SPEAKERS

GUEST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Jason Dorsey | Izzy Gesell | Joe Hallinan | Marianne Jennings | Steffan Nass | Lt. Col. (ret.) Rob "Waldo" Waldman

GENERAL AND BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS

Stephen Brown | Bob Butcher | Stanley Cherkasky | Jeff Chilton | Leann Chuboff | Lori Coleman | Anne Cooper | Cathy Crawford | Laura Dunn Nelson | Martin Fowell | Melody Ge | Erik Lieberman | Tim Lombardo | Tatiana Lorca | Melody Magallanez | Doug Marshall | Bill McBride | Jennifer McCreary | Kris Middleton | Kim Onett | Matthew Poore | Roger Roeth | Gary Smith | Len Steed | Clare Winkel | Jon Woody

GUEST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Jason Dorsey

Known as The Gen Y Guy®, Jason has been featured on 60 Minutes, 20/20, The Today Show, The View, The Early Show and dozens more. His repeat clients include industry leaders such as Mercedes-Benz, Four Seasons Hotels, SAS and VISA. Jason’s gift is solving tough generational challenges for companies and leaders and he has received ove 1,000 standing ovations from audiences as large as 16,000.  Delivered in his trademark speaking style, Jason shares brand-new insights backed up by fresh data and ready-to-use actions. He’s funny, too. Jason wrote his first bestselling book at age 18 (slight overachiever). His newest books are Y-Size Your Business and My Reality Check Bounced! He also writes the popular Maverick Minute column for Success Magazine. In recognition of his achievements, Jason won the “Austin Under 40 Entrepreneur of the Year” Award at age 25, one of the youngest winners ever. He now serves a board member for venture-backed and emerging technology companies. When not on a plane, Jason serves as Chief Strategy Officer at The Center for Generational Kinetics. In this role he goes behind the scenes with companies—and their data—around the world. He delivers the critical human element of emerging data trends so you are ahead of the curve.

Izzy Gesell

Izzy Gesell is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs.Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. Recognized by his peers, he has earned a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association. A former stand –up comedian and public school teacher, Izzy was raised in Brooklyn NY where commonplace thinking was frowned upon. He has earned a BA in Psychology, an MS in Education and a P…. that’s 1/3 of a PhD and now lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
 

Joe Hallinan

Joe Hallinan is the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose book, Why We Make Mistakes, is a helpful and lively exploration of our imperfections and how to overcome them. In pursuit of the errors that we make, Hallinan's talks delve into psychology, neuroscience, economics, consumer behavior, financial strategy and more. We often don't see what's right in front of us. We forget things in seconds. We quickly recognize patterns—but overlook important details. And most of us are pretty sure we're way above average. Humans, by design, are prone to error. Many of these topics were covered by Joe Hallinan in his days as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The Indianapolis Star, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Before that he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. Hallinan's new book, Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception (May 2014), is an illuminating exploration of human beings’ astonishing ability to deceive themselves. His previous book, Going Up the River: Travels in Prison Nation, was a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year.

 

Marianne Jennings

Professor Marianne M. Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies in business from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, having retired in 2011 after 35 years of teaching. She is also the author of several books, including “The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse” and conducts ethics training and ethical culture assessments for Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, professional associations and nonprofit organizations. In 2011, she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders by Trust Across America and in 2012, was named one of the 100 most influential people in business ethics by Ethisphere Magazine.

Steffan Nass

FBI Special Agent Steffan Nass currently serves as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator for the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois Division.  Formerly assigned to the Miami, Florida Division, Special Agent Nass has investigated public corruption, white collar crime and counter-terrorism matters and served as the team leader for the Miami Division Hazardous Materials Response Team.  As the Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator, his current responsibilities include the detection, deterrence and disruption of terrorist weapons of mass destruction operations.

