Dr. Acheson graduated from the University of London Medical School in 1980, and after practicing internal medicine and infectious diseases in the United Kingdom, moved to the New England Medical Center and Tufts University in Boston in 1987. As an Associate Professor at Tufts University, he undertook basic molecular pathogenesis research on foodborne pathogens, especially Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. In 2001, Dr. Acheson moved his laboratory to the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore to continue research on foodborne pathogens.

Previously to founding the Acheson Group, Dr. Acheson served as Managing Director of the Food and Import Safety Practice at Leavitt Partners. In September 2002, Dr. Acheson became the Chief Medical Officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). In January 2004, he was named Director of CFSAN’s Food Safety and Security Staff. In January 2005, the mission of the office was expanded and renamed the Office of Food Safety, Defense and Outreach; in January 2007 it was further expanded to become the Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response. In May 2007, Dr. Acheson was appointed as the Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection to provide advice and counsel to the FDA Commissioner on strategic and substantive food safety and food defense matters. In January 2008, he was named Associate Commissioner of Foods, which provided him an agency-wide leadership role for all food and feed issues, including health promotion and nutrition.

Jamie Clover Adams, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Jamie Clover Adams was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder in July 2012. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Clover Adams worked in various governmental leadership roles for nearly 25 years in two state capitols, as well as our nation’s capital. She has served in both the legislative and executive branches and several business trade associations covering a broad range of issues. Ms. Clover Adams most recently served as Director of Policy for the State of Michigan’s Quality of Life Group. She has held several leadership roles in the Michigan Senate and as the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture from 1999-2003. Additionally, she has worked for the Kansas Grain & Feed Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Clover Adams earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and has a master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. She resides in DeWitt Township.

Allen Anderson, Meijer Inc. 
Allen Anderson has over 20 years of experience in the area of food safety and quality assurance. He joined Meijer in 2011, as the Manager of Food Safety Policy & Training.

Prior to Meijer, he was the one of the Senior Food Safety Specialists for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Before working for the State of Michigan he was the Food Service Sanitation Manager for a 10 county rural health department. His accomplishments include serving on the Blue Ribbon Food Service Committee to revise food safety requirements in Michigan, and he was voted Young Sanitarian of the Year by the Michigan Environmental Health Association (MEHA). He has been a faculty member at Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University and Baker College’s - Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) teaching classes in food safety, nutrition and restaurant design. He is a member of various State and national organizations and is currently serving on the Conference for Food Protection - Interdisciplinary Foodborne Illness Training Committee. He has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental health Management from Ferris State University and holds a MBA from Baker College.

Bob Bauer, Association of Food Industries
Bob Bauer is the president of the Association of Food Industries, headquartered in Neptune, N.J. AFI is an international trade association which fosters trade in food products. The association has approximately 1,000 member companies throughout the world. In addition to companies belonging solely to AFI, the Association of Food Industries includes the North American Olive Oil Association and the National Honey Packers and Dealers Association, organizations that act as stand-alone groups as well as sections of AFI.  Mr. Bauer has served as president of AFI since January 2002. Prior to that, he served as vice president of the organization for nearly six years.

Peter Begg, Mondelez International
Peter Begg is Sr. Director of Global Quality Programs for Mondelēz International. He is a member of Mondelez’s Global Research, Development & Quality leadership team and the Quality liaison to the Global Supply Chain organization. Peter Begg’s current responsibilities include Auditing, Supplier Quality, Specification Management, Special Situations Management, Quality Systems, Quality Policy and Training. He leads a high performing team across the world to ensure that Mondelez’s Quality policies and expectations are applied and validated on a consistent basis. Since mid-2011, Peter held a similar position as Director Quality Programs at Kraft Foods Inc., the predecessor to Mondelēz International, prior to the spin-off of the company’s North American grocery operations in October of 2012. Peter also represents Mondelēz International on the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) board of directors.

Kevin Besey, Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
Kevin Besey is the Director of the Food and Dairy Division of the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development. As Director he administers a division of approximately 100 staff, all focused on the department’s top priority – food safety. He is on the NSF Council of Public Health Consultants, and is a member of the Association of Food and Drug Officials.

Kevin holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Health from Ferris State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Western Michigan University.

Kevin has been a Registered Sanitarian since 1981 and has extensive experience working in all areas of environmental health at Michigan Local Health Departments and at the University of Michigan. He also worked as an independent consultant at Michigan Department of Corrections facilities for 20 years. Kevin has taught in the Environmental Health Program at Ferris State University from 1997-2001 and still teaches part-time.

Kevin began his career with MDA (now MDARD) in 2001 as a Food Service Specialist and Food Service Section Supervisor. Prior to his appointment as Director of the Food and Dairy Division he managed the Food Program.

Julia E. Bradsher, Global Food Protection Institute
Dr. Julia Bradsher is President and CEO of the Global Food Protection Institute, a family of initiatives including the International Food Protection Training Institute, the Technology initiative which is advancing the development of novel food protection technologies, and the Symposia initiative which is facilitating the adoption of policies and practices that will lead to improved public health.  Previously, Dr. Bradsher served as CEO of FAAN™ (the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network). Prior to joining FAAN in January 2009, she was the senior director of marketing for Dey, L.P. At Dey, she led the marketing team and strategic planning for all Dey Pharmaceutical products, including EpiPen®.  Julia holds a Ph.D. in medical sociology from the University of Miami, and a master’s in business administration from the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University in Boston.

Stan Hazan, NSF International
Stan Hazan, Senior Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs oversees the regulatory function and is the principal liaison to U.S. federal regulatory agencies and legislative bodies, and international public health bodies. His work with NSF spans over 20 years and includes expertise in legislative and regulatory affairs and public health education.

Stan serves as Treasurer for the Food Safety Services Providers (Coalition of Third-Party Certification Organizations) and sits on the board for the Partnership of Food Safety Education. He also maintains membership on the Conference for Food Protection Strategic Planning Committee, the Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, the National Environmental Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the American Chemical Society.Stan holds a Certificate in International Food Law & Regulation from Michigan State University, an MPH and MBA from the University of Michigan and a BSc in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Toronto.

Kevan Lawlor, NSF International
Kevan P. Lawlor has been President and Chief Executive Officer of NSF International since 2003. He has been with NSF for 28 years, holding the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, and President of NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd. (NSF-ISR). Under his direction, NSF has expanded into new markets, added services and has become a global organization in the standards development, testing, certification and auditing sectors. Lawlor has accomplished this through growth of existing businesses and the successful acquisition and integration of key organizations into NSF’s existing divisions.