California Ag Leadership Foundation Hires New Alumni Engagement and Event Manager

MONTEREY, Calif. — The California Agricultural Leadership Foundation (CALF) is pleased to announce the hiring of Anna Nicholson as its new Alumni Engagement and Event Manager, effective June 26, 2025.

In this newly restructured role, Nicholson will lead statewide alumni engagement strategies, coordinate impactful alumni programming, and strengthen relationships across CALF’s broad network of more than 1,400 program alumni. Her focus will include developing alumni programs, coordinating events, and fostering a culture of lifelong connection, service, and leadership among CALF graduates.

“We are thrilled to welcome Anna to our team,” said Lesa Eidman, CALF President and CEO. “Her background in relationship management and executive search, combined with her strengths in project coordination, communications, and stakeholder engagement, make her a dynamic fit for this position. Her energy and professional experience will immediately support CALF’s mission to grow leaders who make a difference.”

Nicholson brings over seven years of experience in relationship-focused roles, most recently serving as a Client Manager at 3P Partners, a national executive search firm specializing in food and agriculture. There, she partnered with top industry companies and successfully led recruitment efforts across a wide range of roles. Earlier in her career, she worked in donor relations and event coordination at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California, where she supported fundraising events and managed key donor communications.

“It’s an incredible honor to join the CALF team and serve such a passionate and accomplished alumni community,” said Nicholson. “I’m inspired by the impact CALF graduates have across California agriculture, and I’m looking forward to creating meaningful ways for us to stay connected, celebrate each other’s work, and keep growing together.”

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Seattle University and is fluent in Spanish. A Northern California native, Nicholson will be based in Sacramento and travel frequently across the state to support alumni events and initiatives.

ABOUT CALF
CALF is dedicated to growing leadership in agriculturalists who have the capacity and potential to advance, benefit and promote California agriculture. Since 1970, more than 1,400 California Agricultural Leadership Program fellows have become lifelong leaders who individually and collectively act as a catalyst for a vibrant agricultural community and make a significant difference in the agricultural industry, their businesses, communities and families.

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