CEA Alliance announces 2025 Board of Directors

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance has announced its new officers and members of its Board of Directors for 2025.

Taking on the role of board chair is Steve Campione, chief financial officer of BrightFarms, formerly vice chair of the board. Campione has served as CFO of BrightFarms for more than seven years. He is the principal architect behind the company’s strategy to develop highly automated, large-scale regional greenhouses across the Midwest, Southeast and Texas. Prior to joining BrightFarms, Campione spent nearly nine years as CFO and COO of Rural Media Group, a media company that covered the agricultural community.

New members joining the board include Jamie Burrows, founder and CEO of Vertical Future; David Einstandig, senior vice president/general counsel of Mastronardi Produce; Kyle Freedman, global market segment manager of Jiffy Group; Skip Hulett, chief legal officer of NatureSweet; and Tim Reusch, national sales manager of Dramm Water.

Burrows is a British/American health economist with a background in healthcare, life sciences and economic regeneration. Prior to establishing Vertical Future in 2016, Burrows worked in EY’s EMEIA Life Sciences team, transitioning from a similar role at Deloitte, where he was also seconded to the Department of Health. Burrows is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. He also attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduated from its Leadership Enrichment and Development (LEAD) program.

Einstandig is a member of the Mastronardi executive leadership team that oversees the management of all company operations. He provides management and oversight of the Legal, Food Safety, Occupational Health & Safety, Government Regulation and Immigration departments. Since joining Mastronardi in 2016, Einstandig has played a key role in expanding Mastronardi’s North American footprint. His experience includes overseeing intellectual property and trademarks, managing corporate acquisitions and spearheading government relations. He received his law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.

Freedman is the global market segment manager CEA for Jiffy Group, responsible for providing technical guidance and support to Jiffy's global CEA customers, supporting new product development and helping to provide flexible and sustainable growing solutions. Freedman holds a bachelor's degree philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his master's degree in international agriculture development from the University of California, Davis and his doctorate in horticultural science from North Carolina State University, where his research focused on the development of a new CEA grapevine production system called Precise Indoor Vine Conditioning (PIVC), in which young grapevines are conditioned with supplemental light to produce fruit in their first season of field transplanting. 

Hulett currently serves as chief legal officer for Texas-based NatureSweet. Hulett has served as chief legal counsel of fast-growing entrepreneurial companies, a state district court judge and the founder of a law firm. Since joining NatureSweet in 2018, Hulett has led many of the company’s key initiatives, including its B-Corp Certification, becoming the largest CEA company in the world to be B-Corp certified. He is currently a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Reusch is the national sales manager for Dramm Water, a division of the Dramm Corporation. Reusch is a CEA specialist with a background in sustainable cropping systems, emphasizing hydroponic crop production, water management and integrated pest management. He has a master's degree in sustainable food systems.

Members with continuing board service include Tim Cunniff, co-founder and executive vice president of sales for Little Leaf Farms, who will continue as treasurer; Dane Almassy, senior vice president of sales for customer logistics and marketing for AeroFarms; Monica Noble, vice president of quality and safety for 80 Acres Farms; and Craig Hurlbert, founder and CEO of Local Bounti.

Also remaining on the board as past chair is Dan Malech, acting CEO of Plenty, who has completed his term.

“I want to thank Dan for his service chairing the Alliance, as we’ve made great strides under his leadership. I’d also like to welcome Steve to the chairmanship and all of our new and continuing board members. The CEA Alliance and the entire indoor farming sector are fortunate to have all of these business leaders helping guide our industry into the future,” said Tom Stenzel, executive director of the CEA Alliance.