Opening Keynote Speaker ● Ken Grossman
Sunday, June 4 • 9:30 am
Ken Grossman founded Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in 1980 after discovering a love for brewing in his garage. Sierra Nevada began as a microbrewery and gained traction with the release of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, continuing to grow
to where it is today. Ken has had an unwavering passion for quality from the beginning and has become the icon for quality in the industry. Driven by the desire to provide high-quality beer for all to enjoy, Ken has openly shared his technical and scientific knowledge with the brewing community and continues to do so today.
Closing Keynote Speaker ● Dr. Tatiana Lorca
Tuesday, June 6 • 11:30 am
Dr. Lorca is the Director of Supplier Risk for Compass Group North America. She is responsible for leading the Compass Quality Assurance Team and Compass Group’s supplier and quality assurance programs including supplier oversight and relationships, product integrity and crisis management. Her past experience includes 13 years of service with Ecolab, Inc. where she worked directly with food and beverage plants, Ecolab field service teams and internal divisions to de-mystify food safety management systems (e.g., SQF, BRC, etc.), regulatory requirements (e.g., FSMA, HACCP, GMPs), internal compliance and training for key food safety topics (e.g., allergens, food safety culture, pathogens) at a global level. She has trained tens of thousands of participants facilities from operators to senior management. Her past experience includes standards development in her role as Technical Manager at the SQF Institute and training and auditing in her role as Technical Specialist at BSI Management Systems Americas. She is active in collaborative technical committees such as the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the International Association for Food protection (IAFP) where she’s helped to drive food safety knowledge and engagement along the global supply chain. Previous collaborative efforts have focused on specific industry sectors such as the brewing industry (Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) and the Craft Brewers Association) and the peanut industry (American Peanut Council). Dr. Lorca graduated with masters and doctoral degrees in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech and is a member of the FST Department Alumni Advisory Council.
