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Board of Directors

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is the voluntary sustainability program for U.S. cotton growers, and traceability platform for all U.S. cotton. It is overseen by a multi-stakeholder Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the entire cotton supply chain, academia and NGOs that will help shape the Trust Protocol’s mission and improve the sustainability of U.S. cotton production.  

As part of the program’s evolution, an expansion of the Board was announced in 2024 to further build representation both domestic and internationally.  The Board provides strategic guidance and input for the program with the goal of driving value for all members. 

The structure consists of six categories: cotton growers, gins and cottonseed, cooperatives and merchants, mills and manufacturers, NGOs and academia, and brands and retailers. Throughout the 22 seats included on the Board, there is equal representation amongst the listed segments that provides broad discussion and experience. Board members also can participate in Trust Protocol Working Groups that focus on developing results and recommendations to be brought before the full Board on key program objectives.  

Grower Board Members

Sam Whitaker

Partner, Whitaker Farms

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Aaron Barcellos

Partner, A-Bar Ag Enterprises

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Dahlen Hancock

Owner, DK & J Farms

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Matt Coley

Owner, Coley Farms

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Gin & Cottonseed Board Members

Larry Black

General Manager, Central Rolling Plains Co-op

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David Blakemore

President, Blakemore Cotton & Grain, LLC

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Fred Serven

General Manager of Cotton, Archer Daniels Midland

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Cooperative & Merchant Board Members

Carlos Garcia

Director of Sales, Plains Cotton Cooperative Association

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Henry "Hank" Reichle

President and CEO, Staplcotn

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William "Buddy" Allen

President and CEO, American Cotton Shippers Association

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Krista Rickman

Commercial Strategic Lead, Cargill Cotton

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Mill & Manufacturer Board Members

Jim Martin

Executive Vice President of Cotton Operations, Parkdale Mills

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Adolfo Kalach

Vice President, Kaltex Group

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Saima Chowdhury

Founder and CEO, Noi Solutions, LLC

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Michael Quinn

Vice President of Cotton Operations, Gildan Yarns, LLC

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NGO & Academia Board Members

Suzy Friedman

Senior Director for Food Policy, World Wildlife Fund

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Tyson Raper

Pettigrew Cotton Specialist, University of Tennessee

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Kris Johnson

Director of the North America Agriculture Program, The Nature Conservancy

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Brand & Retailer Board Members

Agata Smeets

Head of Environment and Product Sustainability, Gap Inc.

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Virginie Cayzeele

Head of Raw Materials, Kiabi

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Hitesh Sharma

Senior Lead, Sustainable Sourcing and Traceability, Levi Strauss & Company

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Katherine "Katie" O'Hare

Vice President of Sustainability, J.Crew Group

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Sam Whitaker

Partner, Whitaker Farms

Sam Whitaker is a partner in Whitaker Farms, where he helps oversee a diverse, family-led cotton, rice, corn and soybean operation. Whitaker Farms incorporates many practices at the forefront of sustainability and conservation, such as cover crops, precision water management, and variable rate fertilizer application, into their farming operation. Additionally, roughly half of the farm is rainfall-flooded each winter, providing crucial wintering habitat for tens of thousands of migratory waterfowl.   

Sam serves as the President of McGehee Producers Gin in McGehee, Arkansas, the President of the Cotton Foundation, and is a board member of the Arkansas Agriculture Council, the USA Rice Council, and the Arkansas Rice Council.  

Aaron Barcellos

Partner, A-Bar Ag Enterprises

Aaron Barcellos is a partner in A-Bar Ag Enterprises, which consists of 7,500 acres of pima cotton, almonds, asparagus, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, processing tomatoes and wheat in California. Seeking to build a multi-generational farming operation, the family partnership utilizes socially responsible and sustainable farming practices including drip irrigation, reduced tillage, satellite imagery and solar energy.  

Aaron has previously been a director of multiple organizations including the National Cotton Council’s export promotions arm, Cotton Council International, and the Central Delta Mendota Groundwater Sustainability Agency. 

