TEXAS - What was a rumble in our business when I first joined has elevated to a roar, echoing as more and more women have taken on bigger roles and responsibilities in fresh produce. While more prominent on the whole, from International Women’s Day to the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Women's Fresh Perspectives, the spotlight shines a little brighter on the endeavors and accomplishments of the female demographic of our industry. This is especially so for up-and-coming industry leaders, specifically those in the 28th class for IFPA’s Leadership Program.

This year, attendance is made up of the most diverse group of women of any leadership class in the company’s 25-plus year history. The group, Beth Keeton, class member and Chief Executive Officer of Elephant House PR, recently pointed out to me, celebrates multiple shifts we could be seeing in our industry’s top titles.

“Our Leadership Class has the most diverse group of women in terms of roles, backgrounds and cultures, and we are also the most degreed out of previous cohorts,” Beth said about being amid so many inspirational people. Yet, the class’ recent excursion to Texas also showed a shift in our industry’s leadership. “A common thread we saw during our trip in Texas was the women leadership represented at the companies we toured. I think we expected most tours to be conducted by men, just by the nature of our industry, and we met with some ROCKSTAR women!”

This particular tour included:

• Julie Krivanek, President, Krivanek Consulting
• Magaly Solis, Senior Program Manager, Brighter Bites
• Judy Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Fresh From Texas
• Victoria Lopez, Marketing and Brand Manager, Fox Packaging
• Jen Doxey, Director of Sales, Fox Packaging
• Courtney Schuster Moore, Organic Farmer, Rio Fresh

It was the perfect roundtable to usher in the up-and-coming female leaders of our industry. In addition to Beth, the class includes Maria Fernanda Reyes, Regulatory Affairs Manager at Agrofresh; Hollie Johnson, Commercial Director at Offshoot Brands; Erendira Lara, Procurement Director at NatureSweet; and Violeta Gomez, Director of Food Safety & Quality at CarusoUSA.

Congratulations go out to these women on their journey to help change and strengthen our industry for the better. Up next for the class is the pinnacle place for such growth: the Washington Conference in DC.

I think I speak for many of us when I say this will be an exciting journey to follow toward the future of our industry—a particular passion for our team at AndNowUKnow, so be sure to keep an eye out as we report the latest!