Blake Anderson
President & CEO of ADPIBlake Anderson is the current President and CEO of the American Dairy Products Institute. Anderson joined ADPI with over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development working for leading ingredient and food manufactures. Prior to coming to ADPI, Anderson held the leadership role of Senior Vice President of New Business Development at California Dairies overseeing the sales, marketing and business development and profit and loss responsibility for their global butter, processed fluids, cream cheese and nutritional powders business across all channels.
Anderson has also held the position of Global Director for Premium Ingredients and Customer Development for Fonterra overseeing its ingredients operations in North America, Europe, North Asia (Japan and Korea), and managing relationships with global food companies. Blake spent 15-plus years in senior leadership positions including sales, marketing, business development, HR, and general management/senior leadership roles for Symrise N.A. (President), Dean Specialty Foods Group (President), and Campbell Soup Company (various).
Kenneth Bailey
Principal at Ken Bailey Consulting LLCKen received a Ph.D. in applied economics from the University of Minnesota in 1988. He started his career in dairy economics at the USDA and then at a policy think tank FAPRI at the University of Missouri in 1989. It was there that he wrote his first textbook on the economics of milk marketing and testified before Congress. Next, he became a tenured professor of dairy markets and policy at Penn State University. While at Penn State he testified at an International Trade Commission hearing on MPC imports, was an expert witness in Federal District Court in support of Pennsylvania’s state milk order, and testified at various Federal Milk Marketing Order hearings.
Ken got his Series 3 license in 2008 and worked in Chicago for a Futures Commission Merchant INTL-FCStone as a consultant and broker. From there he worked 11 years at Darigold, a dairy processor and cooperative in the Pacific Northwest. Ken worked on risk management, strategy and optimization, federal milk marketing orders, policy issues, and free trade agreements and global trade.
Ken published his updated textbook on milk marketing in 2021. He is currently a consultant and focuses on federal milk marketing orders, plant efficiency and strategy studies, and policy simulation studies. Ken helps clients with their reporting and financial obligations to FMMO’s. He also works with plants on milk pricing, cost control, and component cost recovery/allocation. Ken also conducts market studies and policy simulation modeling for select clients.
Jimmy Barasa
US Sales Director of Innova Market Insights
Mindy Berrey
Sr. Director of Sales at Land O' Lakes, Inc.Mindy Berrey is the Senior Director of Sales for Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods, where she leads the Milk Powders, Natural Cheese, and Whey businesses as well as the Sales Analytics and Business Operations teams for the Global Dairy Ingredients business. Mindy joined Land O’Lakes in 2009.
Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, Mindy worked in customer service and sales at Proteint, Inc., managing the organization's Lactose, Whey Protein Concentrate, and Sweet Whey portfolios.
Mindy holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business and German Language and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Mindy resides in Somerset, Wisconsin with her husband Brandon, and their sons Jakob and William.
Tom Berry
Vice President of Quality Assurance at Associated Milk Producers Inc.Tom Berry currently serves as the Vice President of Quality Assurance for Associated Milk Producers Inc.(AMPI), where he has called home for the last 15 years. Tom has over 34 years experience working in the food industry in different roles including plant, quality, food safety and lab management. Tom was born and raised on a dairy and crop farm in Southern Minnesota, near Mankato.
Tom has been actively involved in several dairy industry associations, serving different roles within ADPI, IDFA, NCCIA, NMPF, UMDIA, and NCIMS.
Tom has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology: Microbiology from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Richard Bradfield
General Manager at International Ingredient CorporationRichard is the General Manager at International Ingredient Corporation (IIC). His responsibilities include management, strategic planning and leading the sales, marketing, research and development and technical support functions of the company and assuring P&L targets are met. Richard joined IIC in 1993 and has over 30 years of feed industry experience.
Richard earned his B.S. (Ag. Chemistry) and M.S (Ag. Food Science) degrees from University College Dublin, Ireland.
Richard is past President and Chairman of the American Dairy Products Institute and is currently a member of its Board of Directors. He is the current Co-Chair of the ADPI Permeate and Lactose committee. Richard is a board member of the US Dairy Export Council and is past Chair of its Ingredient Committee and a member of its Operating Committee. Richard was the recipient of the ADPI Award of Merit in 2023 for his contributions to the processed dairy products industry.
