Dr. Ernest Baskin is an Associate Professor of Food, Pharma, and Healthcare at Saint Joseph’s University, with a Ph.D. in Marketing from Yale University School of Management. He also holds an M.A. and M.Phil. in Marketing from Yale, along with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Penn's College of Arts and Sciences. 

An expert in consumer behavior and marketing research, Dr. Baskin’s work focuses on consumer judgment, decision-making, and biases, using experimental methodology and survey design. He also consults on workforce retention and recruitment. 

His research has been published in top journals like the Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of Marketing Research. Dr. Baskin has received numerous accolades, including recognition as a "Millennial to Watch" by the Philadelphia Inquirer and being named one of the "40 Under 40" business school professors by Poets & Quants. 

Matt advises and defends clients across industries with the strategic insights as former General Counsel for the US Environmental Protection Agency, former General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and a former environmental litigator at the US Department of Justice. 

David maintains a robust federal, state, and administrative litigation and regulatory practice in the environmental and natural resources arena. David is an experienced litigator with a deep understanding of regulatory compliance related to all forms of environmental media over diverse industry sectors. He is skilled in all phases of litigation, including discovery, taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing motions, and court appearances. 

Keith T. Ayoob, Ed.D., is a pediatric nutritionist and clinical practitioner. He is director of the nutrition clinic at the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. Dr. Ayoob’s work focuses on obesity in children. His clinical approach considers the immediate social context of a child’s obesity problems.  His research interests are treating and preventing obesity; preventing type 2 diabetes; cardiovascular health; feeding problems; and the nutritional effects of drugs commonly prescribed to children for behavioral issues. 

Rufus L. Chaney obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Purdue University in 1969. He worked with USDA-Agricultural Research Service for 46 years, retiring in 2016. He did research in lab, greenhouse and field on fate of metals in biosolids, soils, crops, and the food-chain transfer and bioavailability of soil and crop metals to animals. Dr. Chaney contributed to US-EPA rules on land application of biosolids to protect food safety and crop yields. He invented the concept of soil metal phytoextraction and led a Cooperative Research and Development Research Program to develop a patented complete commercial phytoextraction technology. His work on bioavailability of soil Pb and treating soils with Fe-rich biosolids has contributed significantly to acceptance of in situ remediation of metal contaminated soils and using mixtures of biosolids and byproducts to restore ecosystems.

De Ann Davis, PhD, joined Western Growers in June 2020 as Senior Vice President, Science. Davis has over 25 years of experience in the development and execution of technical global programs, including food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance. 

Danyelle is a dedicated researcher committed to advancing the agricultural and food industries. With a passion for plant breeding, she seeks solutions to the challenges of food production. She focuses on identifying optimal traits in plants and developing new varieties that exemplify productivity, nutritional quality, flavor, and resilience in a changing climate. 

Stephanie Hodges (MS, MPH, RDN) is a public health dietitian and food policy professional with over a decade of experience working to increase access to healthy food through food systems, public health nutrition programs, and policy change. She is the founder and owner of The Nourished Principles, a public health and nutrition consulting firm where she works with clients to implement strong public health nutrition programs and policies, write and implement grants, and strengthen nutrition and wellness within school districts. Prior to >span class="NormalTextRun SCXW77318039 BCX0"> she worked in state government overseeing demonstration grants from USDA and working with non-profit organizations and school districts.

Dr. Trenton Roberts is a Professor and Interim Department Head in the Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Roberts received his B.S. in Plant Science at Oklahoma State University, his M.S. in Soil Science at the University of Arizona, and his Ph.D. in Soil Science at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Roberts’ expertise includes optimizing the efficiency with which crops use essential nutrients through the development of soil and tissue tests as well as management practices such as time, rate, source and placement.

Dr. Carolyn G. Scrafford is a Principal Scientist at Exponent, specializing in chemical regulations and food safety. With 20 years of experience, she applies epidemiological methods, statistics, and risk assessment to evaluate health effects related to food contaminants, additives, and environmental compounds globally. Dr. Scrafford has expertise in clinical trials, dietary risk assessments, and exposure assessments for contaminants like heavy metals and food toxins. She has supported regulatory submissions, including developing GRAS notifications and Food Additive Petitions (FAPs), using data from large international databases. 

Dr. Angelia Seyfferth is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, one of the founding Directors of the Center for Food Systems and Sustainability (CENFOODS), and the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Delaware. Seyfferth’s research is rooted in soil biogeochemistry to develop sustainable ways to lower human exposure to harmful contaminants from food. She uses laboratory and field experiments as well as conventional and advanced spectroscopic techniques to understand the dynamic chemistry of the rhizosphere and localization of contaminants and nutrients in soils and plants.  

Steve Markenson leads FMI’s research & insights practice. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field – from research assistant to president of a full-service national market research firm – and his diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning.

In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice at FMI, specifically the study design, survey fielding and efforts with outside knowledge partners and FMI subject matter experts. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry. 

Tom Duffy is a senior advisor to FMI for building the nonfoods community and growth initiative as part of the FMI vision for total store collaboration. In this role, Tom enhances trading partner collaboration to address challenges, opportunity gaps and innovations designed to drive profitable growth in General Merchandise, Household, and HBC categories and to better serve consumers. 

As former vice president of member development at GMDC/Retail Tomorrow, and prior roles with Acosta and Nielsen, Tom brings a depth of relevant programming and growth opportunities to the FMI initiative. Tom is based in southern New Jersey and enjoys spending time with family, golfing, surf fishing and rooting for the Philadelphia sports teams. 

Jonna has been an innovator in the fresh foods space for nearly two decades driving the evolution of consumer-centric decision making and big data analytics throughout the perimeter. She has worked extensively in each perimeter department: Meat, Bakery, Deli, Produce, Seafood, Dairy and Floral with both suppliers and retailers. Jonna joined IRI in 2016 and leads IRI’s Fresh COE focusing on solution enhancement, thought leadership and client consultation across both suppliers and retailers. Jonna graduated with highest honors from Bradley University with a degree in public relations and marketing and lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Rick Stein joined FMI in 2014, and is responsible for developing a portfolio of services and activities to assist members in formulating and executing their fresh food strategies.  These categories include everything from  – dairy, frozen, meat, poultry, seafood, and produce to service departments – deli, bakery and fresh prepared meals and related solutions for take-out or in-store dining.

Prior to joining FMI, Rick spent 35 + years in a wide range of retail grocery merchandising and marketing responsibilities.  Most recently Stein was the Vice President of retail marketing & merchandising execution for Safeway Stores, Inc.  Previously he held both divisional and corporate responsibilities in his tenure at Safeway in retail/store operations, category management, sales, marketing/merchandising, and strategy development. He has experience in virtually every facet of the retail food business and helped lead Safeway to achieve operational excellence and increased market share and revenues.Stein graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of Arts in Behavioral and Social Sciences.  He has earned continuing educations credits in marketing, merchandising and management, most recently with the Disney Institute. Rick serves on numerous nonprofit boards such as the MDA, Children’s Cancer Foundation and Easter Seals of DC/VA/MD.