speakers

The following is a list of selected speakers and not a complete list. This page will be updated as more information becomes available.

Cindy DavisCindy Davis, PhD

Program Director
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

"Update on Cancer & Vitamin D. New Surprises? What’s Around the Corner?"

Dr. Davis is currently a Program Director in the Nutritional Sciences Research Group at the National Cancer Institute. This group plans, develops, directs and coordinates extramural research programs in diet, nutrition and cancer as it relates to cancer prevention.

Dr. Davis received her B.S. degree with Honor’s in nutritional sciences from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and her Ph.D. degree in nutrition with a minor in human cancer biology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Laboratory of Experimental Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute. She then joined the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, as a research nutritionist. Her research focused on the effect of trace minerals, particularly, selenium and copper, on cancer susceptibility. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and six invited book chapters. She is on the editorial boards of The Journal of Nutrition, Experimental Biology and Medicine and Nutrition Reviews.

 

Adam DrewnowskiAdam Drewnowski, PhD

Professor, Epidemiology
Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Washington

Director, Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington

"Labeling: A U.S. Perspective"

Adam Drewnowski, PhD, is a world-renowned leader in innovative research approaches for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Dr. Drewnowski is Director of the Nutritional Sciences Program and Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. He also serves as Director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition and the UW Center for Obesity Research and is a Joint Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Dr. Drewnowski obtained his MA degree in biochemistry from Oxford University in the UK and his PhD in psychology from The Rockefeller University in New York. Following post-doctoral training at the University of Toronto, he returned to Rockefeller as Assistant Professor. He later moved to the University of Michigan, where he became Professor of Public Health, Psychology and Psychiatry, and Director of the Program in Human Nutrition at the School of Public Health. Dr. Drewnowski joined the University of Washington in 1998.

Dr. Drewnowski's current research is focused on the relationship between poverty and obesity and the links between obesity and diabetes rates in vulnerable populations and access to healthy foods. Dr. Drewnowski is the author of over 100 research papers, numerous reviews and book chapters, and is a frequent invited speaker at scientific meetings, conferences, and symposia.

Adrian DubockAdrian Dubock, PhD

Agricultural Consultancy for Development GmbH, Switzerland

"Biofortification, GM Crops: Challenges and Opportunities"

Adrian was born in UK. Following a first degree in Zoology (University of Wales) and then a PhD from Reading University (‘Reproductive Physiology and Ecology of the Grey Squirrel’) in 1976, Adrian joined the UK government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as a scientist, working on methods of field testing rodenticides.

Through his work Adrian has been to many countries, and apart from the beauty he saw many things that were not quite right. This motivated him to do whatever he could from within his position, converting him into a Syngenta ambassador to the world. Adrian is the architect of the public-private partnership that has made Golden Rice possible.

Subsequently, Adrian joined the company ICI contributing to the development of a global public health business which included malarial vector control as well as rodenticides. He published more than 50 scientific papers, and wrote chapters in several books. His work experience caused him to travel widely (more than 50 countries in the first three years alone) mostly to Asia, the Middle East and USA. Unlike much business travel, this involved more than airports and meeting rooms. Fields (including rice fields), houses, restaurants and public infrastructure such as docks and sewerage systems were visited too. An awareness of how little the poorest of society had, and how much they needed others to act for them, started to develop, together with the sense that this had to be done in a way that gave them choices, did not undermine their dignity, and respected national sovereignty. Subsequently, as ICI’s General Manager for Central America, living in Guatemala in the second half of the 1980s, when five of the seven countries were embroiled in conflict, these sensitivities were reinforced.

His career with the consolidating companies which led to the formation of Syngenta, subsequently involved strategic business development globally, often acting as an intermediary between his employer and collaborators: intellectual property licensing, joint venture creation and management, mergers and acquisitions work, biotechnology ventures. These roles require issues to be viewed from several different perspectives simultaneously, and to reconcile them acceptably to all involved.

For the last decade of his Syngenta career Adrian’s work was principally concerned with biotechnology, straddling the boundary between technology and its commercial (and humanitarian) applications. As part of this work Adrian negotiated with Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer the agreements that underpinned Syngenta’s support for the Humanitarian Golden Rice project, and conceived the Humanitarian Board concept to provide its governance. A breadth of strategic vision and respect for the multidisciplinary processes necessary to bring an idea through research to become a product, together with concern for justice for the poor, are what drives his contribution to the Golden Rice Humanitarian Project. Adrian retired from Syngenta and his final responsibilities —biotechnology collaborations, as well as humanitarian donations of technology— at the end of 2007 after 30 years service and working in almost 90 countries.

