NAWG CEO resigns; search on for replacement

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Dana Peterson has resigned.

The association announced today that Peterson resigned voluntarily "due to personal circumstances" effective Feb. 8.

Peterson became CEO in January 2010. The association declined to comment further on the reasons for her departure.

Association president Erik Younggren, a Minnesota farmer, will serve as CEO in the interim, in accordance with NAWG policy. Younggren said in a NAWG press release he has formed a search committee to find a new CEO.

"We thank her for her tireless, passionate work for the association and the nation's wheat growers on Capitol Hill and beyond," Younggren said.

According to NAWG, Peterson thanked the board for the opportunity to serve wheat growers and the wheat industry, describing her time as "one of my life's greatest pleasures."

Peterson assumed leadership of NAWG on Jan. 20, 2010. Before that, she worked for Kansas Wheat, where she handled policy and membership for almost nine years.