Speaker Test

Mary Weaver Gertz
Chief Food Safety and QA Officer
Yum! Brands, Inc.

Mary has been a Food Safety and Quality leader in the retail and restaurant space for over 25 years. She has been with YUM! brands as a Food Safety leader for almost 10 years and was elevated to Chief Food Safety & Quality Officer in 2020. YUM brands includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger grill and Mary’s accountability spans over 55,000 restaurants and 9,000 suppliers across 155 territories. Mary leads Yum!’s Food Safety governance and restaurant Food Safety vision and is defining the next generation ecosystem for global Food Safety Systems. Prior to taking a leadership role in YUM’s Global Food Safety Team she led Food Safety & Quality Assurance at KFC US. Her previous experience includes one of the US’s largest retailers; Target and NSF International, bringing invaluable experience in retail, restaurant and technical consulting. Mary also recently began serving as a member of the Global Food Safety Initiative Steering Committee.
Mary consistently drives for results combining her passion and commitment to Food Safety with heart led leadership and a commercial understanding of a globally operating business.

Steven Mandernach, J.D.
Executive Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)

Steven Mandernach (MAWN-dur-knock) is the executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO). Prior to becoming executive director in 2018, he was the bureau chief for food and consumer safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Mandernach is a past president of AFDO. He has also served as the chair and co-chair for the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance. Mandernach has co-authored many articles related to retail food safety, foodborne illness detection, and the integrated food safety system, and he’s a frequent contributor to many food trade publications such as Food Safety Magazine, New Food Magazine, and Quality Assurance and Food Safety Magazine.

Mandernach has a J.D. from Drake University Law School. He has completed graduate work in Food Safety at Michigan State University.

James Jones
Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods
Food and Drug Administration
James “Jim” Jones joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2023 as the agency’s first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods.
In this new executive position, which reports directly to the FDA Commissioner, Jones leads the charge in setting and advancing priorities for a proposed, unified Human Foods Program (HFP), which includes food safety, chemical safety and nutrition activities. He will exercise decision-making authority over all HFP entities, including resource allocation, risk-prioritization strategy, policy, major response activities involving human foods, and related Office of Regulatory Affairs activities. He currently oversees the leadership of the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and Office of Food Policy and Response until the proposed HFP reorganization is implemented.
Jones came to the FDA with intimate knowledge of the foods program, having served on the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s Independent Expert PanelExternal Link Disclaimer that evaluated the program in 2022. He has decades of leadership experience and a track record of forging partnerships among diverse segments of stakeholders and achieving dynamic results to improve public health.
Jones spent most of his career as a federal regulator of pesticides, toxic substances, chemical safety, and pollution prevention at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and spent much of his more than 30-year tenure involved in leadership and decision-making related to food safety. He held positions of increasing responsibility at EPA and made public health-based decisions grounded in sound science, public policy, and law. As a principal architect of the 2016 overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, Jones led discussions with members of Congress, industry and environmental groups that resulted in a law reshaping how chemical safety is managed in the U.S. He also led several national level sustainability programs, including the Environmental Preferable Purchasing Program and the Presidential Green Chemistry Awards Challenge.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Dr. José Emilio Esteban
USDA
Dr. José Emilio Esteban was sworn in as under secretary for food safety on January 4, 2023. In this role, Dr. Esteban leads the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has regulatory oversight for ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled.
In August 2018, he was appointed FSIS chief scientist. In this capacity, Dr. Esteban served as the primary scientific advisor on matters of public health and food safety that affect the mission of the agency, with primary responsibility for scientific initiatives within the FSIS Office of Public Health Science (OPHS). Dr. Esteban’s efforts directly supported FSIS’ Strategic Goals 1: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health, and 2: Transform Inspection Strategies, Policies and Scientific Approaches to Improve Public Health.
In 2002, Dr. Esteban joined OPHS as the director of the Western Laboratory. In this role, he directed the implementation of the sampling program and was responsible for the facility, equipment and personnel infrastructure. In 2008, he was appointed as the FSIS science advisor for laboratory services and then as executive associate for laboratory services, where he harmonized the operation of all three FSIS laboratories, maintained operations to meet with the ISO17025 standard and coordinated emergency response
He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, a Master of Business Administration from the Panamerican Institute, and a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, as well as a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of California at Davis.

Robert Tauxe
Director, DFWED, NCEZID, DDID
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Robert Tauxe is Director of the CDC Division that is charged with prevention and control of foodborne, waterborne and fungal infections. The Division monitors the frequency of these infections in the United States, investigates outbreaks, and develops strategies to reduce the disease, disability and deaths that they cause. Dr. Tauxe graduated from Yale University in 1975, and received his medical degree from Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Tennessee. He holds a Masters in Public Health degree from Yale, and completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Washington. He then then trained at CDC in the Epidemic Intelligence Service for two years, and joined CDC staff in 1985. His interests include bacterial enteric diseases, epidemiology and pathogenesis of infectious diseases, epidemiologic and clinical consequences of bacterial genetic exchange, antimicrobial use and resistance to antimicrobial agents, and teaching epidemiologic methods. His faculty appointments include the School of Public Health and the Department of Biology at Emory University, Atlanta.

Ola Afolayan
Director of Global Food Safety and Regulatory
Kellanova

Olamide (Ola) Afolayan is a dynamic professional dedicated to ensuring food safety. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Food Science from the University of Georgia, and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Botswana.

She is currently the Director of Global Food Safety and Regulatory at Kellanova (formerly Kellogg Company), where she has spent the last decade. In this role, she oversees food safety assurance, policy development and regulatory compliance. Her career has been marked by roles of increasing responsibility, demonstrating her commitment to excellence and problem-solving. Prior to Kellogg, Dr. Afolayan honed her expertise as a food safety research assistant at the Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia and as a Microbiologist at a MillerCoors brewing facility. Ola is driven by small victories that cumulatively impact food safety, and she finds joy in sharing her knowledge and experience. Outside of work, she enjoys being a food critic and traveling with her family.

Felice Arboisiere
Director FSQA North America
Dole

Felice Arboisiere is a seasoned professional with almost two decades of experience in ensuring the safety and quality of different categories of food as well as cosmetics. Currently serving as Director of Food Safety of the Supply Chain for Dole Fresh Vegetables. Felice plays a pivotal role in overseeing the entire spectrum of food safety protocols from farm to fork.

With a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and a soon-to-be Master’s in Regulatory Science, Felice’s expertise lies in optimizing food safety systems tailored specifically for produce at this time. Her career journey has seen her working closely with farmers, suppliers, consumers, customers, and regulatory agencies to uphold the highest standards of food safety and compliance.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Felice is passionate about fostering collaboration within the food safety community and mentoring the next generation of food safety professionals

Al Baroudi, Ph.D.
VP, Quality Assurance & Food Safety
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated

Dr. Ata (Al) Baroudi joined The Cheesecake Factory in 2008 with broad experience in the food industry as a quality assurance executive. He is an agricultural engineer with a MS degree in Food Science and Technology / Microbiology from the University of California at Davis, CA. He received his Ph.D. in Food Processing and Technology / Regulatory Affairs from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He served as the head of QA and Food Safety (Snacks and Dairy) for Borden Foods Company in Columbus, OH, before moving to the west coast as Vice President, Corporate QA/Food Safety and Regulatory/Environmental Affairs for the Vons/Safeway Supermarkets, Arcadia, CA. Dr. Baroudi then served as Vice President of QA and Technical Services, Harry & David Corporation, Medford, OR., before becoming the Chief Scientific, Health and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Yum! Brands in Louisville, KY.

Sharon Beals
Founder
SKKB

Sharon brings 40+ years’ experience in food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance, most recently serving as the Chief Food Safety Officer at CTI Foods. Prior to joining CTI, Sharon held senior level Food Safety/Quality/Regulatory Compliance/Technical Services at US Foods. Maple Leaf Foods, Smithfield Packing, Tyson Foods/IBP, Orval Kent Food, Arby’s, and Land O’Frost.

