National Dairy Council
What is your background and how did you become interested in the dairy/food industry?
Growing up in Connecticut, I attended farm camp during the summers and ended up falling in love with dairy cows. I decided right then, at the age of nine, that I wanted to be a veterinarian like James Herriot. I went on to receive my B.A. in Classics with a minor in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. While at Bryn Mawr and still thinking I wanted to head into large animal veterinary science, I took an unofficial ‘Pre-Vet’ track and volunteered with the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center working in the large animal NICU. Realizing that I wanted to know more about large animals prior to veterinary school then led me to Virginia Tech. I received my M.S. in Dairy Science, focusing on silage, on-farm management practices, and the incidence of Enterococcal mastitis in lactating dairy cows. While at Virginia Tech, I took an ‘Intro to Food Safety’ course and was hooked! This led my interests to move from the animal side of dairy to the product side, earning my Ph.D. at Cornell University in Food Safety and Technology with minors in Epidemiology and Risk Communication. The combination of these field was reflected in my doctoral work partnering with dairy farmers all over NY to explore associations between on-farm management practices and psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria levels in bulk tank milk. After graduate school, I moved to Chicago where I worked for the Chicago Department of Public Health in infectious disease surveillance, epidemiology, and research. In my current role, I use my dairy science, food safety, and public health background to share science-based information about dairy’s role in a sustainable food system.
What was your Cornell experience like? (i.e. coursework, dairy related activities, internships, jobs, etc.)
My time at Cornell included many different aspects of the dairy industry, which allowed me to have a well-rounded experience from literally farm to consumer. During my PhD in the Milk Quality Improvement Program, I conducted original research collaborating with Quality Milk Production Services at the Vet School as well as farmers across the state. I had the opportunity to help with extension work educating different audiences, from milk haulers and processors all the way to 4-H groups. My advisor, Dr. Kathryn Boor, was luckily very supportive of my interests, and agreed that in addition to a minor in Epidemiology that a minor in Risk Communication made sense as well. Learning about how better to communicate science, including my own research, is a skill that has become invaluable in my post-PhD life. My work, courses, and research lab all pushed me as a scientist and helped me become a more critical and strategic thinker. The ice cream at the Dairy Bar was also a big plus as well!
What is your current role in the food industry, and how does it impact the dairy industry?
I am currently a Director of Scientific Affairs at the National Dairy Council (NDC), a non-profit organization founded by dairy farmers and funded through the national dairy checkoff program. NDC is committed to research and education about dairy’s role in healthy dietary patterns and sustainable food systems. NDC comprises a staff of registered dietitians, nutrition scientists, food safety researchers, environmental scientists, and communications experts across the US.
My current role is awesome because you work every day with scientists from other academic fields, learning from them and bouncing ideas off each other. If you like getting down into the weeds but can also fly up to the 30,000ft view of an issue, then food systems work is for you. Having the ability to practice communicating specific data as well as big picture goals makes each day exciting. Finally, the best part of the job is working for the US dairy farmers. Seeing the care they have for providing nutritious and responsibly-produced dairy makes the work rewarding.
How did your Cornell training impact your career in the dairy/food industry?
Belonging to a lab where there were varied scientific interests and skills fueled my love of learning and broadened my scientific world. Getting to interact with dairy farmers and conducting research that would directly have tangible outcomes for them added significance to my day to day work. Having the background of on-farm and then shifting to the production side helped to set the foundation of my systems thinking work that I do now. Gaining the exposure to and practice with complex statistical models aided me during my time at the Chicago Department of Public Health. I am grateful for my time at Cornell and credit it and my entire lab for helping to make me the passionate dairy scientist I am today.
