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Christine Alvarado
Senior Food Scientist at Prosur IncDr. Christine Alvarado earned her B.S. in Biomedical Science, and MS and Ph.D. in Food Science from Texas A&M University. She has been on faculty at Virginia Tech, Texas Tech and Texas A&M University where she focused on research to improve quality, process efficiency, and food safety for the poultry industry. In addition to academia, Dr. Alvarado was a subject matter expert for the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service in the Office of Policy and Program Development in Washington DC where she helped develop policy and improve HACCP guidance.
Currently, she works for Prosur as a senior food scientist and helps provide ingredient solutions to customers looking for clean and transparent labeling. Dr. Alvarado has a strong passion for education in agriculture and has dedicated 25 years of service to the protein industries.
Mindy Brashears
Director, International Center for Food Industry Excellence of Texas TechMindy Brashears is the former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety where she served as the highest-ranking food safety official in the United States at the USDA from 2019-2021. She currently is the Associate Vice President of Research at Texas Tech University. She is a Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor in Food Safety and Public Health and holds the Roth and Letch family Endowed Chair of Food Safety at Texas Tech University. She also serves as the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at TTU. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors as her work has resulted in the commercialization of various pathogen mitigation strategies with 27 patents/patents pending. She holds a B.S. in Food Technology from Texas Tech University (magna cum laude) and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science from Oklahoma State University. She is well-published and cited with an H-Index of 41. She is married to Dr. Todd Brashears who is a professor of agricultural education at Texas Tech and has three daughters, Bailey, Reagan and Presley and one son-in-law, Eli Jimenez (married to Reagan). Her research focuses on mitigation strategies in pre-harvest production and post-harvest processing environments to improve food safety and public health. She also studies the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in food and animal systems. Her interests are primarily in meat, poultry and vegetable products. She also has a passion for food security and leads international research teams to South and Central America and the Caribbean to improve food safety and security in those sectors and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in developing areas. She teaches courses in food microbiology and food safety and offers industry training in HACCP, food sanitation, GMPs and food security. Recently she was named outstanding Graduate of Distinction by Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. She has received multiple awards including the IAFP Laboratorian Award, The AMSA Research and Industry/Extension Award and was named as a Future Icon in the Meat Industry by the National Provisioner Magazine. She serves on multiple national boards including the American Meat Science Association and International Livestock Congress Board of Directors. She will be the Chair of the Reciprocal Meat Conference in 2022 which will be held in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Kalen Cookson, Ph.D
Director of Clinical Research at ZoetisDr. Kalen Cookson received his Doctorate from North Carolina State University—College of Veterinary Medicine. After working in the California Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System, he received a Masters in Avian Medicine from the University of Georgia and is a Diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. Dr. Cookson has over 28 years of experience in the biologicals industry working for Zoetis and its legacies.
As a technical services veterinarian who has supported both U.S. and most other major global markets, Dr. Cookson has expertise in vaccine programming and has provided critical input and direction to new vaccine development. His role over the past several years has been Director of Clinical Research where he helps Zoetis execute extensive applied research—mostly post-licensure trials conducted under both controlled and field settings.
Doug Davis, CPFS
Sr. Director Global Food Safety of Marriott InternationalDouglas Davis is a 39-year veteran with Marriott International. He is currently the Senior Global Director
for Food Safety covering all 30 brands that includes over 8000 hotels and more than 10 thousand restaurants.
Doug is a member of Marriott’s Global Cleanliness Council and COVID-19 Task Force, guiding the company during the pandemic. He is a leader in the development of Marriott’s Commitment to Clean initiative and oversees the execution in hotels across the globe. He manages foodborne outbreaks globally and controls all food safety brand standards while authoring all hotel food and beverage audit requirements.
Doug is a member of the Conference for Food Protection and participates on the committee level. He is a certified Executive Chef, Certified Culinary Educator and Certified Professional – Food Safety (CP-FS) with the National Environmental Health Association and a film and television COVID Compliance Officer. Doug is on the Coordinating Council for the Department of Homeland Security’s Food and Agriculture Sector and lectures frequently on the mitigation of foodborne outbreaks with a focus on Norovirus prevention.
Emilio Esteban, Ph.D.
Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDADr. 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.
Prior to joining FSIS, Dr. Esteban worked in several positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 1994 to 2002, he was as an epidemic intelligence service officer; a staff epidemiologist in the National Center for Environmental Health; and an assistant director for the CDC Food Safety Office.
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.
