Check out the 2025 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference Speakers. More details coming soon.
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Keynote Speakers
Charles Leftwich
Conference Co-Chair
Vice President of Food Safety
and Quality Assurance
Sysco Corporation
As the Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Sysco Corporation, Charles serves the world’s largest foodservice distributor. In this role he supports Sysco’s Purpose of “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another” by establishing food safety, product quality, sustainability, and regulatory compliance strategies across the Sysco enterprise. To implement these strategies, Charles leads a team of talented food safety professionals across Sysco’s broadline distribution services, specialty manufacturing locations, and Sysco’s industry leading private label brand program which is renowned for its commitment to the highest product quality and food safety standards.
Charles is a highly-experienced professional in the food safety, quality assurance and regulatory field with expertise in the harvest, manufacturing, distribution, and foodservice industries. He has served on various industry associations’ boards of directors, committees and working groups. Charles has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career and prior to Sysco, led teams in Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Operations and Environmental Health and Safety at Cargill Meat Solutions and Kane Beef.
He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science as well as a Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University.
Tony Flood
Director of Food Safety Communications
International Food Information Council
As Director, Food Safety Communications at the International Food Information Council (IFIC), Tony has worked for over 13 years developing a number of food safety education and outreach programs. Additionally, he directs the development and continuation of risk / crisis communication programs among academic, government and industry stakeholders on emerging food safety and defense topics.
Tony is a graduate of James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, where he received a B.S. degree in Communications.
Tony is an active member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) and the National Center for Food Defense (NCFPD) risk communication core team.
Steven Mandernach
Executive Director
Association of Food and Drug Officials
Steven Mandernach (MAWN-dur-knock) is the executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials. Prior to becoming executive director in 2018, Mandernach was the bureau chief for Food and Consumer Safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, where he was responsible for the regulation of Iowa’s 24,000 food manufacturers, retail food operations, and lodging establishments. Mandernach spent over 15 years in state government, including managing Iowa’s $35 million implementation of the Help America Vote Act. He also served as acting associate general counsel for the Governor of Iowa.
He serves on the Board of the Directors for the non-profit the Partnership for Food Safety Education.
Mandernach graduated with a J.D. from Drake University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University. He has completed graduate work in Food Safety at Michigan State University. Mandernach was an adjunct instructor of business law and political science for 10 years at Des Moines Area Community College.
Kevin Sheehan
Senior Director of Processor Engagement
National Pork Board
Kevin is the Director of Processor Engagement for the National Pork Board. He is responsible for providing vision and strategic direction to the National Pork Board staff regarding engagement with Packers and Processors.
Prior to working for the National Pork Board, Kevin spent 26 years at Cargill in their meat and poultry division as Vice President of Swine Livestock Procurement and Vice President of Retail Business Management.
Kevin holds a degree in marketing from Kansas State University. He and his wife, Phyllis, have three children and live in Wichita, Kansas.
Brian Ronholm
Director of Food Policy
Consumer Reports
Brian Ronholm is the director of food policy for Consumer Reports. He leads CR’s advocacy efforts to advance a safe and healthy food system. Brian brings deep legislative and regulatory experience in food policy to CR. He also writes and speaks extensively on food policy issues, with a particular emphasis on emerging technologies, food safety modernization, and pending regulatory policies facing the food industry.
Brian served as deputy under secretary of food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for five years. Brian provided leadership, management and oversight of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency with more than 9,000 employees responsible for ensuring the safety of meat, poultry, catfish, and processed egg products.
Prior to joining CR, Brian most recently served as senior director of regulatory affairs at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, and he served in the same senior position at Arent Fox LLP.
He serves on the Board of the Directors for the non-profit the Partnership for Food Safety Education.
Brian graduated from California State University – East Bay with a Bachelor of Science in Finance as well as a Master of Art in Public Policy from The George Washington University.
H. Lester Schonberger, Ph.D.
Associate Extension Specialist
Virginia Tech/Virginia Cooperative Extension
H. Lester Schonberger is an Associate Extension Specialist in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Tech, with a focus on food safety and food security.
His integrated research and extension work centers on food security as it relates to all people being able to access safe, quality, culturally appropriate food.
Lester has received several awards, including the Dr. Randolph Grayson Outstanding Diversity Scholar Award in 2020.
He is an active member of various professional organizations such as the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection.
He serves on the Board of the Directors for the non-profit the Partnership for Food Safety Education.
Lester earned his Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech as well as a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech.
Roberta Wagner
Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs
International Dairy Foods Association
Roberta Wagner is the senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs for the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).
Prior to IDFA, Roberta served as vice president of regulatory and technical affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association since 2019.
She spent 33 years in public service, most recently as the assistant administrator of the Office of Policy and Program Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Previously, Roberta served as the deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Field Operations at FSIS where she oversaw a workforce of 7,800 inspection program personnel, including consumer safety officers, public health veterinarians and food inspectors.
Roberta also spent more than 25 years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working in a variety of roles from analytical chemist to associate commissioner for Food Safety Modernization Act implementation.
She earned her master’s degree in Biological Science/Biochemistry from Bowling Green State University as well as a bachelor’s degree in Biological Science from Hiram College.