Michael Brown
Economist at Dairy IndustryMost recently, Mike Brown led IDFA's economic and policy analysis and strategy development related to dairy policy and pricing. Mike’s career spans many different aspects of the dairy industry from farm to consumer, including cheese plant economics, risk management strategies, trade policy and US price regulation. Before joining IDFA, Brown led the milk and dairy procurement team for The Kroger Co. as director of dairy supply chain. Prior to Kroger, Brown worked with policy and manufacturing economics with other well-known dairy companies and organizations including Glanbia, Darigold and National All-Jersey.
Kimberlee Burrington
VP of Technical Development at American Dairy Products Institute- NEW THIS YEAR! DI360: Mini Course
- Technical Session: A Fresh Look at Dairy Co-Products
- Technical Session: The Goodness of Dairy
- Future-Proofing the Dairy Industry with Your ADPI Membership
Kimberlee (KJ) Burrington is the Director of Training, Education and Technical Development of ADPI. Prior to joining ADPI, KJ served as the Ingredient Applications Program Coordinator for the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research (CDR). She has over 25 years of experience in product development including her past positions at Ridgeview Industries, the Keebler Company, and as a consultant to the baking industry. KJ has served as a member of ADPI’s Center of Excellence since its inception in 2012.
In her previous position at CDR, she provided technical support for U.S. dairy processors and end users on dairy ingredient functionality and applications. She also provided technical expertise for food companies internationally through visits and seminars in conjunction with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to countries such as Mexico, Latin America, China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. KJ has also been an instructor/presenter in various ADPI events and activities.
KJ Burrington holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also an IFT Certified Food Scientist.
Megan Bykowski
Public Relations Director of S/B Marketing CommunicationsMegan Bykowski is Director of Public Relations and Social Media at S/B Strategic Marketing in Madison, Wisconsin.
Megan has nearly 20 years of experience leading strategic communications initiatives for a variety of clients including Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Jones Dairy Farm, American Butter Institute, Kalsec and ADM.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts with an emphasis in Strategic Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Stephen Cain
SeniorDirector, Economic Research and Analysis of National Milk Producers FederationStephen serves as the Senior Director of Economic Research and Analysis for National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). Stephen supports the federation and council through the analysis of both domestic and international dairy markets. He regularly publishes reports on dairy market dynamics and provides ad-hoc analysis on a wide range of dairy and related topics.
Prior to joining NMPF and USDEC, Stephen worked as an agribusiness consultant with IHS Markit, where he covered a number of commodities and specialized in economic impact analysis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness and a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University.
Lorie Cashman
Economics Division Director of US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS)Lorie Cashman serves as the Economics Division Director of the Dairy Program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. She has over 20+ years of experience leading the collection, compilation, and analysis of economic, statistical, and commodity data. Lorie provides Dairy Program and USDA with expert advice on national dairy market information and statistical and qualitative economic analysis for rulemaking.
Lorie has her BS in Agricultural Economics and an MS in Agricultural Economics, both from the University of Tennessee.
Stephanie Clark
Academic Engagement at American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI)After earning a B.S. (Animal Science), and M.S. and Ph.D. (Food Science) from Cornell University, Stephanie Clark started her professional career in the Department of Food Science at Washington State University (WSU) in 1998. She transferred to the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University (ISU) in 2009. Dr. Clark recently retired from ISU (2023).
At WSU and ISU, Dr. Clark taught courses related to dairy foods, sensory evaluation of foods, and professional skills (scientific writing and speaking). Her research broadly ranged from cow to consumer, including dairy animal science; dairy food chemistry, microbiology, processing and sensory evaluation; as well as consumer insights related to dairy science. One of Dr. Clark’s most profound accomplishments was re-establishment of the ISU Creamery (2020) after a 50-year hiatus. Additionally, her dedication ensured publication of the second (2009) and third editions (2023) of The Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products. She has been invited to speak or provide expertise in dairy foods throughout the U.S., as well as Armenia, China, India, Kosovo, and Mexico.
Dr. Clark is currently a consultant to the dairy industry, runs a business that provides professional development services to food scientists, and serves as an affiliate faculty member in the department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at New Mexico State University. She recently joined the ADPI team (2024) as the Manager of Academic Engagement.
