Herb Anthony has worked in the Food, Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industry for over 22 years. During this time, he was instrumental in creating the framework for various training departments. He has a wealth of experience in Effective Training Design, Adult Learning principles, GxP requirements and Regulatory Inspections. In his current role, he leads the Operations Training function for Freshly Inc. He is also responsible for curriculum development and defining training needs. Herb is known within the training community as a speaker on current training topics, regulatory trends pertaining to the training function and training design solutions. He has published articles on Training Effectiveness and Outcomes and has used the knowledge to put in place an effectiveness program that was approved by the FDA in 2008 and is still functioning today. He has spoken at conferences around the globe including Barnett Clinical Training Symposiums, Drug Discovery Conference (Beijing China 2015), SoCRA and as a tenured speaker for the Society of Quality Assurance (SQA). Prior to working as a Training professional, Herb had over 10 years of experience in research and development serving as a Senior Research Chemist and Phase III to Launch Project Manager. Herb holds a B. S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from PMI, Professional Training certifications from Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) and Langevin Learning Services and several certificates on GCP, GLP and GMP requirements, method development, assay design, laboratory instruments and laboratory statistics and ethics.

David Bain has over 20 years of experience in beverage manufacturing working for Ocean Spray Cranberries in Henderson, Nevada. He began working for Ocean Spray in March 1995. Dave’s career has progressed through several positions in Operations, Maintenance, Performance Excellence, and Quality. Since Ocean Spray began using Alchemy in 2013 Dave has been the Ocean Spray Training Platform Specialist. He is the organization’s single source point of contact for end-users serving 21 locations in the US, Canada, and Chile for the Alchemy Training platform.

Gene Barnard is the Director of Quality at The Gluten Free Bar. With 25 years of experience in Quality and Safety in multiple industries, he has survived well over 200 Regulatory, Food Safety, Workplace Safety and Customer audits. Gene helped develop and launch comprehensive training programs that provide all employees with the knowledge and support they need to be safe, effective and engaged. He is currently a member of Alchemy’s Content Expertise Board and has used Alchemy with two different employers.

Michael has been at KDP for 9 yrs, 5 as training coordinator for distribution. Certified PIT train the trainer and administrator for the PIT program. Have worked in distribution for the past 24 years between KDP and Energizer. Degree in accounting and economics from Lemoyne College in Syracuse NY Hobbies are hockey, custom guitar building, and family time.

Lisa Buck is an Environmental, Health and Safety Manager with Ocean Spray Cranberries. After spending over twenty years developing and implementing world-class safety programs, she has not only achieved OSHA’s SHARP program, but VPP twice. Lisa not only leads safety efforts but drives engagement by motivating and rewarding employees for safe behaviors. Traveling throughout North and South America, Lisa has evaluated and audited a multitude of facilities and assisted in the implementation of regulatory requirements and best practices. Lisa was recently recognized with Ocean Spray’s President’s Award of Distinction and is furthering her education with Columbia Southern University.

Jeff has over 30 years of experience in the food industry, specializing in food safety, quality assurance, and plant management. Prior to Alchemy, Jeff was the founder and President of Chilton Consulting Group for 18 years, helping clients achieve and sustain GFSI certification under the SQF, BRC, and FSSC 22000 standards along with USDA and FDA Regulatory Compliance services for HACCP and Food Safety Plan.

Jeff is a certified SQF Auditor, SQF Consultant, Preventive Control for Human Food Lead Instructor, and International HACCP Alliance Lead Instructor. Prior to starting Chilton Consulting Group, Jeff was a Plant Manager at two large food processing companies and a Director of Quality Assurance. Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Management from Tampa College, Tampa FL.

Bill is Dean of SugarCreekU – building a better version of our employees and our company. Bill created SugarCreekU to foster a new management culture in the fast-growing protein business. Bill taught as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Xavier University and Director of the Xavier Entrepreneurial Center. He holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

Gayle Dardar is a learning and development professional with over 25 years of experience. For the past 5 years she has been a Training Coordinator for Keurig Dr Pepper in Windsor, Virginia. She has experience creating and delivering training material in many different industries including manufacturing, communications, and insurance. Gayle’s speaking engagements include Sloan-C and the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education Conferences. Outside of work, Gayle volunteers supporting individuals with their job searches, creating curriculum vitae, resumes, and cover letters. She is a licensed Real Estate Agent and enjoys the “small zoo” she has at her home.

Dr. van de Ligt has an extensive background in animal feed and human food production, nutrition, modeling, safety, and regulations, with academic, industry, and global perspectives. A key focus of her current food and feed security, safety, defense, and supply-chain resiliency research portfolio is building collaborations with and transitioning solutions into the food industry. She also serves as Director of the Integrated Food Systems Leadership program, an online learning program dedicated to improving the leadership and systems thinking capabilities of early to mid-career professionals affiliated with any aspect of the food system.

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Gregoire is Vice-President for the Food Services Business in the US & Canada at Intertek and Vice-President for Sales at Alchemy Systems. He brings over 15 years of direct experience in helping global food clients reach their safety & quality goals.

Intertek is an industry leading Total Quality Assurance provider that delivers assurance, testing, inspection and certification services to the food industry. Intertek’s network of over 1000 laboratories in 100 countries and employs over 46,000 people globally. To expand as a leader in Total Quality Assurance, Intertek acquired Alchemy Systems in August 2018 to deliver People Assurance solutions. Alchemy Systems is the global leader in frontline workforce training and consulting and currently trains more than 20% of the food industry in North America.

