The National Food Processors Association is the principal scientific and technical trade association representing the food industry. Below are NFPA experts available to brief Members of Congress, their staffs, and the media.
John R. Cady
President and Chief Executive Officer
John R. Cady is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Processors Association, a post he has held since April 1989. NFPA employs 175 scientific, technical, government and public affairs and administrative staff at its headquarters in Washington, DC and three laboratory centers in Washington, DC, Dublin, California, and Seattle, Washington. The Association has more than 300 food company members; an annual budget over $20 million and total assets over $40 million.
NFPA is the voice of the $500 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, health, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs. NFPA’s three laboratory centers, its scientists and professional policy staff represent food industry interests on government and regulatory affairs and provide research, technical services, education, communications and crisis management support for the association’s U.S. and international members, who produce processed and packaged foods, drinks and juices.
Cady came to NFPA from the Snack Food Association, where he had served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1985-1989. Previously, he was Director of House Legislative Affairs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. A retired Air Force Colonel, Cady also held, operational, management, legislative liaison, and procurement posts in the Air Force.
The NFPA President has done post-graduate work at George Washington University, earned a M.B.A. from the University of Missouri, and holds a B.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles. He is a distinguished graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College.
Cady is a member of the Food and Agriculture Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger, the United States’ Food Security Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee on Food Safety of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, the Private, Public, Scientific, Academic, & Consumer Food Policy Committee (PAPSAC) of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, and a member of the Dow Agra Science Global Environmental Advisory Council.
SCIENCE AND REGULATORY
Jeffrey Barach, PhD
Vice President, Special Projects
Dr. Barach is a food scientist and microbiologist with particular expertise in new technologies in food processing, preservation, biotechnology, and new food safety programs. In his current position, Dr. Barach’s areas of responsibility include planning and development of projects and programs on microbiological safety of foods, food processing technologies, chemical residues in foods, nutritional composition and health aspects of foods.
Henry Chin, PhD
Vice President, NFPA’s Center for Technical Assistance
An expert in the chemistry and composition of foods and analytical techniques for the analysis of foods, Dr. Henry Chin has published many articles on product-package interactions, pesticide residues in foods, the nutrient content and composition of foods, food toxicology, and analytical methods for foods. As Vice President of NFPA’s Center for Technical Assistance, Dr. Chin oversees the activities of the Center and manages the technical assistance provided to NFPA Member companies.
Craig Henry, PhD
Vice President of Food Safety Programs
Craig Henry, PhD, NFPA ‘s Vice President of Food Safety Programs, directs the Association’s food safety activities on issues including food inspections, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), and crisis management. Dr. Henry comes to NFPA from Koch Foods of Mississippi, LLC, where he served as Vice President of Quality and Food Safety. Dr. Henry has published numerous articles in scientific journals. He is a member of the American Association of Avian Pathologists and the U.S. Poultry Science Association, where he has served as a member of the Committee on Drugs and Chemicals since 1994, including a term as Chairman. Dr. Henry earned his Ph.D. in Animal Science from Auburn University. He holds a M.S. in Poultry Science from Clemson University, and a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Delaware.
Rick Jarman
Vice President, Food and Environmental Policy
Rick Jarman, Vice President, Food and Environmental Policy, manages regulatory and policy staff and focuses on domestic and international food issues of importance to NFPA Member companies. Backed by an extensive resume spanning both governmental and private agencies Mr. Jarman is responsible for recommending and implementing appropriate programs and positions concerning federal legislation and regulations with specific relevance to the Association’s Member companies and holds primary program responsibility for environmental issues.
Allen Matthys, PhD
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Matthys is a food scientist responsible for directing a broad range of regulatory initiatives pertaining to USDA and FDA labeling, environmental issues, and international regulations. Dr. Matthys serves as a member to several U.S. delegations involved in Codex Alimentarius, an international food standards setting body.
COMMUNICATIONS
Willard.JPEG (7742 bytes)Timothy Willard
Vice President of Communications
Mr. Willard oversees the planning and execution of the Association’s communications programs. He serves as NFPA’s spokesperson on a variety of food industry-related issues, and has been widely interviewed on television and radio news programs and quoted in national newspapers and magazines. Willard also is a contributing editor to The Futurist magazine, and has written and spoken extensively on various future-oriented topics.
FINANCE, ACCOUNTING, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & FACILITIES
Steve McCroddan, CPA
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, NFPA
As Vice President and CFO, Steve McCroddan heads up and is responsible for the Finance and Accounting, Information Technologies and Facilities departments at NFPA. He has been working for five plus years in the Finance and Accounting department for NFPA. Prior to that Mr. McCroddan worked for KPMG, Peat and Marwick as a Senior Manager in the Audit Group for 13 years.
LEGAL AFFAIRS
Kevin H. Brown
Vice President and Chief Counsel
Mr. Brown is responsible for NFPA’s Claims and Insurance Programs, and NFPA’s legal affairs. Prior to joining NFPA, Mr. Brown was in private practice with the law firm of Brassel and Baldwin in Annapolis, Md. Mr. Brown was previously employed with CIGNA for approximately 20 years in various claims and legal positions.
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Mason Wiggins
Vice President, Federal Government Affairs
Mason Wiggins joins NFPA as a 15-year veteran of agricultural and food issues on Capitol Hill. He was Legislative Assistant for Agriculture and Interior on the staff of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for four years. In addition to his Senate experience, Wiggins brings to NFPA more than a decade of experience in the House of Representatives, serving as Legislative Assistant for Agriculture on the staff of Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) as well as a member of the Professional Staff of the House Committee on Agriculture, and several other positions. Wiggins earned a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, and holds an LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law.
Scott Riehl
Vice President, Government Affairs and Associate Counsel
Scott Riehl brings 17 years of direct lobbying, legal and legislative staff experience to his work for NFPA. Riehl developed and currently directs NFPA’s state government affairs division and is responsible for NFPA’s federal representation on the issues of food biotechnology, nutrition and domestic food security. Prior to joining NFPA in January 1999, Riehl was Vice President of Stateside Associates, where he was a member of the senior management team for the nation’s largest state government relations consulting firm. In the legal arena, he was with the Washington office of Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson, where he specialized in the firm’s government contracts practice. Riehl holds a Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a B.A. degree in political science from the University of Vermont.
NFPA-SAFE PROGRAM
David E. Gombas, PhD
Vice President, NFPA-SAFE Program
Dave Gombas is Vice President of the NFPA-SAFE Program (Supplier Audits for Food Excellence). He is responsible for the SAFE Program’s development and implementation, including auditor training, audit reviews, program marketing and quality assurance. Previously, Dr. Gombas was Vice President of NFPA’s Center for the Development of Research Policy and New Technologies (CDRPNT) and was responsible for NFPA’s research and investigative laboratories in Washington , DC . Dave has served in Microbiology and Food Safety departments at Campbell Soup Company and Kraft Foods. In 1993, he was Research Professor of Food Safety at the National Center for Food Safety and Technology, working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop HACCP training courses for FDA investigators, and he co-authored the book HACCP Verification and Validation . He has BS and MS degrees in food science from Rutgers University ( Cook College ) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively, and a Ph.D. in food microbiology from the University of Massachusetts .