Adrian was a sheep farmer in West Sussex, UK for 10 years, enjoys wildlife (and was the Biodiversity Coordinator for the Fernhurst Society) and travel, as well as skiing and walking when he has time.

He is now consulting to try and bring private sector skills to public sector agricultural development in developing countries. He has lived in Switzerland since 2001

Dan GlickmanDan Glickman

Chairman and CEO
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.

Former Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, March 1995 - January 2001

Dan Glickman is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) which serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries. Its members include Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, NBC Universal, and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc.

Prior to joining the MPAA, Mr. Glickman was the Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (2002-2004). Mr. Glickman also served as Senior Advisor to the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, DC.

Mr. Glickman served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001. Under his leadership, the Department administered farm and conservation programs; modernized food safety regulations; forged international trade agreements to expand U.S. markets; and improved its commitment to fairness and equality in civil rights.

Before his appointment as Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Glickman served for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 4th Congressional District of Kansas. During that time, he was a member of the House Agriculture Committee, including asix years as chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal farm policy issues. Moreover, he was an active member of the House Judiciary Committee; chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and was a leading congressional expert on general aviation policy.

Before his election to Congress in 1976, Mr. Glickman served as president of the Wichita, Kansas, School Board; was a partner in the law firm of Sargent, Klenda and Glickman; and worked as a trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He received his B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the George Washington University. He is a member of the Kansas and District of Columbia Bars.

Mr. Glickman serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Hain - Celestial Corporation; Ready Pac Produce Corporation; Communities in Schools; America's Second Harvest; Food Research and Action Center; and the RFK Memorial Foundation. He also is on the International Advisory Board of The Coca-Cola Company; co-chairs the U.S. Consensus Council (with former Governor Marc Racicot) and The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology (with former Congressman Vin Weber).

Patricia HibberdPatricia Hibberd, MD, PhD

Director, Center for Global Health Research, Tufts University

Professor, Departments of Public Health and Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine

"Probiotics: Good Bugs? Bad Bugs?"

Education
M.D., Harvard Medical School
Ph.D., Epidemiology/Information Science
University of Leicester

Research Focus
Global Health – prevention and treatment of childhood pneumonia and diarrhea; mechanism of action of probiotics and their effects on prevention and treatment of infections; Phase I/II evaluation of monoclonal antibodies to prevent infections; and clinical/translational research methods

Janet KingJanet King, PhD

Professor of Nutrition and Internal Medicine, UC Davis

Professor of Nutrition, UC Berkeley

Scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute

"Wish List for Dietary Guidelines 2010"

Ongoing Research Support

NIH 1 R01 HD046741 King (PI)
2005-2010
Diet Glycemic Load & Metabolism in Obese Pregnant Women
Purpose: To determine the impact of a low glycemic diet during the last half of pregnancy on maternal glucose tolerance, regulation of energy metabolism, and fetal overgrowth.

USDA King (PI)
2004-2008
An evaluation of dietary zinc requirements for the elderly.
Purpose: To evaluate the current method for estimating zinc requirements in the elderly and to determine if molecular markers of zinc metabolism predict dietary requirements.

California Walnut Commission Mukherjea (PI)
2007-2009
Effect of Walnut Consumption during Pregnancy and Lactation on Risk Factors for Glucose Intolerance, Cardiovascular Disease, and Breast Milk Composition.
Purpose: To determine is consuming 1 oz walnuts/day during the last half of pregnancy improves glucose tolerance and risk factors for cardiovascular disease as well as improving the fatty acid profile of maternal serum and breast milk.
Role: Co-PI

Completed Research Support

1 R01 HD38805 King (PI)
10/01/99 – 09/30/02
National Institute for Child Health and Human Development
Iron supplementation and zinc during pregnancy and lactation Purpose: To determine the effect of supplemental iron (65 mg/d) on zinc absorption and kinetics in pregnant and lactating women studied longitudinally

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Brown (PI)
07/1/03 – 06/30/05
Determination of the independent effects of zinc intake and zinc status on zinc absorption from beef-containing and beef-free mixed diets. Purpose: To determine the effects of changes in zinc status on the efficiency of zinc absorption from beef-containing and beef free diets.
Role: Co-PI

Ronald KleinmanRonald Kleinman, MD

Charles Wilder Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

Physician in Chief of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children

Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children

"How to satisfy a child's 'sweet tooth': A role for non-nutritive sweeteners?"