Lt. Col. (ret.) Rob "Waldo" Waldman

Lt. Col. (ret.) Rob ‘Waldo’ Waldman - The Wingman – is a professional leadership speaker and author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Never Fly Solo.  He teaches organizations how to build trusting, revenue producing relationships with their employees, partners, and customers while sharing his experiences as a combat decorated F-16 fighter pilot and businessman. Waldo overcame massive claustrophobia and a fear of heights to become a highly experienced fighter pilot with over sixty-five combat missions in Iraq and Serbia. He believes the key to building a culture of trust lies with your wingmen – those in your life who help you to overcome obstacles, adapt to change, and achieve success. In business & life, you should never fly solo! Waldo is a graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy and also holds an MBA with a focus on Organizational Behavior. An inductee into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame, he is also a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) with real world sales experience.  His clients include Hewlett Packard, Verizon Wireless, New York Life, Siemens, Home Depot, Aflac, and Johnson & Johnson. In addition to his speaking business, Waldo is the founder and President of The Wingman Foundation, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to build funds and awareness for soldiers, veterans and their families in need.  He was voted one of the “Top 40 under 40” business leaders in Georgia and has been featured on Fox & Friends, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, The Harvard Business Review, Investor’s Business Daily, INC. Magazine, and Business Week.

GENERAL AND BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS

Stephen N. Brown
Senior HSE Consultant

Steve has over 30 years of EHS experience in manufacturing and 5 years of EHS consulting experience. He has held positions at the facility, division, business group and corporate levels, including 20 years of global responsibilities. These positions have provided him the opportunity to gain experience in and provide services to clients in the following industry sectors: aerospace, agricultural products, automotive, building products, chemical/petrochemical, food and beverage, materials technologies, mining, pharmaceutical and plastics, spanning 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. Steve’s professional focus includes a strong emphasis on the role of culture as the foundation for HSE excellence, coupled with management systems and behavior-based processes as the mechanisms for continual improvement.

Bob Butcher
Group Operations Manager, Ipswich Shellfish Company

Bob Butcher has over 40 years’ experience in food industry manufacturing and operations, including executive roles for Ipswich Shellfish Company, American Original Inc., David’s Specialty Foods and RJB Consulting. In his current role at Ipswich, Butcher provides direct oversight of branch operations including production and distribution, food safety, inventory management, staffing, occupational safety, customer service and housekeeping. Butcher is also overseeing the SQF certification initiative at Ipswich, which will incorporate 6 facilities. Butcher holds a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University, an MBA from Saint John’s University and an AAS in Food Technology from NY College of Agriculture and Technology. He received his Six Sigma Green Belt from Motorola University and is a member of several professional organizations including The Institute of Food Technologists, The International Association for Food Protection, International Association of Fish Inspectors and The Occupational Safety Health Administration.

Stanley M. Cherkasky
Managing Director, Comprehensive Food Safety, LLC

As Managing Director of Comprehensive Food Safety LLC, Stanley Cherkasky provides leadership, strategic and operational direction to a professional staff of ten consultant-auditors. The firm specializes in providing best practice food safety consulting, auditing and training services. Stan has worked with some of the largest food producers and distribution centers in the world, as well as smaller entrepreneurial organizations. Stanley has more than 40 years of diversified business and consulting experience in the United States and abroad. Stanley specializes in working closely with managers to leverage their food safety management systems to achieve breakthrough financial, organizational, and operating improvement. A dynamic performance coach, Stanley personally guided over 45 leading organizations to realize a competitive advantage, and trained more than 15,000 managers in food safety, communication skills, leadership development, and change management techniques. He is an Adjunct Professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology's School of Management and the author of numerous management publications.

