Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trace Sheehan is the founder and CEO of Boomdozer, Inc., a production company based in Brooklyn. Boomdozer develops and produces a wide range of television, film, and documentary content. The company currently has films and series in development, production and distribution with a wide range of partners, from theatrical distributors to cable and digital networks.

Recent successes have been critical praise for the Neil deGrasse Tyson-narrated documentary, Food Evolution, a deep-dive into the contentious world of GMOs which the LA Times called “(a) calm, careful, potentially revolutionary, iconoclastic documentary on a hot-button topic.” Sheehan co-wrote and produced the film with Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, currently in theaters and set to premiere online this fall on Hulu.

On the television side, Boomdozer has partnered with Leftfield Pictures, Michael Bay and his company, Platinum Dunes, to produce the never-before-told, true story behind the capture of Saddam Hussein for the upcoming 15^th anniversary of that historic event. And amongst other projects, Boomdozer is also in development on a barbecue docuseries with Paul Wight, aka The Big Show from the WWE.

Before launching Boomdozer, Sheehan co-founded the production company, Preferred Content, responsible for critically acclaimed docs including Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Grace & Mercy.

Sheehan graduated from Duke University with a degree in international business, and has postgraduate degrees from the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is a member of the PGA & NPACT.

As the Chair of the Global Food & Beverage Sector, Tish is responsible for the oversight and management of the firm’s global food and beverage portfolio, which houses clients in key sub-sectors, including FMCG; beer, wine and spirits; grocery and retail; restaurants and food service; commodities; and farming and fishery.

Throughout her career, Tish has designed and built leadership programs for companies and organizations that are looking to grow their reputation and business in the food, nutrition, health and sustainability areas. She has done this for clients that work throughout the supply chain – from farms and manufacturing, to distribution centers, grocery store shelves and menu boards. Clients have included Barilla, BASF, Danone, DSM, the Distilled Spirts Council, Ferrero, the Global Dairy Platform, Kellogg’s, KFC, Partnership for a Healthier America, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Unilever, Walmart, and Yum! Brands.  She has helped clients work through a myriad of issues, including product safety and quality, food labeling, market entry, supply chain, reformulation and innovation, and food marketing. She has forged partnerships of mutual benefit for our clients, and has helped conceive, construct and execute messaging strategies that drive the value and benefits of companies and brands amongst key stakeholders, including consumers.

Tish was responsible for the development and introduction of Edible, a three-year-old food, beverage and spirits specialist company that sits within DJE Holdings.  She also launched the firm’s annual Global Food & Beverage Trends Report.

Prior to food and beverage, Tish worked with associations, large and small employers, managed care companies, and pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers in the health and health benefits arena. She started her career in newsletter writing and neuroscience advocacy.

Tish represents Edelman on the National Academies of Science’s Roundtable on Obesity Solutions and Food Reform for Sustainability and Health (FReSH) partnership, a joint program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Business Development and the EAT Foundation. She previously sat on the board of the American News Women’ Club, and served as a member of the United Nations Global Compact Core Advisory Group on Sustainable Agriculture Principles for Business.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in history from Trinity College, Tish holds a master’s degree in modern British history from University College, Durham University in England.

Suzy Badaracco is a toxicologist, chef, and registered dietitian. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminalistics, an Associates degree in Culinary Arts, and a Masters of Science degree in Human Nutrition. Suzy has worked as a trends forecaster for food industry clients since 1992. Suzy has been trained in military intelligence, chaos theory, and predictive analysis techniques used by both corporate and government bodies, and has been practicing trends intelligence and predictive forecasting for more than 15 years. Using these techniques, she has been able to successfully predict and profile government, technology, food, flavor, consumer, industry, and health trends.

John Hallagan serves as General Counsel and Senior Advisor to FEMA, and in that capacity, provides legal, regulatory, and scientific services to the association and its members. Mr. Hallagan has served FEMA in a variety of capacities during his over thirty-five years of service and has served as General Counsel since 2000. He served as Scientific Director for FEMA for nine years during the 1990s during which time the flavor industry initiated several major scientific programs to expand the activities of the FEMA Expert Panel, and to work towards a global open positive list of flavoring substances. He currently serves as Legal Advisor to the FEMA Expert Panel. He has published extensively on the topics of flavor safety and regulation, and his two publications with Richard Hall that describe the framework and legal underpinnings of the GRAS concept, particularly as it applies to food flavorings, are seminal and important contributions to the food industry. Mr. Hallagan has made numerous invited presentations to the Food and Drug Administration, the American Chemical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and others.

Joanna Drake serves as Assistant General Counsel to FEMA.  With more than a decade of flavor industry experience, her work with the association has covered a variety of regulatory and legal issues, including flavor and finished product labeling. Ms. Drake has given presentations to FEMA and other organizations on the current labeling implications of flavor, anticipated federal administrative action regarding “natural” labeling and the litigation landscape involving ingredient and food labeling.  Prior to joining FEMA, she served as Assistant Counsel to WILD Flavors, Inc., where she worked on a variety of transactional issues and provided strategic legal counsel on product labeling and compliance matters.

Dr. Yep was appointed as Executive Vice President, Chief Global Scientific & Sustainability Officer at International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. in June 2016. He guides the Company’s global R&D strategy, leading and developing IFF’s efforts in innovation, technological development and external collaborations, furthering IFF’s legacy of pioneering firsts.  He is responsible for the Company’s global sustainability efforts, a key enabler of our Vision 2020 business strategy.

Dr. Yep joined IFF after holding the position of Senior Vice President of Research, Development & Applications with The Kerry Group where he was responsible for creating strategy and implementation of technical platforms in the taste and nutrition, food and beverage and the biotechnology industry. Previously, he held the role of Senior Vice President of R&D at PepsiCo, where he created long-term science-based strategies for core ingredients and their impact on food, flavor, metabolism and nutrition and was also responsible for the Gatorade Sports Science Institute – a facility aimed at expanding knowledge on sports nutrition and exercise science to enhance the performance and well-being of athletes. Prior to this, Dr. Yep was Global Vice President, Application Technologies at Givaudan Flavors and Fragrances. While there, he led a diverse global technology group and was responsible for R&D of taste and flavor delivery technology worldwide. Earlier in his career at McCormick & Company, he held executive roles of increasing responsibility in food science

It was while at the University of Pennsylvania that Dr. Yep’s 30-year journey began in flavors and fragrances. While studying for his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry, he worked as a researcher in the University’s Smell and Taste Center. Dr. Yep holds a master’s and a PhD in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University.

Chih is an International Trade Specialist for food additives, chemicals, and processed foods contamination for USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service since 2007.  In this capacity, he is USDA’s Delegate to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and technical lead for all trade issues related to food additives and chemicals.  Before USDA FAS, Mr. Wu served as an International Environmental Scientist with the US EPA working on the Arctic Council Action Plan, the United Nations Environment Programme on Mercury, and served as Secretariat for Air and Energy Cooperation with EPA for China’s Beijing 2008 Olympics.  Mr. Wu was a Cancer Scientist for the University of Nebraska Medical Center before joining the United States Federal Government.  He received his education from the University of Nebraska with emphasis in Biotechnology and Chemistry and WTO Law and Policy certification from Georgetown University Law Center.