Erin Fitzgerald Sexson, senior vice president of global sustainability for farmer-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®, was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture.
Sexson led the Innovation Center’s U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment for seven years. That formal commitment builds on the legacy of stewardship by America’s dairy farm families and businesses. Experts from academic, government and nongovernment organizations join farmers and dairy industry professionals from across the supply chain to measure, improve and communicate dairy’s role in a sustainable food system.
“I am humbled to be recognized, but the true champions are the U.S. dairy farmers and importers I am privileged to work for every day,” Sexson said. “Our farmers taught me that sustainability is more than just economic, environmental and social considerations. It should include stewardship and the importance of passing their land on to the next generation in better shape than they found it. For farmers, that is more than a commitment, it’s a value.”
The dairy industry’s voluntary and proactive leadership in sustainability is increasingly recognized as a model for other sectors, and Sexson’s role has expanded to collaborate with health professionals and other experts in the U.S. and globally, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.