Sharon is actively engaged in the industry and is past Chair for the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo), has served on the American Meat Science Association Board of Directors (AMSA), was the 2017 Reciprocal Meat Conference chair, currently serves on the AMSA Development Council, the Board of Directors for Women in Agribusiness (WIA), and shows up every now and again as a speaker for WIA, the Food Safety Summit, and the Reciprocal Meat Conference. In addition to being named a Top Nominee for the Most Impactful Woman of the Year by the Women in Meat Industry Network for 2022 and 2023, she was named a Fellow of the AMSA in 2021 and awarded the Signal Service Award by that organization.

Sharon studied at Cornell University in New York where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Foods. Free time is spent enjoying the empty nest with husband Don, hanging with the pups, Juno and Roxy, gardening and encouraging everyone to be civil in their discourse.

Mahirwan Bhagia
Vice President, Global Food Safety
PepsiCo

Chirag Bhatt, RS, CCFS
Director, Regulatory Affairs
HS GovTech Solutions

Chirag Bhatt has been involved in the food safety industry for over 4 decades. After working with local regulatory agency (city of Houston) for over 26 years, Chirag worked with a custom software company as a VP, Food Safety and Client Consulting for a few years prior to joining a large restaurant company (Bloomin Brands) as their Global Regulatory Compliance Manager. He also worked with a major distribution company (Sysco Corp) as Regulatory and Technical Services Director. He also worked with a retail c-store company (Buc-ee’s) as a Director of Food Safety and QA for 2 years. Chirag currently works with HS GovTech USA - a company that provides web-based Environmental Health and Safety data management software solution to local and state regulatory agencies as a Director of Regulatory Affairs. Chirag holds a BS in Biology and Chemistry. He has served as Chair for the Natl Rest Assn’s QA executive study group for three years. Currently, Chirag serves as an Education Advisory Board member with Food Safety Summit and is an advisory council member with Sani Professional. He lives in the great state of Texas.

Adrienne Blume, M.A
Editorial Director
Food Safety Magazine

Adrienne Blume is Editorial Director of Food Safety Magazine, a BNP Media brand. She has 18 years of experience in B2B technical media, including the food safety and quality (FSQ) and energy technology sectors. She manages the editorial content for Food Safety Magazine and its podcast, Food Safety Matters, and also serves on the Educational Advisory Board for the annual Food Safety Summit. She keeps a pulse on trends, issues, and regulatory developments in FSQA by attending and moderating sessions at food industry and food safety conferences worldwide.
Ms. Blume holds an M.A. degree in English and Publishing from Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, as well as B.A. degrees (hons) in English and Anthropology from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Kerry Bridges
Vice President of Food Safety
Chipotle Mexican Grill

Kerry Bridges is Vice President of Food Safety at Chipotle Mexican Grill. In this role, Kerry oversees food safety standards, quality assurance, and procedures. Kerry joined Chipotle in January of 2019 and oversees a team of individuals who are committed to enforcing Chipotle’s zero-tolerance policy and industry-leading processes, focusing on supply chain, in-restaurant practices, food prep, and employee training. Prior to joining Chipotle, Kerry oversaw supplier food safety for the world’s largest food retailer, Walmart, serving over 200 million customers around the world on a weekly basis. During her time at Walmart, Kerry’s food safety oversight included tens of thousands of Walmarts, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Clubs food suppliers, in addition to researching and assessing new and emerging food safety issues and handling regulatory compliance. Prior to Walmart, Kerry’s food safety career included roles with TESCO and Jack in the Box Inc. Kerry is the past President of the International Association for the Southern California Affiliate of Food Protection (IAFP) and a former Board Member of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI). Kerry attended California Polytechnic State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Food Science.

John Butts, Ph.D.
Principal
FoodSafetyByDesign, LLC

In 2010 FoodSafetyByDesign, LLC. was founded to help producers of high-risk products learn how to prevent and manage food safety risks. Risk identification and management by FoodSafetyByDesign incorporates root cause identification and development of preventative methodology. Dr. Butts’ specialty is the incorporation of Food Safety Practices into company culture. Preventative Controls have proven to be the most successful method to manage the risk of environmental pathogens and foreign materials. Root cause identification using the Seek and Destroy Strategy enables visualization of need. Controls deployed eliminate firefighting and the solving of the same problem over and over again. Interventions are used to eliminate pathogens in high risk areas. The company culture next moves into the preventative state and companies learn how to use data collected in their own facility to predict and prevent product contamination.

Damarys Del Castillo
Director of Quality Culture and Food Safety Systems
Sigma

Mrs. Damarys Del Castillo has a BS in Animal Science from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus and a Master of Science in Food Safety with a certification in International Food Laws from Michigan State University. She has been working with the Food Industry for more than 25 years in areas of thermal processing, pasteurization, low-moisture foods, canned foods and meat products. She has served as a speaker on Better Process Control School trainings with the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. Also, she completed trainings on BPCS, HACCP, PCQI, FSVP, Sanitary Transportation, Thermal Process and Thermal Process Deviations, Food Labeling, Intentional Adulteration and Food Defense. Currently, Mrs. Del Castillo is the Global Director of Food Safety Culture and Food Safety Systems at Sigma, a leading multinational Food Company. Prior to this role, she worked for 19 years as the Director of Quality Control at Goya de Puerto Rico.

Chitsanzo Chiko Kachaje
Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety
Home Market Foods

Chitsanzo Chiko Kachaje joined Home Market Foods in 2003 where she is responsible for all food safety and product quality programs including interactions with regulatory agencies, auditors, and customers. Prior to joining Home Market Foods, she was a QC Supervisor at Hans Kissle. She currently serves on the Food Science Industrial Advisory Board for Chemistry and Food Science Department at Framingham State University since 2015.

Chitsanzo Chiko originally from Malawi (Southern African country). She holds a BSc in Biology and Chemistry from University of Malawi, Chancellor College, and an MSc in Food Science and Nutrition from Framingham State University.

Conrad Choiniere, Ph.D.
Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs (acting)
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Conrad Choiniere, PhD, is the Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs (acting) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Dr. Choiniere provides executive leadership for a broad portfolio of scientific and regulatory functions including risk and decision analysis, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics and informatics, education and outreach, and food defense. Dr. Choiniere joined FDA in 2003 where his primary focus has been on the impacts of marketing and communications on consumer perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors related to FDA-regulated products. Dr. Choiniere has a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Vanessa Coffman, Ph.D.
Director
Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness

With a deep commitment to public health and food safety, Vanessa Coffman has worked on diverse food systems projects ranging from evaluating post-war farming practices in Sierra Leone for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO) to investigating occupational and residential exposures associated with large-scale pork production facilities in North Carolina.

Her research has also explored the link between nitrate-contaminated drinking water—primarily from food animal operations—and fetal health outcomes in Denmark. Prior to earning her PhD in Environmental Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Vanessa served as a policy analyst at Stop Foodborne Illness, focusing on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Since returning to STOP in 2021, she has expanded the organization’s Alliance membership, staff, and programs, driving a systemic shift toward a stronger food safety culture across the entire food system.

John Crabill
Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Chipotle Mexican Grill

John Crabill is the Senior Director of Food Safety and Quality for Chipotle Mexican Grill, overseeing supplier food safety and quality as well as traceability. John joined Chipotle in 2019 bringing a strong background in the food retail and manufacturing industries. John's expertise lies in supplier food safety and nurturing food safety culture within and across departments.

Prior to his role at Chipotle, John held the position of Senior Manager of Food Safety at Walmart. Here, he was instrumental in managing supplier food safety practices and the implementation of food traceability using emerging technology. He also has significant experience in food safety and regulatory affairs within the infant formula industry, further diversifying his industry knowledge.

John holds two master's degrees from Michigan State University, one in Food Safety and another in Food Law. His enthusiasm for establishing and maintaining world class food safety standards and developing leaders is evident in his work and his teams. He continues to foster an environment where safety and quality are paramount, ensuring the well-being of consumers and guests everywhere.

