Kristy is the President and Fourth Generation owner of the Mile Hi Companies based in Denver, Colorado. The Companies include Mile Hi Foods, a consolidated food distribution company servicing over 450 McDonald’s restaurants and Mile Hi Bakery which is a high-speed LEAD gold certified bakery of buns and English muffins for McDonalds, Chic -Fil -A, In N Out and other similar, restaurant groups.

Utilizing her experience as a 4^th Generation owner, Kristy began working with other family businesses to help guide them through the many unique challenges that multi-generational businesses face. Kristy’s focus is to inspire leaders in their organizations to fully understand the part they play within the family unit and business while deciphering the value each family member brings to the organization. Kristy also has a passion for fostering the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting a DE&I culture. She has expertise in generational transitions, succession planning, strategic growth, M&A and navigating family dynamics.

The Mile Hi Companies continue to be ranked among the Top Ten Family-Owned Businesses in Colorado by ColoradoBiz Magazine. She holds a BA in Business from the University of Denver and received her executive coaching certification through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI).

Presentation
Young Professionals Educational Session – Women in Baking Panel
Tuesday, March 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Valerie Wayland has more than 34 years of experience in the food industry, with 28 years in the baking industry.  Valerie’s background includes technical and regulatory positions with Marriott Corporation, Kraft Foods, Mrs. Smith’s Bakeries, and currently as the Director of Technical Services & Regulatory Compliance for Flower Foods.  In addition to her responsibilities at Flowers, Valerie is an active member of the American Society of Baking, the Institute of Food Technologists, the Society of Bakery Women, and the Georgia Association for Food Protection.  Valerie also serves as co-chair for the American Bakers Association Food Technical & Regulatory Affairs Professionals group (FTRAC).  Valerie loves to travel and explore and has been married to her husband George for 29 years.

Presentation
Young Professionals Educational Session – Women in Baking Panel
Tuesday, March 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Charlotte Atchley is the editor of “Baking & Snack.”  She has spent 11 years covering all aspects of the baking industry including formulating, operations, bakery expansions and trends.  Ms. Atchley also launched and hosts the magazine’s first podcast, “Since Sliced Bread,” which features in-depth conversations with leaders in the industry. She served as a session chair for ASB’s BakingTECH 2015 annual conference.   Ms. Atchley has a bachelor’s degree in communication form Southwest Baptist University as well as a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Presentations
Young Professionals Educational Session – Women in Baking Panel
Tuesday, March 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Trends in Baking Automation Panel Discussion
Thursday, March 3
9:15 am – 10:15 am

As a Senior Food Safety Specialist, Nathan brings over 20 years of food manufacturing leadership in both manufacturing plants and corporate positions.  Currently in his role as the global bakery and snack lead for CFS he works to ensure internal alignment within their bakery focused specialists and externally with bakery suppliers to support their continuous improvement.

Immediately prior to joining Commercial Food Sanitation, Nathan had the corporate responsibility for the sanitation and allergen programs at Heinz North America. In that role he worked to lead corporate programs on sanitation challenges, alignment, and training, with a focus on unique and challenging cleaning and allergen validations including gluten free and supplier partnerships.

Over the course of his career, Nathan has had the benefit of working across a wide range of products and technologies at Heinz North America, Kraft Foods and Ralcorp.

Nathan is bilingual in English and Spanish and holds a Masters degree in Food Safety from Michigan State University, a MBA from California State University and a Bachelors degree in Economics/Finance from Missouri Southern State University.

Presentation
Successful Expansion with Hygienic Design and Cross Functional Teams
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
1:15 pm – 1:50 pm

Dr Morgaine Gaye is a Food Futurologist and director of bellwether: Food Trends, the first food trend research compendium. She has her own health-food product range of functional food blends called Dr Gaye, which are sold globally on-line. 

Morgaine looks at food and eating from a social, cultural, economic, trend, branding and geo-political perspective. Her work involves running ideation sessions, consulting to food companies, developing new products and ideas; writing articles/ trend reports for PR and ad agencies; giving public , university and corporate lectures on specific food trends, developing new ideas for food-related TV and radio programmes and doing research on all elements of the eating experience from mouth-feel to olfactory perception. She consults to leading blue chip food companies and manufacturers, delivering bespoke trend briefings and NPD ideation. 

Morgaine is a frequent media contributor in print, radio and TV. A number of her academic research papers have been published. She is a guest university lecturer in UK and Sweden and is on the reviewing panel for the International Food Design Conference and yearly academic journal. As part of the EU Commission, Morgaine was the chair at the Brussels Parliament for 2015. As part of TED X 2016, Morgaine’s talk was ‘It Doesn’t Make Any Scents’. She is currently writing a book ‘A Taste of Things to Come’ about food trends and why they matter. 

Presentation
Closing Keynote Presentation
Thursday, March 3, 2022
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm

Sophia Leung is a Food Science Lab Manager of a baking applications laboratory at Enzyme Innovation, a division of Specialty Enzymes & Probiotics. She has worked in product development of baked products, biotechnology research, and patent examination in food packaging and processes. Sophia has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and M.S. in Food Science from University of Illinois.

Presentation
The Future of Probiotics in Baked Goods
Thursday, March 3, 2022
1:15 pm – 1:50 pm

Alan has been providing workshops and economic analysis seminars for thousands of business owners and executives in various countries for the last 30 years.  He is one of the country’s most sought-after economists.

As the chief economist for numerous US and international trade associations, it has been remarked that Alan’s “insight into our business, a track record of accurate forecasting, and unparalleled knowledge of global markets has earned him the respect and appreciation of key business leaders in our industry.”

Alan and ITR Economics™ have shared their insights through various media outlets, including: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Knight Ridder News Services, Business Week, the Associated Press, The Washington Times, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, Sirius talk radio, and numerous other outlets.

Presentation
Keynote Address
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
8:45 am – 9:45 am

Scott Houtz is President of Air Management Technologies a company that has provided energy, environmental, and thermal solutions to Food Processors throughout North America for 24-years. Air Management has been recognized for their contributions to the food industry and have received the B.E.S.T in Baking award 2010, 2013 and honorable mention in 2016. Scott has over 34 years of experience and is a Certified Energy Manager and Indoor Air Quality Professional as well as a member of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), American Society of Baking (ASB) and Baking Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA).

Presentation
Monitoring & Verification: Process Food Safety Final Product Quality Control
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
10:25 am – 11:00 am 

Tess Brensing is Sr. Product Manager, Functional Systems for Corbion, a global market leader in lactic acid and its derivatives, and a leading supplier of emulsifiers, functional enzyme blends, minerals, vitamins, and algae ingredients.

Building on more than 10 years of experience in functional ingredients analysis and technology development, Ms. Brensing leads cross-functional teams focused on delivering innovative functional ingredient solutions for the milling and baking industry.

Ms Brensing is a proud graduate of Kansas State University, with a master’s degree in Food Science and technology, a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and a minor in Cereal Chemistry.

Presentation
Decreasing the Dependence on Vital Wheat Gluten
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
1:15 pm – 1:50 pm