Dahlen Hancock

Owner, DK & J Farms

Dahlen Hancock is a fourth generation farmer from Texas, with his farming operation located in Lynn, Lubbock and Hockley counties and consisting of cotton, wheat and milo crop mix. Dahlen has been farming for 44 years, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather who also chose farming as their profession. Dahlen and his wife formed DK & J Farms in 1990, which they continue to oversee today.  

Dahlen serves as Director of New Home Coop Gin, Board Chairman and marketing pool representative at Plains Cotton Cooperative Association in Lubbock, and a delegate to the National Cotton Council of America and participated in the Policy Education Program that helped him learn early on about all the different segments of the cotton industry. He also served as a Chairman for Cotton Incorporated and Cotton Council International.  

Matt Coley

Owner, Coley Farms

Matt Coley is a fourth-generation farmer and agribusiness owner based in Georgia. At his farm, he oversees an operation consisting of cotton and peanut production. Additionally, Matt runs Coley Gin and Fertilizer as part of his farming operation.  

Previously, Matt worked as an agriculture intern for Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and as a staff member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. He has served as a board advisor to the National Cotton Council (NCC), as a Director for Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Georgia Cotton Commission. He was a member of both the Leadership Georgia Class and the NCC’s Emerging Leaders program. 

Larry Black

General Manager, Central Rolling Plains Co-op

Larry Black is the General Manager at Central Rolling Plains Co-op in Roscoe, Texas, a position he has held since May of 2002. Central Rolling Plains Co-op is farm-owned cotton gin, which works to separate the cotton fiber from the seed, cleaning the cotton when bales arrive. In his role as General Manager, Larry oversees all operations at the Co-op.  

Prior to joining Central Rolling Plains Co-op, Larry worked at Quanah Farmers Co-op where he  served in the office and on the scales, eventually becoming the Assistant General Manager and then General Manager. Larry is a past President of Texas Cotton Ginners and Texas Agriculture Cooperative Council. He is currently serving on the Texas Cotton Ginner’s Trust, National Cotton Council (NCC), National Cotton Ginners Association, Nolan County Groundwater District, and Roscoe Collegiate High School STEM Advisory Board.  

David Blakemore

President, Blakemore Cotton & Grain, LLC

David Blakemore is President of Blakemore Cotton & Grain, LLC. The company has interests in ginning, grain, fertilizer and trucking. In his role, David oversees all operations at Blakemore Cotton & Grain, which includes the process of cotton ginning where the crop is cleaned and the fiber is separated from the seed.  

David has previously served as President of the National Cotton Ginners Association, the Southern Cotton Ginners Association and Cotton Producers of Missouri as well as a Cotton Incorporated Director. He is currently a Director for the National Cotton Council (NCC), serves as Chairman of its Flow Committee and as a member of its Quality Task force. David also has served in multiple leadership capacities with Ducks Unlimited, a waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization.  

Fred Serven

General Manager of Cotton, Archer Daniels Midland

Fred Serven is the General Manager of Cotton at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), which is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation. In his role, Fred  is responsible for commercial teams of ADM’s cotton crush plants in Lubbock, Richmond, Memphis, and Valdosta. He is additionally responsible for ADM’s Southern Cellulose Products, Inc. facility in Chattanooga.

Fred has served in various commercial management positions in ADM’s Grain and Oilseeds units and has experience in soy crush, canola crush, cotton crush, corn processing, grain origination, and export. He is currently a member of the National Cotton Council’s Public Relations & International Market Development Committee.  

Carlos Garcia

Director of Sales, Plains Cotton Cooperative Association

Carlos Garcia is the Director of Sales at Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA). PCCA is a marketing cooperative owned by farmers in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico that is dedicated to supplying sustainably grown, high-quality cotton fiber around the world. He has worked at PCCA for over 25 years, having started as a marketing intern whilst pursuing his degree. In his role, Carlos works to ensure that customers are supported throughout their purchase of PCCA cotton, assisting them with procurement strategies that integrate with a company’s risk management objectives.  

