008 «

Four employees have joined the California Farm Bureau Federation, filling vacant positions at the state's largest farm organization.

Kari Fisher Download JPG (1.4 MB)

Eric Alvarez Download JPG (990 KB)

John Weech Download JPG (1.3 MB)

Kari Fisher serves as associate counsel in the Farm Bureau Natural Resources and Environmental Division. She will focus on water issues--including water quality, water rights and subjects involving the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta--plus habitat conservation plans and other land-use topics. Fisher will also monitor federal and state environmental-review processes. She joined Farm Bureau after working as an associate attorney for Somach, Simmons and Dunn in Sacramento, where she gained experience on land use and water law. Fisher earned a bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a law degree from the University of California, Davis.

Lauren Shoda has joined Farm Bureau as project manager in the Communications/News Division. She will work on communications with the organization's 53 county Farm Bureaus, Web site projects, media relations and other communications efforts. Shoda's experience includes communications work representing agricultural commodity boards and wineries at two Sacramento public relations firms, Precision PR and Fleishman-Hillard International. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from California State University, Sacramento.

Eric Alvarez brings extensive experience in broadcast news and communications to his post as administrative producer of the Farm Bureau television program California Country. Alvarez will report stories on farms and ranches around the state for California Country, a weekly 30-minute program focused on the people, places and lifestyles that make California the nation's top food-producing state. He has been a television reporter and anchor at stations in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Santa Maria and Grand Rapids, Mich. Alvarez has also worked as a radio reporter in several California markets and developed media-outreach programs for a public relations firm based in Washington, D.C. He earned a degree in political science at California State University, Fullerton.

In addition, John Weech has rejoined the Farm Bureau as associate counsel in the Natural Resources and Environmental Division, where he will focus on land-use issues. His duties include assisting county Farm Bureaus on local General Plan updates and on habitat conservation plans. Weech originally joined Farm Bureau in 2004 and returns after serving as an attorney with the California Department of Conservation. He has practiced land-use law for more than 10 years in both California and Georgia. Weech earned his bachelor's degree from California State University, Sacramento, and his law degree from Mercer University in Georgia.

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 92,000 members statewide.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.