The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the organization’s activities, which are administered by an executive staff, to support and advance nutrition and food safety.

Board of Trustees

The management of IAFNS is set forth in our Bylaws and requires a Board of Trustees comprised with at least half of its members representing public sector organizations. The 30-member Board of Trustees is comprised of 15 public sector scientists, 12 industry scientists, and 3 Government Liaisons.

Scientific Leadership Council

Additionally, IAFNS Board and staff work closely with other scientific committees including the IAFNS Scientific Leadership Council. The Scientific Leadership Council provides guidance related to the scientific content of the Annual Meeting, the Emerging Science program and related initiatives, and the summer research opportunity fellowship program.

Staff

Wendelyn Jones, PhD
Executive Director
Wendelyn has a strong scientific background in the food, agriculture and chemical industries, and brings over 20 years of global experience in industry and government. She works with IAFNS’s multi-sector scientists, trustees and staff to extend the organization’s contribution to and impact within diverse scientific and health communities.

Steve Gibb, MS
Science Communications Manager
Steve focuses on mobilizing knowledge on food safety, nutrition and sustainable packaging topics. Previously he worked as an award-winning environmental science reporter with Bloomberg and with Chemical & Engineering News. Prior to that he worked as a federal contractor supporting USDA, EPA and DOD. Steve earned his M.S. in environmental science policy from The Johns Hopkins University.

Caitlin Karolenko, PhD
Scientific Program Manager
Caitlin leads various food safety initiatives including our Food Microbiology Committee. She has direct experience with process validation including pathogen inhibition and microbiome analysis. Caitlin was a Graduate Research Fellow with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Chor San Khoo, PhD
Senior Science Fellow
Chor San provides counsel and advisory support for Board initiatives and technical committee activities. With over 30 years leading global nutrition, food, and health programs, she has broad experience in research design, technology innovation, nutrition policies, food regulatory sciences, global consumer insights, and identifying convergence in science.

Marie Latulippe, MS, MBA, RDN
Director of Science Programs
Marie works with several Nutrition Committees, manages the Board Program Committee and the Scientific Leadership Council. She also supports the Emerging Science process. Marie has held a variety of positions within science-based organizations, in the US and in Europe. Additionally, she served as Study Director at the National Academies of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board.

Barbara Lyle, PhD
Consulting Senior Nutrition Advisor
As a Consulting Advisor, Barbara provides strategic advice and service related to scientific, technical and programmatic priorities, including those specific to technical committees, subcommittees, and/or project committees. In this capacity, she works directly with the Executive Director and senior staff, as well as committee chairs.

Neal Saab, PhD
Senior Scientific Program Manager
Neal brings over 30 years of experience in research, risk assessment, advocacy and regulation of biotechnology and emerging technologies. His multi-sector experiences in regulatory agency engagement, science leadership, project management and capacity building make him uniquely qualified to lead the Food and Chemical Safety Committee and the Food Packaging Safety and Sustainability efforts.

Patricia (Trish) Zecca, MS
Senior Nutrition Program Manager
Trish works with the food and beverage ecosystem to advance nutritional sciences, including IAFNS Partnership with the USDA Global Branded Foods Database. Her career experiences span state government, industry, and consulting. She manages several Nutrition Committees and works with the Committee Chairs to deliver on strategic, technical and programmatic goals.