Gregoire is a graduate from HEC Paris with a Specialized Master’s Degree in Marketing and also holds a degree as a Quality Engineer in Bio-Industries from Ecole de Biologie Industrielle (EBI) Graduate school. Prior to joining Intertek, Gregoire spent 8 years at Silliker / Mérieux NutriSciences as the EMEA Global Key Accounts Director and part of the International Business Development and Marketing teams. Gregoire joined Intertek in 2013 and prior to his current role as VP Food Services, he served as the Global Director of Strategic Business Development for Food Services based in Paris, France.

Gregoire is currently based in Chicago, IL, USA.

Brian Krafczyk is the Continuous Improvement and Training Manager at Chicken of the Sea canning plant in Lyons, GA. Brian’s passion for influencing culture change by valuing people and developing leaders makes his current role a perfect fit. His favorite work activities are facilitating problem solving and challenging the status quo by asking “WHY?”. When he is not involved in shaking up the system, he can be found creating a homestead using permaculture principles, aquaponics, heritage breed farm animals and heirloom fruits and vegetables. When not knee deep in dirt or construction you can find him @brian.krafczyk@thaiunion.com or www.linkedin.com/in/brian-krafczyk

With over 30 years of experience in the food industry at companies like ConAgra, Kellogg, and Sara Lee, Holly helps Alchemy Systems to create world class workforce development solutions for large, complex operations within the food industry. Holly has held positions in food safety, quality assurance, sanitation, and plant regulatory affairs.

She was honored to become the 2013 recipient of the Safe Quality Food Institute's Outstanding Achievement Award, was named one of Food Logistics’ 2016 “Champions of the Supply Chain,” and has served on a number of working groups with groups like GFSI, and GMA. Holly is passionate about the importance of training in the food industry.

Dr. Ricardo A. Pineda is a graduate from Walden University School of Management and Technology in the field of Leadership and Organizational Strategies. His recent publication by ProQuest focuses on safety recognition of stress and complacent behavior. This manuscript is the result of a quantitative research study that investigated the correlation between leaders and their ability to recognize stress complacent behavior in the workplace.

"Recognizing and Anticipating Stress Complacent Behavior in Manufacturing Industries."

During the seventies, Dr. Pineda was a NASA engineer working at the technical engineering support group. He was a member of the first ground support team participating as Range Control Officer of the Radar and Telemetry Acquisition Systems during mission control operations. He supported many experimental aircraft test flights sponsor by NASA, DARPA, Grumman, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and supported all Space Transportation Systems launches, orbits, approaches, and landings including the first historical Space Shuttle Columbia flight and 35 subsequent missions.

Dr. Pineda has more than 40 years in manufacturing industries functioning as an Engineering Manager, Maintenance Manager, Project Manager, Project Engineer, Safety Champion, and Director of Engineering and Maintenance working for Cargill, Anheuser-Busch Inc., Coca-Cola North America, Nestle USA, Perdue, Miller-Coors Breweries and others.

Dr. Pineda is the President and the owner of Leadership Emotional Development, LLC in Columbia; South Carolina. In 2018, he decided to alter direction from his technical expertise and share his emotional intelligence passion by helping others preventing safety errors that end on fatalities and create unnecessary dysfunction families.

Mary Reindl is the Training Supervisor within Palermo’s Pizza’s Training Department and oversees a team of three trainers. As part of her role, Mary is creating a training culture that enhances continuous learning and professional development by leveraging Alchemy and its Coach platform. With these tools, Palermo’s can assess and discover training gaps and establish learning plans for employees. Mary aspires to expand practices beyond the plant floor to other departments. Before Palermo’s, Mary taught high school history for 6 years. She applies these educational principles to the manufacturing setting inspiring innovative trainings and creating a solid foundation for future programs.

Bob has over 25 years in the Training & Development field, holding both leadership roles as well as direct implementation roles in the fields of Education, Recruiting, Human Resources, Medical Devices, Medical Administration, & Food Manufacturing. He is the Human Resources Training Manager, with Hearthside Food Solutions and strives to be a coach at work as well as at home and in his community.

Bob leverages the Alchemy Systems Learning Platform as Administrator and Creator to match that of the Hearthside Performance Model and necessary learning plans across the organization, while creating a fun twist to learning.

Kyle Schmidt is the Instructional Design Specialist at Alchemy Systems and an award-winning writer. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the Michener Center, has plays regularly produced across the country, and is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of storytelling as a teaching tool.

Penny Smither, Sr Continuous Improvement Specialist, with 29 years’ experience in food industry, Penny began her career on the frontline and continued to work various frontline positions for the next 18 years. The past 11 years Penny has been leading and coaching cross functional teams in learning and development with continuous improvement focus, Alchemy has been a big part of that journey. In her spare time, Penny focuses on her 25 grandchildren, she loves to spend time with family in the outdoors, camping and fishing.

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Eric has been in the Food Manufacturing business for over a decade and has held roles in Food Safety, R&D, Continuous Improvement, and Workplace Safety. He is currently the Senior Training Manager at Tyson Foods, focused on leadership and safety awareness training and evelopment.

Brian Williams is a Senior Manager of Area Safety for Tyson foods responsible for the people safety at 13 locations within the Prepared Foods Business Segment. Prior to joining Tyson Foods, he served in Safety roles at AdvancePierre Foods, Dow Chemical, and Owens Corning. Brian has his Bachelors Degree in Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health from the University of Findlay.