J. David Carlin
The International Dairy Foods Association has named David Carlin senior vice president of legislative affairs.

“In this role, Carlin will be responsible for managing all of the association’s legislative, political and economic policy activities,” IDFA said in a news release.

Carlin, who began his duties today, succeeds Jerry Slominski, who left IDFA earlier this year, the group noted.

Carlin has been a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he represented food and agricultural companies, cooperatives and trade associations.

“Dave knows agriculture policy well, having served as assistant secretary for Congressional Relations under Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman,” said Connie Tipton, IDFA president and CEO.

Carlin was an associate at Akin Gump when President Bill Clinton appointed him to that post in 1995, where was head of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.

He returned to Akin Gump in 1998 to focus his practice on public law and policy matters.

Tipton noted that Carlin’s interest in dairy policy began on this family’s farm in Kansas.

“Dave grew up on a dairy farm founded by his grandfather in 1940. He reports that during the early days, they sold their milk to JoMar Dairy in Salina, but by the time he was active on the farm, they sold their milk to a Wichita co-op,” said Tipton. “They milked about 40 cows and had the top producing herd in Kansas in 1977 and 1978. His father, John William Carlin, ran the operation from1962 until he became governor of the state of Kansas in 1979.”

Carlin is active in many community organizations, IDFA noted. He co-founded the Homeless Children’s Tutorial Project, Inc., a volunteer program serving children in Washington, D.C. He also is chairman of the board of directors for Video/Action, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization and serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Capitol Hill Day School along with Tipton.

Carlin received a bachelor of arts summa cum laude in political science and modern languages from Kansas State University and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he served as co-chairman of the Harvard Law School Legislative Research Bureau. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Missouri bars.