2023 Conference Sponsors
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Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers
Bronze Sponsor - Company Description and Link
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Dairy Farmers of America
Silver Sponsor - Company Description and Link
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American Dairy Association - North East
Silver Sponsor - Company Description and Link
Conference Schedule
As of 5/9/23
The PAFP Planning committee is putting together a conference that we want to make beneficial for all of those in the industry from farm to production to lab. So below we have a current outline of what the conference will look like and who will be speaking to those who attend. We will add speakers as they confirm availability but everything is subject to change. So please be sure to check back as the conference gets closer. The most accurate information should be on the PSU CVENT website. .
Please click the image below to download a PDF copy of the schedule.
Registration is now closed. If you have not yet registered but are still interested in attending, please reach out to CSCO@psu.edu.
2023 Speaker Bios
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Terminal Supervisor - Earl T. Wadhams, Inc.
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HR Manager - Clover Farms Dairy Co.
Alix Joy is the Human Resource Manager at Clover Farms Dairy, responsible for labor relations and personnel. Alix leads a team that manages the occupational safety program, coordination of benefits, and payroll for Clover Farms Dairy location in Reading, PA. Alix assists in contract negotiations for the collective bargaining unit. Alix joined Clover Farms in 2018, beginning her career in the quality assurance department and executing the implementation of the Global Food Safety Initiative program utilizing the protocols and procedures in the SQF codes. Through Alix’s guidance and newly written policies and procedures Clover Farms Dairy was able to achieve and maintain the SQF food safety certification and the SQF quality certification. In April 2020, Alix moved to the Human Resources department to assist in organizing and implementing procedures to mitigate the COVID pandemic in the manufacturing setting, shortly after in July 2020 being promoted to the Human Resource Manager.
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Herdsman - Willow Behrer Farm
The early days of Pete's life were influenced heavily by being raised in a military family where principles of a hard work ethic, integrity and honor came at high value. His passion came to him though on the Bishop's family farm in Pennsylvania and later saw him to Penn State for a degree in dairy science. The passion and the work ethic came naturally but the people management side... that is hard earned for any of us. Having said that, he has admitted to coming to enjoy the people and teams he's managed as much as the cattle and country way of life.
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Sr. Vice President, Industry Relations - American Dairy Association North East
Cindy Weimer is a life-long dairy promoter with more than 38 years of service to farmer-funded dairy checkoff promotion programs. Cindy serves as Senior Vice President of Industry Relations for American Dairy Association North East which was formed through a consolidation of Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program and American Dairy Association and Dairy Council in 2016. The organization serves dairy farmers in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and northern Virginia. Cindy helps lead a strategy to build sales and trust for dairy and directs industry communications, crisis readiness and environmental programs on behalf of dairy farmers.
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Associate Research Professor - Penn State University
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Assistant Research Professor in Dairy Foods Microbiology, Food Science - Cornell University
Dr. Nicole Martin is an Assistant Research Professor in Dairy Foods Microbiology and the Associate Director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program (MQIP) in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Nicole grew up in the beautiful Southern Tier of New York State where she began a life-long love of dairy by working on a local dairy farm. She received her BS (’06), MS (’11) and PhD (’18) degrees in Food Science from Cornell University with minors in microbiology and animal science.
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Research Professor, Extension Veterinarian, Veterinary Extension Team Leader - Penn State University, Extension
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Assistant Clinical Professor - Penn State University, Extension
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Milk Specialist - FDA
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Associate Professor of Dairy Science -
Penn State University
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Quality Management System Director - HP Hood LLC
Amy is currently working as The Director of Quality Management Systems and SQF lead for HP Hood LLC where her responsibilities include the writing, training and auditing of Hood’s internal Quality Management System. Prior to her current position she held positions of Business Quality Director, Quality Director for the Heluva Good division and the corporate quality auditor responsible for auditing of Hoods facilities along with suppliers and co-packers. Other memberships and affiliations include trainer for Dairy Management Inc. for both food safety and supply chain, member of platforms II and IV (food safety and HACCP) for Dairy Practices Council, board member and executive secretary for New York State Association for Food Protection and board member (member) for International Association for Food Protection.
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Food Safety Program Specialist, Milk Program - PA Department of Agriculture
Karie Williams has been with the PA Department of Agriculture for six years working in the Bureau of Food Safety (milk and food programs). She has been in the Food Safety Specialist, Milk Program (western) position for a year and a half. Her first exposure to this field was obtained through an internship with the Ohio Department of Agriculture during her Master's of Public Health program at The Ohio State University. She also has a Bachelor's in Biology from the University of Findlay and an Associates in Veterinary Technology. In addition to the duties of her current position, Karie continues to hold a position as a state certified veterinary technician at a small animal referral hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Her free time consists of enjoying cultural and seasonal activities around Pittsburgh as well as spending time with her 3 cats.
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Food Safety Program Specialist, Laboratory Evaluation Officer - Department of Agriculture
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Co-Founder - Catalyst, LLC
Coaching and making a positive difference for others in FSQ is Jill’s ‘WHY’. She just happens to be a food safety professional too!
Jill Stuber is a true professional having served on Food Safety & Quality (FSQ) Teams for several multi-million-dollar food companies and food industry support companies - at both corporate levels and front-line facility levels. She has defined expectations and programs for company-wide FSQ systems and has been responsible for verifying the implementation of those systems. Jill has led multi-plant teams with up to 50 team members to clearly define team and individual roles, expectations, and boundaries to more fully integrate and collaborate across organizations.
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Co-Founder - Catalyst, LLC
Tia Glave is a food safety, quality, and regulatory professional with almost a decade of experience in large food manufacturing, food retail, and start-up food environments. Tia's formally trained as a Chemical Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee. She is a qualified individual trained in PCQI and FSVP, versed in GFSI schemes, and has worked with many product categories including dairy, frozen and refrigerated baked goods, seafood, frozen pasta, and baby food.
Tia has a passion for helping all-sized manufacturing and retail organizations build and strengthen their food safety and quality programs. She uses her chemical engineering background to use systems, data, and proven methods to develop and implement a food safety and quality strategy that creates efficiencies, is effective, and identifies cost savings, all while using servant leadership principles. She has led small and large teams across multiple functions, including operations and maintenance, giving her a unique approach to implementing a strategy cross-functionally.
2023 Conference Exhibitors
