Sacramento, Calif.—Jean-Mari Peltier announced at a recent meeting of the National Grape & Wine Initiative’s executive committee that she will step down from her post as president to take a job with a Sacramento-based consulting firm at the end of the year. Peltier has been president of the NGWI since 2008.

The NGWI recently secured grant funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) for a four-year research project, led by Drs. Terry Bates of Cornell University and Stephen Nuske of Carnegie Mellon University. The project is expected to provide grape growers new tools to more accurately predict crop size and manage vineyards with greater precision. “Jean Mari’s leadership will be missed, but her record of achievement at NGWI leaves the organization on very solid ground,” said NGWI chairman John Aguirre and president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers in a statement announcing Peltier’s departure.