Subject Matter Experts
Regulatory
Clay Detlefsen
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Counsel
A 20-year veteran of IDFA, Clay Detlefsen has primary responsibility for issues related to sustainability, bioterrorism and food defense and supports IDFA staff on food safety issues. He is engaged in numerous homeland security activities and is co-chair of the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council (FASCC), a presidentially mandated partnership between government and private sector. He also is working with the Department of Homeland Security to improve its biannual Bioterrorism Risk Assessment where it applies to food.
Detlefsen has contributed to four National Infrastructure Advisory Council reports submitted to the White House on matters ranging from cooperation between the private sector and the intelligence community to pandemic flu preparation. He also is working with other industry colleagues to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the dairy industry and serves as a member of the Dairy Management Inc. Carbon Council.
Cary P. Frye
Vice President, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs
With more than 20 years of experience in dairy product processing and quality assurance, Cary Frye represents member companies on product safety, food labeling and standards of identity, ingredient technologies, and nutrition and health issues. She coordinates the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) Medical Advisory Board and is responsible for the technical development and regulatory oversight of nutritional marketing programs and processor materials that incorporate breaking medical and nutritional research.
A member of the International Dairy Federation, Frye chairs the IDF Standing Committee on Food Labeling and Terminology. She has been active in international standards, advising U.S. delegations on Codex standards and as the head delegate for IDF at the Codex Committee on Food Labeling. She also serves as a member of the Global Dairy Platform's Communication and Scientific Advisory Board.
Her work has been published in professional journals and textbooks, including "Dairy Processing and Quality Assurance" and "Manufacturing Yogurt and Fermented Milks," published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.
Jonathan M. Gardner
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and International Standards
A longtime food-safety expert, Jon Gardner directs all aspects of IDFA's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification Program. He also oversees product-safety and quality-control issues, as well as federal and state regulatory affairs, and participates in International Dairy Federation committees and the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS).
Before joining IDFA, he worked for many years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While at FDA, Gardner served for eight years as a consumer safety officer on the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Grade "A" Milk Safety Team. In this position, he focused on regulatory issues involving the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) and served on several NCIMS committees, including the Third-Party Certification Pilot Program Committee, the Technical Review Committee and the Heating and Cooling Section Review Committee.
Most recently, Gardner worked in FDA's Division of Human Resource Development as the lead training officer for Grade "A" dairy and aseptic processing courses. He also led courses on environmental sampling, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for food, food-safety management at retail and veterinary-medicine training.
Economics and Legislation
Ruth Saunders
Vice President, Policy and Legislative Affairs
Ruth Saunders is responsible for managing IDFA's government affairs and strategic communications with Capitol Hill and the administration. She joined IDFA in 2006 as senior director of policy communications and has gained increasing responsibility in setting IDFA's legislative agenda, as well as building relationships with policy makers and industry partners.
Saunders came to IDFA from the Office of Management and Budget, where she served as a senior program examiner responsible for budgets and regulations of many U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, including dairy. Before that, Saunders worked on Capitol Hill as a staff member for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. She also has prior experience in marketing research and nutrition education.
Saunders graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. degree in community nutrition at the University of California-Davis and holds an M.S. degree in agriculture economics from Cornell University.
Robert Dean Yonkers, Ph.D.
Vice President and Chief Economist
Bob Yonkers oversees the research and analysis of the economic impact of marketing conditions, government regulations and alternative policies on the U.S. and international dairy industries. Before joining IDFA in 1998, Yonkers was a tenured faculty member at The Pennsylvania State University, where he conducted research and developed educational programs on the profitability and economic sustainability of the state's milk producing, marketing and processing sectors.
Yonkers serves on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Animals and Animal Products, an advisory body that provides information and advice to U.S. cabinet officials. An active member of the International Dairy Federation's Standing Committee on Dairy Policies and Economics, he was elected chairman in 2009.
Yonkers also serves on the Agricultural Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the Board of Directors for the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics; and the Board of Directors of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association.
Chelsee M. Woodey
Director of Legislative Affairs
Chelsee Woodey is responsible for assisting with policy development and legislative strategy. She also serves as an advocate for IDFA and the dairy industry before members of Congress and their staff.
Prior to joining IDFA, Woodey served the Commonwealth of Kentucky for five years as a legislative aide to Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY). She advised the senator on agriculture policy, including nutrition and food safety issues, as well as energy, environmental, foreign affairs and defense policies.
A graduate of the University of Richmond, Woodey earned her bachelor's degree in world politics and diplomacy and music performance. She also served as a page to the U.S. House of Representatives during the 106th Congress.
International Affairs
John P. Kelly
Manager, International Affairs
John Kelly supports IDFA's efforts on international trade and import and export issues. He also oversees the association's sweetener and trade committees.
Kelly came to IDFA from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, where he helped to enhance U.S. export opportunities, promote food security and support U.S. national security objectives. As an agricultural development specialist, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and land-grant universities to help developing countries build capacity for global trade.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the university's James Madison College, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing with a specialization in international business from the Eli Broad College of Business. While in school, Kelly studied abroad in Cluj, Romania; Istanbul, Turkey; and Brussels, Belgium.
