SOLEDAD, CA - We are celebrating a powerful woman in produce today as Braga Fresh’s Colby Pereira gains distinctive recognition. The company’s Chief Operating Officer was recently presented with the Grower-Shipper Foundation Ag Woman of the Year award.

“What you invest in your community, you get back 10-fold,” Pereira stated in her acceptance speech, attributing her passion for ag to her grandfather Anthony Costa, a pioneer in the Salinas valley.

With a rich background in family farming, Pereira is active in various organizations, including the Salinas Valley Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, the Monterey County Farm Bureau, and the Grower Shipper Association of Central California. She participates on the Food Safety, Land Use, and Water Use Committees for the Monterey County Farm Bureau and Grower Shipper Association, as well as the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement Technical Committee.

In addition, she serves on the California Leafy Greens Research Board, is an elected director of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and is elected to the Mission Union School District Board of Trustees.

Ag Against Hunger, a program of the Grower-Shipper Foundation, honored Pereira at its annual Agricultural Woman of the Year Recognition Luncheon.

The coveted Agricultural Woman of the Year award honors unique leadership qualities held by women in the ag industry in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. As a press release explained, the winner of the award demonstrates a significant contribution to agriculture, is a leader in the community, and is an “Ag-Vocate” for agriculture.

Pereira obtained a bachelor of science degree in agricultural business with a minor in crop science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She was born and raised in Soledad, California—also home of Braga Fresh and Josie’s Organics.

A huge congratulations goes out to Colby Pereira for this well-deserved recognition!