Mitzi Baum joined the team at Stop Foodborne Illness as the Chief Executive Officer in May 2019. She is motivated by the mission to create a new strategy for Stop and its constituency that will drive change through advocacy, collaboration and innovation.

Prior to beginning her tenure at Stop, Mitzi cultivated a 23-year career at Feeding America beginning as a network services representative rising to the senior level position of managing director of food safety.  As managing director of food safety, Mitzi guided the continued development of food safety initiatives including development and execution of the food safety strategic plan; oversight of third-party food safety audit program; food safety educational summits; development of food safety resources; and coordination with donors and regulatory agencies to support food donations. Prior to her career with Feeding America, Mitzi managed restaurants for the Peasant Restaurant Co. in Atlanta, Funky’s Restaurants in Cincinnati, and Lettuce Entertain You, Enterprises in Chicago.

Mitzi holds a Master of Science in Food Safety and a certificate in International Food Law from Michigan State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. She has earned certificates in Non-Profit Management from the University of Chicago, Quality Management from DePaul University and Food Safety Management from Cornell University. She is a certified seafood HACCP instructor and is a certified PCQI.

Mitzi is an adjunct instructor for Michigan State University’s Online Food Safety program and served on its advisory council for three years. She is a member of the International Association of Food Protection, the Conference for Food Protection and the Association of Food and Drug Officials.

Caitlin S. Boon, PhD serves as Associate Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this role, she serves as advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response on a variety of food safety activities including implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act and other high priority food safety policy development activities, outbreak response and recall activities, and efforts to evaluate and adopt new and emerging technologies to strengthen FDA’s ability to address food safety concerns.

Previously, Dr. Boon served as Senior Science Advisor to the Chief of Staff, serving as a principal advisor and consultant to the Commissioner and the Chief of Staff on scientific and policy matters relating to food safety, nutrition, and veterinary medicine. Prior to this role, she held several positions in other parts of FDA, including the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Boon also served as an FDA detailee to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Before joining FDA, she worked at the National Academies in the Institute of Medicine (IOM), where she served as study director for food and nutrition related consensus reports and directed the IOM Food Forum.

Dr. Boon received undergraduate degrees in Food Science and Poultry Science from North Carolina State University, completed a master’s degree in Food Policy at City University London while on a Fulbright grant to the United Kingdom, and received a doctorate in Food Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Lauren Bush brings 10 years of experience in politics and has lobbied passionately for increased consumer protections at the state and federal levels.

Lauren first joined the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness in 2009 after she contracted hemorrhagic E.coli in the 2006 spinach outbreak. Driven to affect change for all consumers, Lauren was honoured by Pew Charitable Trusts for her efforts to advocate for the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Currently, Lauren is the Senior Manager of Government Relations for Success Academy Charter Schools, working to connect thousands of New York families to better educational access. She previously served as Government Relations for the New York Public Library, Chief Operating Officer of a million member PAC, and Director of Political Parity, a program directed at recruiting more women to run for office. As a fellow of Senator Gillibrand, she served on the event planning team for the inaugural Women’s Economic Empowerment Summit.

Lauren received her M.P.A. in public policy analysis from New York University and a B.A. in art history from the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Denise Eblen was appointed as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Office of Public Health Science (OPHS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in May 2018. In this role, Dr. Eblen leads OPHS to provide expertise in scientific analysis, including oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing of regulatory samples, risk assessment, and outbreak investigation and response. Her team provides recommendations on all matters involving public health and related sciences at FSIS. Her duties directly support FSIS’ Strategic Goals 1: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health, and 2: Modernize Inspection Systems, Policies, and the Use of Scientific Approaches.

In 2015, Dr. Eblen joined USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in Washington D.C., as a Deputy Director. In this role, she led NIFA’s Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, which supports research, education and extension activities in food safety, food quality, nutrition and obesity.

Dr. Eblen first joined the FSIS family in 2001 as the Agency’s first Food Safety Fellow and rose to become OPHS’ Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator in 2013. Dr. Eblen previously held the position of Research Associate at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, where she studied the safety of produce.

