Previously, she served as president and chief executive officer of American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) from 1999-2008. She joined AFFI in 1989 as director of government relations and staff counsel, and was promoted to vice president of government relations and staff counsel six months later. She held several positions until 1994, when she was promoted to executive vice president and staff counsel.

 

She also served as president of the National Yogurt Association, an association that AFFI managed, and had oversight responsibility for the National Frozen Pizza Institute, the Frozen Potato Products Institute, the International Frozen Food Association, the Texas-Mexico Frozen Food Council and the Food Processing Environmental Conference.

 

Early in her career, Sarasin was director of government relations and legal counsel for the National Food Brokers Association and legal counsel and assistant to the president for Crest International Corporation. She also worked at Salomon Brothers Investment Bankers and for Senator Wendell H. Ford.

 

Sarasin holds a JD from the University of San Diego and a BA in economics from Smith College. During college and law school, Sarasin spent time studying and working in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. She is fluent in Spanish.

 

Sarasin is a member of the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice law in the state of California and the District of Columbia. She serves on the Board of Directors GS1 US and recently assumed the chairmanship of the Partnership for Food Safety Education. Sarasin also is a member of the Committee of 100 of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is comprised of the top 100 association executives within the Chamber’s membership, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Chamber Foundation. At the Langley School, an independent pre-K through 8 school located in McLean, Virginia, Sarasin serves on the Board of Trustees and on the Executive Committee as Secretary.

 

Previously, Sarasin served on the Board of Directors of the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Association of Former Members of Congress Auxiliary. She served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), during which she served on that organization’s Finance, Leadership and Public Policy Committees. She also completed a term as chairman of ASAE’s Key Industry Associations Committee. In 1998, she was awarded ASAE’s Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation and was recertified in 2002, in 2005 and again in 2008.

 

Sarasin is a native of Glasgow, Kentucky. She resides in McLean, Virginia, with her husband, Former Member of Congress Ronald A. Sarasin, and their son, Douglas.