Jeff S. Chilton
President, Chilton Consulting Group

Jeff Chilton is President of Chilton Consulting Group. Jeff established Chilton Consulting Group 17 years ago in 1997 to help clients with food safety and quality needs including HACCP, GFSI, training and regulatory compliance. He is a registered SQF Auditor, SQF Consultant and SQF Trainer. Jeff and other CCG consultants have helped hundreds of clients implement world-class GFSI systems to become certified, implement and reassess HACCP Systems and become trained in HACCP and GFSI requirements. Jeff is a Certified Lead Instructor by the International HACCP Alliance and teaches basic and advanced HACCP workshops as well as Implementing SQF Systems and Advanced SQF Practitioner seminars. Prior to starting CCG, Jeff worked directly in the food industry in senior plant management and QA Management positions. Jeff has Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management.

LeAnn Chuboff
Senior Technical Director, SQFI

LeAnn has over 25 years of foodservice experience specializing in supply chain food safety and quality assurance. Currently she is the Senior Technical Director for the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Institute responsible for the technical elements of the SQF program, including the development, maintenance and technical support of the SQF code and supporting materials. Prior to working at the SQF Institute, LeAnn worked for the National Restaurant Association Solutions as the Director of Science and Regulatory Relations. In this role, she was responsible for the technical accuracy of the ServSafe food safety program and developed program and services on food safety and food defense to fit with all segments of the restaurant industry. LeAnn has also worked for Long John Silver and Boston Market in corporate quality assurance, where she developed food safety and vendor approval programs. LeAnn graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Food Science and is active with many organizations including GFSI, the Conference for Food Protection and the International Association for Food Protection. She sits on several committees in an effort to enhance policy and develop programs for the industry to help protect public health.

Lori Coleman
Consultant, Matthew Poore Leadership Group

Lori has over 14 years' industry experience in USDA and FDA food and beverage manufacturing facilities including Koch Foods, Odom's Tennessee Pride, Coca Cola Bottling, Perdue Farms and Five Star Custom Foods. She has vast knowledge and experience in slaughter, raw processing, and ready to eat manufacturing facilities. Lori has served in various roles throughout her career including leadership, management and consulting. In these roles, she developed and managed all facets of food safety systems and is personally responsible for the successful SQF Level 3 certification of several manufacturing and processing facilities. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Tennessee with core studies in Animal Science and Extension Education. She is a Certified SQF Consultant (High Risk), and an IHA HACCP Certified Manager. Lori is a subject matter expert in HACCP plan and food safety systems management and development.

Anne S. Cooper
Certification Manager, Agri-Food, SAI Global Assurance Services

Anne Cooper is currently the Certification Manager for the SQF Certification Program at SAI-Global's Assurance Services in the Americas Region. She oversees the SQF certification process for clients in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, ensuring that audits are completed to SQF standards and that corrective actions are thorough and acceptable prior to granting certification. Anne has 4 years of experience with SQF at two Certification Bodies and previously was a global Quality Assurance Retail Food Safety Manager for a global restaurant chain of 33,000 locations worldwide for 10 years. Anne has a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and a Master's degree in Business Administration. She has been conducting food safety training for the past 25 years in various positions with the USDA Cooperative Extension Services at Cornell University and the University of Florida prior to getting in to the retail restaurant food safety field and SQF certification bodies.

Cathy Crawford
SQF and HACCP Consultant, EAGLE Certification Group

Cathy M. Crawford is Vice President of the HACCP Consulting Group, LLC (HCG) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Arizona State University and a Master of Science degree in Food Safety from Michigan State University. Cathy conducts HACCP and SQF training through the HCG licensed SQF Training Center and is also a Senior Food Safety Consultant with the Quality Support Group. She has provided food safety consulting services to a variety of businesses and has assisted companies in achieving and maintaining Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) scheme certification. Prior to becoming an SQF Trainer, Cathy was an SQF auditor and registered consultant. Previously, Cathy was the Director of Regulatory and Technical Services for a meat and poultry processing company where she developed regulatory and food safety strategies for multiple facilities. Cathy has conducted a series of food defense workshops sponsored by the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and has facilitated multiple industry, trade association and FSIS focus groups to produce model food defense plans and guidance materials and assist with updating directives for FSIS.