Betsy Craig
Founder and CEO
MenuTrinfo, LLC

Betsy Craig is the nation’s leading expert on food allergies, menu labeling and certifying products and facilities as free from food allergens. As CEO and founder of MenuTrinfo®, LLC, she and her team are dedicated to helping foodservice operators protect lives and health every day. MenuTrinfo exists to inform food service professionals and manufacturers what they can serve safely to their customers. To date MenuTrinfo is responsible for menu nutritional information at over 100K US restaurants, food allergy and gluten free ANAB accredited training for hundreds of thousands of food service professionals. AllerTrain is the chosen food allergy training by ACF and NEHA providing continuing educational credit hours for those that take and pass its course. Finally, MenuTrinfo delivers food allergy confidence and allergen transparency to today’s food allergic consumer through its onsite division offerings, AllerCheck™, Certified Free From™ allergens for spaces and food products which is an ISO 17065 certification and expert consultation and incident response support when needed

Dionne Crawford
Manager of US Restaurant Food Safety
McDonald's USA LLC

Dionne began her career in 1989 as a member of the United States Air Force Medical Corp. A veteran of the Gulf War and recipient of the United States Air Force Medal of Achievement, she supported European Aeromedical Evacuation Operations for 7 years. She is a graduate of the University of Texas, the Air Force School of Nursing, and the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.

Dionne joined US McDonald's Operations team as a Business Consultant in 2002. Over her 18 year career with McDonald’s, she served as an Operations and Training Consultant, and Food Safety Supervisor before assuming the role of Manager of US Restaurant Food Safety in 2013 where she supports more than 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the United States.
In addition to her role as Manager of US Restaurant Food Safety for McDonald’s, Dionne is an active member of the National Environmental Health Association and the Association of Food and Drug Officials. She is also a past Executive Board member for the Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials; a current Executive Board member for the Mid-Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials; and a charter member of the national food safety forum Partners with a Common Purpose.

Marc Cwikowski
Co-founder and Managing Director
World of Auditing SRL

Marc Cwikowski is co-founder of World of Auditing SRL. He has worked for more than 30 years in the food and beverage industry and held various senior global leadership and executive positions in companies including Unilever, SGS, The Coca-Cola Company, and Danone. Former positions include audit process manager, director of quality and food safety strategy, director of supply chain capability development, food safety center director, and vice president for quality and food safety. Marc holds a Masters in chemistry and bio-industries from Agro-Bio Tech University, Gembloux. He served as an expert in various organizations and was the chairman of the GFSI Global Markets technical working group. Marc brings international experience in innovation, quality assurance, and food safety. He has successfully designed and implemented quality and food safety strategies, developed advanced initiatives for people's development, and implemented strong quality and food safety programs to secure companies’ businesses and reputations around the world.

Will Daniels
Food Consultant
Mori

Lori Dodson, MS, MT(ASCP)
Senior Advisor
Maryland Cannabis Administration

Lori currently serves as a senior advisor for the Maryland Cannabis Administration and Co-Chair for the CANNRA Lab Testing and Product Safety subcommittee. She has been actively involved in developing cannabis policy, as well as helping standardize testing criteria for cannabis testing in the US, since 2017. Prior to her work in cannabis, Lori regulated clinical and forensic laboratories in Maryland with the Office of Health Care Quality. She’s got an amazing husband of 19 years, two incredible kids, and two fur babies.

Natalie Dyenson
Chief Regulatory & Food Safety Officer
International Fresh Produce Association

Dyenson previously served as Vice President of Food Safety and Quality for Dole Food Company, brings almost 3 decades of experience in food safety that encompasses the grower, retailer, and foodservice sectors to the association. Prior to joining Dole, Dyenson was senior director for both supplier and international food safety for Walmart; food safety and health manager for Walt Disney World; and served in a variety of food safety roles between Silliker, Kash n’ Karry Supermarkets, and Harris Teeter.

Jay Ellingson, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Kwik Trip, Inc.

In 1995, Dr. Ellingson received his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From 1995-1999, Dr. Ellingson did his postdoctoral fellowship training with the USDA, Agriculture Research Service, National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, where he developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for the detection of Johne’s disease in dairy cattle. This method has also been applied to the detection of the specific bacterium in both meat and dairy products. He then served as a staff molecular microbiologist with the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Center for Veterinary Biologics, also in Ames.
From 1999-2006, Dr. Ellingson served as the Director of Marshfield Clinic Laboratories - Food Safety Services, Marshfield, Wisconsin. During this time, Dr. Ellingson developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for detection of E. coli 0157:H7. Starting in 2004 he also served as Chief Scientific Officer for the Marshfield Food Safety, LLC, a network of on-site process control food safety laboratories.
2006-Present, Dr. Ellingson is currently the Chief Scientific Officer for Kwik Trip, Inc. He is responsible for the development and execution of Kwik Trip, Inc’s Food Protection system, which includes all aspects of Food Protection: Food Safety, Food Safety Science, Food Regulations, and Food Defense.
Dr. Ellingson is an adjunct professor in the Microbiology Department of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and has mentored and graduated several “Masters of Science” students in the Microbiology program. Dr. Ellingson has been a member of numerous State and Federal Food Protection related boards and associations. He has authored numerous scientific articles and publications.

Jennifer Fernan
Director, FSQA Standards and Supply Quality
J&J Snack Foods Corp.

• Jen Fernan, Director, FSQA & Regulatory, J&J Snack Foods Corp.

• 25 years Food and Beverage Experience

• 19 years manufacturing experience
• 11 years Coca-Cola
• 3 years Mondelez
• 5 years Aryzta Bakery

• 6 years’ experience leading teams of FSQA and Regulatory professionals in:
• Developing corporate standards & audit programs
• Corporate Supply Quality Program
• NFP Label development, claim validations & Regulatory updates

Oscar Garrison
Senior Vice President Food Safety Regulatory Affairs
United Egg Producers

Oscar Garrison is Senior VP of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs for United Egg Producers (UEP) Prior to this, Oscar had a broad regulatory based career for over 19 years at the Georgia Department of Agriculture where he held the executive positions of Division Director Food Safety and Assistant Commissioner of Consumer Protection. Additionally, Oscar is the Past President of the Association of Food and Drug Officials where he led the national organizations efforts to promote an Integrated Food Safety System. Mr. Garrison was also the Past President of the Georgia Association of Food Protection, an Executive Committee member of the Partnership for Food Protection, Food Safety Liaison to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and a member of the National Integrated Food Safety System Task Force.

Melody Ge
Founder
Women in Food Safety

Melody is the founder of Women In Food Safety. The group was established to pipeline the future female leadership, and create a network for female professionals to thrive.

Melody Ge has more than 15 years of experience in food safety and quality in different stakeholder positions including GFSI certification program owner, retailer, manufacturer, and food safety testing labs. Ge is Six-Sigma Black Belt certified, a registered PCQI Lead Instructor and SQF Trainer. Ge has worked as the VP of Governance, Intelligence, and Analytics at Corvium supports compliance, data analytics, and innovations for food industry to achieve smarter food safety. Prior to that, Ge was a senior consultant and deputy QA Director with Lidl US where she established the QA department for Lidl US expansion. Ge also worked as Compliance Manager at SQFI where her responsibilities include overseeing auditing results, stakeholders monitor and code development. Ge started her career being the Technical Director at J-Green (i.e. Beyond Meat). Ge holds both M.S. and B.S. in Food Science and Engineering and certified in Data Science.

Tina Gettis
Manager, Business Dev. and Comms.
Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH)

Tina Gettis is the Manager of Business Development and Communications at the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH), at Illinois Tech with responsibility in working closely with industry members, academia, and government on food safety research.

Before joining IFSH in 2021, Tina worked at KraftHeinz, Mullins Food Products, and PepsiCo in various lead roles such as Regulatory, Procurement, Research, Auditing, Quality Assurance, Global Supplier Quality, and Global Food Safety for more than 25 years.

She is currently a member of IAFP and AOAC. She holds a B.A. Human Health from DePaul University, and a Masters in Food Safety and Technology from Illinois Tech.

