Women in Dairy Member Page

Welcome, members of the IDFA’s Women in Dairy!

Women in Dairy brings established leaders together with young professionals to create a forum that fosters mentoring, supports development, builds networking opportunities, and encourages leadership.

Below you will find links to Women in Dairy documents, programming and other resources. Please contact Becky Rasdall with any questions pertaining to the resources made available.

IDFA’s Women Summit

The inaugural IDFA Women’s Summit will celebrate and empower women in the dairy industry. The Summit will convene rising and established leaders to advance gender equality, bolster their leadership skills, advocate on behalf of dairy’s top policy priorities, and network.

IDFA is seeking IDFA members of diverse experience and background to participate in the IDFA Women’s Summit—the first event of its kind. Attendees will participate in sessions focused on practical strategies for better support women at all levels of dairy organizations, leadership development, mentorship, allyship, and advocacy. They will also spend a day on Capitol Hill meeting with policymakers and educating them about the impacts and importance of federal policies and programs.

Click here to find out more.

Mentoring Circles

IDFA’s Women in Dairy Mentoring Circles provide participants the opportunity to join a supportive network of peers in the dairy industry to network, exchange knowledge, share insights, and support their professional development. Unlike traditional one-on-one mentoring relationships, IDFA’s mentoring circles are made up of 1-2 mentors who can offer their own experiences as leaders in the industry and 5-8 mentees who can benefit from guidance on their own professional development and career journeys. The circles are matched based on participant interests and are comprised of dairy industry professionals in various stages in their careers. Not only will participants find camaraderie and empowerment in these circles, but they will make lifelong connections with others in the industry through open and honest dialogue.

For many, concerns about time commitments are paramount when juggling their own personal lives and careers. To combat this, IDFA has developed the mentoring circles to only run for 1 hour per month on an annual cycle. Each circle chooses the time and day that works best for them. This ensures maximum participation from each participant and helps drive the circles forward throughout the year. In addition to setting their own meeting times each month, each circle sets their own agenda and topics of discussion. This makes each circle as unique as its individual participants. To give you a preview of topics typically discussed in the mentoring circles, groups have traditionally covered topics ranging from navigating how to ask for a promotion, understanding communication styles, developing leadership skills, and managing work-life balance. Mentoring circle participants regularly report the valuable relationships and strong camaraderie they have built with other women in the dairy industry through their circles.

Interested in joining a Mentoring Circle as a participant or mentor? Sign ups for this year are closed and mentoring circles are currently ongoing until the next application period opens in June 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Women in Dairy Reading & Leading Book Club

IDFA is pleased to offer the Women in Dairy Reading & Leading Book Club for members of the Women in Dairy Network! Like the Women in Dairy Network overall, the selections chosen and discussed by the book club will focus on leadership, personal development and career advancement.

Learn more about the book club and sign up for our next meeting here!

Reading & Leading Book Club