Caprock Strategies is pleased to announce that Lindsay Yarabek Datlow, PhD, RD, has joined the firm as Senior Vice President. With a wealth of experience in food policy, nutrition science, and public affairs, Lindsay brings a highly strategic, solutions-oriented approach to her work.

“Lindsay joins Caprock at a time of unprecedented change across the nutrition and agriculture sectors,” said Brandon Lipps, Co-Founder and Principal. “As our government reexamines what it means to be healthy, Lindsay’s expertise as a registered dietitian with experience at both HHS and USDA bring critical perspective to Caprock’s clientele. While the country prepares for the launch of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Lindsay offers a measured and balanced voice in the nutrition policy landscape.”

Lindsay is a registered dietitian and earned her PhD in Health Sciences, with a focus on nutrition policy communications, specifically in relation to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. This academic foundation, paired with her leadership roles in both government and industry, uniquely position her to navigate evolving policy landscapes and develop strategies that drive lasting impact.

“I’m excited to join Caprock at such a pivotal time for nutrition policy. Throughout my career, I have seen how Federal priorities like the DGAs shape everything from public health programs to industry strategy, and the landscape is evolving quickly. I look forward to working alongside our clients to help anticipate what’s coming next, build clear strategies in response to complex policy – whether that means facilitating pilots, framing messages, or engaging partners – and  ultimately, turn solutions into impact.”

Before joining Caprock Strategies, Lindsay was Senior Vice President of Nutrition Affairs at the National Dairy Council, where she played a key role in advancing public health education, strengthening partnerships, and incorporating dairy science into national nutrition promotion efforts. As part of this work, she led efforts to position dairy as an essential part of the American diet by increasing its inclusion and consumption in government nutrition programs, public health initiatives, and among health professionals. Lindsay also served as Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she managed national nutrition assistance programs – including school meals, WIC, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) – and was a leading force in shaping the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She previously contributed to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans while at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Throughout her career, Lindsay has worked with a wide range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, U.S. checkoff programs, nonprofits, and academic partners. She has helped these organizations stay ahead of emerging policy trends, anticipate shifts in the regulatory landscape, and craft strategic initiatives that align with both the quick-shifting policy environment and business goals. In addition to navigating evolving policies and business objectives, she delivers success for clients across the supply chain through services such as data analysis, program evaluation, and the development of innovative pilot programs. Her expertise spans policy development, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, and building long-term, sustainable partnerships. Her ability to bridge the gap between government, industry, and academia allows her to tackle complex challenges and deliver meaningful results.

At Caprock Strategies, Lindsay will leverage her extensive experience and deep network to help clients navigate the complexities of nutrition policy, craft forward-thinking strategies, and stay ahead in the ever-evolving policy landscape to meet industry objectives.

From AgriPulse: Brandon Lipps with Caprock Strategies explains the potential far-reaching impacts of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s final report on other pieces of policy like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The Trump administration recently began approving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Food Restriction Waivers with intent to limit the purchase of “non-nutritious” items such as soda and candy. Currently, six states have approved waivers, and over half of all states are expected to or submit proposals to USDA. In this executive summary, you can learn more about the provisions of each approved waiver, identifying what types of products will be restricted by each state.

From a campaign slogan to a governing blueprint, Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) is quickly reshaping how food, nutrition and environmental health policy are made in the United States.

While federal agencies tackle issues like food dyes, SNAP waivers and closing the GRAS loophole, states are stepping up with their own bold measures:

• Texas now mandates warning labels on products with additives banned abroad.
  
• Louisiana is moving to restrict artificial ingredients and seed oils in schools and restaurants.
  
• New York is targeting the GRAS loophole and restricting controversial food chemicals.

With nearly 150 MAHA-aligned bills in statehouses nationwide, we’re seeing a dynamic push-and-pull between local innovation and national standard-setting.

At Caprock Strategies, we’ve made it a priority to keep our partners informed on how MAHA is unfolding across every level of government—and what it means for the food system, policymakers and consumers.