Emma Gometz
Digital Producer
The Science Friday Initiative broadcast on NPR

Emma Gometz is a digital producer at Science Friday, where she writes newsletters and web articles, helps develop audience strategy, and contributes to the artistic direction of the website. She’s also a performance artist, food blogger, and memoir cartoonist.

Sanjay Gummalla, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs
American Frozen Food Institute

Dr. Sanjay Gummalla is sr. vice president of scientific affairs, at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI). His broad industry experience in food science and nutrition are key to guiding science and policy advocacy, and effective scientific tools and resources for the food and beverage industry. He is in the forefront of coordinating Listeria monocytogenes and enteric virus prevention and control programs and policy efforts on behalf of the frozen food industry. He also leads the industry’s initiatives in food waste reduction, decarbonizing the frozen supply chain and packaging recyclability. As executive director of the frozen food foundation, the research arm of the industry, he steers a portfolio of initiatives and projects in food safety, nutrition, and sustainability.

Prior to joining AFFI, Dr. Gummalla was the vice president of product development at Zentis NA, a global fruit preparation manufacturer. His technical expertise extends to flavor development, food microbiology, and product development resulting from managing global food application projects at Givaudan Flavors and leading the global dairy flavor research and development portfolio at Cargill.

Dr. Gummalla previously represented the industry as advisor, U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Processed Foods; committee member, IAFP’s Journal of Food Protection; president, Capital Area Food Protection Association; and chair, International Food Science Certification Commission which administers IFT’s Certified Food Scientists program.

On the food safety front, he is a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual instructor and served as adjunct assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught food microbiology. Early in his career, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representing FDA’s foray in to nanotechnological applications for food safety. He holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Sciences from Utah State University.

Jorge Hernandez
Vice President of Quality Assurance
The Wendy’s Company

Jorge is responsible for food safety and quality in all Wendy’s restaurants and its suppliers in 31 countries. His responsibilities include ensuring brand compliance with nutritional and allergen information, menu labeling and any other state and federal regulations. Previously, Jorge was Chief Food Safety Officer at Wholesome International; Senior VP for Food Safety and Quality Assurance at US FOODS; VP of Food Safety at the National Restaurant Association; Food Program Manager at Illinois Department of Public Health and Sanitarian at Winnebago County Health Department in Illinois.

Jorge has Degrees in Biology from Rockford University, USA; Microbiology from El Centro de Estudios Medico-Biologicos in Mexico City, Mexico; and Languages and Literature from la Universite de la Sorbonne, Paris, France. Jorge belongs to several national and international organizations and boards including STOP Foodborne Illness, IFPTI, the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and other.

Jill Hoffman
Senior Director Food Safety and Quality
B & G Foods Inc

Jill is currently the Senior Director of Food Safety and Quality at B&G Foods. Before moving over to B&G, Jill was previously the Director of Global Food Safety and Quality Systems at McCormick & Co., Inc. Over her career she has worked across numerous product categories in various functions to include Food Safety and Quality, Operations, and Continuous Improvement. Jill has had the opportunity to engage and speak in various forums across the globe on topics such as supply chain integrity and food fraud and has contributed to various publications on these topics. Jill has a passion for transforming the quality and food safety functions through continuous improvement, digital enablement, and data analytics. She sees an abundance of opportunities to create efficiency and insights by greater adoption within food companies. Jill holds a B.S. in Food Science from Virginia Tech and a Masters in Food Safety from Michigan State.

Dan Horan
Food Safety Director
Wegmans Food Markets

Dan Horan is the Food Safety Director for Wegmans Food Markets. He is responsible for leading strategy development and execution of effective, efficient, agile, and compliant food safety and quality programs for store and ecommerce operations. Dan leads a team that collaborates cross-functionally across all areas of the company to inspire focus and adherence of food safety and quality regulations, specifications, standards, and best practices. Dan has 25+ year’s experience at Wegmans Food Markets.

Tim Jackson
Regulatory, Sr. Science Advisor
FDA

Dr. Jackson is a Senior Science Advisor for Food Safety with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, joining in 2022. In this role, he supports programs in outbreak investigations, root cause analysis, and prevention strategies.

From 2017–2021, Dr. Jackson served as Vice President of Food Safety, Regulatory, and Social Compliance for Driscoll’s team in North America and South America. He previously served as the Director of Food Safety for Nestlé US and Nestlé Canada from 2009–2017. From 1998–2003, he headed the Microbiology Laboratories at the Nestlé Quality Assurance Laboratory for the U.S. and Canada. From 2004–2008, he was Chief Industrial Microbiologist for Nestlé’s global operations in Vevey, Switzerland.

Dr. Jackson received his B.S. in Biology from Abilene Christian University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

Lee-Ann Jaykus, PhD
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor & NoroCORE Scientific Director
North Carolina State University

Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her research has focused on food virology and development of quantitative risk assessment models in food safety. She has also taught food microbiology/safety on the undergraduate and graduate levels for many years. Dr. Jaykus is currently serving as the scientific director of the USDA-NIFA Food Virology Collaborative (NoroCORE), a 5 year, $25 million project aimed at understanding and controlling foodborne viruses. Her professional activities have included membership on NACMCF, on several Institute of Medicine (IOM)-National Research Council (NRC) food safety committees, and as president of IAFP from 2010-2011. She has mentored over 20 graduate students and 10 post-doctoral research associates and/or visiting scientists, and authored or co-authored over 150 publications

Allison Jennings
Albertson's

Lone Jespersen, Ph.D
Principal and Founder
Cultivate

Lone Jespersen is published author, speaker, and the principal and founder of Cultivate SA, a Swiss-based organization dedicated to help organizations in the global supply chain make safe, great tasting food through cultural effectiveness.
Lone has worked with improving food safety through organizational culture improvements for 18 years since she started at Maple Leaf Foods in 2004. Lone chaired the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) technical working group “A Culture of Food Safety”, chaired, the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) professional development group “Food Safety Culture”, and currently the technical author on the BSI PAS320 “Practical Guide to Food Safety Culture.” Lone holds a Ph.D. in Culture Enabled Food Safety from the University of Guelph, Canada and a Master in Mechanical Engineering from Syd Dansk University, Denmark. Lone serves as vice-chair of the IFPTI board and as director on the STOP Foodborne Illness board.

Cindy Jiang
Senior Director, Global Food Safety Risk Management, Global Supply Chain
McDonald's (retired)

Gang (Cindy) Jiang is celebrated for her global leading role in advancing food safety practices, bridging the gap between standards and implementation. During her tenure at McDonald's Corporation (1990 to 2023), she championed the development and implementation of a comprehensive global food safety strategy. Her visionary leadership elevated food safety culture by creating initiatives like Annual Food Safety Week, using culture assessment data to inform strategy and make improvement.
Cindy's impact extended beyond McDonald's system, as she actively collaborated with industry, academia, and government bodies in the areas of food safety. Her involvement with the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Board from 2008 to March 2021 demonstrates her commitment to driving change and setting high standards and share best practices across the industry globally.
After retiring from McDonald's in July 2023, Cindy Jiang has seamlessly transitioned into the role of a Global Food Safety Ambassador. In this capacity, she continues to be a guiding force in the field of food safety, making a lasting impact on both emerging professionals and the industry as a whole. Cindy's commitment to mentorship remains unwavering and shaping the next generation of leaders in food safety. As a Global Food Safety Ambassador, Cindy Jiang continues to be a beacon of expertise, influencing positive change, and fostering a culture of excellence in food safety practices worldwide. Her post-retirement endeavors exemplify a steadfast dedication to the betterment of the industry and the protection of global food supply chains.
Cindy holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition and is a member of IFT (Institute of Food Technologist), IAFP (International Association of Food Protection), and a lifetime member of ASQ (American Society for Quality).

