With Gratitude: Celebrating Emily Bautista‑Herdt’s Service to WAEF As Emily Bautista‑Herdt completes her term on the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF) Board of Directors, we are thrilled to celebrate her service, leadership, and lasting impact. Emily’s connection to WAEF is rooted in personal experience. As an adult student returning to college, she benefited from agricultural scholarships...
As Drew Belton completes his term on the Washington Apple Education Foundation Board of Directors, we are grateful for the leadership, time, and care he has given to WAEF students and the broader community over the past three years. Drew’s connection to WAEF began after attending a Scholarship Luncheon and seeing...
The tree fruit industry has always moved through cycles: years of growth, years of challenge, and constant adaptation in between. Robin Hansen, COO of Columbia Fruit Packers and a fourth‑generation member of the tree fruit community, understands those cycles deeply. Robin grew up in the orchards and the warehouse, shaped by...
Washington’s tree fruit industry is built by hardworking, driven farmers—families whose pride comes from feeding the world while sustaining their communities. Lupe Villasenor understands that work at its roots. Lupe grew up alongside her family in orchards, spending her early years picking fruit and driving tractor. Those experiences shaped her deep...
Keith Veselka is widely respected across Washington’s tree fruit industry as a thoughtful leader and an early advocate for using technology to strengthen on-farm decision making. As an owner at NWFM, he oversees orchard properties throughout the state on behalf of institutional investors, pension funds, and private individuals, producing apples,...