Laura Dunn Nelson
Vice President, Technical Services and Business Development, Alchemy Systems

Laura Dunn Nelson is Vice President, Technical Services and Business Development for Alchemy Systems and has over 25 years of experience implementing food safety and quality control programs for processing, packaging, foodservice and retail operations. She is a graduate of The University of Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. Laura has worked with global retailers and manufacturers in the implementation of their GFSI certification programs. Prior to joining Alchemy, Laura managed Sill liker’s South Region food testing laboratories, implemented ISO certifications and trained new food safety auditors. She has years of hands-on experience in testing food products for the presence of pathogens, toxins, and spoilage organisms and has assisted food companies in the successful implementation of good manufacturing practices (GMP), quality assurance and HACCP programs. In her current position, Laura is the strategic food industry liaison working with customers, regulators and associations to anticipate new regulations and industry trends and assist in the development of new courses for the growing food and product safety library to help Alchemy's global customers achieve success.

Martin Fowell
Certification Manager Silliker, Inc

Martin Fowell is currently the Certification Manager at Silliker Inc. in Chicago, IL. Martin received his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin. During and immediately after completing his degree, Martin worked as a Quality Assurance Manager in the cheese industry. In 2001 Martin joined Silliker as a Food Safety Auditor and is an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor. In his current role, he is involved with auditor training and calibration.

Melody Ge
Compliance Specialist, SQF Institute

Melody Ge is the compliance specialist at the SQF Institute where she oversees stakeholders, tracks food safety incidents and conducts statistical data analysis for the SQFI technical team. She has also developed compliance programs to strengthen the SQF program and maintain the integrity of SQF certifications. Melody holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from University of Maryland and a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology from Shanghai Ocean University. Her Master’s research focused on development of a vegan chicken meat product that closely replicates the taste and texture of cooked chicken muscle and development of an associated HACCP program for the product. The vegan product is currently marketed by Beyond Meat and is available at Whole Foods in the Washington, DC area.

Erik Lieberman
President, U.S. Food Imports LLC

Erik R. Lieberman is the president of U.S. Food Imports LLC and principal of Lieberman PLLC. Formerly he served as vice president and chief regulatory counsel at the Food Marketing Institute where he represented the retail supermarket industry and food wholesalers before federal agencies including the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture.  Earlier he served as the majority regulatory counsel for the U.S. House Small Business Committee, director of government affairs for the National Grocers Association, and legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Bob Graham.  Lieberman has been featured on Fox News, National Public Radio and C-SPAN, and in The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Washington Post.  Lieberman is a graduate of the University of Florida and received his Juris Doctor from University of Pennsylvania Law School.  He is a member of the Florida, District of Columbia, U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of International Trade bars and is a licensed customs broker.

 

Timothy Lombardo
Lead Staff Scientist - Food Microbiology and Food Safety Consulting, Covance

Tim Lombardo is the Lead Staff Scientist (Food Safety and Food Microbiology Consulting) for Covance Laboratories, Nutritional Chemistry and Food Safety division. With over 20 years of food manufacturing experience, Tim has held many key industry positions including production, quality, and sanitation positions, both at the factory and corporate level. Along with his colleagues at Covance, Tim provides consulting services in all areas of food safety, to include Food Safety and Food Security, GFSI Certification Consulting, HACCP Development / Validation, Wet and Dry Sanitation System Development / Validation, Microbiological Harborage Site Investigations, Pathogenic, Indicator, and Spoilage Organisms, FDA and USDA Regulatory Support, Process Authority Review and Documentation, Customized Skills Development and Education Workshops in Food Microbiology and Food Safety.

Tatiana A. Lorca
Sr. Manager, Food Safety Education and Training, Ecolab, Inc.

