Virtual Volunteer Leadership Summit 2019 (Archive)

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Description

Annual joint Volunteer Leadership Development event, this year held virtually. This program is designed to gather and engage key volunteer leaders from across the organization and further develop and equip them with resources to effectively advance the strategic objectives of IFT and offer resources for professional development. This concept offers:

Build excitement for the year ahead and ‘connect’ community of volunteers
Deepen understanding of mission driven leadership through innovation and inclusion
Celebrate, showcase and highlight mission-driven volunteer efforts
Direct volunteers to resources and leadership support

Contributors

Pam Coleman, MBA, CFS

2019-2020 IFT President

Ms. Coleman has more than 30 years of experience in the food industry as a scientist, technical manager and business executive, focused on generating reliable scientific evidence in support of food innovation and quality projects. Early in her career, she worked as an analytical chemist. After joining Silliker in 1995, she led food testing laboratories and then moved into the business side. One key assignment was to establish a global key accounts program by working with Silliker testing groups and food industry customers on six continents.

Currently, she is the President of Biofortis, a Merieux NutriSciences company. She holds a degree in Biological Sciences as well as a MBA.

Pam’s involvement with IFT has been a constant throughout her career, starting first in the Dixie Section, where she served as Chair. Within the Quality Assurance Division, she was an active member, serving as Member-at-Large, Chair and then Membership Committee Leader. Her participation on strategic initiative teams as well as my contributions to the IFT annual meeting technical program as a reviewer and symposia leader, has helped her to know the organization well and also to benefit from these experiences.

Pam is a Certified Food Scientist and currently serves on this International Commission. She wants to ensure that others have the same level of opportunity she has had as an IFT member, to learn and grow from active involvement and networking.
Craig Sherwin, PhD, CFS

Craig Sherwin, PhD, CFS is a Technical Service Manager at Novozymes in the Raleigh, NC area. Prior, he has worked in R&D leadership roles at General Mills and Agropur Ingredients as well as a Post-Doctorate position at the University of Wisconsin. He earned his Bachelors’ degrees at North Carolina State University, and his MS and PhD in Food Science at the University of Minnesota. He has served in numerous IFT volunteer roles over his 28 years of membership, including the IFT Student Association President and the IFT Board of Directors. Currently he is the Chair of the Nominations & Elections Committee.
Emefa Monu, PhD

Emefa obtained her current position as an Assistant Professor in Food Microbiology at Auburn University in 2015. Prior to that, she obtained both a BSc and an MSc in Food Science at the University of Manitoba and a PhD from the University of Alberta. Her current research focuses on developing natural antimicrobials to increase food safety and shelf-life. As a faculty member she is also involved in training graduate students, undergraduate students and international interns.

Emefa has been a member of IFT since 2010, and when attending Canadian universities to obtain her degrees, a member of the affiliate CIFST beginning in 2001. She began to play a volunteer role in IFT in 2012, when she began reviewing session proposals for the Food Safety & Defense and Food Microbiology Tracks. Emefa has also reviewed Technical Research Paper Abstracts in the Food Microbiology Division, served on the Graduate Scholarship Jury and twice judged the Undergraduate Research Competition at Annual Meetings. Since starting her position as an Assistant Professor at Auburn University, she has become a member of the South Eastern Section, serving on the SEIFT Student Recognition & Competitions Committee, and since 2017 as a Director-at-Large. Emefa has been a member of the New Professionals Working Group since 2016 and served as the Co-Chair from 2017 – 2018. She has also participated in the Emerging Leaders Network Program and saw so much benefit from it that she served as a Peer Mentor in the program in 2017.

In addition, Emefa is currently a member of the IFT Feeding Tomorrow Learn About Food Science Taskforce.
Sam Vanwees

Sam is currently the President of the IFT Student Association, and is working towards a PhD in food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI.
Nayara Luna Guzmán

Nayara Luna Guzmán graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Food Science and a minor in Latina/o Studies this May. She served on the IFTSA Board of Directors for the last two years, her first year as the Vice President of Membership Engagement, and her second year as a Member-at-Large. She was also highly involved in the Cornell Food Science Club, serving as club president this past school year. Though her hometown is Englewood, New Jersey, she recently moved to Chicago to join The Kraft Heinz Company as a part of their Corporate Management Trainee Program, and is currently working on a project in the procurement team supporting the company's external manufacturers.
Donna Miller

Donna Miller is the Global Dairy Technical Coordinator at General Mills in the Dairy Division based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her responsibilities include serving as the R&D Lead for Global Milk Management and the North America Lead for Cultures. She is also the One Global Dairy R&D Intellectual Property Connector for North America. A 14-year member of IFT, Donna recently completed a one-year term as chair of the Dairy Foods Division.
Luan Blancher, MS

Luan Blancher has been a Sensory and Consumer Scientist at Givaudan Flavors Corporation for the past 10 years. During this time she has held various positions such as leading the descriptive program, managing sensory research projects and, in recent years, working more closely with cross-functional teams to provide innovative insights to Food and Beverage customers. Luan has been involved in IFT from her collegiate days. Luan is currently the co-chair of the IFT New Professionals Workgroup, as well as one of the liaison for the Professional Development Track. She is also a member of the Givaudan's Women's Group (WeLead), and is the co-chair for the Partnership and Recruiting Pillar. She is also an alumnus of the IFT Emerging Leaders Network. Luan is a member of the Society of Sensory Professionals (SSP), American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), and Network of Executive Women (NEW). Luan holds a M.S in Food Science with an emphasis in Sensory Science from Washington State University, and a BS in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from Missouri State University. Originally from Barbados, Luan enjoys exploring different cultures through their food and music. As a past collegiate track and field athlete she loves to watch track meets whenever possible.

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Description

Contributors

Pam Coleman, MBA, CFS

Craig Sherwin, PhD, CFS

Emefa Monu, PhD

Sam Vanwees

Nayara Luna Guzmán

Donna Miller

Luan Blancher, MS