Dr. Kleinman is the Charles Wilder Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Physician in Chief of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He is also Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children He received his medical training from New York Medical College and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kleinman has also been a visiting lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From 1989 to 1993, Dr. Kleinman served as chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. Among his many other major committee assignments, he has served as a member of the American Cancer Society’s Medical Advisory Group on Diet and Nutrition; member of the NHLBI National Cholesterol Education Program, and member of Harvard Medical School’s Nutrition Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the FDA’s Infant Formula Subcommittee of the Food Advisory Committee and a member of the Institute of Nutrition Scientific Advisory Board, which is located in Lima, Peru. He sits on the boards of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, Project Bread and the Massachusetts General Hospital Physicians Organization.

Dr. Kleinman serves on a number of editorial boards and is a member of the American Gastroenterological Associa¬tion, the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, the Society for Pediatric Research and the Gastroenterology Research Group, among other associations and organizations. He has edited major textbooks of Pediatric Nutrition and Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and has authored over 150 publications in peer reviewed medical journals.

His major research interests are Gastrointestinal Immunology; Developmental Gastroenterology; Treatment of Acute Diarrheal Disease; and Psychosocial, Cognitive and Physical Effects of Hunger in Childhood.

 

Joel B. MasonJoel B. Mason, MD

Scientist I and Director, Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University

"Effects of Folate on Cancer Risk: A Double-edged Sword?"

Bio coming soon

 

 

 

William A. MastersWilliam A. Masters, PhD

Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

Associate Head, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

"The World Food Crisis: Trends, Cycles and Shocks"

Will Masters is a Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He is co-editor of the journal Agricultural Economics, and author or co-author of several books including Economics of Agricultural Development (Routledge, 2006), and dozens of scholarly articles. At Purdue, he teaches a graduate course in Agricultural Policy and an undergraduate course in Economic Development, and maintains a portfolio of research projects funded by the World Bank, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other donors. Before joining the Purdue faculty, Prof. Masters attended Deep Springs College (1979-81), then graduated from Yale University (1984), and received a Ph.D. from the Food Research Institute of Stanford University (1991). He has also been a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe (1988-1990), a visiting scholar at Harvard University (2000), a visiting professor at Columbia University (2003-04), and a consultant to various organizations. He is chair of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees for Deep Springs College, and serves on advisory committees for the X Prize Foundation and the Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa.

Contact information and publications are available at: www.agecon.purdue.edu/staff/masters.

 

Lynn ParkerLynn Parker, PhD

Institute of Medicine Scholar and Study Director for Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention

"Policy & Politics of Children Nutrition Programs"

Lynn Parker is an Institute of Medicine (IOM) Scholar and study director for IOM’s new standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention. Before she joined IOM, she was a nutritionist at the Food Research and Action Center, a national organization working to end hunger and undernutrition in the United States, most recently as director of Child Nutrition Programs and Nutrition Policy, where she directed FRAC’s work on child nutrition programs, research, and nutrition policy. She also played a leadership role in the development of FRAC’s Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project (CCHIP), a ground-breaking survey of childhood hunger in the United States and led FRAC’s initiative on understanding and responding to the paradox of hunger, poverty, and obesity. She served on the Technical Advisory Group to America’s Second Harvest 2001 and 2005 National Hunger Surveys; on the National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council (appointed by then Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell); and as President of the Society for Nutrition Education. She is the 2006 recipient of the Mary C. Egan Award from the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association and the 2007 recipient of the Helen Denning Ullrich Award for Excellence in Nutrition Education from the Society for Nutrition Education. Before joining FRAC, she worked with New York State’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program at Cornell University. She recently completed two terms as a member of the Food and Nutrition Board of the IOM and was a member of its Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools. Lynn received her B.A. in anthropology at the University of Michigan and an M.S. in human nutrition from Cornell University.

 

Peter RogersPeter Rogers, PhD

Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Engineering and
Professor of City and Regional Planning, Harvard University

"Water & Climate: Changing Resources Impact on Nutrition"

Prof. Rogers is Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Engineering and Professor of City Planning in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Water Partnership, recipient of Guggenheim and Twentieth Century Fellowships.

