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NEWS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shannon Shoesmith 202-331-1634 or 304-229-6202 June 17, 2002 CORN REFINERS APPOINT ERICKSON AS NEW PRESIDENT The Board of Directors of the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Audrae Erickson as the new president of the organization. Erickson will take the leadership position on July 10, 2002. Erickson most recently served as Senior Director of Congressional Relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), where she specialized in agricultural trade issues including trade policy, negotiations, dispute settlement, Trade Promotion Authority and matters involving the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). In 1999, Erickson founded the Ag Trade Coalition to promote U.S. agricultural interests on WTO negotiating objectives. The coalition consists of more than 100 organizations representing producers, processors and agribusiness. Erickson continues to chair the coalition. Prior to her 4-year tenure at AFBF, Erickson served as Director of Agricultural Affairs at the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) Office. Erickson was responsible for oversight of all trade issues pertaining to sweeteners, horticultural crops, biotechnology and sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to trade. She also oversaw agriculture policy matters related to the FTAA and the North American Free Trade Agreement and represented USTR at WTO Committee on Agriculture meetings. Before taking the position at USTR, Erickson served as an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service where she specialized in trade and environment issues. Erickson earned a master of arts degree in economics as a Rotary scholar from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor of arts degrees in economics/business and French at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. Erickson resides in Kensington, Maryland, with her husband, Peter, and sons Ryan and Brendan. For more information on the corn refining industry, visit the Corn Capsules newsletter page. 
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