Jessie Deelo
CEO and Founder of The Climate SourceJessie Deelo founded The Climate Source to design strategies for agricultural systems change. As a sustainable supply chain consultant, she develops market opportunities for decarbonized dairy and regenerative agriculture with food companies, suppliers, and farmers. Jessie has expertise in program design and management, co-financing and incentives, and greenhouse gas emissions accounting systems.
Jessie received her MS degree in International Agricultural Development from the University of California-Davis and a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jessie joined ADPI’s Center of Excellence in 2020.
Sara Dorland
Managing Partner at Ceres Dairy Risk Management LLCSara Dorland, is the managing partner at Ceres, a company specializing in providing risk management, market research and financial consulting services to agriculture and food-based businesses. Sara works throughout the dairy supply chain including dairy producers, cooperatives, manufacturers and consumer products companies. Her interactions have involved a broad array of hedging activities, go to market techniques, as well as education, analysis and consulting on a wide variety of dairy industry topics.
Sara lives with her husband and two daughters in Hailey, Idaho.
Linda Emery
Data Privacy and Security Attorney at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
Ben Fogarty
Applications Research Manager at Proliant Dairy IngredientsBen is the Applications Research Manager at Proliant Dairy, where he leads the research and development initiatives focused on innovative dairy applications with permeate. Ben has also worked for other food and beverage companies such as American Beverage Marketers, Döhler Milne Aseptics, Unilever, and Hilmar. Ben is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Food Science.
Catherine Fox
VP of Brand and Dairy Foods Marketing at Land O' Lakes, Inc.Catherine is the Vice President of Corporate Marketing for Land O’Lakes where she leads all marketing and brand communications for Land O'Lakes enterprise brand and brands across all the business units including Winfield, Truterra, Purina and Dairy Foods. She is responsible for creating and implementing the vision, strategy, and purpose for our brands in partnership with our agencies and business unit marketing. She has oversight of Brand and Engagement Strategy, Marketing Operations, Design Studio, plus the Brand Marketing discipline.
Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, Catherine had 14 years in food marketing with 9 years on the consumer products side with Pillsbury and General Mills working on brands like Toaster Strudel, Fiber One and Toaster Scrambles and 5 years in Foodservice at General Mills working on sweet goods, baking mixes and cereal under the Pillsbury, Gold Medal and General Mills brands. Previous to food marketing, Catherine worked at Honeywell, Inc in operations, sales and business development.
Catherine holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
William Francis
Senior Policy Advisor at US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS)William Francis has over thirty-five years of public service involving dairy policy and regulations. Mr. Francis is a Senior Policy Advisor with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service, Dairy Program. Before May 2016, he coordinated the formal rulemaking process for the Federal Milk Marketing Order program that regulates about 80 percent of the milk produced in the United States. Prior to joining USDA, he spent ten years with the State of New York leading the Department of Agriculture and Market’s Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services. He serves on the Executive Board of the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments and received an honorary lifetime membership recognition from the National Association of Dairy Regulatory Officials.
Education: BS 1985, MS 1992 both from Cornell University
Jason Frank
VP Nutrition & Product Development at International Ingredient CorporationDr. Frank is the V.P. of Nutrition and Product Development at International Ingredient Corporation. His primary responsibilities are to provide technical leadership in the areas of product development, product registrations, creation of product literature, and assist with domestic and international sales. Dr. Frank has over 20 years of academic and industry experience in the areas of basic and applied research, product development, and international technical support.
Dr. Frank earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Animal Science from Purdue University and his Ph.D. in Swine Nutrition from the University of Missouri. He also trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the U.S.D.A./Agricultural Research Services in the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. After completing this fellowship, Dr. Frank worked at the University of Arkansas as a Research and Teaching Associate focused in the areas of swine nutrition and immunology.
Christopher Galen
Executive Director of American Butter InstituteChris Galen is the Executive Director of the American Butter Institute, a position he assumed in 2022. As the staff executive for ABI, Galen oversees the management of the 115 year-old association representing the policy and economic interests of America’s butter makers and marketers.
He also serves as Senior Vice President of Member Services and Strategic Initiatives for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in Arlington, VA. In his role for NMPF, Galen is responsible for ensuring that NMPF’s members derive value from their involvement with the association, and that NMPF is effective in its engagement with other dairy, agricultural and food organizations. This includes overseeing the delivery of a range of member services, while also creating and strengthening relationships in Washington and across the country between the organization association and other stakeholders.