Lindy Froebel, Ph.D
Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs at National Turkey FederationDr. Lindy Froebel serves as the Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the National Turkey Federation (NTF) in Washington, D.C. In her role, she is the primary regulatory resource for NTF members and provides expertise on a variety of topics, including microbiology, food safety and inspection and animal health and welfare. Dr. Froebel also oversees NTF’s research outreach and leads NTF’s Technical and Regulatory, Turkey Health and Welfare and Trade committees. The Texas-native joined NTF in 2019 after completing her Ph.D. in Poultry Science at Texas A&M University and is proud to represent the turkey industry in our nation’s capital.
Josie Greve-Peterson
Corporate Microbiologist at PSSI Food Safety SolutionsJosie Greve-Peterson is the Corporate Microbiologist for PSSI Food Safety Solutions, a sanitation, chemistry, and pest solutions provider. Here, she develops and implements strategies and programs to mitigate food safety risks, offers microbiological technical assistance, and raises the profile of food safety by embedding it in company culture. Josie has supported the food industry through various quality management and food testing roles, providing process optimization, project management, and technology evaluations.
Earning a Bachelor of Science from Minnesota State University-Mankato and a Master of Science in microbiology from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Josie loves to learn. Her thesis focused on a novel molecular detection method for enterohemorrhagic E. coli. Josie has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented research at international food safety meetings. She is an active member of the International Association of Food Protection and serves on their leadership board for the Dairy Safety and Quality Professional Development Group.
James Mills
Bacteriology/Parasitology/Serology Project Lead at Ceva Animal HealthJames Mills has over 25 years of microbiology experience from food, dairy, environmental, human, and animal health laboratories.
James is currently leading Ceva’s SSIU bacteriology, parasitology, and serology laboratories. These services provide diagnostic and research support to commercial and custom vaccines, Ceva veterinary and sales personnel and Ceva customers.
Nick Moser
Senior Vice President at JBI Distributors LLCNick Moser serves as senior vice president of sales for JBI Distributors. In this role, he leads customer and market development activities including direct customer and deal pipeline management, management and direction of nationwide sales teams, and establishment of sales programs, policies and procedures. Nick has help JBI rapidly expand its customer base and sales volume through his extensive agricultural experience and domain knowledge in the fields of biosecurity, live animal production and pathogen mitigation and control. Nick is a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps where he served honorably for five years, advancing to the level of infantry squad leader. Nick studied Agricultural and Business Management at Colorado State University. Nick holds a U.S. Secret security clearance.
Ashley Peterson
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.
Bill Potter
Technical Advisor at Elanco Animal HealthDr. Bill Potter has a B.S. in Animal Science with an MBA from Texas A&M University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Poultry Science from the University of Arkansas. Bill has spent 3 decades developing & leading food safety and quality systems in the poultry industry. Previously, Bill held strategic roles in food safety, quality, R&D, and technical services at George’s Inc., ConAgra Poultry, and Advance Food Company. He also has chaired the NCC Technical and Regulatory Committee and been active in IAFP Food Safety groups. He is currently a Food Safety Technical Advisor for Elanco Animal Health, where he & his colleagues help clients optimize pre-harvest and plant food safety interventions.
Barry Rhodes
Director, Recall Management and Technical Analysis Division of Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDABarry Rhodes is the Director of the Recall Management and Technical Analysis Division at FSIS. Barry has served with FSIS in multiple field and headquarters roles over the past 20 years and began his career with FSIS as an inspector in a chicken slaughter establishment. In his current role, Barry oversees management of the recall process, functions supporting import and export operations, and other technical projects affecting Field Operations.
Marcos Sanchez
Assoc. Professor, Global Food Security at Texas TechDr. Marcos Sanchez-Plata is an Associate Professor in Global Food Security with the International Center for Food Industry Excellence (ICFIE) at Texas Tech University. His research focuses in microbial biomapping and in-plant validation of antimicrobial interventions and their effects on pathogen control, biofilm development, quality and product shelf-life in different food matrices (meat and poultry, dairy, produce and novel foods) conducting in-plant studies and measuring microbial indicators, pathogen surrogates and pathogen loads to support risk-based decision making, including statistical process control parameters, cross-contamination sourcing, pre- and post harvest food safety management programs for public health protection and regulatory compliance.