What happens when a patchwork of state food rules runs up against federal preemption? How might these parallel tracks reshape supply chains, labeling and consumer trust?

Our latest memo, “Tracking MAHA: An Overview of State and Federal Policy Developments,” pulls back the curtain on what’s happening now—and what’s next.

This is the second edition of Caprock Strategies’ policy memo analyzing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement—now institutionalized under the Trump-Kennedy alliance. Since our original publication, MAHA has evolved from a bold campaign talking point into a sweeping federal agenda reshaping food, nutrition and public health policy. With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services, MAHA is driving rapid regulatory change through new executive orders, agency realignments and a growing body of legislation. This memo provides a strategic update on key developments across HHS, USDA, the FDA and beyond, highlighting state-level acceleration, congressional engagement and cultural momentum led by MAHA’s grassroots base.

For readers seeking deeper insight, a comprehensive, agency-by-agency breakdown is available by request at erin@caprockstrategies.com. We encourage early engagement with this broader version, especially for those navigating food and health policy in the year ahead.

Caprock Strategies recently added three new team members: Jennifer Warren, Vice President of Communications; Erin Bacon, Policy Associate; and Shari Connell, Director of Operations.

Jennifer Warren joined Caprock Strategies in December as Vice President of Communications. She previously served as Vice President of Communications at National Sorghum Producers and draws on a deep agricultural background and a career rooted in advocacy and communications. Jennifer plays a central role in advising senior leaders to craft messaging and shape engagement that positively influences public policy outcomes and enhances client reputations. She lives on a farm in rural eastern Washington and brings a strong commitment to ensuring programs meet the needs of rural Americans.

Erin Bacon also joined in December as Policy Associate. Erin combines a strong academic background with a passion for actionable policies that support agriculturalists and uplift communities. She helps Caprock clients navigate complex legislative and regulatory landscapes across food, nutrition, agriculture and education policy. With prior experience in Congress on both policy and press teams, Erin brings a well-rounded perspective to legislative strategy and stakeholder engagement. She holds a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Government at Johns Hopkins University.

Shari Connell joined Caprock in April as Director of Operations. With more than 25 years of executive-level administrative and operations experience, Shari ensures the firm runs smoothly and efficiently. She previously served as executive assistant to the vice chancellor of the Texas Tech University System and spent over a decade with National Sorghum Producers, where she led major events and managed operations. Shari also brings real-world agricultural experience from her family’s West Texas farm.

“We are proud to welcome Jennifer, Erin and Shari to the Caprock team,” said Caprock Co-Founder and Principal Brandon Lipps. “Their combined experience in communications, policy, legal analysis and operations strengthens our ability to deliver tailored strategies that drive meaningful results for our clients.”

About Caprock Strategies
Established in 2021 by Brandon Lipps, former Deputy Under Secretary of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, and Hannah Lipps, a seasoned strategist in communications and education, Caprock Strategies is a boutique consulting firm that delivers strategies to solve big problems that meaningfully impact people’s lives. Caprock works to translate government to private industry, rural to urban and back again, building solutions that create lasting change across sectors.

Caprock Strategies’ Principal, Hannah Lipps, played an integral role on a fantastic team, including the Ad Council, the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah and Coffee Bluff Pictures that won a 2024 Silver Anthem Award in the Health Partnership or Collaboration Awareness categories.

The award recognized the project “Rural America & Mental Health,” which was part of the impactful “Love, Your Mind” campaign. By collaborating with partners like the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, American Farm Bureau Federation and more, this initiative captured authentic stories from rural communities, broke down stigma and connected people to vital mental health resources.

Key PSA Highlights as of January 2025:

• More than $4 million in donated media
• Nearly 100 million impressions in the first 6 months
• Thousands reached through in-person activations at rodeos and farm conventions

Caprock Strategies was honored to help tell these stories and be a part of this important campaign with the hope that all kinds of people from all kinds of places can normalize their own experiences through the voices of others like them. Hear these stories here, and learn more about the award collaborators here.

