The ASCO Team

ASCO is comprised of experienced and knowledgeable individuals providing Quality Organic Certification & Verifications Services

Katherine Borchard
ASCO Director
NOP & ISO 17065 Program Director, Organic Certification, Materials Verification, Grower Group, and ICS Specialist

Co-founder of ASCO and Director of Certification Programs for the past sixteen years. Served as Monterey County Chief Deputy Agricultural Commissioner for twenty-five years in the following:

• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Fruit & Vegetable Quality Control Program
• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Pesticide Use Enforcement Program
• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Organic Program MCCO to NOP
• Management and Regulatory enforcement of CDFA State Organic Enforcement local
• Organic Certification Approvals, Material Verification approvals
• Grower Group and ICS specialist
• Compliant investigations
• Co-founded the first county government organic certification program in the nation MCCO
• Development and Management of agricultural education programs

Sue Baird
Certification Approvals, Materials Verification Approvals
International Specialist-Foreign Country Requirements
NOP & ISO 17065 Specialist Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor, Livestock, and Wild Crop Inspections/Audits Grower Group and ICS Specialist.

Sue Baird brings a wealth of experience to the ASCO team, having served as the Technical and Regulatory Affairs Liaison for Quality Assurance International (QAI), Program Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) for the Organic Program and the Feed and Seed Programs and served as Quality Assurance Supervisor for Cargill Inc. Poultry Products. Most recently her positions on the Board of Directors with OMRI and the National Organic Standards Board are enormously beneficial to ASCO.

Sue’s expertise includes:

• NOSB Board of Directors
• OMRI Board of Directors
• NOP and ISO 17065 Specialist / Auditor
• Investigations
• Pesticide Residue Sampling
• Organic Certification approvals, Material Verification approvals
• Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor, Livestock, Wild Crop Inspections, and Audits
• Livestock Specialist
• Grower Group and ICS Specialist
• Trainer Instructor – Audits, Livestock, Crop Production, and Handler-Processors

Linda Castro Materials Verification Specialist – Division Coordinator Materials Research, Materials Verification Inspections, and Audits.

Linda Castro brings over thirty years of agricultural enforcement experience to ASCO. Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office as a Supervising Inspector for the Fruit & Vegetable Inspection Division for Regulatory Enforcement of California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) regulations. Additionally, coordinated and conducted inspections for regulatory enforcement over Organic Certifications, Agricultural Theft Prevention, Field-Packing, Processing Plant, Farmers Markets, Retail Markets and assisted with the development of Ag Education in the Class Room.

Linda’s expertise for the past eleven years with ASCO includes:

• Organic Input Materials verified to NOP regulations
• Organic Input Materials verified to Foreign Country Requirements
• Organic Input Materials verified under Grower Group Internal Control System
• Organic Input Materials verified to CDFA regulations
• Organic Input Materials verified to California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) requirements
• Materials Verification site inspections and audits
• Materials Verification Program liaison with CDFA, OMRI, and other organic certification agencies

Heather Golden Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor Inspections Residue Sampling, Investigations
Food Safety, Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) & Sustainable Agriculture Specialist.

Heather Golden’s education and experience as a Food Safety Advisor in developing and implementing Food Safety Policies, record reporting systems, and Sustainable Agriculture programs are an asset to ASCO.

Heather’s expertise includes:

• Organic Crop Production and Handler-Processors Inspections and Audits
• Pesticide Residue Sampling
• Investigations
• Food Safety & LGMA Audit and Inspections for conventional and organic operations
• Assessment audits of Food Safety Programs including monitoring and compliance to USDA, FDA, and GFSI benchmarked standards.
• ISO 9001-2008 Lead Auditor
• FSSC 22000 Internal Auditor
• HACCP
• Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Wendi Jennings Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor, Wild Crop Inspections Residue Sampling, Food Safety Specialist

Wendi Jennings’s education and experience as a Food Safety Specialist and Organic Inspector/Auditor is a great benefit to ASCO. Her knowledge and experience in Food Safety requirements are extremely valuable and appreciated by the ASCO team.

