University Extension Specialist Directory
​ARKANSAS
Jennifer Acuff
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Microbial Inactivation, Preventive Controls, Low-Moisture Foods, Ready-to-Eat Foods
​
​COLORADO
Eduardo Gutierrez Rodriguez
Associate Professor in Food Safety Systems
Colorado State University
egr10@colostate.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish, Italian
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety, Minimally-Processed Foods, RTE, cGMPs, EMPs, Microbiology
FLORIDA
Keith Schneider
Professor
University of Florida
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety Microbiology
​
GEORGIA
Abhinav Mishra
Associate Professor
University of Georgia
amishra@uga.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Hindi
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety Risk Assessment, Process Validation
Wendy White
Industry Manager for Food & Beverage
Georgia Tech GaMEP
wwhite@gatech.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: FDA/USDA Regulatory Compliance, Meat Processing, Sauces/Dressing Processing, Third-Party Auditing, Sensory
​
IDAHO
Janna Hamlett
Asst. Professor & Food Processing Specialist
University of Idaho Extension & TechHelp
jannahamlett@techhelp.org
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Manufacturing, Food Safety and Quality, GFSI Certifications, Auditing (Internal and 3rd Party), Food Defense, Lean Manufacturing, Process Improvements and Troubleshooting, Environmental Monitoring, Finished Product Testing, Sanitation, Plant Engineering, Dairy, Potato, Confectionary, Ingredients
KENTUCKY
Melissa Morgan
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky Marton-Gatton College of Agriculture Food and the Environment (UK-CAFE)
melissa.morgan@uky.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety Processing and Sanitation
LOUISIANA
Achyut Adhikari
Associate Professor and Associate Director
School of Nutrition and Food Sciences,
Louisiana State University
ACAdhikari@agcenter.isu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Hindi, Nepali
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety, Antimicrobials, Environmental Monitoring, Process Validation, Challenge Studies
​
MAINE
Robson Machado
Associate Extension Professor
University of Maine
robson.machado@maine.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Portuguese
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety
MARYLAND
Rohan Tikekar
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
University of Maryland, College Park
rtikekar@umd.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Ready to Eat Foods;
Low-Moisture Foods; Fresh and Cut Produce
MICHIGAN
Sheena Fate
Food Processing Specialist
Michigan State University
hedgessh@msu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: All Foods, excluding Alcoholic Beverages, Fermented Foods and Dairy Products
MISSISSIPPI
Juan Silva
Professor & Extension Specialist
Mississippi State University
jls46@msstate.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety, Processing
​
NEBRASKA
Byron Chaves
Associate Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
byron.chaves-elizondo@unl.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish
Areas of Expertise: Foodborne Pathogens, Environmental Monitoring, Product and Process Validation, Predictive Microbiology, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices, RTE Foods, Meat and Poultry
Jayne Stratton
Research Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
jstratton1@unl.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Acidified Foods, Microbial Food Safety
​
NEW JERSEY
Mellonie O'Neill
Senior Manager QA Compliance & Training
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
mo495@njaes.rutgers.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Fluid Milk, Bakery and Hot-fill, High Acid pH Beverage
​
NEW YORK
Samuel Alcaine
Associate Professor
Cornell University
alcaine@cornell.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish
Areas of Expertise: Fermentation, Dairy, Cheese, Yogurt, Ice Cream, Alcoholic Beverages
​
Louise Felker
Program Coordinator
Cornell University
lmf226@cornell.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Dairy
​
Steven Murphy
Senior Extension Associate (semi-retired)
Cornell University
scm4@cornell.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Dairy
​
Aljosa Trmcic
Senior Extension Associate
Cornell University
at543@cornell.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Slovenia, Serbo-Croatian
Areas of Expertise: Dairy, Dairy Microbiology, Food Safety
​
NORTH CAROLINA
Lynette Johnston
Assistant Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist
North Carolina State University
lynette_johnston@ncsu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety
​
OKLAHOMA
Ravi Jadeja
Associate Professor & Food Safety Specialist
Oklahoma State University