Tülay Kahraman
Co-founder and Managing Director
World of Auditing SRL

Tülay Kahraman is co-founder of World of Auditing SRL (www.worldofauditing.com). She has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 25 years with various leadership responsibilities; including The Coca-Cola Company, Mondelez International, and pladis global. She has held executive positions in designing global business processes like Innovation Management and Specification Management and operational leadership positions in managing Regional RD, Quality, EHS & Auditing functions. Her active role in operations resulted in significant experience in risk & crisis management, problem-solving, and lean manufacturing, besides her international expertise in quality, food safety, innovation, and auditing. Tülay is a Food Engineer and holds an MBA degree. In line with her particular area of interest in organizational behavior and learning, she has completed a master's program in Industrial Psychology. Tülay blends her expertise in the technical arena with her knowledge of organizational psychology and designs solutions that create a better learning experience.

Deb Kane, MS
Vice President, Food Safety, Quality, EHSS & Regulatory
J&J Snack Foods Corp.

Deb Kane joined J&J Snack Foods Corp. (JJSF) in 2017 and is currently Vice President of Food Safety, Quality, EHSS and Regulatory with over 30 years’ experience as a FSQA professional. Prior to joining JJSF, she held positions with Campbell Soup Company, Kraft General Foods, and AeroFarms Indoor Vertical Farm. Deb has worked as a food safety Microbiologist with experience in pathogen control, risk assessments, spoilage investigations, root cause analysis and inoculation challenge studies. Deb has extensive experience developing food safety and quality management systems to meet Regulatory and GFSI standards. She has also developed and implemented Food Safety and HACCP plans to meet FDA FSMA and/or USDA requirements. Deb is a HACCP lead instructor recognized by the International HACCP Alliance and trains facility teams annually in HACCP/food safety principles. Deb sits on the Executive Leadership Team at JJSF and is a member of the Educational Advisory Board for The Food Safety Summit. She earned a Master’s in Food Science and a graduate certificate in Food Safety & Defense from Kansas State University and a BS Degree in Biology from The College of NJ.

Larry Keener
President and CEO
International Product Safety Consultants

Larry Keener is president and chief executive officer of International Product Safety Consultants, Inc. (IPSC) based in Seattle, Washington. IPSC is a global leader in providing food safety and food technology solutions to the food processing industry for a broad client base of Fortune 500 food companies, academic research institutes and government agencies. IPSC is engaged in the conformity, risk assessment and food safety verification business.
Larry is an internationally regarded microbiologist and process authority in the food industry. As such, his areas of expertise range from applied food microbiology, and the development and application of novel preservation technologies including: high pressure processing (HPP), microwave, pulsed electric field (PEF), high powered ultrasound, atmospheric plasma and low energy electron beam technology.
Mr. Keener is a 2013 Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT); Board Certified Food Scientist (International Food Science Certification Commission); and a 2018 recipient of an International Union of Food Science and Technology’s (IUFoST) life time achievement award for his work in microbiology and food safety. He is a past president of IFT’s Nonthermal Processing Division and also a two term past president of Tuskegee University’s Food and Nutrition Sciences Advisory Board. He is the past co-chair and founding member of GHI. Larry is a 2022 inductee to the George Washington Carver Society. He has received numerous other awards and honors.

Gillian Kelleher
CEO
Kelleher Consultants LLC

Gillian Kelleher, President and CEO of Kelleher Consultants LLC, will serve as Chairperson for the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) for the 2025 Food Safety Summit.

Kelleher brings to the 2025 Food Safety Summit her vast, global leadership experience in the food industry and in food safety and quality, having lived and worked in Ireland, the UK, France, and the U.S. She has worked in diverse sectors including manufacturing, foodservice, retail, and distribution.

Kelleher was formerly Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Wegmans Food Markets, a major U.S. regional supermarket chain and one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For." Her scope of responsibility included all aspects of food safety and quality for stores, self-manufacturing, distribution, and Wegmans' private-label program. Prior to her tenure at Wegmans, Kelleher also worked at Häagen Dazs, Burger King, Express Foods, and Pillsbury. In addition, she has led the development of food safety and quality programs for many large and small private-label suppliers and distributors.

Kelleher earned her B.S. degree in Dairy and Food Science from University College Cork in Ireland. She is also a member of several professional organizations, including the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), and the American Society for Quality (ASQ). She is a past co-Vice Chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a member of the Board of Directors of Stop Foodborne Illness, a longstanding member of Harvard's Private and Public Scientific, Academic, and Consumer Food Policy Committee (PAPSAC), and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine. Kelleher is also actively involved in the Leafy Greens Safety Coalition (LGSC).

With her significant industry experience and dedication to food safety and quality, Kelleher will work with the esteemed Food Safety Summit EAB and the Summit planning team to shape the educational agenda for the 2023 Food Safety Summit, which will be held May 8–11 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

Megan Kenjora
Senior Manager, Food Safety Culture
Hersheys

Megan Kenjora is the Senior Manager of Food Safety Culture at The Hershey Company. She leads a diverse global team to embed food safety in the hearts and minds of all Hershey employees. Megan has extensive experience building relationships among diverse groups, getting cross-functional support, and effectively communicating messages across cultures.

Megan was an engaged member of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Technical Working Group that authored the GFSI position paper, “A Culture of Food Safety,” and served as the inaugural chair of The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Food Safety Culture Professional Development Group. Bringing a passion for food safety culture, she currently serves on the planning committee and numerous working groups as part of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness.

A combat veteran who served eight years in the U.S. Army, Megan came to Hershey in 2014 from Raytheon, where she specialized in adult learning for various intelligence courses. She is a lifelong learner and an advocate for DEI, serving as a co-lead for the Hershey Veterans Business Resource Group. Megan is an M.B.A. candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and she holds an M.P.A. from Penn State University, B.A. degrees in Political Science and Classics from Bucknell University, and a Korean linguist certification from the Defense Language Institute.

Monica Khoury
Senior Quality Expert
Nestle

Monica is a dedicated professional with a strong background in quality and regulatory affairs. As a Senior Quality Expert at Nestle USA, Monica spearheads the food safety culture workstream and supports the Nestle Professional business and factories. She also provides coaching and expertise on allergen management to various departments including product development, regulatory affairs, and marketing. From ingredient selection to commercialization, Monica ensures that allergen management is prioritized throughout the entire process. Her multifaceted role showcases her expertise in ensuring the highest standards of food safety and quality throughout the organization.

Monica's experience in quality and regulatory affairs has given her exposure to many product categories, having worked at meat, ready to eat desserts, and sugar confections manufacturing facilities. Through her corporate quality and regulatory roles, she has supported a wide range of businesses, gaining valuable experience and knowledge along the way. Monica holds a Master of Science degree in Food Safety and a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, both from Michigan State University.

Tim King
Founder & Senior Consultant
Quality Matters LLC

Tim King founded Quality Matters LLC, based in Williston, VT. He provides clients an extensive business experience, having worked in various management and operational leadership capacities in the private sector, and as a consultant for the past twenty-five years. Tim specializes in developing organizations and teams to improve daily operational and strategic processes. This includes implementing and auditing ISO quality management systems and/or the Performance Excellence Criteria for the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. He served as a national examiner for the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, and he served four years as an award judge for the ASQ International Team Excellence Award (ITEA). Tim has a Masters Degree in Engineering and in Adult Learning. He is ASQ certified as a Quality Manager, Auditor and Inspector. He obtained a Lean Six-Sigma Master Black Belt certification from Dartmouth College.

Kathy Knutson, Ph.D.
Independent Consultant
Kathy Knutson Food Safety Consulting

Dr. Knutson is educated in Bacteriology, Food Science, and Education. She speaks, writes, and trains on FDA FSMA compliance. She has trained over 500 Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals-PCQIs. She works with managers to write a thorough hazard analysis, food safety plan, recall plan, environmental monitoring program, and allergen program. In 2020 her book was published, Food Safety Lessons for Cannabis-Infused Edibles. She serves as the Chair of the Education Committee of the National Cannabis Industry Association.
Dr. Knutson travels to manufacturers for swabbing to locate a pathogen during a recall investigation and for gap assessments of GMPs for cannabis-infused edibles.

Larry Kohl
Private Label Brands

Heather Krug
Regulatory Programs Branch Chief
State of Colorado

Heather Krug is the Regulatory Programs Branch Chief for the State Public Health Laboratory of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The branch has five programs, including the Cannabis Sciences Program, which is comprised of three sections: the Cannabis Laboratory Certification Section, the state Cannabis Reference Laboratory, and the Marijuana Health Monitoring and Research Section. Using the data and information generated by the Cannabis Sciences Program, Heather advises state cannabis policy and regulatory decisions.

