Lee Gross is a Senior Program Manager with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. He leads the Food Safety Network, an inter-agency partnership between the USDA, USAID and FDA to help build food safety capacity worldwide. An economist and natural resource development professional by training, Mr. Gross has spent his career working to advance market and trade-based solutions to poverty reduction, environmental conservation and sustainable agricultural production. He holds an M.S. in Natural Resources and a B.S.E.S in Environmental Economics.

Dr. Chris Peterson is a toxicologist and entomologist serving as a program manager and team lead for the Food Safety in Africa Team at OCBD. He also manages activities globally in pesticides and laboratory development. He received his PhD from Iowa State University before conducting pest management research for the USDA-Forest Service, then coordinating food security and agribusiness projects as a Volunteer Leader for the Peace Corps in Uganda. He joined FAS in January, 2016.

Dr. Ken Shenge is a Plant Pathologist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service with over 10 years’ experience in international agriculture, plant health, food safety, and public health. Dr. Shenge has a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and a MPH in Public Health. He was on the faculty at Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna, Nigeria, where he was Associate Professor of Plant Pathology before relocating to the United States in 2012. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, he led a team in charge of plant diagnostics, and investigated the postharvest pathology of field crops, transmission mechanisms of plant pathogens, and human pathogens on Nigerian tomatoes. He also collaborated with the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) and USDA-FAS to train stakeholders on phytosanitary regulation. In the US, Dr. Shenge worked in the Food Animal Health Research Program at The Ohio State University from 2012 to 2014, with emphasis on human pathogen association with plants. In his current position, he applies advanced molecular biology techniques (such as quantitative pyrosequencing) to assist the World Bank’s AgResults Initiative to assess farmer implementation of aflatoxin biocontrol in Nigeria. Dr. Shenge’s insights and background also contribute to transfer and implementation of aflatoxin biocontrol in Africa.

Elisa Loeser is a Food Safety Program Manager with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. She oversees food safety and aflatoxin capacity building programs in Africa and Central America. Elisa has worked for USDA/FAS for four years and served as the FY17 President of the FAS Junior Professional Advancement Community. She has a Master’s of Arts in Food Studies and speaks French.

Kelley Cormier is Division Chief of MPI's Inclusive Market Development Division, where she leads a team that addresses access to finance, market systems strengthening, risk management and resilience, agribusiness enabling environment and trade, and commercialization of technologies. Kelley is an agricultural economist with expertise in agriculture sector commercialization, international food standards, and the effects of land reform on poverty. Before joining USAID, Kelley worked with USDA designing, implementing, and evaluating sanitary and phyto-sanitary programs. Prior to this, she conducted research that explored how policies and institutions affect agricultural markets and market actors and consulted with GTZ and ADB. She has held fellowships with AAAS, Fulbright, NCEER, and IREX. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, holds a PhD in Development Studies with specializations in Economics and Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a MS in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University