A native of Ireland, Dr. Eblen is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Ulster at Coleraine in Northern Ireland, a Master of Science Degree in Food Science from Queen’s University, Belfast, in Northern Ireland, and a Ph.D. in Food Safety Microbiology from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland.

Dr. Randall Huffman is Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer at Maple Leaf Foods.  Dr. Huffman leads a team that has developed and is executing world class strategies to deliver on Maple Leaf Foods’ commitments to produce safe, great tasting food and to become the most sustainable protein company on earth. This role encompasses Food Safety and Quality, Occupational Health, Safety and Security, Environmental Sustainability and Compliance, Animal Care and Corporate Engineering.  

Dr. Huffman joined Maple Leaf Foods as Chief Food Safety Officer in 2009, and in 2011 assumed leadership of Six Sigma and Food Quality. In 2014, he was appointed Senior Vice President Operations, in addition to his role leading Food Safety and Quality. In the following 3 years, he led Manufacturing across 12 prepared meats plants as well as Corporate Engineering, Manufacturing Services, Occupational Health and Safety, Security and Environment, and the Operations Excellence and Learning teams. 

Dr. Huffman leads the company’s Food Safety Advisory Council, a team of external experts with the mandate to increase Maple Leaf’s access to global knowledge and expertise in food safety, including best practices, regulatory compliance, microbiology, and fostering a food safety culture.

Prior to joining Maple Leaf Foods, Dr. Huffman served as President of the American Meat Institute (AMI) Foundation, as well as Senior Vice President Scientific Affairs for 9 years at AMI. Prior to joining AMI, Dr. Huffman was Director Technical Services at Koch Industries where he was involved in business and product development in the Koch Agriculture division. Earlier in his career he held senior positions related to food safety, quality assurance and product development in North America’s food industry.

Dr. Huffman holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science degree in Meat and Animal Science from the University of Florida, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University. He is a member of the Board of Directors for NAMI, an active member and past president of the American Meat Science Association and a member of the International Association of Food Protection and the Institute of Food Technologists.

Gillian Kelleher is Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Wegmans Food Markets, a major US regional supermarket chain and one of Fortune’s “Top 100 Companies to Work For” in America. Gillian started with Wegmans in 1997 and her scope of responsibility includes all aspects of food safety and quality for stores, self-manufacturing, distribution and Wegmans’ private label program.

Prior to joining Wegmans, Gillian worked with Grand Metropolitan Foods Europe in the food manufacturing, retail and food service sectors including positions with Express Foods, Häagen Dazs and Burger King.

Gillian earned her B.S degree in Dairy and Food Science from University College Cork, Ireland. She is a member of several professional organizations including the Institute of Food Technologists, the International Association of Food Protection and the American Society for Quality.

Gillian is a long- standing member of the Food Marketing Institute’s Food Protection Committee and Harvard’s Private & Public, Scientific, Academic & Consumer Food Policy Group (PAPSAC). Gillian is a member of the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute and a member of the Board of Directors for Stop Foodborne Illness. Gillian is the current Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Global Food Safety Initiative.

Rory McAlpine is Senior Vice President, Government and Industry Relations with Maple Leaf Foods. In this role, Mr. McAlpine has overall responsibility for working with government and industry partners on matters of public policy, programs, regulatory affairs and trade.

Mr. McAlpine brings to Maple Leaf Foods a wealth of experience gained during more than 30 years of working in government, trade and agribusiness.

Prior to joining the Company, Mr. McAlpine served as Deputy Minister of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries from 2002 to 2005. He also obtained significant experience with the Federal Government as Executive Director and Director General, International Trade Policy Directorate; Director Grains and Oilseeds Division; and Deputy Director Multilateral Trade with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Mr. McAlpine also held the position of Executive Director of the National Farm Products Council and was a Trade Commissioner with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, with postings in Kuwait, Bangkok, Brussels, Edmonton and Ottawa.

