Darin Detwiler
Professor at Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC | Northeastern UniveristyDr. Darin Detwiler is the Founder and CEO of Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC, as well as an author, columnist, consultant, academic, and “Food Safety Icon” who has served in appointed or other advisory capacities for the USDA, the Conference for Food Protection, the FDA, NEHA, AFDO, and more. Detwiler’s research and insights have served as keynote presentations before industry audiences and have appeared in magazines and newspaper articles, chapters, his own books Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions and Building the Future of Food Safety Technology: Blockchain and Beyond, TV shows, and in the 2023 Netflix documentary “Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food.”
Suzanne Finstad
Vice President Food Safety & Quality Assurance at Tyson Foods, Inc.Suzanne brings 28 years of experience in the poultry industry to the team at Tyson Foods entrusted with ensuring that plants and processes produce safe, high-quality poultry products. In her role as vice president of food safety and quality, she develops and implements strategies, policies, and programs designed to ensure regulatory and specification compliance. Suzanne also provides technical support to the sales team, enabling them to better educate customers and consumers about Tyson products. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in poultry science from Texas A&M University and her Master of Science in food safety from the University of Arkansas.
Ashley Peterson, Ph.D
Senior VP of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at National Chicken CouncilAs senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, Dr. Peterson’s responsibilities at the National Chicken Council include providing scientific and technical expertise on a variety of topics including food safety, poultry inspection, and broiler health and welfare. She oversees regulatory policy development and scientific initiatives within the regulatory agencies in Washington, D.C. and represents industry views on policies impacting the broiler industry. Prior to joining the council, Peterson worked for the United Egg Producers and has served both as the director of legislative affairs and director of regulatory affairs at the American Meat Institute, where her responsibilities included environment, sustainability, and animal welfare. A native of Kentucky, Peterson came to Washington, D.C., as a Congressional Science Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, working on agricultural policy. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Maryland, her Master of Science in Animal Science from Michigan State University and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Kentucky.
Patrick Quade
CEO/Founder of Dinesafe/IwaspoisonedPatrick Quade, founder of Iwaspoisoned.com and DineSafe, leverages crowdsourcing to empower real-time food safety insights. With over a decade of expertise in data and public health informatics, his work has garnered international recognition and contributes to public health advancements.
Jessica Stevens
Paralegal at Food Industry Counsel, LLCSince Food Industry Counsel was first founded, Jessica has served as a paralegal and food industry risk management specialist.
In addition to closely monitoring emerging and evolving exposures facing the food industry, such as recalls, recall trends, emerging outbreaks, and Proposition 65 enforcement and exposure, Jessica also consults closely with firm clients on a wide-range of food product label and related compliance issues.
Prior to joining Food Industry Counsel, Jessica served in many professional roles, including serving as a paralegal for a reputable Minneapolis law firm, and overseeing firm quality control and regulatory compliance for a Milwaukee wealth management firm.
In addition to her work for the food industry, Jessica is also a three-time award-winning novelist. In 2014 Jessica authored a Young Adult novel, Within Reach, for SparkPress Publishing, which was formally published in May 2016.
Shawn Stevens
Food Industry Consultant and Lawyer at Food Industry Counsel, LLC- Why Are We Here?
- Mock Trial: Foodborne Illness Outbreak
- Mock Trial: Plaintiff's Case
- Mock Trial: Defense Case
- Mock Trial: Jury Deliberation
- Mock Trial: Debrief/ Q&A
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
Jessie Vipham
Associate Professor at Kansas State UniversityJessie is an Associate Professor in Food Safety and Food Security at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on improving the global understanding of food safety and foodborne disease and their impact on public health. Jessie’s research seeks to provide adoptable and applicable solutions for reducing foodborne pathogen contamination in various food value-chains around the world. Jessie’s research has focused on Salmonella detection and control in various food products, with a priority on meat and poultry projects.