Dairy Checkoff Elects New Leadership

PDPP Elects New Chair, State Agriculture Secretary Attends Checkoff Annual Meeting

Audrey Donahoe of Clayville, N.Y., was re-elected to serve a third year as president of American Dairy Association North East, and Lolly Lesher of Bernville, Pa., was elected for her first term as chair of Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program.

Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program is managed by ADA North East, and Lesher will also serve as Donahoe’s first vice president. She replaces Jeff Raney of Adamsville, Pa., who served in the chairman role for six years.

“We are so fortunate to have such dedicated dairy farmers who are willing to guide and direct our local dairy checkoff,” said ADA North East CEO John Chrisman. “They are committed to actively reaching consumers with forward-thinking, top quality programming to continue to grow sales and trust in dairy.”

“It’s an honor to serve as president of this organization and to represent all dairy farmers across the region,” said Donahoe. “Our programs are targeting consumer preferences in retail, in schools and in the digital arena – all of which are helping increase per capita consumption each year.”

Donahoe has served as an ADA North East board member for 22 years. She also serves as chair of the National Dairy Council that is funded by national dairy checkoff to provide science-based research and education about the nutrition and health benefits that dairy foods provide.

Lesher has served on the PDPP board for 20 years and is looking forward to serving in her new role. As ADA North East First Vice President, she will also work closely with Donohoe to execute checkoff programs for the benefit of the entire six-state region.

“Dairy promotion is something I’m very passionate about and am glad to partner with ADA North East to make our dairy checkoff investment more efficient and effective,” said Lesher. “In Pennsylvania, we have so many opportunities to share our story with consumers – not only what dairy offers nutritionally, but the important role the industry plays across the Commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding attended the annual meeting, sharing his vision for the future of the state’s dairy industry. Redding also expressed his support for the programs that dairy checkoff is executing to build trust and expand markets for dairy, locally, nationally, and globally.

American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing nearly 9,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com, or call 315.472.9143.