Ken Barbic ('02)

Press Release regarding Ken Barbic:

Western Growers Welcomes New D.C. Director

IRVINE, CA (July 8, 2009) — Western Growers this week welcomed Ken Barbic to the Washington, D.C., office, where he will serve as the association’s new director of federal government affairs.

Most recently, Barbic served as deputy assistant USTR [United States Trade Representative] for congressional affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Prior to that, he worked as a legislative assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means. Barbic completed internships at the White House Office of Public Liaison, the Bakersfield District Office of former Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA) and the Food Marketing Institute. Barbic grew up in and around agriculture in Bakersfield, Calif., taking on various summer jobs in the industry.

“Ken is a terrific addition to the Western Growers team,” said Cathy Enright, Western Growers’ vice president of federal government affairs. “He brings valuable legislative and practical experience to Western Growers’ issues across the board. Barbic will play a vital role in the success of our organization and the specialty crop industry, at large, as Western Growers’ presence in our nation’s capital continues to grow.”

Barbic earned a B.S. degree in business management and an M.A. degree in Biblical studies from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wisconsin.

Western Growers is an agricultural trade association whose almost 3,000 members grow, pack and ship 90 percent of the fresh vegetables and nearly 70 percent of the fresh fruit and tree nuts grown in Arizona and California, about one-half of the national’s fresh produce. Western Growers members provide the best medicine in the world.