Chad is the Vice President of Food Safety and Product Research with responsibilities for coordinating and supporting several food safety activities for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.  These activities include food safety training, organizing the Listeria Research Consortium, and coordinating industry food safety best practice teams spanning several relevant topics.  Chad also supports National Dairy Council research programs at major universities to drive dairy innovation and sales for U.S. dairy products and ingredients on behalf of U.S.

Anthony Fleg is a family medicine physician at the University of New Mexico in the Dept of Family and Community Medicine and the College of Population Health. He also serves as a Partnership Director of the Native Health Initiative (NHI) and has dedicated much of his career to improving health in Indigenous communities. He is a proud father of 4 children, an avid runner, and a blogger.​

Julie Stefko brings a lifelong connection to agriculture and a 20-year career in youth health and wellness to her role as Director of Farmer and Industry Relations at Dairy MAX. Raised in a rural Iowa community, she developed a deep appreciation for farmers and now leads strategies that strengthen relationships, build trust and demonstrate checkoff value for dairy farm families. 

Lauren Twigge is a Dallas based registered and licensed Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition and a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. Along with running her own nutrition company and working with private clients, Lauren works as social media dietitian, recipe developer, blogger, and brand ambassador. Lauren was born and raised in a family of farmers located in central California and is an outspoken supporter of the agricultural industry.

Mary Ellen is a Houston-based registered dietitian and the founder of milkandhoneynutrition.com. As a person living with type 1 diabetes, she knows firsthand the impact food has on how we think, feel, act and move. She strives to make food easy and fun again for people living with or caring for someone with chronic health conditions.

Naman Khanna has a mind for systems and a heart for the Dairy MAX mission. An IT professional for nearly 10 years, he holds certifications in Salesforce; financial management; and Scrum, a framework used to develop agile systems in software and the workplace in general. Originally from New Delhi, India, Naman earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Delhi before moving to Irving to work as a Salesforce consultant for the Hertz Corporation.