Prior to being named SVP of Member Services in 2018, Galen served in the lead communications role at NMPF from 1997 to 2018. Chris’s professional background includes work as a television anchor and reporter in the Midwest and as press secretary for two members of Congress, as well as work in Washington for another food sector trade association and a leading public relations firm.
Chris attended college at the University of Nebraska, where he majored in journalism.
Nick Gardner
Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Multilateral Affairs at U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC)As U.S. Dairy Export Council's Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Multilateral Affairs (SAMA), Nick engages with policy forums worldwide, such as the UN World Health Organization in Geneva, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which holds the annual climate COP.
Rohit Kapoor
VP, Product Research at Dairy Management IncAs Vice President of Product Research at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), Rohit leads DMI’s dairy product science programs in important areas such as milk powders, whey and milk protein ingredients and dairy co-products at major Universities to drive dairy innovation and sales on behalf of America’s dairy farmers.
Rohit has over 20 years of dairy foods R&D experience in industry and academia combined. During his tenure, Rohit worked at various leading dairy and food companies such as Nestlé USA, Bongards MN, and Kerry Americas where he provided R&D leadership towards cheese and dairy ingredient-focused innovation. Beyond his experience in industry, Rohit has also served on the Board of Directors of American Dairy Science Association from 2020 to 2023 and as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Dairy and Food Science at South Dakota State University from 2017 to 2020.
Rohit received his B.S. in Dairy Technology from National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science with an emphasis on dairy science and technology from University of Minnesota.
Mary Ledman
Global Dairy Strategist at Rabobank InternationalMs. Ledman has more than 20 years of experience in the dairy industry that includes production, processing and policy. She grew up on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin and has worked on farms in Germany, Japan and New Zealand. Her past work experience includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kraft and Stella Foods. In 1995, she founded Keough Ledman Associates, a dairy economic consulting firm that provides monthly dairy product and milk price forecasting, economic and policy analysis, dairy product and milk sourcing strategies and domestic and international dairy market information. In 2012, she acquired the Daily Dairy Report. She received a master’s of science degree in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University and also received a Fulbright Fellowship to study the European Community’s dairy policy in Germany.
Dylan Liu
Assistant Professor, Food Science at Iowa State University
Mike McCully
President at McCully ConsultingMike McCully is currently the president and owner of McCully Consulting, a strategic consulting firm focusing on dairy and food companies. He has experience in business analysis, long-term strategic planning, purchasing strategies, risk management policies/procedures, Mergers & Acquisitions, and supply chain issues/opportunities.
His past experience includes over 15 years with Kraft Foods where he held management roles in dairy, meat and grain purchasing. His responsibilities included sourcing dairy commodities as well as commodity risk management, dairy policy and industry relations. While in the Oscar Mayer division of Kraft, he was also responsible for meat commodity risk management and corn purchasing. His knowledge base also reaches into dairy policy and price volatility issues.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Western Illinois University and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.
Mike has been a member of ADPI’s Center of Excellence for several years, and is actively engaged in the Institutes events and activities including Dairy Ingredient Training Courses.
Sarah Michalek
Farm Sustainability Manager at Michigan Milk Producers Assn.Sarah Michalek serves as Michigan Milk Producer Association's Farm Sustainability Manager, engaging with member farms, field staff and MMPA's Farmer Sustainability Advisory Committee. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in agribusiness management and a specialization in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Sarah has been with MMPA since 2014 and throughout her career has served dairy farmers in the Great Lakes region by helping improve and advance milk quality, animal care and sustainability initiatives.
Paul Myer
CEO and Co-Founder of AthianPaul is the CEO and Founder of Athian, a sustainability software company that has built the world’s first insetting Marketplace for the livestock industry. Athian’s platform provides quality insetting credits that fund livestock producers’ sustainability measures. Athian was funded by industry leading companies in animal health (Elanco & DSM Venturing), Dairy (Newtrient & California Dairies Inc.), and Beef/Poultry (Tyson Ventures).
Paul is a serial software startup CEO, and he comes from three generations of cattle ranchers in the 4-corners region of the US Southwest.
Charles Nicholson
Associate Professor at University of Wisconsin - MadisonDr. Charles Nicholson is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, USA. His position is supported by the Dairy Innovation Hub. He has more than 25 years of experience analyzing markets, policy, and supply chains for the dairy industry in the US and internationally. He also coordinates the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy, a collaboration of US universities. He has MS and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.
