Applied Science, Law and Policy: Fellowship in Food Protection
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Application Deadline:
The application deadline is March 1, 2012. Notification and confirmation of selected applicants is May 15, 2012. Cohort 3 Fellows will be officially announced at the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) Annual Conference on June 3-7, 2012 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Fellowship Application:
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Application process:
All applicants who meet the above requirements and submit a complete application packet (details explained below) will be evaluated by the Fellowship applicant review committee which is comprised of experienced leaders in food protection. The entire application packet constitutes the evaluation criteria. All materials submitted become the property of IFPTI. Note: incomplete application packets will not be reviewed and evaluated nor considered for the Fellowship program.
Application packet material:
Completed application via the LMS
Three references, with complete contact information, pertaining to food protection experience
Explanation of long term career goals
Resume – including: Contact information Educational background Professional experience
Agency/supervisor commitment letter
Applicant commitment letter
Documentation of completion of the FDA ORAU Level I retail or manufactured foods curriculum
Certificate of completion of FD170 Application of the Basics of Inspection and Investigation or equivalent training
To apply, email all application documents (scanned copies of original documents) to Fellowship@ifpti.org, fax to 269-441-2996, or send to:
IFPTI – Fellowship
49 West Michigan Avenue, Suite 300
Battle Creek, MI 49017
All applicants will be notified by email of selection status by May 15th, 2012.
Support:
Fellows will be reimbursed for appropriate Fellowship program travel expenses for participation in the three week-long seminars offered in Battle Creek, Michigan and for the Fellowship project presentation at the 2013 AFDO Annual Conference upon graduation from the Fellowship program.
Overview
Overview:
The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) Applied Science, Law, and Policy: Fellowship in Food Protection program is designed to provide experienced food regulatory professionals, from all areas of food protection, with critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills, within the framework of food regulatory science, law, and policy.
Mission:
To meet the national (and global) need for an integrated food protection system that ensures the safety of the U.S. food supply. The Fellowship focuses on three key concepts:
1.Acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities through formal (classroom), informal (networking), and experiential (reflection on field work) experience, exploration, and mentorship.
2.Contributing to the food protection body of knowledge by engaging in mutually- beneficial learning experiences with colleagues, coworkers, mentors, and IFPTI Fellows.
3.Expanding the food protection knowledge base and the integrated network of food protection professionals.
Goals:
1.Provide a high quality professional development experience for Journey and Technical professional level state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators.
2.Prepare Journey and Technical professional level state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators for long-term career growth and leadership potential.
3.Create and train a core group of state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators forming a resource network of skilled professionals.
4.Strengthen the capacity for an integrated food safety system.
Target Audience and Scope:
The IFPTI Fellowship program is designed for state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulatory professionals in the Journey (2-5 years experience) and Technical (5-10 years experience) professional levels. Throughout the Fellowship program, Fellows are expected to share their knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned with their cohort, colleagues, and the food protection community.
Eligibility:
Applicants to the IFPTI Fellowship program must meet the following requirements:
1.Journey (2-5 years) or Technical (5-10 years) of experience as a state, local, tribal, or territorial food protection professional.
2.Completed FDA ORAU Level 1 retail or manufactured foods curriculum.
3.Completed FD170 Application of the Basics of Inspection and Investigation or equivalent training.
4.Desire to pursue a long-term food protection career.
5.United States citizenship.
Training Dates:
All week-long training seminars will be held in Battle Creek, Michigan. Seminars are 8:00 – 5:00 Monday through Thursday and 8:00 - 12:00 noon on Friday. Fellows must attend all seminars in their entirety.
August 13-17, 2012
November 26-30, 2012
March 4-8, 2013
June 8-12, 2013 (Association of Food and Drug Officials Annual Conference, Louisville, Kentucky)
Experience
Fellowship Experience:
The IFPTI Fellowship program is based on a mentorship model that allows Journey and Technical professional level state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulatory professionals a unique opportunity to acquire and develop critical thinking, problem solving, and decision- making skills within the framework of food regulatory science, law, and policy. Participants will attend seminar style classes in Battle Creek, Michigan, led by experienced experts from the food protection field. The course includes hands on activities, plant visits, ongoing dialogue and information exchanges, and reflective practice with seasoned mentors.
Content:
This program is a series of three week-long training sessions held in Battle Creek, Michigan over the period of one year. The sessions are divided in the following seminar style classes.
1.Week One - Applied Law and Compliance.
2.Week Two - Policies and Strategies and the Impact of Science.
3.Week Three - Food Systems Control Applications and Prevention, Intervention, and Response.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this program, participants should be able to act as a resource within their agency and for other food safety regulators regarding:
1.Interpretation, implication, and application of federal, state, and local laws.
2.Interpretation, implication, and application of federal, state, and local policies, strategies for compliance, and enforcement tools.
Food labeling requirements, laws, procedures, application, and inspection
Competencies:
Fellows will be expected to achieve competencies related to:
Continuous learning
Reasoning
Decision-making
Information dissemination
Communication skills
Self management
Interagency cooperation
Teamwork
Mentors:
Fellows will work with primary and secondary mentors on IFPTI Fellowship related projects. Contact with a mentor may include weekly contact such as email and phone calls. The mentor oversees the Fellow’s research, writing, capstone presentation preparation, and encourages overall professional development of the Fellow.
Required Fellowship Project Responsibilities:
1.Attendance at all three week-long classes in Battle Creek, Michigan.
2.Participation in Fellowship online learning community.
3.Identify and research a current food safety or regulatory issue and the impact on the U.S. food safety system.
4.Authorship and submission of a short article related to food protection for publication, based on the Fellowship project.
5.Fellowship project presentation at the 2013 AFDO Annual Conference upon Fellowship graduation.
Instructors
Instructors:
Instructors are professionals with extensive food protection experience providing experience and insight into specific areas of study.
Joanne M. Brown, DVM, MS, DACVPM, DNAP
Dr. Joanne M. Brown has over 38 years of experience in food safety, animal disease, public health, and emergency preparedness. A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine, she also has a master’s degree in veterinary microbiology from Texas A&M University, and is a Diplomat in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academies of Practice (retired).
She spent over 26 years in the Army Veterinary Corps and retired with the rank of Colonel. Her last two Army assignments were Chief, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Army Medical Center and School, where she was responsible for basic and advanced training of enlisted soldiers and officers in the US Army Veterinary Services and Director of the Department of Defense Veterinary Laboratories. As Director she had oversight of food microbiology, food chemistry, and animal diagnostic testing for laboratories in the U.S., Panama, and Germany.
In 1999 Dr. Brown joined the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Chief, Bureau of Food and Chemical Residue Laboratories. During her tenure she initiated the process to attain the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation and renovation of the food laboratory into a bio-safety level 3 laboratory. She was appointed in 2002 as Director of the newly-created Office of Bio and Food Security Preparedness (now Office of Agriculture Emergency Preparedness), which had oversight for emergency preparedness and was the liaison with the State Domestic Security Task Force.
Dr. Brown became the Deputy Commissioner for Food Safety in 2004 with oversight for the Divisions of Food Safety, Dairy Industry, and Agricultural Environmental Services and served until her retirement in January 2011. As the agriculture representative on the executive board of the State Working Group for Domestic Security, she helped secure federal domestic security funding for the department. Dr. Brown was Chair, Florida Food Safety and Food Defense Advisory Council from 2004 – 2005 and remained the agriculture representative until her retirement.
She is a member of AFDO and was Chair of the Awards Committee from 2007 to 2011. Dr. Brown is the past president and a lifetime member of the Association of Food and Drug Officials of the Southern States (AFDOSS).
Charlene Bruce
Charlene Bruce retired in 2011 after serving for thirty years with the Mississippi State Department of Health. For the past twenty years she served as the Director of the Food Protection Program for the state-wide Food Retail and Food Processing Programs. Prior to becoming the Director of the Food Protection Program, she served as an FDA Rating Officer for both the Milk and Food Programs.
Under her leadership, the Food Protection Program became one of the first in the nation to develop and implement a risk-based inspection program. Additionally, under her direction this program initiated a manager certification requirement in all food facilities, enrolled in and began implementation of the FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards, and incorporated HACCP principles into the routine inspectional program.
While serving as Director, the Food Protection Program of the Mississippi State Department of Health became one of the first programs nationwide to adopt the original FDA Food Code in 1993 and to lead the country as the first state program to adopt the 2009 Food Code. The Mississippi State Department of Health awarded her the Public Health Environmentalist of the Year award.
While a commissioned officer with FDA, Ms. Bruce coordinated numerous joint investigations with the FDA Southeast Region and New Orleans District. As a result, the Food Protection Program was the recipient of the FDA’s Commissioner’s Special Citation Award and the Hammer Award. Following her directive, the Food Protection Program in Mississippi continues to be actively involved in the implementation of the FDA Manufacturing Food Program Standards.
Ms. Bruce served as President of AFDO and currently serves as President of AFDOSS. She was awarded the Eugene H. Holeman Award for outstanding service to AFDOSS. She has served on numerous AFDO and AFDOSS committees and is presently Chair of the Education and Training Committee.
Following Hurricane Katrina, USDA presented Ms. Bruce with the Gulf Relief/Supporting our Neighboring Communities medal. She has been involved in training and advisory positions with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Training Branch.
MS. Bruce received her B.S. Degree from The University of Southern Mississippi and her M.S. Degree in Food and Dairy Science from Mississippi State University.
Joseph Corby
Joseph Corby worked for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection for 37 ½ years. After receiving his Environmental Health degree in 1970, he became a Food Inspector with the Department in the Syracuse, NY, area. Following promotions to Senior Food Inspector in Buffalo, NY in 1975, Supervising Inspector in Albany, NY in 1984, Director of Field Operations in 1989, and Assistant Director in 1994, he was appointed Director of the Division of Food Safety & Inspection in 1999 until he retired in May of 2008.
His service with the Department included the development of numerous food safety training programs for regulators and industry, the design of the Division’s risk-based inspection system, and he authored New York’s smoked fish regulations. He also collaborated with FDA’s Upstate New York Import Operations in designing the Imported Food Initiative Project where state inspectors were commissioned to conduct imported food inspections and surveillance – a first of its kind in the U.S.
Mr. Corby has been a member of the Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials (CASA) since 1975 and has served as the Niagara Frontier Conference President, North East New York Conference Executive Board Representative, and CASA President. He was awarded the coveted CASA Award in 1991, CASA Service Recognition Award in 1992, and CASA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. The New York State Association of Food Protection awarded him the prestigious William V. Hickey Award in 1995 for outstanding service in the field of food sanitation and the Emmitt Gauhn Award which is the Association’s highest award.
A member of AFDO since 1985, he was Chair for the Food Committee, where he spearheaded the development of several model codes, food processing guidelines for industry and government regulators, training programs, AFDO’s Food Code Pocket Guide, and official AFDO comments to national food safety issues. He was awarded AFDO’s Distinguished Service Award in 1995 and 2000 and became President of AFDO in June of 1998. He has also received the prestigious Harvey W. Wiley Award on June 19, 2001 and AFDO’s Lifetime Achievement Award on June 16, 2008.
Currently Mr. Corby serves as the Executive Director for AFDO and continues to work on a part time basis for the FDA. He is also a member of the University of Florida Food Science & Human Nutrition Advisory Council and Board of Directors for the International Food Protection Training Institute.
Jim Sevchik
Mr. Sevchik retired from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets after 33 years of public service. He served 18 years as Chief Inspector for the Division of Food Safety and Inspection where his duties included the supervision of field inspection activities for the Upstate District with field offices in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, New York.
As a commissioned officer with FDA, Mr. Sevchik coordinated numerous joint investigations with this agency. He is the recipient of three Commissioner’s Special Citation Awards from FDA and the Hammer Award from Vice President Al Gore for developing a national training program on imported foods.
Mr. Sevchik frequently presented courses for FDA’s Office of Human Resource Development on food labeling, vacuum packaging and potentially hazardous foods.
Mr. Sevchik served as President of AFDO and CASA. He was awarded the Harvey W. Wiley Award and CASA Award from these associations. He also served as Chair of the Food Committee for the New York State Association of Food Protection and was presented with the William V. Hickey Award for his work on food safety.
After retiring from New York, Mr. Sevchik served as Training Director for AFDO. During his tenure he designed and managed national training programs that addressed regulatory concerns for food safety, dietary supplements, imports, drugs, medical devices and body art safety.
Mr. Sevchik received his B.S. Degree from State University of New York at Buffalo.
Cameron Smoak
Joining the Georgia Department of Agriculture in 1976, Mr. Smoak served in various positions within the agency over a period of 30 plus years. He served as the Assistant Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Consumer Protection Division from 1995 until his retirement January 31, 2007. In that capacity, he managed the field inspection forces responsible for the enforcement of rules and regulations relating to food processing, retail food sales, and fuel and measures designed to protect Georgia consumers. He supervised a staff of over 230 inspectors, specialists, and support personnel. Additionally, he served as a member of the Agriculture Department’s legislative liaison team for over 28 years.
Mr. Smoak served for many years as the Department of Agriculture’s liaison to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and has extensive experience in crisis management. His emergency work included coordinating relief efforts relating to livestock welfare and food and water wholesomeness and sanitation when Georgia was impacted by tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters including the 1994 flood – one of the state’s most extensive and costliest disasters. He worked with local and federal counterparts in coordinating food safety efforts for two international events hosted in Georgia – the 1996 Olympics and the G8 Summit held in 2004.
Mr. Smoak has served as a member of the Georgia Homeland Security’s Agriculture and Food Defense subcommittee. He is past president of AFDO and AFDOSS. He was AFDO’s first representative to the Food and Agriculture Sector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States Department of Agriculture and the FDA. In addition, he has been a member of the AFDO’s Seafood HACCP Training Program Certification Committee and chairman of the AFDO’s Rules and Regulations Committee.
Mr. Smoak currently works as a consultant in the area of food safety, food defense, and crisis management. His consultancy projects include work with WinWam Software Inc., Uriah Group, USAID, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, CRA, Inc., the University of California Davis Western Institution for Food Safety & Security, the University of Tennessee Center for Agriculture and Security and Preparedness, and the Louisiana State University National Center for Biomedical Research & Training.
The USAID project involved foreign travel to Egypt as part of a project to establish a new single Food Safety Agency. The purpose of the new food safety agency is to help improve Egypt’s domestic food safety and to enhance their international reputation for the safety of food products processed and exported by Egyptian businesses. He served as the expatriate consultant on the Inspection Work Group responsible for setting up the new field inspectional sector of the Food Safety Agency.
Dan Sowards
Mr. Sowards retired as the Food and Drug Safety Officer for the Texas Department of State Health Services, after having worked for the agency for 36 years in the area of food and drug protection. He served in every capacity related to this field, including Division Director for Manufactured Foods and for the Drugs and Medical Devices Division. During these years he was responsible for the inspection of more than 18,000 food, drug, and medical device manufacturers and wholesale distributors in Texas. Under his direction, Texas developed the first risk-based inspection program among the states. In 2002 he took a short leave from his position to develop an in-house process and decision tree for dealing with intentional contamination of the food and drug supply.
A Past President of AFDO, he was the recipient of the Harvey Wiley Award, the highest honor bestowed by that organization. He is currently an active member of four AFDO committees, the AFDO training coordinator, and the chair of the Resolutions Committee. Dan was twice president of the AFDO regional affiliate organization, the Mid-Continental Association of Food and Drug Officials (MCAFDO).
During his many years of service, Mr. Sowards has addressed national settings on many occasions, and written for such publications as the New York Bar Association, the Food and Drug Law Institute’s FDLI Update, and the Journal for Food Protection. He has participated in numerous forums for FDLI, Food Update, and for the FDA. He was a Work Group Chair for the National Food Safety System initiative under President Clinton and has provided many comments to FDA on various food safety issues, including the development of the original FDA Food Code.
Mr. Sowards is also a Fellow in the Texas Environmental Health Association and a member of the Central Texas Counter-Terrorism Work Group chaired by the FBI.
Steve Steinhoff
Mr. Steinhoff retired after 36 years as a food safety professional in the Division of Food Safety at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for 36 years where for more than 18 years he was the division’s administrator. As Administrator of the Division of Food Safety, he managed all facets of state-wide programs in the areas of manufactured food, retail food, meat inspection, dairy manufacturing, and dairy production. In this managerial role, he was responsible for management of the division’s budget and personnel functions as well as liaison and active collaboration with other divisions, the Office of the Secretary, other state and federal agencies, and the legislature.
Mr. Steinhoff was an active member of the federal-state team that authored FDA’s Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards. He also was a member of an FDA cadre that delivered training to both federal and state food safety regulatory personnel on auditing state manufactured food regulatory programs. Currently Mr. Steinhoff is employed by AFDO on a contract basis. He managed the initial development of the International Food Protection Training Institute. He is also employed by the National Center for Biological Research (NCBRT) as a trainer for its course entitled, “A Coordinated Response to Food Emergencies: Practice and Execution.”
Professionally, Mr. Steinhoff has served as president of AFDO as well as its regional affiliate, the North Central Association of Food and Drug Officials (NCAFDO). He continues to be active in AFDO projects and committees.