His research interests include:

He has carried out extensive field and model studies on population, water and energy resources, and environmental problems in Costa Rica, Pakistan, India, China, the Philippines, Bangladesh and, to a lesser extent, in 25 other countries. His most recent work has focused on the relationship between Chinese electric power developments and their impact on global warming.

 

Sean StrainSean Strain, PhD

Professor of Human Nutrition

Director, Northern Ireland Centre for Food & Health Centre for Molecular Biosciences

Faculty of Life & Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine

"Health Claims in Europe"

 

After graduating with a BSc (Chemistry), BAgr (Agricultural Chemistry) and PhD (Nutritional Biochemistry), all from Queen’s University, Belfast, he spent several years (1977-1980) in academia in Australia before joining his current institution in 1981. He was instrumental in creating the highly successful BSc Honours Human Nutrition and Dietetics and building up the Human Nutrition Research Group to its current position. He is Professor of Human Nutrition (since 1994) in the Northern Ireland Centre for Food & Health (NICHE) and was part of the submission in Biomedical Sciences that was top rated (5* for research excellence) in the last two (1996, 2001) UK wide Research Assessment Exercises. He has attracted over £31M in research grants and research structural monies and is an author of over 200 peer-reviewed research publications, mainly in the areas of trace element nutrition and in B vitamin and homocysteine metabolism. In 2002, he was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is currently a member of various national and international committees including: Member, Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies, and Chairman, Working Group on Claims, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Parma; Member of: Board of Governors, Institute of Food Research, Norwich; Board of Governors of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), Europe; MRC College of Experts; MRC Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Special Review Panel;

 

Aron TroenAron Troen, PhD

Scientist III, Vitamin Metabolism Laboratory, Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University

"Vitamin B and Cognition. Is There Breakthrough News?"

Bio coming soon

 

 

 

 

Nancy S. WellmanNancy S. Wellman, PhD, RD, FADA

Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition, Florida International University

Director, National Policy and Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging

"Nutrition Programs for Older Adults"

Dr. Wellman is professor of dietetics and nutrition at Florida International University, the public university in Miami. There, she directs the National Policy and Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging, funded by the federal Administration on Aging. Areas of nutrition expertise include aging, public policy, sports, nutrition screening and marketing, as well as consumer education and food labeling.

Registered dietitian Wellman is past president of the 70,000 member American Dietetic Association (ADA), the nation's largest group of food and nutrition professionals. During her high profile ADA presidency, the Nutrition Screening Initiative, a national campaign against elder malnutrition that is backed by a coalition of 36 prominent aging organizations, was launched; the National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics, ADA's public information center, opened; and collaboration with professional and trade associations, such as the American Academy of Family Physicians, FMI and IFIC, was strengthened. Dr. Wellman currently serves as national co-chair of the Nutrition Screening Initiative.

As national media spokesperson and ADA Ambassador from 1982 through 1990, Dr. Wellman has been cited hundreds of times in the national popular press and has appeared regularly on TV and radio. She has testified before US Senate, House of Representatives and FDA Advisory committees. She has been a member of committees on food labeling at the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, and has also written for the National Academy Op-Ed Service. Dr. Wellman currently serves on the USDA National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board, International Food Information Council Foundation Board of Directors and United States Tennis Association Sport Science Committee.

Recipient of numerous awards, Wellman is certified as a charter Fellow of the American Dietetic Association and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition and American Academy of Sports Medicine. She holds a doctorate from the University of Miami and a master of science degree from Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition.

 

Cahterine E. WotekiCatherine E. Woteki, PhD, RD

Global Director of Scientific Affairs,
Mars, Incorporated

Former Dean of Agriculture and Professor of Human Nutrition, Iowa State University

Former Undersecretary, Food Safety USDA

"Labeling: An Industry Perspective"

Dr. Catherine Woteki is Global Director of Scientific Affairs for Mars, Incorporated, a multinational food, confectionery, and pet care company. She joined Mars, Inc. in August, 2005, and in this role manages the company’s scientific and regulatory positions on matters of health, nutrition, and food safety.

