NACS Food Safety Forum

For three decades Detwiler has played a unique role in preventing foodborne illness. He has twice been appointed to advisory positions to the USDA’s Secretary of Agriculture, represented consumers with NGOs, served on Conference for Food Protection councils, and supported the FDA’s implementation of FSMA. Detwiler is the current chairman of NEHA’s Food Safety Program Committee. He is a recipient of IAFP’s 2022 Control of Foodborne Illness Award as well as IAFP’s 2018 Distinguished Service Award.

Ellingson has been with La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip Inc. for nearly two decades and leads the food safety sciences behind the company’s food protection system. In 1995, he received his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He did his postdoctoral fellowship training was with the USDA, Agriculture Research Service, National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, where he developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for the detection of Johne’s disease in dairy cattle. As the director of Marshfield Clinic Laboratories–Food Safety Services in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Ellingson developed and patented a molecular diagnostic method for detection of E. coli 0157:H7. He is an adjunct professor in the Microbiology Department of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and has mentored and graduated several Masters of Science students in the Microbiology program.

Wilson has been an associate of Wawa Inc. for nearly two decades and has been the director of quality assurance, risk management and safety for more than a decade. Prior to her current role, she served in different management positions within risk management and human resources. In addition to her role today, Wilson is a member of the Food Policy Leadership group at Wawa and helps facilitate the company’s external Food Policy Council. She also sits on many internal committees to support Wawa’s strategic plan and vision; act as a servant leader within the company and provide guidance and direction in her areas of expertise. She helped lead the COVID-19 Crisis Team and work for Wawa. Outside She is a member of Risk and Insurance Management Society, Philadelphia Area Risk Managers Association and president of the Philadelphia Chapter of Central Atlantic Association of Food and Drug Officials.

Zenlea oversees all aspects of food safety at EG America, including international and domestic regulatory compliance, retail and commissary food safety operations, and supply chain integrity. He has worked with a variety of different product categories, including refrigerated, high-risk ready-to-eat foods (meat, poultry, pork, and fresh-cut produce), chocolate and confectioneries. He is an expert in constructing, implementing and managing complex food safety, food fraud and food defense systems for large domestic and international food manufacturers. He is also a lecturer at Northeastern University and received a B.Sc. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an MBA from Northeastern University.