KANSAS CITY, MO. – Officials with the Women’s Meat Industry Network (WMIN), which is comprised of more than 1,500 members throughout the United States, announced the appointment of Sharon K. Beals as its executive director, effective May 1. Since the organization was founded in January 2022, the volunteer board of directors focused on its mission to “make achieving the powerful benefits of gender diversity a shared goal in the meat and poultry industries.” Growth in membership and WMIN programs has increased to the point that the board could no longer administer it alone and hired Beals to be the leader, initially on a part-time basis.

Beals, who served on WMIN’s steering committee and the original board, is a meat industry veteran and previously led food safety and quality assurance teams with companies that included Maple Leaf Foods Inc., US Foods, Arby’s Restaurant Group and Tyson Foods Inc. and CTI Foods. Earlier this year she started up her own consulting business, Corinth, Texas-based SKKB LLC.

Membership in WMIN is free and it relies on corporate and industry partners to sponsor it, including: Cargill, American Foods Group, JBS, the Pork Checkoff, Tyson Foods, Clemens Food Group, Midan Marketing, Seaboard Foods, SM Outfitters, Prosur, Stahl-Meyer Foods, the Meat Institute, Olsson Frank Weeda, the American Meat Science Association, and FleishmanHillard.

“Hiring professional staff to help carry out the mission of WMIN has been a goal since we created the organization,” said Angie Krieger, director of operations at the National Pork Board who, serves as chair of the WMIN board.  “And now that we’ve demonstrated the value of WMIN and have secured a new level of support from our sponsors, I’m thrilled we’re able to hire one of the best advocates for the advancement of women in the industry as our part-time executive director.”

Beals said she looks forward to building on the rapid growth of the organization and taking its mission to the next level.

“The momentum we’ve seen since the 2024 Annual Meat Conference (AMC) in March — where the 400+ turn-out for our luncheon program was standing room only — has been so gratifying for someone who spent many years as the only female leader at the table,” said Beals. “We’re clearly meeting a need, and I can’t wait to help expand WMIN’s impact even further.”

To learn more about WMIN, visit wmin.org.