FSPCA Executive Advisory Board (EAB)
The FSPCA Executive Advisory Board (EAB) is comprised of members representing the food industry, academia and state regulatory. Governance, policy and strategic direction are determined by the EAB in support of the Alliance’s mission.
MARTIN BUCKNAVAGE
Senior Food Safety Extension Associate
Penn State Department of Food Science
Martin Bucknavage is Penn State’s Senior Food Safety Extension Associate, providing training and technical support to food companies in the areas of food safety, food processing, and quality management. Prior to Penn State, he had 15 years of technical management experience in the food industry, managing commercial food testing laboratories and directing the quality and R&D functions for food manufacturing companies. He has lead instructor status for Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) for Human Foods, Animal Foods, and FSVP. He holds a BS degree in Microbiology and an MBA from Penn State, and an MS in Food Science from Virginia Tech.
CLAUDIA COLES
President
Seafood Products Association (SPA)
Claudia Coles joined SPA in 2019 after 35 years of service with the Washington State Department of Agriculture. She is a member of the FSPCA Executive Advisory Board, co-chair of the FSPCA PCHF Trainer of Trainers Work Group and is a FSPCA Trainer of Trainers and Lead Instructor for the FSVP and PCHF curricula.
Claudia is a Past President of the Association of Food and Drug Officials and received five awards from the FDA for leadership in food safety, Seafood HACCP, Interstate Milk Shippers, training teams, and promoting state/federal partnerships.
Claudia is a North Dakota State University graduate.
DAVID A. FAIRFIELD
Senior Vice President, Feed Services
National Grain and Feed Association
David Fairfield joined the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) in 2001 after spending 20 years managing operations for U.S. animal feed companies. As Senior Vice President, Feed, he addresses food and feed safety issues relevant to the grain and feed sectors.
Fairfield participates as a subject matter expert within a variety of forums, including the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Global Food Safety Initiative, and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). He also served as an inaugural member of the FSPCA organizing and steering committees formed in 2011.
Fairfield is a graduate from Kansas State University’s Department of Grain Science.
KATHY GOMBAS (CHAIR)
Food Safety Consultant
FSMA Solutions
Kathy Gombas is a food safety consultant providing FSMA Solutions to the food Industry. Kathy is a member of the FSPCA Executive Advisory Board and co-chair of the FSPCA PCHF Trainer of Trainers Work Group and the International Subcommittee. Kathy is an FSPCA Trainer of Trainers and Lead Instructor for the FSVP and the PCHF curricula.
Kathy was an FDA Senior Advisor supporting the Agency’s FSMA implementation efforts including regulator training and the FDA FSMA Technical Assistance Network. Prior to FDA, Kathy held corporate food safety positions at Dean Foods and Kraft Foods.
CHRIS LINCECUM, MBA
Feed Safety Director
Cooperative Farmers Elevator
Chris Lincecum is the Feed Safety Director at Cooperative Farmers Elevator (CFE) located in Northwest Iowa and surrounding areas. He responsible for the strategic feed and grain regulatory activities while managing the Animal Food Safety Program at CFE that includes 23 locations and has implemented multiple food safety programs for other companies. Chris is a lead instructor for PCQI Animal Food and Foreign Supplier Verification Program. Chris earned his MBA from the University of Sioux Falls and his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston St. University. Chris has also served 4 years in the U.S. Army that included one tour in Iraq.
MODESTAR LIYOKHO
Regulatory/RDA/Food Safety Manager
Kerry Inc.
Modestar Liyokho is a Food Scientist with 15+ years’ experience in the Food & Beverage Industry. Due to her unique background Modestar is the R.M Regulatory, RDA and Food Safety process leader at Kerry. Modestar supports RDA, Food Safety, Supply Quality and Regulatory functions by embedding food safety culture and development of best-in-class standards in food safety. As the PCQI Leader, Modestar ensures proper application and compliance of Regulatory requirements like USDA, FDA, FSMA/PC, GFSI as well as product Safety including Process Validation hence implementation of Best Practices. Modestar serves as a board member on the FSPCA and a representative of Kerry at IFIC and NAFS. Modestar is passionate about training, coaching & mentoring other to develop future leaders.
TANIA MARTINEZ
President
Demos Global Group, Inc.
Tania Martinez is the Vice President of an Officially Accredited FDA organization for the FSMA food Safety Program (Demos Global Group). Expert in Product Regulatory Compliance, Food Safety and Preventive Control for Food, fish, seafood and fishery products, Dietary Supplements. PhD in Food Safety. Juris Doctor Degree in the State of Florida and Spain. 30 years of experience in Good Manufacturer Practices Manual, food, fish, seafood and fishery products and dietary supplement product safety, ingredients, import’s regulations to the US. ToT for HF, PSA Lead Trainer for PSA, TTT for the Fish, Seafood and Fishery Alliance-FDA, LI for AF, SA, TTT for the International HACCP Alliance, BPCS. Invite Professor at several universities in Latin America and Europe. Off Counsel of Several regional and local governments in Europe.