Angela Pengelly
Vice President of Marketing at Land O' Lakes, Inc.Angela Pengelly serves as the Vice President of Marketing for US Dairy Foods at Land O’Lakes, where she oversees strategic and commercial activities for Retail and Foodservice Channels. Angela has been at Land O’Lakes for 16 years and has extensive experience in portfolio management, new business development and driving growth through go-to-market strategies rooted in marketplace needs and trends.
Jeremy Pike
Director of Sustainability at Idaho Milk ProductsJeremy serves as the Director of Sustainability at Idaho Milk Products. In this role, he spearheads the development of processes and metrics that enhance transparency in the company’s sustainability performance, laying the groundwork for continuous improvement. Jeremy collaborates with dairy farmers, on-farm sustainability experts, the team at the company’s milk processing facility, and customers, fostering collaborative projects that support the broad sustainability landscape.
Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University at Buffalo and a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Biology from the State University of New York – Brockport. He and his wife reside in the picturesque Magic Valley of Idaho, where they enjoy various outdoor activities and the natural beauty of the region.
Matthew Pikosky, PhD
Vice President of Nutrition Research at National Dairy CouncilMatthew Pikosky, PhD, RD, is Vice President of Nutrition Research for the National Dairy Council. He has over 15 years of nutrition research and scientific communications experience across government, non-profit and food and beverage industry. In his current role, Matt leads the Dairy Protein research program, the goal of which is to build the scientific evidence supporting unique consumer focused benefits of milk and dairy protein ingredients to strengthen marketplace positioning and catalyze industry innovation. Matt also works with leaders in the food and beverage industry to provide nutrition guidance to help drive menu and product innovations featuring dairy.
Prior to joining the National Dairy Council, Matt served as a Senior Scientist in the Applied Medical Nutrition Science group at Nestlé Health Science, was the Director of Research Transfer and Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Dairy Management Inc. and served as a Research Physiologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. In addition, Matt serves as a member of ADPI's Center of Excellence.
Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a Ph.D. in Nutrition all from the University of Connecticut, where his research focused on defining optimal protein intakes for endurance athletes and physically active adults.
Phil Plourd
President at Ever.AgPhil Plourd is head of insights at Ever.Ag. He has been involved in dairy, commodity market, and macroeconomic analysis, research, forecasting, consulting, and risk management activities for nearly 30 years. Phil’s a longtime student of the dairy, agricultural and food industries and takes great joy in the opportunity to share his learnings and insights with a variety of audiences.
Andy Powers
Vice President of Technical Services at ADPI- NEW THIS YEAR! DI360: Mini Course
- Valorization of Sustainability Gains: Insets and Allocations, Farm to Factory
- Technical Session: Mapping the New Global Regulatory Terrain: Familiar Signposts and Uncharted Territory
Andy brings over 30 years of commercial, scientific, and technical (QA/Regulatory/Food Safety) experience to ADPI where he is Vice President of Technical Services. Prior to ADPI, Andy most recently worked for Newton Enterprises as VP & Senior Consultant. He has also held positions at Hoogwegt U.S./Lone Star Dairy, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, and Biosys Biotech, Inc. It should be noted that during his tenure at Hoogwegt US/Lone Star Dairies, Andy served on ADPI’s Technical and Standards Committees.
Andy is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology, and a Master of Business Administration. He is a current member of the American Chemical Society, and the American Society for Quality. In addition, he is a Certified Lead Auditor & Practitioner – Safe Quality Food(SQF) Institute; Certified Lead Auditor – HACCP & ISO 9000; and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society.
Andy and his family reside in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Kevin Quinn
Vice President Sales & Marketing at Idaho Milk ProductsKevin Quinn joined Idaho Milk Products (IMP) in early December 2022. Having grown up overseas (In Japan) and with a strong background in international business over his 33 year career, Kevin is working with the IMP team to grow their business globally with the MPC’s and MPI’s they manufacture. Prior to IMP, Kevin spent 4 years at Darigold, 8 years at Leprino, 5 years at White Wave, 8 years at Sara Lee and 8 years at Nestle. Kevin believes he has worked with nearly all ingredients that are derived from Dairy over the past 3 decades.