Scott Stillwell
Vice President, Food Safety and Quality Assurance at Foster FarmsDr. Stillwell is the Vice President, Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Foster Farms. In this role, he has enterprise-wide responsibilities for the food safety and quality policies, procedures, and staff including regulatory compliance, laboratory services, consumer relations, and sanitation services. Dr. Stillwell holds a Secretarial Appointment to the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Food and a seat on the Board of Directors of the California Poultry Federation.
Immediately prior to joining Foster Farms in November 2022, Dr. Stillwell was President and CEO of Stillwell Consultative Services, LLC, providing food safety consulting services focused on crisis resolution and prevention, data analytics, and Statistical Process Control. He served as an expert witness in food safety-related litigation, and counseled venture equity fund managers pursuing growth opportunities in the food manufacturing and allied industries.
Prior to forming his consulting firm, Dr. Stillwell was employed by Tyson Foods for 31 years, retiring in 2019 as the Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance.
Scott is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Global Food Safety Initiative; he held a seat on the GS1-US Retail Grocery Initiative's Executive Leadership Committee; he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Ozark Food Processors’ Association; he remains a member of the National Chicken Council and the National Turkey Federation Technical and Regulatory Committees; he was formerly a member of the North American Meat Institute Scientific Advisory Committee and Inspection Advisory Committee; a member of the Retail Food Safety and Quality Professional Development Group at the International Association for Food Protection, and the founding treasurer of the Arkansas Affiliate of IAFP; he served numerous terms on Council III of the Conference for Food Protection; and was an American Society for Quality, Certified Quality Engineer.
Dr. Stillwell holds an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School and a Ph.D. in Poultry Science with an emphasis in microbial food safety from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Scott is a native of Arkansas and lives in Springdale with his wife Donna.
Hilary Thesmar
Officer & SVP Food and Product Safety at FMIWith over 20 years of experience in food science, food safety, and food and agriculture policy, Dr. Thesmar provides leadership for FMI’s retail, wholesale and product supplier members on technical issues such as food safety training programs, regulatory affairs, recall plans and management, crisis management, research, and health and well-being programs.
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.
Jessie Vipham, Ph.D
Associate Professor Department of Animal Science & Industry 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.
Wes Ward
Cabinet Secretary at Arkansas Department of AgricultureWes Ward is from the small rural town of Lake City in Northeast Arkansas and is a graduate of Riverside High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business with an emphasis in Agricultural Finance from Arkansas State University. Wes has also earned a law degree (JD), a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Agricultural and Food Law, and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arkansas.
Wes has been serving in the United States Marine Corps for over 22 years and has completed deployments and exercises in Afghanistan, Jordan, and Japan. He is currently serving in the Marine Corps Reserves as a Detachment Commander with the 1st Civil Affairs Group in Camp Pendleton, California.
Wes is serving as the 3rd Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Arkansas. Wes was appointed to the position in March 2015 by Governor Asa Hutchinson. He also serves as the Second Vice President for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture includes the Forestry Division, Livestock and Poultry Division, Natural Resources Division, and Plant Industries Division. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the development and implementation of policies and programs for Arkansas agriculture and forestry to keep its farmers and ranchers competitive in national and international markets while ensuring safe food, fiber, and forest products for Arkansans and the nation.
Jason Yordy
President at TurkeyTracJason Yordy is a seasoned professional with a passion for innovative solutions in the field of poultry. Being a fifth-generation farmer, Jason’s expertise and knowledge has brought value to his farm and the industry.
Jason holds an ag business management degree, ag industry with a concentration in engineering degree, and a minor in economics from Illinois State University. After college, Jason worked for Caterpillar as an engineer on various tech projects such as the autonomous mining truck. Jason has a deep understanding of the complexities involved in ag business and came back to the family farm in 2012. Jason’s ability to think outside the box has been instrumental in the successful launch of TurkeyTrac, a revolutionary project in the poultry field.
As the president of TurkeyTrac, while still farming, Jason has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and have brought together a talented team of professionals to make this project a reality. His commitment to excellence and attention to detail have earned him and his family farm a reputation as a top performer in turkey production.
Jason is passionate about the potential of TurkeyTrac to revolutionize the way poultry farms operate, and he is dedicated to making this vision a reality. Jason believes that live production is ready for change and is committed to making sure that TurkeyTrac is at the forefront of this transformation.
In his spare time, Jason enjoys playing hockey, watching his kid’s sports events and date nights with his wife. Jason believes that a healthy work-life balance is essential for personal growth and overall well-being.
Overall, Jason is a driven and dynamic individual, committed to making a positive impact in the poultry field through the successful launch and implementation of TurkeyTrac.