New organization launches promoting women in the meat and poultry industry

Meat and poultry industry leaders from all sectors have come together to create the Women’s Meat Industry Network (WMIN) to educate, develop, promote, and retain women working in the industry.

“I am very proud to be in the company of a distinguished and talented group of women working in the meat and poultry industry who want to share their knowledge with other women pursuing careers in our fields,” said Heidi Buske, Chair of WMIN. “I look forward to WMIN providing a more formal support system that will expand and strengthen the participation of women in our industry.”

Recognizing that meat and poultry production and related businesses are typically male-dominated, a group of women in industry and academia agreed to work together to address this disparity and to improve professional development and career opportunities for women.

Members at all stages of careers from entry-level to c-suite, and in all types of jobs from those in sales, to operations, to food safety to management and more will benefit through mentoring, professional development, and networking opportunities. Membership is not exclusive to women, but open to anyone with an interest in promoting WMIN’s values.

WMIN’s Board of Directors includes:

Angie Krieger, Vice President, Operations, National Pork Board
Carol L. Lorenzen, Professor and Department Head, Oregon State University
Casey M. Owens, Ph.D., Professor, Poultry Processing & Products, University of Arkansas
Cathy East, Vice President of Procurement, Albertsons Companies
Cheyenne McEndaffer, Director, Export Services/Access, U.S. Meat Export Federation
Collette Kaster, CEO, American Meat Science Association
Heidi Buske, Strategic Portfolio Lead – North America Protein, Cargill
Jess Pryles, Owner, Hardcore Carnivore
KatieRose McCullough, Ph.D., MPH, Director, Science and Public Health, North American Meat Institute
Kay Stinson, Vice President of Human Resources and Employee Communications, Seaboard Foods
Meredith Strickland, Senior Director of Finance & Accounting, Tyson Foods
Natosha Walsh, Senior Vice President of Sales – CPS Division, Hormel Foods
Wendy Pinkerton, Head of Industry Relations, Zoetis

WMIN is proud to have the sponsorship of American Foods Group, Cargill, Pork Checkoff, Clemens Food Group, Seaboard Foods and The U.S. Meat Export Federation.

For more on WMIN’s values, sponsorship opportunities, and to become a member, please visit the website https://wmin.org/.

WMIN will hold its first in-person networking event next week at the International Production and Processing Expo on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Follow WMIN on LinkedIn for more details.

Follow WMIN on Twitter at https://twitter.com/WMINorg

WMIN is a nonprofit corporation organized under the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act, Title 29, Chapter 4.

Source: WMIN