President-Elect

Chris Daubert, PhD
Vice Chancellor and Dean, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri
Christopher R. Daubert, PhD, serves as the Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri (Mizzou), and a professor in the Division of Food, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences. In 2017, he joined Mizzou from N.C. State University, where he served as a professor and head of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences and director of the Food Rheology Laboratory.

As a faculty member, his research explained the physical chemistry, molecular-level interactions, and functionality of food systems through an understanding of rheological behavior, while solving problems facing the food and pharmaceutical industries. Daubert previously served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Texture Studies, on the editorial board of the Journal of Food Process Engineering, and on the editorial committee of the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology. In 2015, Daubert received distinguished alumnus awards from Pennsylvania State University and Michigan State University. Previously, Daubert chaired the IFT food engineering division and was named an IFT Fellow in 2015. Daubert currently serves on the IFT Board of Directors.

Board Members

Nancy Moriarity, PhD
Retired, PepsiCo
Nancy retired in 2016 after a 26+ year career at PepsiCo. During her career, she spent 16 years at Frito-Lay R&D as a product development scientist, including all phases from early prototype development, scale-up, test market support and product launch. She worked domestically and internationally and shares 3 U.S. patents with PepsiCo colleagues. In addition to product development, she built and led a successful Supplier Collaboration program, resulting in supplier partnerships supporting multiple product development efforts. Nancy then transitioned to a role within the Quaker Nutrition organization leading nutrition research efforts, undernutrition-focused projects, and nutrition strategy. She then moved into Global R&D Strategy where she supported the work of the global R&D support service organizations.

Nancy also leveraged her career as an opportunity to explore her passions. Among these she was active in recruiting and engaged with her alma mater (University of Illinois) where she served on the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition’s External Advisory Board and was awarded the College of ACES Award of Merit in 2013. Nancy also was a leader within PepsiCo R&D’s STEM-related activities and shared a 2016 Chairman’s Award with other PepsiCo STEM leaders.

Jaime Reeves, PhD
Executive VP, Product Development & Commercialization, Mattson
Jaime Reeves is Executive Vice President, Product Development & Commercialization at Mattson. She is responsible for leading product development & commercialization across Mattson’s diverse R&D team and manages a broad range of client relationships.

Prior to joining Mattson, Jaime held various roles in the food industry focused on innovation, commercialization, cost savings and process development. She led several award-winning product development groups at Del Monte Foods, including Fruit (canned and produce), Broth (canned and aseptic), Tomato (canned), and Food Service, as well as led the thermal process team. Jaime began her career at Frito Lay/PepsiCo where she developed new innovation for Doritos, Cheetos and Frito Lay Branded dips and explored new novel technologies for the snacking category.

Jaime earned a Ph.D. in food science from the University of California, Davis, Masters of Science in food science from University of Georgia and Bachelors of Science in food science from California Polytechnic State University, SLO. Jaime has been an active member of IFT since 1998.

Jamie Valenti-Jordan, CFS
CEO, Catapult Commercialization Services
Jamie Valenti-Jordan is first and foremost focused on feeding 9 billion people by 2050 - the year his son turns 35. For Jamie, the 2050 crisis is not for a future generation to solve. It is here, now.

Jamie is the CEO of Catapult Commercialization Services, a technical and operational services group of 90 people targeting emerging and scaling food brands. Jamie is focused on building bridges between our industry and the emerging sector to ensure that consumers are presented with nutritious, safe, and ever-evolving opportunities. By drawing on the resources historically made available to those at established brands and sharing them with newer brands, Jamie hopes to accelerate the pace of innovation of global food systems.

Jamie also teaches Food Engineering and Food Processing at Mount Mary University to inspire the next generation of Food Scientists to pursue their passions. By learning from his professional and academic predecessors, Jamie was able to find the perfect spot for him in the industry, and he hopes to share that with those that come after him.