Mahipal Kunduru, Ph.D.
Vice President, Quality Assurance
Topco Associates LLC

Mahipal Kunduru, Ph.D. is the VP of Quality Assurance for Topco Associates. He is responsible for Topco’s Product Integrity, Regulatory Compliance and Quality Assurance groups.
Previously, Kunduru served as Senior Director of Quality Systems, U.S. Supply Chain Management for McDonald’s USA. In this role, Kunduru was responsible for the coordination of food safety and quality systems strategy, the oversight of scientific and regulatory affairs (FDA) and the management of supplier performance. Kunduru and his team lead a number of efforts at McDonald’s, including the Quality Systems Supplier Advisory Council, the Brand Trust Team of the National Supply Chain Leadership Council and Anticipatory Issues Management and Scientific Affairs for Supply Chain Management.

William Lachowsky
Food Safety & Education Consultant
WML Consultants

Delivering thirty-five years of food safety education and training for governments, universities, colleges, food processors and international organisations.

Collaborated on the development of the Intentional Adulteration Rule Food Defense Awareness and the Preventive Controls for Human Food courses.

Project Manager of the food safety eLearning courses and Lead Instructor for the Food Processing Skills Canada’s Succeeding at Work and Food & Beverage Accelerated Skills Training programs. Food Safety Education Coordinator for the global eLearning Loblaw Academy. Community Representative for the Sanofi-Pasteur Animal Care Committee.

Promoted food safety, traceability and quality standards to producers and processors for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Franck Lamour
Food Safety Manager
EG America

Currently Corporate Food Safety Manager at EG America, Franck Lamour is a High performing Senior-Level Quality Assurance & Food Safety professional with twenty-eight years of progressive and proven record of successful experience in HACCP/HARPC, cGMPs, SSOPs, CAPA, Environmental Monitoring Program, Quality Management Systems, Total Progressive Maintenance, Supplier & Service Provider Qualifications, Operational Processes, Standard Operating Procedures, and Leadership in organizations ranging from small to large manufacturing plants across the FDA and USDA spectrum. Prior to his current position, Franck has served as Director, Technical Services, and Plant Manager in FDA & USDA jurisdictions across the continental US for organizations such as Tyson Foods/IBP, Nestle Prepared Foods, Lindt & Sprungli USA Inc., etc.

With 28 years of experience in his career, Franck has performed numerous GMP, HACCP, Food Safety Management and Quality Systems Audits on both ends as well as providing training in Meat & Poultry, Baking, Seafood, RTE, Fully Cooked Shelf-Stable & Not-Shelf Stable, Confectionery, Packaging Materials, and so on.

Franck maintains degrees, training and certifications include and up to Food Science & Technology, Business Administration, PCQI, HACCP, SQF, BPCS, Food Safety, Sensory Evaluation, Food Defense, ServSafe, Allergen Management, ISO 9000 and ISO 22000. He is a member of several industry organizations including the NACS, ASQ, IFT, and NEIFT.

Alvin Lee, PhD, MASM
Director of the Center for Processing Innovation, Institute for Food Safety and Health
Associate Professor of Food Science and Nutrition, Illinois Institute of Technology
Dr. Alvin Lee is a microbiologist and virologist with more than 15 years research experience. He currently leads IFSH Center for Processing Innovation and co-leads the joint IFSH/FDA Microbiology Research Platform on food safety and defense related projects. He is a member of the Executive Board of NoroCORE, a USDA-NIFA Food Virology Collaborative based at North Carolina State University, and leads the Prevention and Control CORE. Current research support includes funding from USDA, US FDA and various industry contracts. Dr. Lee is currently a Section Editor on Elsevier’s Reference Module in Food Science and scientific reviewer on a number of scientific journals. He teaches food microbiology in the IIT’s Masters of Science program, has mentored more than 30 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows and a Lead Instructor for Food Safety Preventive Controls for Human Foods. He is a current active member of the International Association for Food Protection and a Professional Member of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Glenda Lewis, M.S.P.H.
Director, Retail Food Protection Staff
FDA

Glenda R. Lewis is currently the Director of the Retail Food Protection Staff in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Safety, and has been at FDA since 1996. She served as a Team member and then, prior to her current role, served for 14 years as Team Leader of CFSAN’s Retail Food Policy Team with responsibility for leading the team in developing, revising, and interpreting regulations, model codes (such as the FDA Food Code) and Federal guidelines that pertain to retail-level food operations (e.g., restaurants, retail food stores, food vending, institutional food service (health care facilities, schools, child and adult day care; penal institutions, and contract feeding operations). Prior to FDA, Ms. Lewis served for 8 years with the Volusia County Health Department in Florida as an Environmental Health Specialist. Ms. Lewis has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Spelman College, Atlanta, GA and a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Karen McCarty
Senior Director of Commercial Quality Assurance
Agropur

Karen McCarty is the Senior Director of Commercial Quality Assurance for Agropur, where she leads a Global team responsible for ensuring food safety and quality assurance are designed into the customer experience. Prior to joining Agropur, Karen graduated with a BS in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has held positions with Deibel Laboratories and Davisco Foods International.

Drew McDonald
Senior Vice President Quality & Food Safety
Taylor Fresh Foods

Drew is the Senior Vice President Quality & Food Safety at Taylor Fresh Foods, Salinas CA. He has over 30 years experience in Fresh Produce and Fresh Foods. He oversees the quality and food safety programs across the food service, retail, and deli operations under both FDA and USDA jurisdictions. Drew works with an impressive team developing and managing appropriate and practical quality and food safety programs for fresh food and produce products. Over the course of his career he has worked with growers and processors of fresh food and produce items all over the world. He currently serves on numerous food safety-related technical committees and has participated in the authorship of many produce food safety articles and guidelines. He is the out-going chairman of the Center for Produce Food Safety’s Technical Committee and on the Food Safety Summit Educational Advisory Board and former Chairman of United Fresh’s Technical Council. Drew received his education from Lawrence University in Wisconsin.

Chip Manuel, Ph.D
Regulatory Strategy and Compliance Program
Instacart

Dr. Chip Manuel Joined Instacart in 2023 as a Regulatory Strategy and Compliance Program Manager. In this role, Dr. Manuel assists in the development, implementation, and execution of Instacart’s delivery compliance programs, especially those related to Food Safety. Dr. Manuel also represents Instacart at conferences and Food Safety organizations, including leadership roles within The Conference for Food Protection and The International Association for Food Protection.

Prior to joining Instacart, Dr. Manuel served in scientific roles at Diversey and GOJO Industries. Dr. Manuel holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Food Science, and has received numerous awards recognizing his achievements in Food Safety, including awards from the International Association for Food Protection, AOAC International, and the Institute of Food Technologists.

Spir Marinakis
VP Food Safety, Quality and Technical Services
Maple Leaf Foods

Spir is currently serving as Vice President, Food Safety, Quality and Technical Services for processed meats, further processed poultry, fresh poultry, fresh pork at Maple Leaf Foods (MLF). As overall leader of this function Spir is accountable for the strategic direction to deliver on MLF’s Food Safety & Quality (FS&Q) strategy, Food Safety Promise, Quality Vision, day-to-day operations of the FS&Q Management Systems and Microbiology and Chemistry labs that service all MLF’s plants.

Spir began her professional career at Unilever Canada, one of the world’s largest CPG company. She progressed through various roles that included food scientist, sales representative, brand manager, innovation manager, R&D/QA manager, Canada and customer activation manager, North America. During this time, Spir achieved two prestigious Global Innovation Awards for innovative concepts and successful execution. Throughout this time her efforts on the commercial side of the business enhanced her appreciation of the importance of innovation, and customer-centric focus.