Mark Russo
Chief Science Officer at Everstream AnalyticsMark is the Chief Science Officer at Everstream Analytics, who sets the global supply chain standard by delivering predictive insights and risk analytics. Based in Chicago, he co-leads the Applied Meteorology team to ensure weather/climate data quality and accuracy and customer-focused impacts for supply chains, logistics, business operations, and commodity hedging/trading. He also is an American Meteorological Society Certified Consulting Meteorologist.
After graduating from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Meteorology, Russo has spent the past two decades applying global weather and climate to supply chains, agriculture, and energy. Prior to joining Riskpulse in 2013 which later became Everstream, Russo worked for Chesapeake Energy and Citigroup/Smith Barney where he provided accurate and timely weather forecasts and noted climate trends directly to high stakes commodity hedgers, traders, brokers, and analysts. He also has appeared on CNBC, the Today Show, and CNN and currently is a weekly guest on Illinois Public Radio’s Closing Market Report.
Throughout his professional career, Russo has been active in the American Meteorological Society. Not only has he served in the private sector mentorship program and on the energy committee but also as President of the local Chicago Chapter. Additionally, he has advised the National Academies of Science/National Research Council regarding NOAA weather and climate data and has presented to numerous agriculture and energy associations. Outside of work, Mark is a huge sports fan, especially baseball, and resides in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife and three children.
Patti Smith
CEO of DairyAmericaPatti Smith is a business leader with 30 years of progressive leadership experience in the food ingredient and dairy industries. In June 2020, she became the CEO of DairyAmerica. Prior to DairyAmerica, she was CEO of Valley Milk, LLC, as well as, having held several executive level positions within global organizations including Fonterra and Roquette America.
As a business leader, she is active in industry and national organizations. In addition to industry organizations, Patti is an active member in local organizations within California’s Central Valley. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology from Iowa State University. Patti has been married for 33 years, has one daughter, and two grandchildren. She loves spending time outdoors and most of all, spending time with the grandkids.
Chris Thompson
International Standards Director of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/AMS)Chris Thompson serves as the International Standards Director of the Dairy Program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. He has over 30 years of experience in implementing and managing dairy industry service and regulatory programs. In addition to working with domestic standards activities, Chris provides USDA leadership in putting forth U.S. positions relating to international standards and he regularly participates in export certificate negotiations and interagency market access activities on behalf of the U.S. dairy industry. Chris has B.S. and M.S. in Agriculture from Western Kentucky University.
Moises Torres Gonzalez
Vice President, Nutrition Research at National Dairy CouncilMoises Torres-Gonzalez, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Nutrition Research for National Dairy Council and oversees the nutrition research platform of Public Health. Specifically, his main role is to strategically define, develop and manage the research needed to build the scientific understanding about the role dairy foods -including whole-fat dairy foods-, play as part of dietary patterns aimed to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and to help maintain optimal human health.
Dr. Moises obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biochemical Engineering at the Instituto Tecnologico de Colima and Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz, respectively, in Mexico. He also earned an additional Master’s as well as a Doctoral’s degrees in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut, USA.
Moises possesses a strong research and educational background on lipid and macronutrient metabolism and, overall, in human nutrition and its implications with cardiometabolic diseases, and has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He is recognized as a subject matter expert for contributing and communicating the science and health implications of dairy foods.
Thomas Vierhile
Vice President of Strategic Insights at Innova Market InsightsTom Vierhile is VP of Strategic Insights North America for the Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights and has over 20 years of experience in fast-moving consumer goods reporting and analysis. Based in Fairport, New York, he is an internationally recognized expert on new product marketing and has been quoted in media outlets like Bloomberg, Ad Age, The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, and NPR.
Tom has authored many articles on new products for a variety of publications, has given presentations on new product trends at various industry conferences in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America, and is a regular contributor to Prepared Foods magazine.
Tom has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from St. Bonaventure University and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Wendy Warren
Dairy Scientist at US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS)Wendy Warren has 25 years of professional experience applying her scientific expertise in the medical device and food production industries. Wendy has worked both in private industry and government in a variety of technical, marketing, and senior leadership positions. In 2015, Wendy joined the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to serve the public by improving and modernizing programs and is currently in the role of Dairy Scientist to develop international technical standards and support the efficient marketing of U.S dairy products across the world.
Education: B.S. Microbiology, 1992, Oregon State University and Ph.D. Microbiology, 1998, UT Health in San Antonio, Texas.
