Posted: 02.18.2011
Secretary Ben Brancel has appointed administrators to lead five divisions in the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, including some familiar faces.
Appointees are:
- Mike Powers, who will lead the Division of Agricultural Development
- John Petty, heading up the Division of Agricultural Resource Management
- Steven Ingham, returning to lead the Division of Food Safety
- Sandy Chalmers, returning to the department in a new role at the helm of the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection
- Perry Brown, promoted from within to lead the Division of Management Services
Brancel previously announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Ehlenfeldt as State Veterinarian and administrator of the Division of Animal Health.
“I’ve worked with these people in the past and know the strengths they bring to DATCP,” Brancel said. “They all have demonstrated skills in managing policy, budget and personnel. They bring a wide range of experience to the table and they are familiar with the issues we deal with. I know they’re the team to carry us through what we all know is going to be a difficult time.”
Mike Powers served five terms in the Wisconsin Legislature, where he supported and advanced agricultural policy, serving on the Assembly Rural Affairs, Utilities and Land Use Committees and receiving special recognition as a “Friend of Agriculture.” He chose to leave the Legislature to work in real estate and wind energy development. Powers also served on the Green County Board of Supervisors during adoption of the county’s first large-scale livestock operation regulations. Prior to his election to the Assembly, he was the Green County conservationist, managing soil erosion control, farmland preservation, priority watershed and agricultural education and youth programs. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, earning a degree in Land Reclamation, a combination of agriculture, engineering, mining and natural resources. Through school, he worked on local dairy and hog farms; for agricultural businesses including a farm supply, grain storage, feed and agricultural chemical cooperative; and for the University of Wisconsin-Extension. He will begin his duties at DATCP February 28th.
John Petty comes to the department after 13 years as executive director of the Wisconsin Agri-Service Association. The organization represents feed, seed, grain and farm supply businesses, and Petty has worked closely with the Agricultural Resource Management Division over the years on issues involving those businesses. Prior to his current position, his career has included positions in the agricultural industry and commodities investment field, in which he was a full member of both the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He holds bachelor’s degrees in agriculture economics and social psychology from the University of Georgia and Florida Atlantic University, respectively, and a master of business administration degree from DePaul University, Chicago. He is also co-author of a standard industry reference book, the Practical Grain Encyclopedia. He has held board positions in trade organizations including the National Grain and Feed Association, American Feed Industry Association, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board and Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board. Petty has also been a member of two DATCP panels: The Agriculture Producer Security Council, and the Agricultural Chemical Rule Advisory Committee. He will join the DATCP Feb. 28.
Steven Ingham has been a faculty member in the UW-Madison Department of Food Safety and a food safety specialist with the UW-Extension since 1993. In that capacity, he has developed and delivered food safety training and services to Wisconsin food processors and regulators and conducted applied food safety research, along with performing administrative and teaching responsibilities. He previously held faculty posts at Louisiana State University and the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). Ingham served as the DATCP Division of Food Safety administrator from November 2008 until July 2010 while on leave from the University. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University. His research has been published in peer-reviewed publications including the Journal of Food Protection, the International Journal of Food Microbiology, and the Journal of Dairy Science. His appointment will begin March 1.
Sandy Chalmers returns to DATCP after serving since 2003 as the executive officer of the Wisconsin office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, where she managed day-to-day operations involving 600 employees and 57 offices. In 2010, she was the recipient of the FSA Administrator’s Award for Excellence in Leadership and Management. She first worked with Ben Brancel when she was his communications director during his time as Assembly Speaker in the Wisconsin Legislature, and was his director of the Office of Outreach and Policy during his first term as DATCP Secretary. She also manages her family’s farm in Illinois. She was formerly the president of Chalmers Group LLC, a public policy communications consultant working mainly with the food and agriculture industry, and worked as a congressional aide in her early career. Chalmers received her bachelor’s degree from UW-Platteville and her master’s degree from the University of Nebraska. She starts her new post March 7.
Perry Brown has been with DATCP since 2000, serving most recently as director of the Bureau of Agricultural Business and Sector Development and acting administrator of the Division of Agricultural Development. As acting administrator, he oversees a division of 35 employees. As bureau director, he leads a team of six who provide consulting in business and financial management to Wisconsin food and agricultural businesses in an effort to foster new investments. He has also been instrumental in developing the department’s organic and grazing programs and the Wisconsin Specialty Meat Development Center. Brown previously worked in business development with American Ag-Tec International Ltd., Delavan, and Advanc-Ag International Inc., Springfield, Ill., as well as the Illinois Department of Agriculture. At IDA, he oversaw a staff of 18 in international marketing with offices in Hong Kong, Belgium, Canada and Mexico, and managed a $1.6 million annual budget. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education and has completed coursework for a master’s degree in business administration and economics, both from Western Illinois University. He will begin his new job Feb. 28.
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