Wendi’s expertise includes:

• Organic Crop Production and Handler/Processor Inspections and Audits
• Organic Reviewer/Auditor
• Pesticide Residue Sampling
• Grower Group Inspector/Auditor
• ISO 22000 Certificated
• Preventive Controls Qualified Individual
• HACCP Certified
• IOIA Inspector Member

Frances Pabrua General Management / Special Investigator Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor Inspections/audits, Grower Group and ICS Specialist, Special Investigator – Pesticide Residue Investigations.

Frances brings enormous experience to the ASCO team having served in the positions of Quality Assurance Director for the California Strawberry Commission, National Director of Raw Product Quality and Food Safety for Fresh Express, and also served as a Monterey County Chief Deputy Agricultural Commissioner for Fifteen years:

• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Plant Quarantine & Phytosanitary Export Program
• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Pest Detection, Nursery & Seed Inspection Programs
• Management and Regulatory enforcement of Pesticide Use Enforcement
• Development and implementation of Quality Assurance Programs for Good Agricultural Practices
• Development and implementation of Raw Product, Food Safety and Security Program
• Organic Certification reviews and/or approvals, Material Verification reviews and/or approvals
• Organic Crop Production and Handler-Processor Inspections and Audits
• Grower Group and ICS Specialist
• Pesticide Residue Sampling and Investigations for regulatory enforcement
• Training organic inspectors

Gay Timmons NOP & ISO 17065 Auditor Personal Care Products, Handler-Processor Inspections/Audits, Inspector Training

Gay Timmons is an expert in personal care standards and ingredient formulations, Organic System Plans, and requirements of ISO 17065 and International Standards. Gay’s expertise in auditing and training brings a high level of quality to the ASCO team for certification standards.

Gay’s expertise includes:

• Personal Care Products Inspections and audits for organic products
• Organic Handler-Processor Inspections and Audits
• Organic Formulations and Ingredient Verification
• Trainer – International Organic Inspectors Association,
• USDA Compliance Trainer
• NOP and ISO 17065 Auditor

Chaponica Trimmel Organic Inspector/Reviewer/Auditor

Chaponica’s twenty years’ direct experience in organic farming operations and her expertise in organic inspections and audits is invaluable to ASCO.

Chaponica’s expertise includes: :

• Organic Crop Production, Handler/Processor, Livestock Inspections and Audits
• Organic Reviewer/Auditor
• Grower Group and ICS Inspector/Auditor
• Pesticide Residue Sampling
• IOIA Inspector Member

Jill Thudium Organic Inspector/Reviewer/Auditor

Jill’s expertise as an Organic Inspection Supervisor and Inspector Evaluator along with her experience as an Inspector/Auditor herself is tremendously beneficial to ASCO.

• Organic Crop Production, Handler/Processor Inspections, and Audits
• Organic Reviewer/Auditor
• IOIA/HACCP/NSF NGMO/ANSI

Gerry Willey Materials Verification Consultant Co-Founder of ASCO

Served as Monterey County Deputy Agricultural Commissioner for twenty-nine years in the following:

• Materials verification for the past sixteen years for NOP compliance enforcement
• Supervisor and Regulatory enforcement of Fruit & Vegetable Quality Control Program
• Supervisor and Regulatory enforcement of Pesticide Use Enforcement Program
• Supervisor and Regulatory enforcement of Organic Program MCCO to NOP
• Supervisor and Regulatory enforcement of CDFA State Organic Enforcement local
• Organic Certification Approvals, Material Verification approvals
• Co-founded the first county government organic certification program in the nation MCCO

Gail Young Chief Inspector/Reviewer Organic Crop Production, Handler-Processor Inspections Ingredient Verification, Inspector Training

Gail Young brings great value to the ASCO team. She has over twenty-five years of experience in regulatory enforcement of conventional and organic operations. Having served as a Supervising Produce Inspector for Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in Fruit & Vegetable Inspection Division for Regulatory enforcement and Vertebrate Pest Management Divisions.

Gail’s expertise includes:

• Organic Crop, Handler-Processors, Livestock, and Personal Care Products Inspections/audits
• Coordinator of inspection/audits assignments
• Organic reviews
• Training of organic inspectors
• Fruit and Vegetable Quality Standards
• Vertebrate Pest Management
• Investigations