Jeffrey Varcoe, PhD
Vice President, Food Safety & Quality, Schwan’s Company, an affiliate of CJ CheilJedang Corporation
Jeff first joined Schwan’s Company, an affiliate of CJ CheilJedang Corporation in 2002. He currently serves as vice president of Food Safety & Quality. He is accountable for the development and implementation of strategies, goals and objectives and key performance metrics for the department and company. Scope of this position also includes leading and collaborating with manufacturing, research and development and engineering food safety & quality and sanitary design initiatives to enhance reliability, drive continuous improvements, and reduce risk throughout the business including 17 manufacturing facilities. In addition, he works with the business leaders and customers as an interface for technical solutions. He also supports key relationships with key regulatory bodies like USDA, FDA and other governmental entities.

Since joining Schwan’s Company, an affiliate of CJ CheilJedang Corporation, Jeff has held leadership roles of increasing importance, including Vice President of Manufacturing Technical Services, Vice President Food Safety & Quality, Director of Research and Development, Director of Food Safety and Microbiology, and Manager of Food Safety.

Jeff earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southwest Minnesota State University, a master’s degree from Minnesota State University – Mankato, and a doctorate in food science from the University of Minnesota. He is actively involved in many professional and community-oriented boards and committees, including: the board of directors (past chairman) for the American Frozen Food Institute; a member of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s Food Law & Policy Institute Advisory Committee; a member of the Advisory Council for the University of Minnesota’s Department of Food Science and Nutrition; executive committee and board member for the Southwest Minnesota Workforce Council; and board member for the Canby (Minnesota) High School Blue & Gold Foundation.

IFT Petition Policy

This policy was approved by the IFT Board of Directors in March 2021.

Any five percent (5%) of Premier Members of the Institute shall have the privilege of proposing a nominee for President-Elect or IFT Board Member by filing a written petition. Please see the Petition Process & Guidelines for information on submitting a petition to challenge the Board of Directors Slate.

Any candidate brought forth by petition must have submitted and completed their nomination and candidate information form through the online process. 

Candidates have three weeks from the slate announcement to submit a petition to the CEO.

If there are no eligible candidates through the petition process, the slate presented to the membership by the Leadership Development Committee shall be deemed elected by the petition deadline and communicated to the membership. An eligible candidate is defined as one who submitted and completed their nomination and candidate information form through the online process.

If one or more eligible petitions have been received by the CEO, an election for the contested position(s) only shall be held. Mail or electronic ballots may be used to conduct the election for contested positions.

Nominees (selected by the nomination and the petition process) receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected, provided that a quorum of members (5%) has voted. Tie votes shall be resolved by a majority vote of the members of the Board of Directors.

Leadership Election Campaign Guidelines

If one or more eligible petitions are received by the CEO, an election for the contested position(s) only will be held.  Should this take place in 2023, an electronic ballot will be utilized. All candidates on the ballot must adhere to the campaign guidelines listed below.

• As a candidate, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the webpage on the election website that IFT provides to all candidates by sharing the link or directing members to the page.
• You may use your personal email contact list and personal social media accounts to promote your candidacy.  
• IFT will not provide a membership list.
• You may choose to campaign in person at Section or Division activities. The primary goal is to partner with Sections and Divisions to spread the word about the voting process. Should you choose to do so, all associated costs are your responsibility.
• The use of the following IFT communication channels is strictly prohibited which encompasses IFT-related social media including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, IFT Section, and Division newsletters/emails, and IFT Connect.
• Candidates are strongly discouraged from issuing press releases, statements, announcements, or other forms of print or online advertising outside of those provided by IFT.
• All candidates are expected to adhere to the IFT Member Code of Professional Conduct and exemplify IFT Core Values.
• The use of the IFT logo is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of the association.
• Any violation(s) can be reported to the Leadership Development Committee Chair for review and discussion.
         

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

IFT is committed to ensuring members have access and the opportunity to contribute to their fullest potential. Diversity and inclusion are key to our mission to connect global food system communities to promote and advance the science of food and its application. Therefore, we believe it is critical to attract and engage a diverse population of members and food science professionals to lead IFT through Board service. The Board strives to achieve broad representation of membership demographics and multi-representational factors, including career stage, education, areas of practice type and setting (e.g., academia, government, industry, consultancy), broad global and cultural experience, and diverse special interests and expertise (e.g., food safety, regulatory, engineering, agriculture, sustainability, etc.). Please visit our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page for more information.

Questions?

Please contact Charlotte Patterson, Staff Liaison to Leadership Development Committee, for more information or to submit a question.