Brandon Lipps, a former Trump administration USDA official, helped lead WIC and other nutrition programs through the pandemic and the economic fallout — when families especially leaned on WIC for their children’s nutrition.

“WIC is an extremely critical program for making sure that all moms and children have access to adequate nutrition and, really, that they get a healthy start in life. I think folks on both sides of the aisle recognize that,” Lipps said.

Lipps added the current bipartisan bill gives needed and limited flexibility to future administrations dealing with crises like the current recall and shortages. He noted there is no quick political or policy fix for issues surrounding the state contracts’ sole-sourcing provisions and said the “finger pointing” in Congress is “a distraction.”

“When you get outside of this bipartisan bill, you see lots of movement in lots of different directions,” Lipps said. “As lawmakers pivot to talk about ways they can improve WIC, I think there’s a lot of time in the months ahead for them to sit down at the table together to deeply understand the issues and to work through opportunities as they move forward.”

Every day, public school children across America line up and move through carefully orchestrated lines and collect trays of colorful, nutritious food to fill their tummies and prepare them for a day’s learning and play. Before sunrise, in almost 100,000 U.S. schools, dedicated food service personnel prepare to serve 15 million breakfasts and 30 million lunches to the bright little faces that move through their lines.

While we may recall fond memories of the grandmas who dished up our peas and carrots at lunch, behind those kindly faces, hair nets and scoops of mashed potatoes is a complex web of federal regulation that determines which foods make their way onto the lunch tables of America’s school children. These 5 billion lunches and 2.5 billion breakfasts every year represent a production cost of $25 billion annually. Or, once discounted for labor and infrastructure costs, about $1 billion per month on food alone.

In this vast market of U.S. government food programs, sorghum has the opportunity to fill critical roles as a nutritionally rich, low-cost alternative to widely consumed grains and proteins. Last year, the United Sorghum Checkoff Program zeroed in on a strategy to move sorghum into the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and onto the lunch and breakfast trays of millions of American schoolchildren.

For an emerging food crop like sorghum, the market opportunity is vast, but so is the underlying policy that determines which foods work their way onto those sturdy plastic trays. In order for the federal government to reimburse schools for the meals they serve, the components of that meal must fit a complex matrix of nutritional data that requires school food service providers to average nutrients over the course of a week.

With that in mind, the Sorghum Checkoff developed a comprehensive five-year plan for moving sorghum into school meals.

The plan includes multi-front approaches to familiarize school nutrition leaders with how to prepare and serve sorghum, plans to help students get familiar with a new food item on their plate, plans for school foodservice providers to offer sorghum to their customers, and the proper presentation for critical nutrition information.

But a critical problem presented itself almost immediately. USDA’s Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, which serves as the go-to resource when deciding what foods will be reimbursed, does not currently include sorghum, making it difficult for school meals directors to add it to their menus.

National Sorghum Producers stepped in and USDA has recently committed to updating the USDA Food Buying Guide to include sorghum products. In the interim, USDA has approved school nutrition administrators to use a similar product as a nutritional stand-in for menu planning and food purchasing needs.

This means that as the Sorghum Checkoff works to implement its comprehensive plan for school nutrition programming, schools already have a mechanism to add sorghum to their menus. The Kansas State Department of Education has been proactive on this front, informing their school nutrition directors of the new guidance and offering a webinar to highlight a host of school-friendly sorghum-based recipes.

Brandon joins Agri-Pulse Newsmakers Panel to discuss upcoming conference

Caprock Strategies’ Principal, Brandon Lipps, was recently invited to provide perspective regarding the upcoming White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger, and Health.

“Throughout my time leading the Food and Nutrition Service, the best part of my job was traveling America to hear stories of change from organizations like Covenant House and Hope Inspired Ministries,” said Brandon. “These organizations, and many like them, are wholistically serving families in need in their local communities.”

Ideally, this conference will serve as an apolitical avenue for policymakers to move families forward by connecting with the individuals and organizations who are producing change on a local level.