2024 Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting

Alexis Taylor

U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Deputy Under Secretary

Amanda Buckle

Managing Editor, SeafoodNews.com at Urner Barry

Amanda Buckle is the managing editor of Seafood News and Urner Barry’s Reporter, a quarterly food-industry focused newsmagazine. Amanda joined the team at Urner Barry in Toms River, New Jersey, in 2017 after working as a senior editor at the International Business Times and modern media brand Mic, both based in New York City. In addition to covering top-trending industry stories and leading a team of global contributors, Amanda also hosts the Seafood News weekly recap video and the Seafood News podcast. She also launched the popular YouTube series “Watch Us Eat!” with Urner Barry seafood market reporter and co-star Lorin Castiglione, where they sample new seafood products and menu items hitting the market to encourage and promote seafood consumption, all while injecting an element of fun for the viewers.

Master of Ceremonies

Angel Rubio

Economist at Urner Barry

Angel Rubio is Urner Barry’s Senior Analyst for UB Consulting, the company’s advisory services arm. His primary duties include performing custom research reports, developing quantitative and qualitative analyses on the economy and the protein commodity industry, and presenting findings to customers, as well as in conferences and webinars. He also leads Urner Barry’s first proprietary forecast report for egg prices. 

He joined Urner Barry in 2006 as a seafood market reporter, starting price quotations for main items like tilapia, mahi-mahi, and pangasius, among others. His duties expanded into overseeing existing monthly seafood insiders’ reports and developing new ones. He also forged vital alliances with trade associations abroad in the agri-food, aquaculture, and fisheries industries and directed all business development in Latin America from 2007 to 2018. 

Angel has been a guest speaker at numerous conferences domestically and abroad, including the Global Seafood Market Conference, Aqua India, Aqua Expo Ecuador, Global Protein Summit, and ISM World, among many others. 

Finally, Angel worked as a Sr. Category Manager at Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, a Thai Union company, from July 2018 to February 2020. 

Angel holds an M.S. in Applied Economics from Boston College and a B.S. in Economics and International Business from Villanova University; he also has a certificate in Data Science from Columbia University and diplomas from East China Normal University and the London School of Economics. 

Bob Desautel

GAPP Board of Directors Chairman

Bob Desautel is co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Global Seas and Nina Fisheries, Inc. In 1994, he co-founded Nina Fisheries, a business that later developed internationally as it extended to Chile and Argentina in 1998. In 2001, Bob co founded Global Seas, a subsidiary of Nina Fisheries, that quickly became one of the West Coast’s premier vessel management companies. Under Bob’s direction, Global Seas’ expanded its business enterprise to the East Coast and ventured into the maritime research field in 2002.

In 1978, while studying business at the University of Nevada, Bob began his career as a deckhand fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. In 1980, he advanced to the role of Captain and operated various fishing vessels. Bob possesses a United States Coast Guard (issue no.7) Masters 3000 ITC License. In 2002, he retired from the ocean to focus on the expansion of Global Seas.

Bob has served as President and Member of the Board of the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association, advocating safety education for the commercial fishing industry by providing information about USCG requirements, OSHA compliance standards, MARPOL, hands-on training programs, and safety seminars and workshops. In 1993, Bob co-founded United Catcher Boats, served as a Member of the Board and later as Vice President, all the while promoting the organization’s importance to the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and West Coast fisheries. His efforts serving on these Boards, as well as his involvement in other various organizations, have both improved safety and created efficiencies in the commercial fishing and maritime industries.

Currently, Bob is on the board of the directors with the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) and United Boat Catchers (UBC). His involvement with GAPP and the fishing industry is to promote, elevate and expand Wild Caught Alaskan Pollock’s profile to tablecloth restaurants and grocery stores across North America.

Craig Morris

GAPP CEO

Dr. Craig Morris is GAPP’s exuberant CEO. He’s been a lifelong passionate advocate and ambassador for the U.S. food and agriculture industry and has dedicated his entire professional career to advancing the interests of various U.S. agricultural commodities. He’s done it all, from pork to beef to poultry and everything in between working for the National Pork Board (NPB), United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service and Future Beef Operations, LLC, to name a few. Craig received his Bachelor of Science degree with a distinction in Animal Science from Iowa State University and served as a regent’s graduate fellow while earning his Doctorate in Animal Science from Texas A&M University.

Hannah Lindoff

Executive Director, SeaShare

Jeremy Woodrow

Executive Director at Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

Julie Decker

President at Pacific Seafood Processors Association

Lauren Hasse

Director, Ketchum Analytics

Lauren Hasse is a market research and consumer insights specialist, who’s been with Ketchum for 7 years. She’s currently a Director for Ketchum Analytics, based in Chicago. She’s an expert in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. She’s experienced in multi-discipline research including message development and testing, brand positioning, communications measurement, campaign evaluation, segmentation research and issues & crises. She has a passion for helping her clients understand audience needs so they can better connect with and influence their target audience. She leads Ketchum’s analytics work across food, agriculture and ingredients, consumer food and retail industries. Lauren is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism and an emphasis in strategic communications.

Mary Elizabeth Germaine

Chief Data & Strategy Officer, Ketchum Analytics

Mary Elizabeth leads Ketchum’s research, measurement and analytics sector, Ketchum Analytics. Since joining the agency in 2001, she has been instrumental in growing the business from a handful of team members to well over 60 in 12 cities globally today. With more than 20 years of experience as a marketing and communications researcher, Mary Elizabeth counsels clients on how to make the best use of data and analytics and derives insights to develop, measure and optimize strategic communication programs. Her work spans all stages of the communications process – from planning to testing to evaluation. She is responsible for the development of a variety of Ketchum’s proprietary tools, including those used for measurement, audience profiling, strategy and creative testing, optimization, as well as the agency’s strategic planning process among others. Her remit is to infuse data and analytics across all aspects of the Agency’s work. Her background is in the area of corporate reputation research. Work in this space includes the following clients: Takeda, Janssen, Novartis, NBCUniversal, Kohler, Hilton Worldwide, Michelin, Dow, ConAgra, White Wave Foods, Best Buy, Newmont, Genentech, Sears, Nokia, and Cox Communications. 

Ron Rogness

GAPP Director, Industry Relations, Partnerships & Fishery Analysis

Ron Rogness joins GAPP as Director of Industry Relations, Partnerships and Fishery Analysis. Ron Rogness previously served as an economic advisor to the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers. Prior to this role, he was Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Relations for American Seafoods Group in Seattle, Washington. Ron also spent eleven years in seafood purchasing for Long John Silver’s Restaurants and then, after LJS was purchased by Yum! Brands, served seven years in seafood purchasing and government affairs for the Unified Foodservice Purchasing Cooperative, the exclusive supply chain manager for Yum! Brands U.S. restaurants. Ron started his career in the seafood industry in 1980 as a commercial fisherman, first in Washington State and later Alaska. After graduate work in fisheries economics at University of Alaska, he served as staff economist for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage Alaska. Following three years with the Council, Ron spent five years as staff economist and West Coast Government Relations Representative at the National Fisheries Institute.