ravi.jadeja@okstate.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Microbiology, Regulatory Compliance, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Programs
​
OREGON
Jovana Kovacevic
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Food Microbiology
Oregon State University
jovana.kovacevic@oregonstate.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Serbian, Croatian
Areas of Expertise: Food Microbiology, Foodborne Pathogens, Listeria, Environmental Monitoring, Cleaning and Sanitizing, Biofilms, Antimicrobial Resistance
Joy Waite-Cusic
Associate Professor of Food Safety and Quality Systems
Oregon State University
joy.waite-cusic@oregonstate.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety and Quality Microbiology, Diverse Food Systems, Dairy, Produce, Manufactured Foods, Meats, Spoilage, Process Validation
PENNSYLVANIA
Martin Bucknavage
Senior Food Safety Extension Specialist
Penn State Department of Food Science
mwb124@psu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Processing, Food Microbiology and Safety, Supply Chain Management
Richard Kralj
Senior Extension Educator - Food Safety & Quality
Penn State Extension
rak15@psu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Start-Up Operations, Food Processing, Operations Serving Retail & Commercial Foodservice, Animal & Pet Feed Processing
SOUTH CAROLINA
Kimberly Baker
Associate Extension Specialist; Food Systems and Safety Program Team Director
Clemson University Cooperative Extension
kabaker@clemson.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Home Food Preservation, Cottage Foods, Food Regulations
TEXAS
Angela Walla
Professor
Texas Tech University
angela.walla@ttu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Dairy, Retail, Holding and Warehouse, Farm
Matthew Taylor
Professor, Department of Animal Science
Texas A&M University
matt_taylor@tamu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Safety Process Validation, Preservatives Application and Efficacy, Rendering
VIRGINIA
Alexis Hamilton
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
Virginia Tech
ahamilton@vt.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Food Processing, Food Safety; Environmental Monitoring, Sanitation, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Processes, Preventive Controls
WASHINGTON
Girish Ganjyal
Professor and Extension Food Processing Specialist
Washington State University
girish.ganjyal@wsu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Hindi, Kannada
Areas of Expertise: Snacks, Baked Goods, Plant Proteins, Extrusion, Frying, Baking
​
WEST VIRGINIA
Cangliang Shen
Professor/Extension Specialist
West Virginia University
cashen@mail.wvu.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Chinese
Areas of Expertise: Fresh Produce, Poultry Meat, Antimicrobials, Thermal Inactivation
WISCONSIN
Xinhui Li
Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
xli@uwlax.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English, Chinese
Areas of Expertise: Food Microbiology
Alex O'Brien
Food Safety / Quality Coordinator
University of Wisconsin - Center for Dairy Research
aobrien@cdr.wisc.edu
Language(s) Spoken: English
Areas of Expertise: Dairy
The Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (“FSPCA”) does not guarantee, approve, or endorse the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, or availability of any information provided to you by members of the Extension Specialist Directory and is not responsible for any errors or omissions. The FSPCA does not accept any responsibility for any reliance on the information provided by members of the Extension Specialist Directory or for any results obtained from the use of such information. The information provided herein is not intended to be comprehensive, and some or all of this information may not apply to your specific situation. Your Qualified Individual should review and assess the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, and applicability of provided information, if any, to your food and facility. The FSPCA disclaims any express or implied warranties, including but not limited to, any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use.
Members of the Extension Specialist Directory are not employees or agents of the FSPCA and have not been instructed, directed, or controlled by FSPCA in connection with the information they provide. Members of the Extension Specialist Directory do not have the authority to make representations on behalf of the FSPCA or to bind FSPCA in any way.
Following the information provided by members of the Extension Specialist Directory does not ensure compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations or any other law or legal requirement. The information provided by members of the Extension Specialist Directory does not contain or constitute legal advice, and neither the FSPCA nor the members of the Extension Specialist Directory are your lawyer or can provide you with legal advice.