Welcome to the TPSA Adviser Newsletter!
Inside This Issue:
Get to Know Jennifer Thomasen – Board of Directors President
This year, The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) is celebrating an outstanding member who has showcased her passion and talent for occupational health and safety within the pesticide industry and who continues to enrich our organization. We invite you to get to know this year’s newly elected 2024 TPSA Board of Directors President, Jennifer Thomasen.
Jennifer has been a member of TPSA since 2016. During the annual conference in Albuquerque, NM, she volunteered to present on behalf of an absent colleague at the last minute. When asked about her first-time experience with the TPSA community, Jennifer replied that she had a great time at the meeting connecting with various members and hasn’t missed a meeting since! Jennifer has gone on to serve as the TPSA Board of Directors Secretary (2021-2022) and Vice-President (2023).
“Having been a member of TPSA for the past 8 years, I truly value the relationships within TPSA that I have established. It has been an amazing opportunity to work alongside members from industry, academia, and regulatory to further pesticide safety and stewardship.”
Jennifer started her career in Charleston, SC as an industrial hygiene consultant. She then obtained a PhD from at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012. Still passionate about worker health and safety, she went on to obtain the Certified Industrial Hygiene (CIH) credential.
“Throughout my career, I have been involved with a variety of industry groups providing me an opportunity to focus on stewardship efforts to reduce and minimize exposure to pesticides using various control measures or through training focused on worker protection, exposure, and pesticide safety.”
Jennifer currently leads the North American Occupational and Residential Exposure team at Bayer Crop Science in St. Louis, MO. She has been with Bayer for 11 years and her team is responsible for conducting non-dietary exposure and risk assessments to support new and existing crop protection product registrations. Jennifer mentioned that she really enjoys working at Bayer as this role provides her the opportunity to interact and collaborate with multiple teams across the organization globally.
“It’s always great when I can pull the right people together to solve complex problems. I enjoy working with our customers and understanding how to make their jobs more efficient while ensuring human safety.”
When asked what the most rewarding part of her career has been she said, “Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have excellent leaders and mentors who inspired and guided my professional development. Now, as a senior expert and team leader, I find it very rewarding to develop and mentor early-career professionals.”
In her spare time, Jennifer dedicates her early mornings to practicing hot yoga. You’ll also find her attending concerts with her closest friends, supporting local sport teams and spending quality time with her family on Disney Cruises.
Jennifer has three children, ages 5, 8, and 12. As one can imagine, Jennifer keeps busy with supporting her kids with their activities.
“My daughters participate on competitive dance teams, which has led me to spend many weekends supporting them and their team. It has been fun to watch, and I enjoy seeing their confidence and skills grow.”
Jennifer plans to participate in the 2025 TPSA conference planned for Raleigh, NC in February.
“It has been a great experience and it has been very rewarding to help lead this organization in achieving its goals. I am excited for the opportunity to continue to serve on the TPSA Board of Directors as President. I will continue to leverage my expertise in worker exposure to further the goals of TPSA by increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and longevity of various pesticide stewardship efforts.”
Please join TPSA in Raleigh and be sure to say hello to Jennifer while there!
Are You Disposing Pesticides Properly? Here’s How to Know
As you prepare to spray fields this spring, consider these tips to ensure you’re complying with federal regulations when it comes to pesticide disposal.
Article written by Cheyenne Kramer/The Scoop
TPSA 2024 Conference Highlights – St Louis
Keynote Speaker:
Samuel Polly – University of Missouri
The State of the Industry – A Behind-the-Scenes Perspective
on Stumbling Blocks to our Industry
The Conference included informational sessions on:
- Pesticide Messaging & the Power of a Credible Voice
- The Rise of Spray Drones in the US
- Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional Pesticides in Agriculture
- Treated Seed Taskforce
- The Momentum for Digital Labels and Translation Tech is Accelerating
- Rodenticide Regulation Changes
- Endangered Species Act
- Pesticide Waste Collections and Disposal Solutions
2025 TPSA Annual Conference • February 4-6
Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel
Raleigh, NC
More information on the 2025 Annual Conference to be available in the Fall.
The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Presents 2024 Awards
Program Excellence
Presented to Jon Johnson on behalf of the
Pennsylvania State University Pesticide Education Program
New Officers
The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Elects 2024 Leaders
The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) recently elected the board of directors for 2024, including officers and four members to serve on the board.
Becoming a Member of TPSA
TPSP membership offers many benefits including access to conference presentations. Members also receive reduced conference fees and have the opportunity to get involved in the administrative and policy functions of TPSA through committees and projects.
- Individual $100
- Organization $250 (up to 3 individuals)
- Retired $35
- Student $25
The membership year is from September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2025
For more member benefit information, click here.
Be sure to check out the TPSA homepage for the member benefits video featuring 4 of our members.
To complete the membership application, click here.
This issue of the TPSA Adviser is sponsored by:
