Meet Our Speakers

This directory will be updated on a rolling basis and is listed alphabetically.  

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Roxi Beck
Tony Bedard
Mike Bray
Juliano Câmara
Dan Cooper
Jan Gilhuis
Charlie Gill
Maile Gradison
Craig Johnson
Nikhil Joseph
Björn Kok

Brijesh Krishnaswamy
Drew Lerner
Sarah McVanel
Chad Moutray
Suzanne Munson
Prakash Namboodiri
Danielle Negueloua
Raf Nonneman
Dr. Michael Okoroafor
Seth Petchers
Donald Pratt

Heejoo Ramsey
Jessica Rifkin
Aaron Saunders
Fletcher Sayia
Carolyn Scrafford
Michiko Shima
Spencer Strader
Hai Su
Marcel van Dijk 
Alfons J.J.M. van Gulick
Preston Wigner
Steven Winarto

Roxi Beck, Director, Consumer Engagement at The Center for Food Integrity (CFI)

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

An active speaker, trainer, facilitator, and trusted advisor to food system thought leaders, Roxi Beck helps audiences think differently about earning trust. As director of consumer engagement for The Center for Food Integrity and president at Look East Consulting, Beck brings more than 15 years’ experience working with clients across the food system, directing strategy and activities for consumer-facing food and agriculture initiatives. Whether working with farmers, registered dietitians, toxicologists, corporate executives, communication directors, restaurateurs, non-profit leaders, or consumers, Beck connects the dots on the varied pressure points that shape today’s food system, and helps organizations incorporate transparency principles and trust-growing approaches into their culture. Beck received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and public relations from Coe College. She currently serves on the board for Iowa State University’s Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, is a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, is past-president of the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Iowa Chapter, and was named to Food Processing Magazine’s Kick-Ass Women in Food. (Back)

Tony Bedard, Chief Executive Officer at Frontier Co-op

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Tony Bedard joined Frontier Co-op in 1991 as head of Operations and was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2003. Prior to Frontier Co-op, Tony worked at Winnebago Industries in a variety of operational roles. Tony leads Frontier Co-op’s mission to nourish people and planet that is rooted in corporate social responsibility. He believes that businesses can be a force for change and that doing good can have a positive impact on a company’s performance. Tony has been recognized numerous times for leading Frontier Co-op’s mission driven work including receiving the Oscar C. Schmidt Business Leadership Award given out by the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Business. Tony holds a B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa and an M.S. in Manufacturing Management from Kettering University. (Back)

Mike Bray, General Manager at BCFoods North America

Garlic and Onion Crop Report
Tuesday, April 12 | 11:30am – 12:00pm

Mike Bray has been working with BCFoods since 2003. Mike started his career with BCFoods as a Sales Manager and for the past 3 years has been the General Manager for the BCFoods North American division, helping to oversee the operations, sales and P&L. Mike Graduated from Cal State Chico with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an emphasis in Marketing. (Back)

Maile Gradison, Partner at Hogan Lovells LLP

Hot Topics in Spice Regulations
Tuesday, April 12 | 10:45am – 11:30am

Maile Gradison is a Partner with Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC and serves as General Counsel for ASTA. As a “food lawyer,” she has a keen understanding of the issues affecting the food industry, from product development through production, distribution, and retail sale. Maile has considerable experience with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), including advising companies on what FSMA means for their business, helping to develop compliance strategies, and providing strategic advice on public policy issues. Her practice also focuses on enforcement and compliance matters, particularly involving recalls or following receipt of FDA Warning Letters. Maile graduated with high honors from The George Washington University Law School and summa cum laude from Tulane University. (Back)

Craig Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Long Point Advisors

ASTA Update
Monday, April 11 | 9:00am – 10:15am

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Long Point Advisors, Craig M. Johnson has been a long-respected figure in New York politics. He is regarded as an insightful leader and trusted counselor to individuals and businesses as they navigate the New York State government ecosystem. With over two decades of experience in elected office, government affairs, law, politics, and business, Craig has earned a reputation for being a skilled negotiator, accomplished lobbyist, seasoned campaign strategist, and savvy business evaluator who possesses a track record of accomplishments and success for his clients at various levels of government. Craig will join ASTA in Miami to discuss the latest advocacy initiatives for practical and achievable regulations. (Back)

Nikhil Joseph, Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Nedspice

Black Pepper Crop Report Panel
Tuesday, April 12 | 2:30pm – 3:15pm
 
After earning a post graduate Masters in Business from Macquarie University, Sydney, Nikhil joined the international sales team at Nedspice India in early 2009. During this time he was involved in crop surveys, developing the supply chain for items such as black pepper, cumin seed and was part of the team that sowed the first seeds for what would become the Nedspice Farmers Partnership Programme, a sustainable and traceable spice farming program. Nikhil expatriated to Nedspice Group headquarters, Rotterdam in 2013 where he held increasingly responsible positions in sales and business development prior to transferring to Nedspice US in 2017. (Back) 

Björn Kok, Consultant at Blonk Sustainability Consultants

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm
 
Bjorn works at Blonk Consultants in the Data & Methodology team, responsible of analyzing and reporting on environmental impacts data related to food and agricultural systems. Besides that, he is also doing a PhD at the University of Stirling, where he studies the environmental impacts of aquaculture, with a focus on novel feed ingredients. Bjorn’s research interests lie in the field of sustainable food production. His work has focused on the resource demand of feed use in aquaculture as a hotspot for environmental effects of aquaculture and other food supply chains. He has a strong background in modelling and quantitative analysis methods. He graduated cum laude Sustainable Development master, Energy and Materials track at Utrecht University. (Back) 

Brijesh Krishnaswamy, Senior Vice President & Business Head at olam food ingredients (ofi)

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm
 
Brijesh is the Senior Vice President and Global Business Head – Spices, olam food ingredients (ofi). He has over 25 years of experience in the food industry and has been with the company for two decades, spending much of his tenure there leading business and operations for edible nuts in Europe. Brijesh began overseeing the spice division in 2018 and is based out of Fresno, CA. (Back) 

Drew Lerner, Founder and President at World Weather, Inc.

Will Weather Add More Spice To Market Volatility?
Monday, April 11 | 3:15pm – 4:00pm

Drew Lerner is President and Senior Agricultural Meteorologist of World Weather, Inc. Drew has been forecasting international weather for 43 years. He began his meteorology career in 1978 as he participated in an international effort to collect data and improve weather forecasting for the Asian Monsoon. Since then, Drew has been supporting the agricultural industry by providing detailed short and long range weather predictions for each major crop area in the world. His daily assessments of crop and weather expectations supports commodity market trade and helps many companies make better agricultural business decisions. Drew started World Weather, Inc. in 2001 after leading Global Weather Services in the late 1990s. World Weather, Inc. is based in the Kansas City area and supports an expanding group of clientele residing in North and South America, India, Europe, Africa and Australia. (Back)

Sarah McVanel, Founder at Greatness Magnified

The Great Resignation: Superglue Your Culture Through Recognition, Meaningful Connection, and Abundant Appreciation
Monday, April 11 | 2:00pm – 2:45pm

Sarah McVanel helps individuals leverage the exponential power of recognition to retain top talent, fuel healthy teams and sustain healthy bottom lines. She speaks nationally on the topic, leads workshops, coaches leaders, and conducts organizational recognition program reviews. Sarah is a Certified Senior Organizational Development Professional (CSODP), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). She is one of 1500 Certified Professional Speakers (CSP) worldwide and Past-President of the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). She has a BA in Psychology, MSc in Family Relations, and Diplomas in Human Resources and Healthcare Administration. (Back)

Chad Moutray, Chief Economist at the National Association of Manufacturers

Inflationary Pressures on Food Pricing and Other Economic Trends in Manufacturing
Tuesday, April 12 | 9:00am – 9:30am

Chad Moutray is chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), where he serves as the NAM’s economic forecaster and spokesperson on economic issues. He frequently comments on current economic conditions for manufacturers through professional presentations and media interviews and has appeared on various new outlets, including CNBC. In addition, he is the director of the Center for Manufacturing Research at the Manufacturing Institute, the social impact arm of the NAM, where he leads efforts to produce thought leadership, data and analysis of relevance to business leaders in the sector. (Back)

Suzanne Munson, Director of Global Partnerships & Alliances with Heifer International

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Suzanne Munson is the Director of Global Partnerships and Alliances at Heifer International, where she’s spent the last 10 years initiating and implementing strategic corporate partnerships that help small-scale farmers become more self-reliant through access to markets, technical assistance and supply chain initiatives. Suzanne manages an international business portfolio that includes companies in the spice, flavors/fragrances, cosmetics and clothing/retail industries. For the last 3 years, Suzanne has served on the ASTA Program Committee, and has been an associate member for 7 years. Prior to joining Heifer, Suzanne spent most of her 20-year career in the arenas of politics, international relations and fundraising. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and French from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (Back)

Prakash Namboodiri, General Manager at Business Development and Communications, AB Mauri India PVT LTD.

Indian Chilies Crop Report
Monday, April 11 | 4:30pm – 5:00pm 

Mr Prakash Namboodiri is an astute professional with nearly 25 years of experience in sales management, business development, procurement, commercial, strategic management, supply chain, logistics and client relationship management in varied industries. An MBA holder in Sales & Marketing with Masters in Tourism and Graduate in Hospitality Management, Prakash is currently based out of Cochin working with A .B .Mauri India Pvt Ltd. (formerly Cochin Spices), as General Manager-Business Development. He has recently also finished Advanced Strategic Management Program from IIM (one of the most premium management institutes in India) with top honors. (Back)

Danielle Negueloua, Director at Johanson Transportation Service, International Division

Lightening the Load: Key Strategies to Mitigate Supply Chain Challenges
Monday, April 11 | 10:30am – 12:00pm 

Danielle Negueloua is the Director of the International Division for Johanson Transportation Service, a leading third-party logistics provider headquartered in Fresno, California. She oversees all international operations and is an expert in all business activities related to importing and exporting as well as ocean drayage. Starting her career with JTS in 2006, she first connected with the company while doing her MBA project – a feasibility study for launching an international business division for JTS. Shortly after her presentation she was hired by President/CEO Larry Johanson and helped launch the International Division located in Rocklin, California. (Back)

Raf Nonneman, European Spice Services

Garlic and Onion Crop Report
Tuesday, April 12 | 11:30am – 12:00pm 

Raf Nonneman is the CEO of European Spice Services NV (ESS), a leading supplier of dehydrated vegetables, herbs and spices with more than 35 years of experience in the industry. Raf initially joined Caldic Belgium, spice division in 1987, after which he joined in 1995 McCormick UK as Regional Sales Manager – Europe. In 2000 he established European Spice Services NV, which became one of the leading spices & dehydrated vegetables distributors in Europe. In 2008, Raf established China Spice Services Ltd s , a sourcing & trading company with locations in Shanghai and Shandong. Today the company has grown into one of the leading global suppliers of dehydrated garlic, onion, bell pepper and spices from China, with strong focus and expertise on food safe ingredients with a sustainable vision. They operate with quality inspection at the factories, offer supply chain solutions and provide market & product intel to the customers. Since a few years, the company is also selling its products in the USA market and they became an ASTA member. (Back)

Dr. Michael Okoroafor, Chief Sustainability Officer at McCormick & Company 

Evolving Packaging Innovation Landscape
Tuesday, April 12 | 9:30am – 10:00am

Michael Okoroafor is McCormick’s Chief Sustainability Officer. In his role, he is responsible for the development and execution of an enhanced sustainability strategy, working with commercial and communications teams, and building on our foundation to ensure that our successes in this area continue to be recognized in the global market. His focus includes working across and through the organization and leading the Purpose-led Performance (PLP) Governing Council to develop and drive our strategy both internally and externally. (Back)

Seth Petchers, Senior Program Director at Sustainable Food Lab

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

With past experience in both corporate and non- profit organizations, and with projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Seth brings a range of perspectives and experiences to his work. Prior to joining the Sustainable Food Lab’s team, Seth led Frontier Co-op’s efforts to deepen its sustainable herb, spice, and essential oils sourcing, developing initiatives to build the business capacity of suppliers around the globe. Seth has also held positions with Oxfam America and Fair Trade USA, as well as consulting for The World Bank. His work on coffee, cocoa, cotton, spices, fresh produce, and tea has included policy advocacy, consumer awareness, supply chain development, market assessment, and farmer-organization capacity building. Seth holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in South Asian Studies and Religion from Oberlin College. (Back)

Donald Pratt, Managing Director at McCormick Global Ingredients Limited

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Donald Pratt is the Managing Director for McCormick Global Ingredients Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of McCormick & Company, Inc. Donald has been with the company for 11 years and, along with his MD duties, is responsible for the development and application of the Herb & Spice source strategy, standardization of sourcing processes and systems, and talent management. Donald is also responsible for developing and implementing client engagement strategies that support global business revenue and growth delivery. He champions the McCormick Sustainable Sourcing program that facilitates the inclusion, development and integration of vetted and competitive diverse smallholder farming businesses into the McCormick Supply Chain. Donald is a founding member of the Americas Supply Chain Leadership team charged with delivering a flexible and agile end-to-end chain. He chairs the Herb & Spice Risk Management Committee and logs well over 120k miles annually to origin in support of McCormick’s Purpose Led Performance agenda for farming community and supply resiliency. (Back)

Heejoo Ramsey, Assistant Marketing Manager at the Port of Long Beach, California 

Lightening the Load: Key Strategies to Mitigate Supply Chain Challenges
Monday, April 11 | 11 10:30am – 12:00pm

Heejoo Ramsey, a maritime logistics professional with 17 years of sales and business development experience, is Assistant Marketing Manager in the Business Development Division of the Commercial Operations Bureau for the Port of Long Beach, California. She joined the Port team in 2020. As Assistant Marketing Manager, Ms. Ramsey’s responsibilities include delivering sales presentations, ranging from one-to-ones with customers to addressing trade association groups numbering in the hundreds; conducting and participating in meetings with customers, external vendors and stakeholders; and outreach to customers in the commodities vertical that includes agricultural and refrigerated products (import and export), recyclables and resin. (Back)

Jessica Rifkin, Senior Attorney with Benjamin L. England & Associates, LLC

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

 Jessica Rifkin practices in customs and international trade law, with a special emphasis on food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. She is the senior lead attorney for Benjamin L. England’s growing Customs and Trade Practice. She regularly represents clients before U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), and the United States Trade Representative (USTR). With over 15 years of experience in the customs and trade area, Ms. Rifkin provides guidance on all aspects of the import and export process. Ms. Rifkin regularly litigates cases before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has obtained a number of favorable decisions for her clients, including decisions overturning adverse classification determinations by CBP and adverse scope rulings issued by the DOC. (Back)

Aaron Saunders, Founder and CEO with Drumfire Public Affairs

ASTA Update
Monday, April 11 | 9:00am – 10:15am

Aaron Saunders is the founder and CEO of Drumfire, a public affairs firm with food issues experience. He has extensive experience communicating complex issues and gaining regulatory and legislative support for products and technologies that upset the status quo and draw intense scrutiny. At Drumfire, he performs a variety of public affairs functions – including strategic planning and counsel, crisis training and management, media engagement, media training and coalition building. Aaron will join ASTA in Miami to discuss crisis communications and public affairs strategies in the food industry. (Back) 

Fletcher Sayia, Partner at A.A. Sayia & Co.

Black Pepper Crop Report Panel
Tuesday, April 12 | 2:30pm – 3:15pm

Fletcher Sayia has been a partner with A.A. Sayia & Co., Inc. since 2012. Before joining the family business, he was a broker with CH Robinson. At A.A. Sayia & Co., Fletcher is primarily responsible for sourcing black and white pepper, and other commodities include turmeric, cloves, and nutmeg. (Back) 

Carolyn Scrafford, Senior Managing Scientist & Office Director at Exponent

ASTA Update
Monday, April 11 | 9:00am – 10:15am

Dr. Scrafford has 18 years of experience in epidemiological methods, applied statistics, and risk assessment to evaluate the human health effects of food contaminants and additives, nutrients, and environmental compounds in the U.S. as well as Europe and other international settings. Dr. Scrafford has designed, conducted, and analyzed data from clinical trials, market basket surveys, and customized surveys on food consumption patterns and has experience in conducting dietary risk assessments for novel food ingredients, nutrients, heavy metals, and contaminants. She has expertise in the synthesis of epidemiological evidence to both quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate causal associations between dietary and environmental exposures and health outcomes. (Back) 