Previously, Carlos has served as President and Chairman of Cotton Council International (CCI).  He is also a member of the International Cotton Association and a past board member for the Lubbock Cotton Exchange where he served as President as well as on multiple committees for the organization. Carlos is currently an alternate delegate to the National Cotton Council (NCC) and serves on the Public Relations and International Market Development Committee. Additionally, he was recently appointed to serve on the Advisory Committee on Universal Cotton Standards.  

Henry "Hank" Reichle

President and CEO, Staplcotn

Henry N. “Hank” Reichle, Jr., is President and CEO of Staplcotn, which is the oldest and one of the largest cotton marketing cooperatives in the United States. In his role, Hank oversees all operations at the Mississippi-based operations. Prior to joining Staplcotn in 2004, he served as Chief Financial Officer with the internet-based cotton exchange, The Seam.

Hank currently is a director of The Seam and AMCOT. He is currently the National Cotton Council (NCC) cooperative Vice President and is a past President of Cotton Council International (CCI). He is also active on several boards serving regional economic interests including the Memphis Branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. 

William "Buddy" Allen

President and CEO, American Cotton Shippers Association

William H. “Buddy” Allen is President and CEO of American Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA), a position he has held since 2019. ACSA is a trade association primarily made up of cotton merchants founded in 1924. Collectively, ACSA members handle the vast majority of U.S. cotton production and foreign growths traded globally. ACSA members’ services consist of merchandising, delivery logistics, and risk management. Buddy is a partner in A&J Planting Company, a vertically integrated agribusiness in Mississippi, encompassing row crop production, ground and areal application services, seed and crop protection retail, an extensive grain storage, drying, and shipping operation, and agricultural real estate holdings.  

Previously, Buddy gained Capitol Hill experience from both the Office of United States Senator Thad Cochran and his involvement in The Macon Edwards Company, where he provided service to ACSA. He also serves as the Chairman of the Committee for International Co-operation Between Cotton Associations, on the Agricultural Advisory Board of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and is a contributor to Delta Strategy Group, a Washington-based government affairs firm.  

Krista Rickman

Commercial Strategic Lead, Cargill Cotton

Krista Rickman is the Commercial Strategic Lead for Cargill Cotton, where she is responsible for the company’s cotton sustainability portfolio including engagement with brands and retailers. Cargill is a global food corporation with key businesses in trading, purchasing and distributing grain and other agricultural products. Krista has held several roles within Cargill during her 30-year tenure including her position as the Global Operations Leader and North America Controller.  

Krista currently serves as a board member for American Cotton Shippers Association, International Cotton Association, National Cotton Council (NCC), and EWR. She is also the current President of the Southern Cotton Association. 

Jim Martin

Executive Vice President of Cotton Operations, Parkdale Mills

Jim Martin is Executive Vice President of Cotton Operations for Parkdale Mills, which is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of spun yarns. In this role, he is responsible for cotton purchasing, distribution and risk management. Jim oversees a team of eight people and directs the company’s commodity and financial price risk management. Additionally, he develops and executes hedging strategies for cotton, currency, and energy.   

Previously, Jim served as Director of Markets and Finance at Auscott Limited and Market Analyst at J G Boswell Company. In both roles, he worked to analyze the cotton market as well as develop and execute hedging strategies. Jim is a National Cotton Council (NCC) Director. 

Adolfo Kalach

Vice President, Kaltex Group

Adolfo Kalach is the Vice President of Kaltex Group, a leading vertically integrated company and producer of acrylic fibers, yarns, woven fabrics, garments, and home textiles. He has been engaged in the purchase of U.S. cotton fiber for more than 30 years, forging a strong relationship with cotton merchants that has allowed Kaltex to maintain its position as the first textile mill consumer of U.S. cotton in Mexico.  