Dr. Tatiana A. Lorca is Senior Manager of Food Safety Education and Training for the Food & Beverage division of Ecolab, the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. She is in charge of developing audit, training, consulting services and scientific support for the supply chain from farm to fork and working with multiple internal divisions to assure internal staff compliance to international food safety certification programs. Previously, Dr. Lorca served as manager of food safety education and training and manager of supply chain quality assurance. Dr. Lorca began her career in 2007 within Ecolab's EcoSure Division as manager of supply chain quality assurance. Before joining Ecolab, she held positions at BSI Management Systems Americas, Inc. and the SQF Institute, coordinating and delivering food safety training and certification programs for the Americas. She is a member of the SQF Institute Technical Advisory Council, a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), the Consumer Goods Forum Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Technical Working Groups, a member of both the advisory council of the Food Science Department and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advisory Council at Virginia Tech. Dr. Lorca graduated with a master's and doctoral degree in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech. She is a registered SQF Consultant and Trainer, an Approved Training Provider (ATP) for the BRC Food program, a BRC Food consultant, HACCP and FSSC 22000 trainer and holds a Food Safety HACCP Manager certification from the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals.

Melody Magallanez
Learning Leader II, Keurig Green Mountain

Melody joined Keurig Green Mountain after moving from Texas to Vermont just over two years ago where she took on the role of Learning Leader II for Curriculum and Instructional Design of Safety, Quality and Environmental for all sites including Canada. Melody manages all the OSHA and SQF training development and deployment for the industry, including innovation for new technology, behavior performance measurements, and empowering teams to have world class training at Keurig Green Mountain. Prior to Keurig, she worked for Alchemy Systems in Austin, TX where she traveled the world to different food manufacturing sites to implement training programs for OSHA and GFSI compliance. Her educational background includes a graduate degree in Leadership Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education with a teaching degree in English and Psychology.

Doug Marshall, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories

Dr. Marshall is Chief Scientific Officer with Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc., a division of the global life sciences company Eurofins Scientific. He also is cofounder and Director of the Food Safety Institute, LLC, an integrated consulting and analytical services company affiliated with Eurofins. He currently holds Adjunct Professor positions with Colorado State University and Florida State College. His former positions include Associate Dean and Professor of Public Health, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Adjunct Professor with the Colorado School of Public Health, Professor of Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion at Mississippi State University, Assistant Professor of Food Science at Louisiana State University, Contributing Editor for the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food Microbiology, and four consecutive terms on the editorial board of the Journal of Food Protection. He is a frequent consultant to NIH, WHO, FAO, USDA, and other government agencies and private companies. His research and expertise has been featured in popular press venues such as Consumer Reports, Fine Cooking, USA Today, Fitness, Health, Men's Health, Chemtech, Nature Science Updates, and ASM Journal Highlights. He is a frequently invited speaker and a prolific book chapter writer. With over 250 publications and over 125 invited presentations, his scientific research and outreach interests focus on improving the microbiological quality and safety of foods. Among these was the completion of the 4 volume Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, which he co-edited.

Bill McBride
Technical Representative, Australia, SQFI

Bill McBride is the Principal and Managing Director of Foodlink Management Services and has thirty years' experience in food safety and quality assurance in the global food industry. He has worked with a number of premier organizations in the food and beverage industries within Australia and internationally as a consultant, trainer, auditor or certification manager. He also serves as The Asia Pacific representative for the SQF Institute and is Chairman of the GFSI Auditor Competence Scheme Committee. Previously, Bill was the Vice President of Business Development for Advancing Food Safety Pty Ltd, a food safety training organization, General Manager Food Division for NCSI and Chairman of the personnel certification body QSA International. He is the project manager and author of Food Safety Auditor Competency - Proposed National Competency Criteria and Management Systems and Guidelines for Implementation of Eurepgap (GlobalGAP) in Australia for the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Bill is also a former accredited lead food safety auditor training provider and former accredited BRC trainer, an IFS trained auditor and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) accredited training provider.