Amy Philpott, APR
Principal
Philpott PR Solutions, LLC
Amy Philpott is a strategic communicator and public relations professional. For more than 20 years, she has dedicated her career to helping food companies and organizations use traditional and digital communications to protect their brands, reputations and business relationships. Amy co-authored the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation's (APEC) Food Safety Risk Communication Framework and authored three of the six associated guidelines. She also contributed to the Risk Communication Applied to Food Safety Handbook by the United Nations FAO and the World Health Organization.
Amy is fully accredited in public relations (APR) and a graduate of California State University, Fresno, and American University in Washington, DC.
JUAN L. SILVA, PH.D.
Professor, Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion
Mississippi State University
Juan Sliva is a Professor at Mississippi State University. He holds BS and MS in Chemical Engineering and PhD in Food Science and Technology. He teaches food processing, engineering, and safety courses, completed over 80 graduates, published 160 manuscripts. He is an IFT Fellow, former Board Director, and chaired five Divisions. He serves FSPCA in various positions and is ToT in PC for Human Foods and for FSVP, and LI in PC for animal foods, a PSA PSR, HACCP and Seafood HACCP. He is a BPCS Instructor in Low-acid and Acidified canned foods and a process authority, with over 200 trainings.
KATHERINE SIMON
Division Director
Minnesota Department of Agriculture: Food & Feed Safety Division
Katherine Simon is the Division Director of the Food and Feed Safety Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, overseeing manufactured food, retail food, animal feed and produce safety inspection programs. Ms. Simon brings 15 years of regulatory experience including field inspection, supervisory, compliance and management roles. She received her Registered Environmental Health Specialist credential in 2008 and completed the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) Fellowship in Food Protection as a member of the 2010 Cohort. Ms. Simon served as a member of the FSPCA Steering Committee and assisted with curriculum review and development.
FSPCA MANAGEMENT
STEVEN MANDERNACH
Executive Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
Steven Mandernach is the executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO). Prior becoming executive director in 2018, Mandernach was the bureau chief for food and consumer safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections. Mandernach is a past president of AFDO and current chair of the Association’s Laws and Regulations committee. He has also served as the chair and co-chair for the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance. He is a past president of the Mid- Continental Association of Food and Drug Officials.
Mandernach has a J.D. from Drake University Law School. has completed graduate work in Food Safety at Michigan State University.
Brian Schaneberg
Executive Director
Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH)
Brian Schaneberg, Ph.D., is the Executive Director for IFSH, and Industry Professor of Food Science at Illinois Tech. Brian has more than 20 years working in the natural products and food industry with experience in food safety, quality, regulation, and science. Prior to joining IFSH, Brian was a director within the Global Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory team at Starbucks Corporation with accountability in leading a team of scientists that interpret food and beverage regulations and consult with researchers and consortiums across multiple categories in areas such as coffee, nutrition, ingredients, claims substantiation, allergens, and risk assessments. Prior to Starbucks, Brian was the Quality & Food Saftey and Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Director for Mars Botanical, a division of Mars, Inc. focusing on cocoa flavanol science and product development. Before Mars Botanical, he was the Director of Technical Services at ChromaDex, Inc. in Irvine, California and was an Associate Research Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi under the guidance of Dr. Ikhlas Khan, in a position funded by the US FDA for the development of methods to ensure the quality and safety of botanicals and dietary supplements. Over the years, Brian has worked closely with trade groups, industry, academia and government leaders. Most recently, a Special Guest Editor Section in Journal of AOAC Interantional. He has been a member of various review committees including NIH grants, analytical validation ERPs at AOAC International, and the Registry of Carcinogens. Brian was made a Fellow of AOAC International and was the Chair of the Science Leadership Council at the National Coffee Association. Brian also had the pleasure of holding an adjunct faculty position at the University of Colorado, Denver, advising a student that received his MS in Analytical Chemistry isolating phytochemicals and developing analytical testing procedures for Horse Chestnut.
Brian has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. in Chemistry with a minor in Biology from Central College in Iowa. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications and presentations.
JASON WAN, PH.D.
Director
Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH)
Jason Wan is the Interim Director for IFSH, and Professor of Food Science at Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining IFSH in July 2009, Jason was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (1992- 1995), and a Senior Research Scientist and a Platform Manager at the Division of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia (1995- 2009). Jason served on the former Steering Committee of FSPCA, as well as on a number of subcommittees of the Alliance, including Editorial, Implementation, and International subcommittees. Jason is a Trainer-of-Trainer for FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food, and for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs Lead Instructors courses.
GERALD WOJTALA
Executive Director
International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI)
Gerald Wojtala is the Executive Director of the International Food Protection Training Institute. Prior to 2010, Wojtala was the Deputy Director of the Food & Dairy Division with the Michigan Department of Agriculture where he managed the food protection programs in the state including the accreditation of 45 local public health programs. Wojtala is a Past-President of the Association of Food and Drug Officials. Prior to government service, he worked as a microbiologist with Difco Laboratories in Detroit.
FDA EX Officio Member
DOUGLAS STEARN
Deputy Director
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA
Douglas Stearn serves as the deputy director for regulatory affairs in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this position, he has responsibility for programs to ensure a safe food supply, including compliance functions and programs involving food safety, outbreak response, dietary supplements, analytics, and consumer education. He previously served as the director of FDA’s Office of Enforcement and Import Operations and in other FDA management positions. Prior to joining FDA, Mr. Stearn worked for 15 years as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Litigation.