J. Thomas (“Tom”) Carrato, J.D. is an attorney and the principal of Creative Biotech Solutions, LLC, an agricultural technologies consulting firm. Tom is a globally recognized expert in strategic regulatory policy issues related to seed trait technologies, including agricultural biotechnology, with particular expertise and special emphasis on technology and product stewardship, freedom to operate, issues management, risk management, liability and redress, and regulatory capacity building. Tom is an expert facilitator and negotiator, with the demonstrated ability to work multi-laterally and in trade associations to facilitate the crafting of innovative and unique solutions to seemingly insurmountable regulatory, liability and commercial agricultural biotechnology policy issues for the benefit of his clients and of the industry as a whole. Tom is an expert on systems for post patent access to agricultural biotechnology and for response to damage to biological diversity. Tom has over 25 years experience working in trade associations to achieve critical policy objectives on behalf of industry.

Dr. Chase A. Crawford joined the AAVMC in 2015 in a position jointly funded by the AAVMC and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU). He leads the implementation of a series of remedial and control strategies and programs expected to emerge soon from the AAVMC/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Task Force on Anti-Microbial Resistance.

Prior to his appointment, he conducted an AAAS Congressional Science and Technology Fellowship in the office of U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN). During that position, he was instrumental in supporting Franken’s initiatives in One Health, agriculture, energy and the environment.

Before the AAAS Fellowship, Chase served as a Human-Animal Interface Intern with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and prior to that, he conducted a Disease Intelligence Internship with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, where he focused on global zoonotic disease threats.

Chase earned his DVM degree from the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, where he was awarded the Fred P. Jaggi Award for Outstanding proficiency in Veterinary Public Health. He also earned MS and BS degrees from Texas A&M.

Bernadette Dunham, DVM, PhD, is currently a Visiting Professor with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University where her focus is on One Health issues. Dunham served as Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2008-2016. The Center regulates the manufacture and distribution of safe and effective drugs and food additives that will be given to animals, including animals from which human foods are derived, as well as companion animals and minor species. During her tenure at CVM Dunham also served as Deputy Director of CVM, Director of the Office of Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Drug Development, and Deputy Director of the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation. From 1996-2012, Dunham was an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to joining FDA in 2002, Dunham was Acting Director for the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Governmental Relations Division in Washington, D.C. She also served as Director of Laboratory Animal Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at the State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse, N.Y. She participated in a post-doctoral residency program in the Department of Pathology at the N.Y. State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and was a research assistant professor at Boston University. Prior to returning to academia to pursue her Ph.D., Dunham was in private practice in Ontario, Canada. Dunham received the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, and a Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology from Boston University.

Cassie Edgar is Associate General Counsel, IP for Genus. She has 18 years of experience in the biotechnology industry with a focus on intellectual property, international regulatory law and complex licensing and litigation matters. Cassie joined Genus in September 2014 from Pioneer DuPont, where she served for 14 years in research, legal and management roles including IP Counsel, Sr. Regulatory Counsel, and Director in the Agricultural Biotechnology group. While at Pioneer, Cassie was an active member of BIO on the plant policy committee and post-patent task force, working on a mechanism to ensure access to regulatory data for biotech traits after patent expiration. She holds a B.S. in Molecular Genetics from The Ohio State University, a M.S. from North Carolina State University, and obtained her law degree from Drake University.

Dr. Barbara Glenn recently joined the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) as CEO on August 18, 2014.

Dr. Glenn is a scientist with decades of experience as a policy researcher and advocate for agriculture. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Science and Regulatory Affairs for CropLife America, where she was responsible for developing policies and regulations to support agriculture through crop protection. Prior to joining CropLife America, Dr. Glenn served as Managing Director of the Animal Biotechnology, Food and Agriculture Section of the Biotechnology Industry Association in Washington, DC.

Dr. Glenn holds a B.S. in animal science and a Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition from the University of Kentucky. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the Federation of Animal Science Societies.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska and raised in Centerville, Ohio, Dr. Glenn developed a passion for agriculture from her parents and her involvement in 4-H. She lives on a small farm in Maryland with her husband and three children, and serves on various boards for farm bureau and 4-H.

Hoskins is a native Texan and earned his undergraduate degree from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor from Texas A&M University School of Law, formerly Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. Following law school, Hoskins came to D.C. to work as legal intern for U.S. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana.