Adolfo has also led the textile manufacturer division of Kaltex Group for the last decade. As part of this role, he has made achieving the best sustainable practices to protect the environment a key priority. Adolfo also has focused on promoting the development of human resources, participating in diverse sectorial initiatives to measure environmental impact, and giving full traceability to cotton supply chain transactions.  

Saima Chowdhury

Founder and CEO, Noi Solutions, LLC

Saima Chowdhury is the Founder and CEO of Noi Solutions LLC, a global apparel sourcing company, and Grey State, a sustainable and ethical women’s fashion brand. Saima is also a Director of the Malek Spinning Mills, Knit Asia Limited and affiliated companies, which is a vertically integrated textile and apparel manufacturer in Bangladesh, supplying to leading retailers in the EU and the U.S.  

Prior to founding Noi Solutions, Saima worked with the Victoria’s Secret Strategy group focusing on customer and market insights. She has also worked with the Supply Chain Strategy group at Nike, where she evaluated the benefits and challenges of upstream supply chain partnership to recommend strategies for apparel source base alignment. 

Michael Quinn

Vice President of Cotton Operations, Gildan Yarns, LLC

Michael Quinn is Vice President of Cotton Operations for Gildan Yarns, LLC where he is responsible for cotton purchasing, distribution and market analysis. Gildan is a one of the world’s largest vertically integrated manufacturers of apparel, socks, and hosiery, leading the way in ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices. Gildan owns and operates 7 spinning mills located in North Carolina that consume approximately 1 million bales of U.S. cotton annually.   

Prior to working for Gildan, he was Vice President of Cotton Operations for Frontier Yarns Inc., which was acquired by Gildan in 2021. Before his career in textile manufacturing, he worked for Carolinas Cotton Growers Cooperative for 21 years, serving as its President for 17. Michael has been active in cotton industry organizations for 25 years and currently serves as a Vice President of the National Cotton Council, Executive Committee member of Cotton Council International, National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) Cotton Committee member, and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures U.S. Cotton Committee member.  

Suzy Friedman

Senior Director for Food Policy, World Wildlife Fund

Suzy Friedman is the Senior Director for Food Policy at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where she leads the organization’s policy efforts to enable agriculture to be net zero and nature positive by 2040 and support the economic viability of producers and communities. Specifically, she focuses on policies to advance grasslands conservation and end commodity-driven deforestation habitat conversion, scale sustainable protein and feed systems and regenerative agriculture, and eliminate food loss and waste.   

Before joining WWF, Suzy served as Vice President for Policy at the National Alliance for Forest Owners. Between 2001 and 2020, she played a lead role in the Environmental Defense Fund’s work to build resilience and sustainability of the U.S. agricultural system. To this end, she collaborated with farmers, grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies and retailers, focusing on outcomes for climate stability, clean water, and farm productivity.  

Tyson Raper

Pettigrew Cotton Specialist, University of Tennessee

Tyson Raper serves as the Pettigrew Cotton Specialist with the University of Tennessee. In this role, he manages an agronomic research program centered in Jackson, TN and extends the information from these trials through publications, meetings and field days throughout Tennessee and the Mid-South, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Additionally, he manages the University of Tennessee’s MicroGin, which processes research samples from public and private parties throughout the U.S. Cotton Belt.   

Tyson was selected as the Cotton Specialist of the year in 2019, the Tom Cothren Young Cotton Physiologist of the Year in 2018, and completed his term as President of the Extension Cotton Specialist Working Group in 2021.  

Kris Johnson

Director of the North America Agriculture Program, The Nature Conservancy

Kris Johnson is the Director of the North America Agriculture Program of The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization that works with public and private partners to ensure lands and waters are protected for future generations. In this position, he leads national strategies working with public and private partners to increase adoption of regenerative agricultural practices in crop systems and grazing lands.

In prior roles with the Nature Conservancy, Kris provided strategic leadership and scientific expertise for conservation work in agriculture and freshwater, most recently as deputy director of agriculture in North America. He currently serves as vice chair of the board for the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium. 

