The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the appointment of six members to serve on the National Mango Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms beginning immediately, through Dec. 31, 2025.
Members appointed or reappointed are:
- District III Importer: Daniel Ibarra, Sinaloa, Mexico
- District IV Importer: Mary Velasquez, Edinburg, Texas
- District III Importer: Tom Argyros, Green Valley, Arizona
- Foreign Producer: Francisco Javier Villegas Ontiveros, Sinaloa, Mexico
- Foreign Producer: Victoria Aguirre, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Foreign Producer: Edwin Zaparolli, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
The 18-member board is comprised of eight importers, two domestic producers, one first handler, and seven foreign producers.
More information about the board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Mango Board webpage and on the Mango board’s website.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the development of industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight of 22 boards, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
