Steve Olson has been named Executive Director of the Poultry Science Association (PSA), and he started in the role on July 6, 2026, according to The Poultry Site. If you searched "PSA" expecting the card-grading company that slabs your Pokémon cards, this is a different organization entirely—the PSA here is a 1908 scientific society for poultry researchers. This page exists to clear up that confusion and give you the accurate facts, so you don't waste time thinking your graded-card service just changed leadership. Below is what actually happened, who Olson is, and why the name overlap trips up collectors.
Table of Contents
- Two different "PSA" organizations
- What the poultry news actually says
- Why the confusion is easy to make
- How to check news about the card-grading PSA
- Frequently Asked Questions
Two different "PSA" organizations
For pokémon collectors, PSA almost always means Professional Sports Authenticator—the grading company that assigns your cards a 1-to-10 condition score and seals them in a tamper-proof case. That PSA affects resale value and is the one most pricing discussions reference. The appointment in the news is about a completely unrelated group: the Poultry Science Association.
It is a scientific society focused on chicken, turkey, and egg research, not trading cards. So if you clicked expecting news about card-grading turnaround times or population reports, this announcement does not touch that. The shared acronym is the only connection.
What the poultry news actually says
The Poultry Science Association hired Steve Olson as its Executive Director, and he began on July 6, 2026. He succeeds Don McIntyre, who had served as Interim Executive Director since January 2026, as Feedstuffs reported. The Executive Director handles the overall leadership, management, and long-term sustainability of the association under its board-approved priorities, per MEAT+POULTRY.
This is an operations job, not a research post. Olson brings more than 20 years of poultry-industry association management, according to WATTPoultry. most recently he ran Steve Olson Consulting LLC, advising agricultural groups on strategy.
Why the confusion is easy to make
Acronyms collide often, and "psa" is a busy one—it also means "public service announcement." A general search for "PSA executive director appointment" surfaces this poultry story even though card collectors mean something else. Neither the card grader nor the poultry society uses the other's field.
Knowing which PSA a headline refers to saves you from acting on the wrong information—for example, assuming a policy change at your grading service. A quick tell: if a story mentions journals, turkeys, or agriculture, it is the Poultry Science Association. If it mentions slabs, grades, or set registries, it is the card grader.
How to check news about the card-grading PSA
Because this announcement is unrelated to grading, here is how to confirm real news about the company that scores your cards: The poultry association's own leadership page lives at the Poultry Science Association official site if you want to confirm this specific story. For your Pokémon cards, that page has nothing to offer.
- Check the grader's own site and official social accounts, not general acronym searches.
- Look for card-specific terms—grade scale, population report, submission tiers—in the headline.
- Ignore results that mention agriculture, poultry journals, or association management.
- Cross-check any pricing-relevant claim against a second card-focused source before you buy or sell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this appointment affect my graded Pokémon cards?
No. It concerns the Poultry Science Association, a research society, not the card-grading company collectors know as PSA.
Who is Steve Olson?
Per Feed & Additive Magazine, he led Minnesota poultry associations for nearly 19 years before this role.
When did he start?
July 6, 2026, succeeding interim director Don McIntyre.