Prior to joining Mars, Inc., Dr. Woteki held positions in academia and government. From 2002-2005, she was Dean of Agriculture and Professor of Human Nutrition at Iowa State University which is ranked among the world’s top five research institutions in the food and agricultural sciences. From 1997-2001, she served as the first Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the U.S. government’s Office for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and coordinating U.S. government food safety policy development and USDA’s continuity of operations planning. She also worked for two years in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she co-authored the Clinton Administration’s science policy statement, "Science in the Public Interest" and as the Deputy Under Secretary for Research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Woteki is a nutritional epidemiologist, and her research interests include nutrition and food safety policy, risk assessment, and health survey design and analysis. She is the author of over 60 refereed scientific articles and 12 books and technical reports. During her tenure as Director of the Food and Nutrition Board, she had direct responsibility for 27 studies and she co-authored a nutrition book for the public entitled Eat for Life which became a Book of the Month Club selection.

Dr. Woteki is a registered dietitian and is active in several scientific organizations including the American Society for Nutrition, the Institute of Food Technologists, and the American Dietetic Association. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Institute of Medicine for which she was chair of the Food and Nutrition Board in 2003-2005. She has been honored with the American Dietetic Association’s Lenna Frances Cooper Award, the Public Health Service’s Special Recognition Award, and the Elijah White Award of the National Center for Health Statistics.

Dr. Woteki has served on the Board of Trustees of the International Life Sciences Institute, the Board of Directors of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the Board of Directors of the USDA Graduate School, and currently is on the Board of Directors of Halosource. She was leader of U.S. government delegations to the International Congress on Plant Sciences and the FAO Consultation on Plant Genetic Resources in 1996, the OECD Ad Hoc Group on Biotechnology and Other Aspects of Food Safety in 2000, and the Codex Committee on General Principles also in 2000.

Discussion Leaders

Eileen T. KennedyEileen T. Kennedy, DSc, RD

Dean, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

An international nutrition policy expert, Eileen Kennedy was named dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts in 2004. Throughout her career, Kennedy has championed nutrition research and its application to policy, from her seven years as a leading voice for nutrition at the US Department of Agriculture ( USDA) to her studies of maternal and child health and nutrition in Africa, Asia, North and Central America. Her policy leadership has included involvement with the United Nations, the National Academy of Sciences, the White House National Science and Technology Council, the White House Biotechnology Subcommittee, the Surgeon General's Task Force on Health Disparities, among others. While serving as deputy under secretary and then acting under secretary at the USDA, she created the "Healthy Eating Index," a validated measure for researchers monitoring nutrition and earned her a worldwide reputation. Recently, Kennedy was president of the Global Nutrition Institute, which seeks to link science-based nutrition research to action through public/private partnerships. A graduate of Hunter College, she holds two master's degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Harvard and earned her Doctor of Science in Nutrition from Harvard's School of Public Health.

Kathleen A. MerriganKathleen A. Merrigan, PhD

Assistant Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Environmental Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kathleen A. Merrigan is the Director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. From 1987 to 1992 Kathleen served as senior science and technology staff to the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. In this role, she drafted the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, mandating national organic standards and a program of federal accreditation. In 1995, while working as a senior analyst at the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Kathleen was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to a 5-year term as an environmental representative on the National Organic Standards Board, tasked by Congress to determine allowable production materials and standards for the emerging National Organic Program (NOP). In 1997 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its first proposed organic rule that was successfully denounced by organic advocates across the country. Kathleen, working on the steering committee of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, helped lead the fight that generated an unprecedented 275,603 comment letters to USDA.

In 1999 President Clinton appointed Kathleen as Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service, a billion-dollar agency with diverse responsibilities. Chief among these was publication of a new proposed organic rule and final rule, which Kathleen oversaw until her political term expired in January 2001. In addition to her integral role in the development of the NOP, Kathleen served on the board of directors of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, assisted the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in writing its first-ever policy paper on organic agriculture, and was recipient of the Organic Trade Association's 2000 Leadership Award.

Currently she is a member of the Board of the Organic Center, the scientific committee of Certified Humane, a fellow at Tisch College, and participant in the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.

Parke WildeParke Wilde, PhD

Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Parke Wilde is a food economist. Parke began his career as the editor of Nutrition Week, the publication of the Community Nutrition Institute.  After completing a Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Cornell, he worked five years for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.  In 2003, he joined the faculty of the Friedman School, where he teaches graduate-level courses in statistics and U.S. food policy.  His research addresses food security and hunger measurement, the economics of food assistance programs, and federal dietary guidance policy.

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