Beth Sauerhaft, PhD

Beth supervises and supports AFT’s national initiatives. Before joining AFT, Beth worked as a sustainability strategist, consulting for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to identify and develop strategies for environmental and social risk opportunities.  Before that, she served as senior director, corporate sustainability at Pepsico, where she integrated environmental and social sustainability and developed the Sustainable Farming Initiative for arable crop suppliers and dairy farmers, driving Pepsico’s prioritized focus on the agricultural supply chain. Her agricultural background is extensive, serving as deputy to the counselor to the administrator for Agricultural Policy at USEPA, national ecological climatologist at USDA-NRCS, and district conservationist at USDA-NRCS where she worked closely with farmers to implement Farm Bill programs. Beth has appeared as a speaker and panelist in venues such as the Aspen Ideas Festival and GAI Ag Tech Week. She was named one of the “Top 9 Women in Sustainability” by American Builders Quarterly in 2015. Beth completed her undergraduate work at Grinnell College, earned a Master of Science in environmental management from Duke and a Doctorate in arid land agroforestry from the Texas A&M. 

Dr. Sauerhaft is a sustainability expert who has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Beth is the Vice President of Programs and supervises a rock-star team of national initiative directors who are subject matter experts in their respective fields, and she contributes to strategic direction and planning for the organization as a member of the executive team. Beth also chairs EPA’s Farm Ranch and Rural Communities Committee. She previously worked at PepsiCo where she introduced sustainability to the product innovation, budgetary and strategic planning processes of Corporate R&D and the agricultural supply chain; the US Environmental Protection Agency where she brought diverse agricultural stakeholder voices to the rulemaking process; and, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service where she developed national policy and worked with farmers to implement Farm Bill programs and put conservations practices on the ground. Beth earned her Ph.D. in arid land agroforestry from Texas A&M University; has a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University in Natural Resource Ecology; and, a BA degree in American Studies from Grinnell College.