Michiko Shima, Technical Director at Fair Labor Association

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Michiko develops and implements various projects and tools at FLA to improve the lives of workers in global supply chains. She also leads the FLA global-level accreditation, farm-level due diligence in Americas, and risk assessments for the FLA agriculture members. After spending a decade on working on trade and business analysis and forecasting, she started to focus on advising and supporting SMEs and large corporations on ESG due diligence, risk analysis, strategies and management systems. She is trained as the lead auditors in several schemes such as RSPO Chain of Custody, Bonsucro Chain of Custody and ISO 14001. She has a MBA in International Business and Finance from George Washington University and a M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University. (Back) 

Spencer Strader, Director at Imports ECU Worldwide

Lightening the Load: Key Strategies to Mitigate Supply Chain Challenges
Monday, April 11 | 10:30am – 12:00pm

Spencer Strader oversees US ocean import product including all pricing and services offerings for ECU Worldwide, where he has worked for fifteen years. Spencer has over twenty years in the field of international logistics for ocean freights, airfreight, and US Customs brokerage services. (Back)

Hai Su, Director of Supply Chain for Onion and Garlic, Director of Agriculture, BCFoods

Garlic and Onion Crop Report
Tuesday, April 12 | 11:30am – 12:00pm

Hai Su is the Director of Supply Chain for onion and garlic at BCFoods. He is responsible for sourcing raw materials from China and India, improving production process, and conducting market analysis. Hai Su is also the manager of BC Foods agricultural programs including the implementation of sustainable agriculture, improvement of agricultural technology, and the development of agricultural bases to establish vertical integration from field to finished products. (Back)

Marcel van Dijk, Cargo Marketing Manager at the Port of Los Angeles, California

Lightening the Load: Key Strategies to Mitigate Supply Chain Challenges
Monday, April 11 | 10:30am – 12:00pm

Marcel van Dijk has been the Marketing Manager for the Port of Los Angeles since 2001, where he is responsible for the business development of the port and maintains relationship with key individuals in the logistic chain. Marcel’s focus is on the bulk and break-bulk cargo handling and has responsibility as an account manager for bulk and containerized terminals. With his knowledge of the major import and export cargoes, he is keen to develop the port as a major gateway for containerized and non-containerized cargo. Prior to joining the Port of Los Angeles, Marcel worked for 15 years in the private sector, a career that spanned many phases of corporate management. His career in the USA started with Honeywell Transportation and Power Systems in 1997, where he was the After-sales business manager for their turbocharger product line. Prior to Honeywell, Marcel worked for Renault Cars in The Netherlands. (Back)

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Alfons J.J.M. van Gulick, Chairman and Group Managing Director at Nedspice

Sustainability Symposium
Sunday, April 10 | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Alfons van Gulick graduated with a masters in econometrics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Since his graduation he has been working with E D & F Man Group (London) in commodities like coffee, nuts and spices in areas of crop research, finance, sales and general management. In 2000 he was appointed as Managing Director of the Spices Division and joined the Executive Committee of the E D & F Man Group in 2001. In 2004 the Spices Division was taken private by way of a management buy-out, which became Nedspice Group. He is major shareholder, CEO and Chairman of Nedspice Group. Alfons van Gulick served as Chairman of the Dutch Spice Association, Chairman of the European Spice Association (ESA) and board member of the American Spices Trade Association (ASTA). In 2017 he was appointed Chairman of the Sustainable Spice Initiative (SSI). During his career he held various positions in trade and charity related platforms. He also is Honorary Consul of Vietnam in The Netherlands. (Back)

Preston Wigner, Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Universal Corporation

“May I Be Excused?: How Force Majeure Works in Commercial Transactions
Tuesday, April 12 | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

Preston Wigner is the Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Universal Corporation, a publicly-held global business-to-business agri-products supplier located in Richmond, Virginia and operating in over 30 countries. Universal recently expanded it’s plant-based food ingredients platform through acquiring Silva International and Shank’s Extracts. Preston has been with Universal for 19 years and handles a wide variety of US and foreign corporate, commercial and other legal matters for the company. (Back)

Thank You to ASTA 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibit Sponsors

Ruby and Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Griffith Foods | Kalsec | Ken Lehat & Associates | Mincing Spice Company
Nedspice | Paprimur, S.L. | Trilogy Essential Ingredients, Inc. | Wixon

Silver Sponsors

Certified Laboratories | Mold-Rite Packaging | SGS North America