Prior to joining NASDA, Hoskins worked as the Director of Health and Regulatory Affairs of the American Horse Council and most recently served as the Manager of Regulatory Policy for RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment). Hoskins is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas.

Mr. Meagher joins Agrivida from Novus International, where he was President of Global Animal Nutrition Solutions and responsible for global sales, marketing, animal R&D, business development, customer service, logistics & distribution and local manufacturing blend facilities. Prior to Novus, Dan was President of the Egg Products Further Processing Business Unit at MOARK, LLC, a producer and marketer of shell eggs and egg products, COO & Executive Vice President at MBA Poultry LLC, and Vice President at Purina Mills.

Dr. Lindsay Parish is an Infectious Disease and Vaccine Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where she manages livestock infectious disease, zoonotic disease, and vaccine research programs. Currently, Dr. Parish is working in a split appointment between the Research Division of the Bureau for Food Security and the Global Health Security and Development Unit in the Bureau for Global Health. Dr. Parish earned her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she studied host-parasite interactions. After completing her doctoral studies, Dr. Parish accepted a three-year postdoctoral appointment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she studied mosquito transmission of malaria and worked on the development of transmission blocking vaccines. In 2012, she was selected as a Science and Technology Policy fellow with the America Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

In his current position, Mr. Pommer has been instrumental in implementing high quality animal care and use programs that have maintained USDA, NIH, and FDA regulatory compliance, and full AAALAC accreditation. He works with various committees and discussion groups that focus on animal biotechnology and actively participates in the discussions for establishing a federal regulatory framework for this technology.

He is currently a certified Professional Animal Scientist (PAS) with the Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS). Pommer has over 30 years of work experience in animal diseases and biosecurity, development of animal models for agricultural and biomedical sciences, development of transgenic animals for human biopharmaceutical production, and animal welfare and health regulations.

Pommer received his Masters of Science Degree (MSc) in Microbiology/Veterinary Sciences from North Dakota State University. His research involved sheep respiratory diseases, which was published in several professional animal scientific journals.

Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam is an Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis. Her publicly-funded research and outreach program focuses on the use of animal genomics and biotechnology in livestock production systems. Her current research projects include the development of genomic approaches to select for cattle that are less susceptible to disease, and applied uses of DNA-based information on commercial beef cattle operations. She also has a keen interest in making publicly-accessible educational materials and uses a variety of media to inform general public audiences about science and technology. She has provided a credentialed voice on some controversial topics including cloning and genetically engineered animals. She earned her B.S. from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and both her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees were earned from the University of California, Davis, in animal science and genetics, respectively.

Dr. Walton is a career veteran of the plant and animal biotechnology industries and has worked as a research scientist, entrepreneur and corporate executive. Mark’s involvement in animal biotechnology began with his founding of Linkage Genetics, one of the first companies to provide DNA testing services to plant and animal breeders. Prior to joining Yorktown Technologies, Mark worked with Recombinetics, a Minnesota-based animal genetics company that utilizes state-of-the-art genome engineering methods to develop animals for the biomedical and food industries. From 2005 through 2010 Mark served as the President of ViaGen, the global leader in livestock cloning, and during his tenure was actively involved in the policies and politics of animal biotechnology. While at ViaGen he worked closely with stakeholders in the government, public and private sectors to support the FDA’s activities leading to the 2008 release of the Cloning Risk Assessment documenting the safety of cloned livestock and their offspring. Over the same period Mark and ViaGen joined the coalition of companies and public sector scientists working to clarify the process by which genetically engineered animals were to be regulated which culminated with the FDA’s release of Guidance to Industry Number 187 in 2009. Over the past several years Dr. Walton has had the opportunity to work on a variety of agricultural development projects in Africa and Asia. The opportunities to meet smallholder farmers and see firsthand the challenges facing people for whom crop loss and livestock mortality are not just an economic challenge but are potentially life threatening has reinforced his commitment to ensuring all farmers have access to the best possible technologies. In 2014 Dr. Walton worked with colleagues from around the world to bring regulators from 26 countries together for a four-day workshop on risk assessment and regulation of animal biotechnology. The actions started during the workshop are continuing and will ultimately make it possible for farmers in developing nations to benefit from advances in biotechnology.

Brigid Zeller is a manager of legislative and public affairs at the Animal Health Institute, which is a trade association of firms that make veterinary medicines used to help pets and livestock live longer, healthier lives. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the Animal Agriculture Coalition. Prior to joining AHI, Zeller worked at Bayer in their government relations office, and is a graduate of The George Washington University.