Patrick Carney has joined the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association as Executive Director, succeeding Dave Smith, who led the Association for more than 30 years and continues with the organization as an advisor. PA Dairymen’s supports Pennsylvania’s dairy farming families through consumer engagement, charitable programs, and advocacy.
Reporting to PA Dairymen’s farmer-led Board of Directors, Patrick serves as the Association’s chief executive and public spokesperson, leading strategic direction and operational oversight across its milkshake business, charitable programs, and advocacy work. He will guide the organization through its next chapter of growth while honoring the grassroots heritage that has defined PA Dairymen’s for more than 150 years.
“Patrick already knows Pennsylvania’s dairy farm families from his time at the American Dairy Association North East, and he brings marketing talent that will take the milkshake, and everything it supports, further than we’ve taken it so far,” said Dave Smith.
“Patrick pairs dairy industry knowledge with award-winning marketing experience and the hands-on leadership style this role demands,” said Jon Leafstedt, K&R Managing Partner. “PA Dairymen’s has real brand momentum, and the board wanted a leader who could extend it into new venues and channels while connecting that growth back to Pennsylvania’s dairy families. That is the work Patrick has done for the past eight years.”
Patrick joins PA Dairymen’s from the American Dairy Association North East, where he spent eight years in roles of increasing responsibility across integrated marketing, communications, digital strategy, and sponsorships, most recently in senior leadership. That work brought him into regular contact with Pennsylvania dairy producers and farmer-led boards, so he arrives already knowing many of the people the Association serves.
PA Dairymen’s Association, headquartered near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a nonprofit governed by a 15-member farmer-led Board of Directors. Its mission is to represent and support farm families and communities by serving milkshakes, sharing farmers’ stories, and collaborating with businesses and organizations. Sold at the Pennsylvania Farm Show since 1953, the Association’s signature milkshakes have funded nearly $6 million in scholarships, youth development, hunger prevention, and community programs over the past eleven years.
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