In 2004, Spir joined Maple Leaf Foods as Director FS&Q for the poultry division. During this time, Spir was awarded the President’s Award. In 2007, she moved into Six Sigma. During her tenure in Six Sigma, she was responsible for critical projects within marketing and food safety. In 2013, Spir moved into the Director, FS&Q systems role where she took over leadership and execution of the company’s quality strategy, performance metrics, FS&Q Pillar of the Operational Excellence, complaint management, and control of the FS&Q Management System.

Raquel Maymir
Manager of Global Regulatory Operations and Compliance
General Mills, Inc

Roger Muse
Vice President of Business Development
ANSI National Accreditation Board

Roger Muse is VP of Business Development and Training at the ANSI National Accreditation Board. With his 21 years of experience in accreditation and standards at ANAB, Roger works to design accreditation solutions for programs within both government and industry. He also oversees marketing, business development and new customer development. Roger is the previous PIC Chair of the Asia Pacific region (APAC) of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and formerly the Acting Treasurer of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). He has a BS in Biochemistry, and an MBA in Finance.
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is a US based non-profit that provides accreditation and training to certification bodies, laboratories, PT providers, inspection bodies and others for programs that utilize ISO standards and other standards specific to industry. ANAB is the largest accreditation body in the Western Hemisphere and has accredited customers in over 80 countries.

Brendan Niemira, Ph.D.
Research Leader
USDA-ARS

Dr. Brendan A. Niemira is a research microbiologist and Lead Scientist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Wyndmoor, PA. His research develops and validates cold plasma, pulsed light, radiofrequency energy and other nonthermal food processing technologies. He has published more than 190 peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters, and critical reviews. Dr. Niemira is a Fellow of IFT and a past member of the IFT Board of Directors. He serves on the Educational Advisory Board for the Food Safety Summit. A member of IFT, IAFP and ASM for 20+ years, he is on the editorial boards for "Journal of Food Protection" and "Applied and Environmental Microbiology".

Kathleen O'Donnell
Chief Scientist
Wegmans

Kathleen O'Donnell started her career at Wegmans as a part-time employee in the bakery. Following her graduation from Cornell University (B.S., M.S.), she became a member of the quality assurance team at Wegmans Meat Center, focusing on product quality assurance, environmental monitoring programs and product development. She developed the first HACCP program for the Wegmans Meat Center. Kathleen is now Chief Food Scientist and addresses issues of a regulatory, technical or scientific nature for food and non-food products.

Carrie Rigdon, Ph.D.
Research Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
Carrie Rigdon is the Research Director at the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO). Dr. Rigdon leads and assists several projects in research question development, effective data collection, detailed data analysis, and the publication of findings. Prior to joining AFDO, Dr. Rigdon worked at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, initially in helping develop Minnesota’s Food Emergency Rapid Response Team, and more recently as Operations Manager and Interim Assistant Division Director for Food and Feed Safety. Carrie earned her MPH in Epidemiology from San Diego State University and her PhD in Environmental Health from the University of Minnesota with a focus on foodborne illness.

Janet Riley
Owner and President
Janet Riley Strategies

Janet Riley is an experienced communications strategist, professional facilitator and media spokesperson and trainer. Today, she operates a consulting practice in Washington, DC, leveraging five years leading communications at Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto and 28 years leading public affairs for the North American Meat Institute in Washington.

Janet has served as the face of the meat and poultry industry in response to some of the industry’s most challenging crises, including the 1993 E. coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest, the first U.S. case of BSE in 2003, several high-profile Listeria outbreaks and the 2012 controversy around lean finely textured beef. She is also well known as the “Queen of Wien,” a nickname she earned while serving as President of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. On behalf of the industry, she appeared on news shows ranging from “CNN” and “Nightline” to “The Daily Show” and “The Martha Stewart Show,” and earned the Quote of the Year from ESPN in 2011.

At Maple Leaf Foods, she led the company’s internal and external responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped transform internal communications to the company’s employees, leveraging new technology and effective storytelling to engage team members.

Janet is the author of several papers for Food Safety Magazine, as well as a book chapter on historic effort to educate consumers about food safety. She earned her master’s degree in organizational development and leadership at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Eliese Ronke
Manager
Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness

Donna F. Schaffner
(Retired from Rutgers University)
Food Safety & Training Consultant

With 30+ years as a Food Safety consultant for both USDA and FDA plants, Ms. Schaffner has taught in the US and abroad. She holds Lead instructor certificates for HACCP (USDA, FDA, Seafood & Juice), Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF), PC for Animal Food, FSVP, Food Defense and Food Microbiology and more. Donna develops customized training programs for processing facilities to implement regulatory requirements, improve audit scores or correct deficiencies in Food Safety or Quality programs. Having served on the FDA’s FSPCA, CASE curriculum committee for High Schools & numerous local, state and higher education Advisory Boards, she currently serves on the FSS EAB.

Matt Stasiewicz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Applied Food Safety
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Matthew Stasiewicz is an Associate Professor of Applied Food Safety in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work uses risk assessment and improved data analytics to advance food safety microbiology.

At Michigan State University he earned both a B.S. in Biosystems Engineering, focusing on food process engineering, and a B.A. in Philosophy, focusing on ethics. At Cornell he earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in food microbiology, working on risk analysis. The lab has many projects using simulation and risk assessment to improve sampling and testing for, and management of, foodborne pathogens in large-scale food productions environments.

Shawn Stevens
National Food Industry Lawyer
Food Industry Counsel LLC

Shawn Stevens is the founding member of Food Industry Counsel LLC, the only law firm in the United States that represents the food industry exclusively. As a food industry consultant and lawyer, Mr. Stevens works with food industry clients (including the world’s largest growers, processors, restaurant chains, distributors and grocers) helping them protect their brand by complying with FDA and USDA regulations, reducing risk, managing recalls, and defending high-profile foodborne illness claims. Mr. Stevens also speaks regularly to national and international audiences on a wide variety of emerging scientific, regulatory and food safety legal trends. Additional information about his practice can be found at www.foodindustrycounsel.com

Glenn Stolowski
Director Retail Food Safety
H-E-B

Glenn Stolowski has been with H-E-B since 2000 leading several QA teams. For 16 years he worked in Own Brand QA managing the safety and quality of private label food and non-food products. In his current role the focus is on ensuring the safety and quality of products at Retail stores. Prior to H-E-B he was with Sealed Air-Cryovac for 4 years focusing on meat packaging R&D. Glenn received a B.S and M.S. in Food Science from Texas A&M University.

Hilary Thesmar
Chief Science Officer and Senior Vice President of Food and Product Safety
FMI

With over 20 years of experience in food science, food safety, and food and agriculture policy, Dr. Hilary Thesmar provides leadership for FMI’s retail, wholesale and product supplier members on scientific and technical issues related to food safety, food science and human nutrition.

Dr. Thesmar earned a Ph.D. in Food Technology from Clemson University, a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University, a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Clemson, and she is a Registered Dietitian. Dr. Thesmar is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists, an active member of the International Food Protection Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Steve Tsuyuki
Senior Director - Sanitation
Maple Leaf Foods

Steven Tsuyuki is the Senior Director – Corporate Sanitation for Maple Leaf Foods. For the past 4 years, he has led the deployment of a Sanitation strategy to standardize performance across the plant network in North America. Since joining Maple Leaf Foods in 2001, Steven has had various leadership roles in: Six Sigma, Food Safety and Sanitation. He has spent his entire career in the food industry since graduating from the University of Toronto (BASc – Chemical Engineering and BSc - Science). As a Listeria control course presenter since 2009 at the North American Meat Institute, Steven is also the thought leader for the Environmental Monitoring Program where he has actively shared food safety knowledge in the meat industry and ensures the Sanitation and Environmental Monitoring programs at Maple Leaf continually mature through the implementation of industry best practices.

Roberta Wagner
Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)

Keith Warriner, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Food Science
University of Guelph

Professor Warriner joined the faculty of the Department of Food Science, University of Guelph in 2002. During his thirty-year career, he has published more than 300 papers, book chapters, and conference abstracts. His research interests include risk assessment and risk management within food chains with an emphasis on fresh produce. He was awarded the 2023 IAFP Ewan Todd Award for contributions to food safety. He is Editor-in-Chief of Food Microbiology, Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Microbiology, and past president of the OFPA. The media frequently contact him to provide commentary on food safety issues.