Mr. McAlpine serves on a number of boards including Food and Beverage Ontario, Food and Beverage Canada, VIDO-InterVac (University of Saskatchewan), the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity and the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security.

Mr. McAlpine holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Michael H. McCain is chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s flagship food companies, with sales of $3.3 billion and employing over 11,500 people in Canada and the United States.

Mr. McCain has devoted his career to the food industry, starting at McCain Foods in the late 1970s, where he held a variety of roles, including president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods USA. He joined Maple Leaf Foods in 1995. Since then, he has been instrumental in establishing Maple Leaf as a strong and sustainable, values-based company with leading brands and market shares across its businesses and a bold vision for the future.

Mr. McCain and his team are deeply committed to being the global leader in sustainable proteins, reflected in ambitious goals in the advancement of nutrition, reducing antibiotic use in livestock, animal care, environmental sustainability, and enhancing food security nationally and globally.

Mr. McCain is a director of McCain Capital, Maple Leaf Foods, the Royal Bank of Canada and MaRS Discovery District. He is a member of the Richard Ivey School of Business Advisory Board, the Business Council of Canada, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation. He is also the honorary chairman of the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security.

Born in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Michael attended Mount Allison University and received an Honours Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. He also holds honorary degrees from Brock University, Carleton University and Guelph University. He is devoted to his five children and family, and lives in Toronto.

The President is the chief executive officer of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and, as such, supervises its direction and its staff. The President has the rank, and all the powers, of a deputy head of a federal government department.

The President of the CFIA is responsible for carrying out the Agency’s mission, which is to safeguard food, animals and plants, which enhances the health and well-being of Canada’s people, environment and economy.

Dr. Siddika Mithani became President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on February 27, 2019.

Dr. Mithani holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Ph.D. in Psychopharmacology from the University of Aston, England. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Neuroscience Department at the University of British Columbia.

She has a wealth of leadership experience in science-based departments, and most recently, she served as President of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Dr. Mithani began her career with the public service at Health Canada in 1988. She has served as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Science and Technology Branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as Assistant Deputy Minister of Ecosystems and Oceans Science at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as Associate Assistant Deputy Minister in the Health Products and Food Branch at Health Canada and as Associate Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

She is a recipient of the Queen’s Medal for her work in the area of developing and implementing regulations for clinical drug trials in Canada. She has been extensively involved in complex food and nutrition files.

Stan Sorscher worked on industrial imaging programs for 20 years at Boeing in the Seattle area.

Following a 40-day strike in 2000, he went on staff at the union representing engineering employees. The strike was motivated in large part by changes in the business model, which engineers interpreted as disrespectful of their contributions at work. A well-regarded executive suggested to Stan that the labour dispute should be seen in terms of business culture, meaning values, goals, leadership, problem-solving, and the way employees and managers interact with each other. That insight has proven to be very fruitful in understanding productivity, profitability, quality, and safety in manufacturing, and many other industries.

Mike Taylor is a senior fellow at the Meridian Institute and co-chair of the board of Stop Foodborne Illness, a 25-year old consumer organization representing victims of foodborne illness and their families.

Until June 1, 2016, Mr. Taylor was Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He led the comprehensive overhaul of FDA’s food safety program Congress mandated in the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 and oversaw all of FDA’s food-related activities, including its nutrition, labeling, food additive, dietary supplement, and animal drug programs.

Mr. Taylor served previously at FDA as a staff attorney and as Deputy Commissioner for Policy (1991-1994) and at USDA as Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety (1994-1996). Prior to joining FDA in July 2009, he spent nearly a decade in academia conducting food safety, food security and public health policy research, most recently at George Washington University’s School of Public Health. He also served during that time as a Senior Fellow at the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, where he conducted research on U.S. policies affecting agricultural development and food security in Africa.

In the private sector, Mr. Taylor founded the food and drug practice and was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding, was Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto Company, and served on the boards of the Alliance to End Hunger and RESOLVE, Inc.

He is currently a member of the board of directors of Clear Labs, Inc. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Virginia School of Law.