International Bottled Water Association | IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 29, 20110
IBWA Announces New Director for Government Relations
Alexandria, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is proud to announce that Sarah Lashford has joined IBWA as Director of Government Relations. Her responsibilities include IBWA’s government affairs work at the state and federal levels, working with legislators, IBWA members and allies to shape sound legislation, regulations and public policy for the bottled water industry. She will work closely with Dan Felton, IBWA’s newly appointed Vice President of Government Relations.
Ms. Lashford comes to IBWA after serving nearly three years as the Manager of Legislative Affairs for Feld Entertainment, Inc., the parent company to Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey®, Feld Motorsports and Disney on Ice. In this capacity she handled legislative and regulatory activities at the federal, state and local levels focusing on animal welfare, tax and labor issues.
Prior to her work for Feld, Sarah spent three years as a policy advisor for Her Majesty’s Government at the British Embassy in Washington, DC working on trade, agriculture and biopharmaceutical policy. Sarah began her career in Washington as a hill staffer for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and a BA from Boston College. Sarah can be reached by phone at 703.647.4616 or by email at slashford@bottledwater.org.
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Media Contact:
TOM LAURIA
703-647-4609 office / 703-887-4056 cellphone
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.
In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.
IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often – whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.
