IFT President-Elect (2026-2027)

Jeffrey Varcoe, PhD
Vice President, Quality Assurance and Food Safety, The J.M. Smucker Co.

IFT Board of Directors (2026-2029)

Lauren Abda, MS
Founder and CEO, Branchfood
Co-Founder, Branch Venture Group

Renee Beall, MBA
Director, Marketing, LBB Specialties

Deepali Palta, PhD
Vice President, R&D, Global Innovation, and Sustainability, Kellanova

Laurette Rondenet
Owner and CEO, The Edlong Corporation

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 3 weeks from 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 2024, 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, Inclusion, and Belonging

IFT is committed to ensuring members have access and the opportunity to contribute to their fullest potential. Diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging 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 broad 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 a variety of special interests and expertise (e.g., food safety, regulatory, engineering, agriculture, sustainability, etc.). Please visit our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging page for more information.

Questions?

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