Jennifer McCreary
Technical Manager, Training Services, NSF-GFTC

Jennifer McCreary is an experienced trainer on all aspects of food safety. She is a registered trainer for the Implementing SQF Systems course, an approved BRC training provider and a lead instructor for HACCP courses with the International HACCP Alliance. As the Technical Manager of Training Services at NSFGFTC, Jennifer tailors and delivers courses in Employee Hygiene and Food Safety, GMP and Prerequisite Programs, Sanitation, Pest Control, CCP Training, Quality Assurance, Food Safety Training for Managers and Supervisors, Allergen Management in Food Processing and Supply Chain Management. Jennifer joined NSF-GFTC after working with Corporate Foods and Gay Lea Foods. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Guelph.

Kristopher Middleton
AuditReady^® Program Manager, Pest Prevention Business Unit, The Steritech Group

Kris Middleton oversees Steritech’s AuditReady^® Pest Prevention program, a service designed specifically to meet the needs of food and packaging manufacturers holding or seeking third-party certification for food. In this capacity, Kris ensures Steritech compliance with all regulatory and third-party audit standards and monitors the need for program adjustments. He also acts as a technical resource for Steritech clients needing assistance with pest management issues during audits. Previously, Kris served as the Technical Manager for SAI Global in the Americas overseeing the SQF, FSSC, ISO 22000 and unaccredited food and packaging audit programs. In this role, Kris was responsible for ensuring that programs were effectively implemented so that auditors were able to complete their audits. During his tenure, he also was a member of the SQF Technical Advisory Committee and actively participated in the SQFI CB group. Kris has more than a decade of experience in auditing food and packaging manufacturers, and has spent the last five years honing his expertise in SQF. Kris received his Honors Bachelor of Science in toxicology from the University of Toronto.

Kim Onett
Audit Operations Manager, Silliker, Inc.

Kim Onett is Audit Operations Manager for Silliker, Inc. and has 15 years of experience as a food safety and quality professional. She has been with Silliker for seven years and prior to joining Silliker, Inc. served as a Quality Assurance Manager and Consumer Protection Specialist with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) with a B.S. in Animal Sciences, Kim holds several industry certifications, including CQA and CHA. She is also a registered SQF Auditor and ISO 2200:2005 Audit Team Leader.

Matthew Poore
Owner, Consultant, Matthew Poore Leadership Group, Inc.

Matthew served in the military in various leadership roles with increasing responsibility for 24 years. He retired after a distinguished career and joined the corporate world in 1999. After holding several leadership roles with Coca Cola, Matthew decided to strike out on his own and assist others in the art of leadership and development. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, assisting in their pursuit of excellence. Over the last six years, Matthew has developed his business using the same strategies he delivers to clients. He acquired food safety experience in several industries including beverages, spices, packaging, and meat processing plants. Matthew consistently delivers dynamic and real experience-based training and consulting with ongoing positive results. Matthew has 25 years of full-time equivalent experience serving as a platform instructor, delivering education and training. He is a prolific developer of custom training programs. He has successfully led the efforts of Lean Systems Development for a major corporation, focusing on developing and executing an internal lean initiative as well as versed in assisting clients in food safety from initial certification decision to implementation.

Roger Roeth
Chief Operation Officer, EAGLE Certification Group

Roger Roeth is the Chief Operations Officer at EAGLE Food Registrations Inc. and has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of quality assurance, compliance, food safety and food processing manufacturing across all aspects of food production. During his career, he held a variety of positions in companies such as Sara Lee Corporation, Whiteford Foods, Ecolab and Freshway Foods, where he successfully developed new products and processes, managed quality of products and procedure compliance and provided sales, food safety and team leadership training. In 2008, Roger joined EAGLE Registrations Inc. as the Food and Training Manager. He is a certified trainer, as well as lead auditor for ISO 22000, FSSC 22000 and SQF. In addition, he develops and delivers training on all aspects of food safety and is a member of the American Society for Quality. Roger has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from The Ohio State University. He received certifications in HACCP from the American Meat Institute and the International Fresh-Cut Produce Association. Roger frequently serves as a guest lecturer for The Ohio State University and the Ohio Safety Congress.