Agata Smeets

Head of Environment and Product Sustainability, Gap Inc.

Agata Smeets is the Head of Environment and Product Sustainability at Gap Inc. where she works with numerous cross-functional stakeholders to advance sustainability strategy in key impact areas. These include climate, water, chemistry, circularity, waste, fibers, product claims, and product traceability across Gap Inc.’s iconic brands- Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta. Agata brings experience working at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters, where she was responsible for setting the environmental sustainability strategy for the company’s sourcing organization.  

Previously, Agata was part of Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Operations practice focusing on sustainable supply chains. She also helped found the Sustainability Forum research effort at the Washington D.C.-based Corporate Executive Board, which brought together 800 cross-functional executives with an interest in sustainability.  

Virginie Cayzeele

Head of Raw Materials, Kiabi

Virginie Cayzeele is the head of Raw Materials at Kiabi, a France-based apparel brand. In this role, she drives the brand’s materials strategy to include more sustainable alternatives, covering a scope starting at farm-level and extending to fabric finishing, in addition to wash processes on finished garments. Virginie plays a key role in the transformation of the company to improve its environmental impact. 

Virginie has been working to build a direct connection between farmers and manufacturers throughout her time at Kiabi. Some of her efforts include having Kiabi partner with the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) as well as the French-based NGO Reforest Action. Aiming to foster Kiabi’s transparency, she also introduced a cotton origin verification program in partnership with Oritain. Previously, Virginie has served as a buyer for over 16 years, enabling her to travel across the world and acquire a deep knowledge of suppliers’ relationship management.  

Hitesh Sharma

Senior Lead, Sustainable Sourcing and Traceability (Global Sustainability), Levi Strauss & Company

Hitesh Sharma is the Senior Lead, Sustainable Sourcing and Traceability (Global Sustainability) at Levi Strauss & Company. In this role, he is actively engaged in developing sustainable sourcing models for the brand. Additionally, he is keeping Levi Strauss on track to achieving 100% sustainably sourced cotton by 2025 and the 2030 ambition of sourcing third party preferred or certified more sustainable primary materials for its products.  

Previously, Hitesh has worked at H&M Group as Material Program Manager Cotton within Global Material Innovation and Strategy team. He strongly believes that industry collaboration is the key to achieving supply chain transparency and deliver impact. 

Katherine "Katie" O'Hare

Vice President of Sustainability, J.Crew Group

Katherine “Katie” O’Hare serves as Vice President of Sustainability at J.Crew Group. Since joining J.Crew in October 2018, Katie has spearheaded the brands’ “Re-imagined” strategy, including setting four public goals around Sustainable Materials, Packaging, Greenhouse Gases and Fair Trade. As part of these goals, J.Crew is committed to having 100% of their key fibers, including cotton, sustainably sourced. 

Katie also focuses on J.Crew’s efforts to drive transparency across the supply chain, including launching a supply chain mapping platform to achieve full transparency to the origin of the fiber. She also leads the piloting of new technologies and partners to support risk management & fiber origin traceability. Prior to joining J.Crew, Katie drove sustainability strategy and programs at PVH and ANN INC.

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Deepika Mishra

Standards and Data Lead (consultant)

Deepika Mishra is the Standards and Data Lead for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, acting as a consultant for the program. As an accomplished scientist and data analytics specialist, Deepika leads on analysis of the Trust Protocol’s environmental metrics. She collaborates extensively with agricultural research institutions, conservation groups, and food and trade organizations, playing a vital role in the establishment of sustainability and social standards within the industry.

Deepika earned her Ph.D. in plant and soil science from Texas Tech University, specializing in cotton breeding and genetics. With over a decade of experience, she has spearheaded diverse agricultural projects in both India and the United States, covering crops like cotton, cowpeas, castor, sesame, guar, guayule, tomato, and field pennycress (cover crop). Her contributions also include the development and release of multiple cowpea varieties in India during her M.S. studies in vegetable breeding and genetics.