OMRI Welcomes Three New Members to Board

(May 20, 2021) Three new members have recently joined the OMRI Board of Directors: Emily Newman of the Rodale Institute, Hannah Smith-Brubaker of PASA Sustainable Agriculture, and Becky Gretebeck of good culture. As a nonprofit organization, OMRI relies on its board for oversight of policy and direction for the organization. The board is comprised of volunteer stakeholders from across the organic industry, including certifiers, farmers, processors, consumer and public interest groups, and input suppliers. This wide array of backgrounds ensures the inclusion of diverse perspectives, as well as impartiality in decision making.

Emily Newman is an Organic Crop Consultant at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Rodale, she worked in regulatory compliance of organic production through review and inspections work. Emily even worked for a short time for OMRI in 2019. She is a graduate of Penn State University and is currently pursuing her MBA in Food and Agribusiness from Delaware Valley University.

Hannah Smith-Brubaker is the executive director of PASA Sustainable Agriculture. She also operates Village Acres Farm and Foodshed with her partner Debra and their family. An organic produce and pastured livestock farm in the Juniata Valley of Pennsylvania, Village Acres has been certified organic for nearly 30 years. Prior to PASA, Hannah served as the Pennsylvania Agriculture Deputy Secretary, and as a farmer representative for the Organic Farmers Association. She is an active advocate for sustainable agriculture, with experience testifying before congress, speaking at events such as the Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Food Summit.

Becky Gretebeck is currently the Vice President of Operations for good culture, an organic cottage cheese processor based in Cashton, Wisconsin. Previously in her career, she worked for Century Foods, Organic Valley, Organic Valley Fresh and Brookside Flavors. She’s currently working on her Master’s degree in Nutrition, as well as an MBA with a focus on Operations. Becky and her husband also own and operate a 100% grass-fed, certified organic dairy farm. In addition, she and her family operate a pick-your-own pumpkin patch in the fall, and actively show livestock.

Founded in 1997 by organic certifiers and stakeholders, OMRI provides an independent review of input products to determine which inputs are allowed for organic use. Over the past two decades, the organization has grown to over 8,000 OMRI Listed® products, reviewed to the U.S. National Organic Program standards, the Canada Organic Regime standards and the Mexico Organic Products Law.

Contact: Meghan Murphy, Marketing Manager
(541) 343-7600 ext. 162