Work Force Readiness in Food Science: A Panel Discussion On-Demand

Being successful in the food industry nowadays depends on so much more than disciplinary knowledge and competencies in food science. This conversation among panelists from academia and industry will address the current industry expectations for food science graduates and discuss how food science academic programs can raise the workforce readiness of the next generation of food science professionals. Join us for a panel discussion hosted by the Council of Food Science Administrators (CFSA)!

Panelists:
Justin Shimek, PhD CEO, Mattson
Justin is CEO and Chief Technology Officer at Mattson where he leads an extraordinary community of employee-owners on their mission: “We Invent the Future of Food, One Product at a Time." He guides Mattson’s diverse community of innovation experts, food technologists, strategists, marketers, insights professionals, and commercialization specialists. He manages a broad range of client relationships—from the largest food companies in the world to highly mission-driven startups—on projects that span every technology, category, and consumer need state in food & beverage. Prior to joining Mattson, Justin held a number of notable product innovation and process development positions across the food industry.

Shannon Rezac, MS Product Development Scientist, Hormel Foods
Shannon is from Fremont, NE. She graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a Bachelor’s of Science in Food Science and Technology. Her research project was a review of the amount of viable microorganisms found in commercial fermented foods. During her time at Nebraska, she completed Research and Development Internships at ConAgra Brands and Cargill Protein. After graduation, she attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received a Master’s of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a research concentration in food microbiology. Her graduate research focused on developing rapid antimicrobial screening methods of Listeria monocytogenes in ham. She is currently residing in Austin, MN as a Product Development Scientist at Hormel Foods where she works on foodservice hams and fully cooked value added proteins.

Cesar Vega, PhD R&D Director, Barry Callebaut
Cesar is the Regional R&D Director for Innovation for Barry Callebaut Americas. He is responsible for the co-creation of a 3-5 year innovation pipeline that is worth >100mUSD year on year, for the deployment of technical expert support for innovation projects, and for the development of the Regional technical talent pipeline. He possesses 15+ years of hands-on experience in the entire food product lifecycle, especially in Innovation and Innovation management across different geographies - Mexico, India, UK, The Netherlands, and the US. After working in companies like P&G, Unilever, and Mars, he has experience in a vast range of product categories.

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