North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI) President and CEO Barry Carpenter announced that Nathan Fretz has joined the staff as senior director of legislative affairs. 

Most recently, Fretz served as an associate attorney at the law firm Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz (OFW Law), where he counseled clients on an array of food and agriculture legislative, regulatory and policy issues.

Prior to joining OFW Law, Nathan spent six years as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, serving first as majority counsel and then later as minority counsel. In that role, Fretz helped negotiate and draft the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bills, primarily focusing on meat, poultry, dairy and conservation issues.

Fretz transitioned to the House Committee on Agriculture from the Congressional and Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service. At USDA, Fretz gained valuable experience working on a variety of food safety policy issues.

“Nathan Fretz’s legal, congressional and agency experience will be invaluable to both the legislative affairs department and to Meat Institute members,” Carpenter said. “Nathan brings a deep understanding of industry issues and legislative policy priorities, and we are fortunate to have him on our team.”

Fretz earned his juris doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law and his bachelor of arts in political science from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. He has been a member of the Maryland State Bar Association since 2003. 

Source: NAMI