Nickolas Waters
Senior Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance
Sysco

Nick Waters is a Senior Director, Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Sysco that is responsible for the design, development, training, implementation and execution of risk-based food safety programs for the distribution segment of Sysco’s business. He works closely with internal and external stakeholders on new initiatives that differentiate Sysco. Prior to this, Nick held various food safety and quality assurance positions and served honorably in the United States Army. He received his undergraduate degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Michael Wood, Ph.D.
Manager, Food Safety & Quality
Kroger

Dr. Wood is a Food Safety Leader with the Kroger Company, joining in 2021. In this role, he supports the Fresh Kitchen Program, produce safety and In-Store Fresh-Cut Produce Program.

Dr. Wood has held positions as the Market Microbiologist with Nestle USA, New Product Development Manager with Del Monte Fresh Produce and Research Manager with Analytical Food Laboratories.

Dr. Wood received his B.S. in Microbiology, his M.S., and Ph.D. in Food Microbiology, all from the University of Florida.

Rosalind Zils
Vice President, Quality
Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition

Rosalind is a recognized quality, food safety and regulatory leader with in-depth experience transforming programs in companies that are less mature in their food safety culture journey and deploying enterprise-wide food safety and quality initiatives in very large organizations. She has extensive experience in ensuring a safe, quality, and regulatory compliant raw material and finished product supply. During her career with Cargill, Land O’Lakes, 8th Ave Food & Provisions, and now Reckitt, she has gained significant change management skills and experience in quality, food safety and regulatory activities at the corporate, enterprise and business unit level, including customer focus, building trust, influencing internally and externally to company, driving results, and enabling a global perspective that ensures the business operating principles of organization are met. Rosalind is an engaging leader known for employee loyalty and leading high performing teams. Her interests outside of her work place are supporting her son’s competitive sailing endeavors, gardening, and boating on the lake.

Martin Bucknavage
Senior Food Safety Extension Associate and Team Lead, Industrial Food Safety and Quality
Penn State

Martin Bucknavage is Penn State’s Senior Food Safety Extension Associate and Program Team Leader for the Industrial Food Safety and Quality Team. In his role, he provides training and technical support to food manufacturing and foodservice companies, as well as consumers in the areas of food safety, food processing, and quality management. Prior to coming to Penn State, Martin worked for over 15 years in the food industry in various technical management roles. He has managed commercial food testing laboratories and directed the quality and R&D functions for food manufacturing companies. He is a lead instructor for Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA)’s Preventive Controls and FSVP, International HACCP Alliance, and the National Restaurant Association. He serves on the Pennsylvania Food Policy Advisory Board and the FSPCA Executive Advisory Board where he is currently the program lead for the Preventive Controls Human Foods Update Committee. He is a 2010 College of Agriculture State Laureate Award winner. He holds a BS degree in Microbiology and an MBA from Penn State, and an MS in Food Science from Virginia Tech

Brad Evans
Founder and Director
Anti-Counterfeiting Strategy Group Limited

Brad has more than 25 years of practical experience across the business cultures of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, the UK, and the USA.

Brad is a published academic author and recently completed doctoral studies under the supervision. His thesis focus was on the management strategy side of counterfeiting and food fraud.

During his time in industry, Brad has held senior roles across continents and industries, beginning with Procter & Gamble (P&G), where his interests in marketing, brand protection and strategy were catalyzed. Following P&G, Brad moved into the financial services industry, holding various roles in the Visa Card Products Division and the Electronic Banking Division at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). After solidifying a big company skill set, he sought to explore more entrepreneurial opportunities, first at banking technology solutions supplier Phoenix Interactive Design and then with international strategy execution firm KR Strategy. In 2012, Brad started Anti-Counterfeiting Strategy Group (ACSG) and became an evangelist advising brand owners how to both set and execute plans to combat the global scourge of counterfeiting.

Education
• PhD Candidate – Department of Marketing, University of Auckland Business School (New Zealand)
• MBA – Ivey Business School / Western University (Canada)
• General Management Certificate – Judge Business School / University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
• BA (Hons) – Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)

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Roy Fenoff, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice
The Citadel

Roy Fenoff, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at The Military College of South Carolina (The Citadel). He is also a Forensic Handwriting and Document Examiner and an expert in forgery detection. Dr. Fenoff specializes in forgery and document fraud, food fraud and protection, and transnational crime.

Kathy Gombas
Senior Advisor
FSMA Solutions

Kathy is the founder of FSMA Solutions, a consulting group, which provides food safety solutions to the food industry. She works with large food companies in conducting corporate food safety system gap assessments to identify vulnerabilities and assists small to medium size businesses in developing food safety plans and supporting programs.
Kathy is the chair of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) Executive Advisory Board that provides strategic advice to the FSPCA Executive Director regarding FSPCA food safety course offerings and services for the industry and food safety community. Kathy is also co-chair of the FSPCA International Committee working on industry training, outreach, and technical assistance programs for food companies worldwide and co-chair of the FSPCA Trainer of Trainers Work Group responsible for training and monitoring of FSPCA Lead Instructors. Kathy is an FSPCA Trainer-of-Trainers and Lead Instructor for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs and Preventive Controls for Human Food.
Kathy was an FDA Senior Advisor supporting the Agency’s FSMA implementation efforts including regulator training and the FDA FSMA Technical Assistance Network. Prior to FDA, Kathy held corporate food safety positions at Dean Foods and Kraft Foods.
Kathy graduated from Northern Arizona University with a B.S. in Microbiology.

Joseph Meyer
Global Microbiology Lead
Kerry

Joe Meyer is the Global Microbiology Lead for Kerry. He provides microbiology and food safety systems support to Sanitation, Quality, R&D and Kerry manufacturing and co-manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Joe has over 30 years of food industry experience. He worked for KraftHeinz, Miniat Holdings, Covance Laboratories, Kellogg, ConAgra Foods and Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer prior to joining Kerry. Much of his career has been spent on the control of foodborne pathogens in the manufacturing plant environment, rapid methods for identification and genetic characterization foodborne pathogens, and continuous improvement of food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

Kara Mikkelson
Director of Food Safety
ChemStation

Kara Mikkelson is the Director of Food Safety for ChemStation where she is involved in the food industry training and microbiological support.

Ms. Mikkelson has 25 years of food microbiology experience, working in the contract laboratory and food industries prior to joining ChemStation. Much of her career has been spent on the control of foodborne pathogens in the manufacturing plant environment and continuous improvement of food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), environmental monitoring programs (EMP), Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) audit schemes and Preventive Controls. She is a member of the International Association for Food Protection and on the education committee for the Wisconsin Affiliate. She is a member of the Institute for Food Technologist and is the President of the for the Wisconsin Affiliate.

John W Spink, Ph.D.
Director, Food Fraud Prevention Academy &
Assistant Professor, Michigan State University

Dr. John W Spink is the Director and Lead Instructor for the Food Fraud Prevention Academy. Also, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in College of Business at Michigan State University (MSU). His food fraud prevention research focus is on policy and strategy to understand and prevent these supply chain disruptions and to implement procurement best practices. He is widely published in leading academic journals and has helped lead national and global regulatory and standards activity. More recently his teaching and research has expanded to supply chain disruption management and procurement best practices. For more: www.FoodFraudMOOC.com

Melissa Vaccaro
Senior Food Safety Program Specialist
NEHA

Melissa Vaccaro is the Senior Food Safety Program Specialist for the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), where she is the SME in the development and delivery of food safety education, focusing on retail food safety and manufactured/processed foods. As an instructor, Melissa teaches the Plan Review, Special Process in Retail, Food Safety in the Event of a Disaster, Food Code, and Temporary Food Establishments courses for NEHA/FDA. She is a CP-FS, CPFM, PCQI and Lead Instructor for the FSPCA courses on Human Food. Additionally, Melissa is an FDA Certified Retail Food Standardization Officer and Certified Health Officer.