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Michigan’s dairy checkoff announces new CEO

The United Dairy Industry of Michigan’s board of directors has named a new CEO to lead the organization.

Registered Dietitian Melissa Gerharter, who has been serving as the Interim CEO, tells Brownfield she wants to continue to challenge the effectiveness of programming.

“I think we should always be saying, ‘Should we be doing this, how can we measure it? How can we look at the return on investment so that we can best act as best stewards of our dairy farmers’ dollars?’”

Gerharter has been with Michigan’s dairy checkoff for eight years working in different health and wellness roles as well as the Chief Operating Officer.

“The biggest partner that we could have in any community is our school system and so really aligning ourselves with that school system and letting that be the base of the community and the partners,” she says is where she hopes to focus more.

Gerharter says she’s excited to strengthen community partnerships in Detroit and the Grand Rapids area which support healthy choices and dairy consumption.

Photo courtesy of UDIM.