AGRICULTURE
SALEM — Grower-owned cooperative Oregon Cherry Growers welcomes Steven Anderson to its executive team as the new senior vice president of operations.
His role is to help drive national and international growth in both the foodservice and retail business branches.
Anderson brings more than 35 years of experience in the food manufacturing industry, nationally and internationally, including an extensive knowledge of food safety, agriculture development, employee empowerment, grower relations and quality management.
In addition to directing and coordinating day-to-day operations at multi-plant facilities, Anderson will develop and implement growth strategies for the cooperative, which supplies fresh, maraschino, dried and frozen sweet cherries, blueberries and other fruits to customers worldwide.
Prior to joining Oregon Cherry Growers, Anderson spent nearly 15 years with the J.R. Simplot Company — most recently serving as general manager of Beijing Simplot.
Prior to that he held production and operational roles with major brands, including Nestle Foodservices, McCain Foods and Universal Frozen Foods.
MEDFORD – Kerrie Walters has been named manager of the Southern Oregon Winery Association.
An independent contractor, Walters brings more than 20 years of tourism advocacy, marketing and sales experience to her new position.
She will serve as the liaison and board management strategist to the winery association, which is currently comprised of 60-member wineries in southern Oregon.
She will also be the region’s liaison for the Wine Country License Plates Advisory Committee, which will exist as a special committee under the Board of Directors of Travel Southern Oregon, the regional destination marketing organization that manages the Southern Oregon Winery Association contract.
Previously, Walters was the longtime director of the visitors and convention organization for the city of Grants Pass. In her role with Grants Pass Tourism, she worked with winemakers throughout the Applegate Valley to market wine touring as one of the region’s most important and enjoyable visitor experiences.
She partnered with the Travel Information Council and the Applegate Valley Wine Trail to introduce the first directional signage for any tourism organization along Interstate 5.
She also was involved with tour and travel alliance groups and served as president of the Oregon Destination Marketing Organizations.
A Grants Pass resident, Walters is a board member for the Canine Angels Service Team, serves on the Josephine County Cultural Coalition and on the disability advocacy committee of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments.
DEVELOPMENT
BEND — Economic Development for Central Oregon has hired Janet Burton to serve as manager of La Pine and Southern Deschutes County economic development efforts.
Burton is originally from Ireland, but has lived and worked in the United States since 1989.
Her work experience includes hospital business administration in Galway, Ireland; account management at GlaxoSmithKline, a science-led global healthcare company based in Durham, North Carolina; and government affairs for MedImmune, Inc., developer of medicines and pharmaceuticals based in Maryland.
She and her husband also owned and operated a small luxury inn in the Appalachian community of Pearisburg, Virginia.
She holds an associate’s degree in accounting from the Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland and undergraduate degree in public policy (with a concentration in legal studies) from North Carolina Wesleyan College where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
LAW
PORTLAND — Michael Stanway Thornicroft has been hired as a trial attorney with the employment law firm of Mitra Law Group.
Thornicroft, a graduate of Willamette University College of Law, brings to the firm a unique background, well suited for aggressively representing employees.
He started his career studying communications and journalism. At the age of 19, he was the youngest disc jockey in history for 92.3 FM KGON in Portland.
When Thornicroft was attending Willamette’s College of Law, his classmates elected him president of the Student Bar Association. In this role, Thornicroft was a voting member of the College of Law faculty. While attending law school, he was also a sworn deputy district attorney for his home county of Tillamook. In 1998, he became a member of the Oregon State Bar.
Thornicroft became a deputy district attorney in Southern Oregon, where he originally grew up. He represented the interests of the citizens of the State of Oregon in Jackson County, Klamath County, and Josephine County. During this time, he successfully tried more than 100 jury trials.
In 2002 Thornicroft became a full time professor of law at Southern Oregon University.
Later he became an investigative reporter for the television station KTVL, CBS NEWS 10. Thornicroft was recognized by the Oregon Associated Press for his excellence in investigative journalism which in turn led to his position as an investigator with the State of Oregon.
Working with the Oregon Real Estate Agency, Thornicroft helped uncover a number of scams and frauds committed against unsuspecting Oregonians. He also represented some of the largest financial institutions in the world while working for the nationwide firm of RCO Legal, P.C.
His role at the Mitra Law Group is to represent employees in employment related matters such as whistle-blowing, discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination cases.
— Compiled by Vickie Kavanagh
vkavanagh@oregonian.com
503-294-5913; okavkid
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