Gary Smith
Director, Food Safety Systems, Eurofins Food Safety Systems

Gary Smith is the Director of Food Safety Systems at Eurofins Food Safety Systems, based in Des Moines, IA. A twenty-year industry veteran, Gary has a wealth of experience with all segments of supply chain business, with specific expertise in the expanding arena of global supply chain and sourcing. Previously, Gary served as the Vice President of Supply Chain at Steritech, overseeing all food safety certification, auditing, training and consulting. Prior to Steritech, Gary was the Technical Director for the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), where he oversaw the development and maintenance of the SQF standards program. Gary has also worked in program director capacities for SAI-Global, US Foodservice, and Silliker as well as in quality assurance and public health inspection roles. Gary has an extensive list of professional certifications and industry memberships and has been active on policy-influencing committees, currently serving as Chair of the Food Safety Service Providers (FSSP). He is an active member of the accreditation task force and guidance document working group for GFSI and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for SQFI. Gary has a Master of Science degree in Environmental Biology from Governors State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois.

Leonard L. Steed
Global Innovation Manager, AIB International

Leonard Steed currently holds the position of Global Innovation Manager at AIB International. His duties include identifying and development of new products and services for regulatory and client improvement for food safety and quality management systems. Previous positions held include Head of GFSI Certification, HACCP Accreditation and Specialty Audits. Over the past 35 years he has performed numerous GMP, HACCP and Quality Systems audits and training in primary production, meat processing, dairy products, milling, baking, seafood, processed foods, confectionery and packaging material. Len has maintained certifications for American Society for Quality (ASQ) auditor for quality systems, HACCP, RAB/QSA Lead Auditor, HACCP Alliance instructor and Certified AIB Food Defense Coordinator. Other activities include teaching public seminars, in-plant training, technical committees and working groups for GFSI benchmarking and informative publications for HACCP, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and prerequisite programs. He is a graduate of Binghamton University with a BS degree in Biology and a member of ASQ and American Food and Drug Officials (AFDO).

Clare Winkel
Verification Auditor, BSI incorporating NCS International

Clare Winkel has more than 26 years of experience in the food industry and is currently working in the USA as a Verification Auditor for NCSI Americas, Inc. She has been conducting HACCP training for 18 years in Australia, USA, Ireland and the United Kingdom and has conducted audits for 3rd party certification bodies for the past 9 years around the world. For the past 19 years Clare has consulted and conducted training in seafood harvesting, farming and processing, red meat processing, food service, fresh cut, food packaging, storage and distribution. She provides consulting services on GAP audits for SQF food safety and packaging audits, particularly in the seafood and meat processing industries, HACCP systems design and risk assessment development. From 2006 to 2008 Clare worked on the European Union research project "Developing a Stakeholders Guide on the Vulnerability of Food and Feed Chains to Dangerous Agents and Substances" which included the development of a new method of risk assessment to evaluate the supply chain of farmed Atlantic salmon for vulnerabilities to food safety contaminants.

Jon Woody
Senior Food Defense Analyst, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Commander Jon Woody is a Senior Food Defense Analyst with the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in College Park, MD. In this role he is the Agency lead for all national food defense vulnerability assessments and works to identify both vulnerable areas within the food supply and appropriate mitigation strategies. CDR Woody was a key technical contributor in developing the Proposed Rule for preventing intentional adulteration of foods, which issued in December, 2013. Commander Woody has extensive experience working both domestically and internationally on food defense issues and has worked collaboratively with government and industry stakeholders in Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, the UK, Germany, and India, respectively. In a previous position, he was the Director of FDA’s Foreign Food Inspection Program. He holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from The Pennsylvania State University.