Contact: Marti Pupillo
mpupillo@idfa.org
(202) 220-3535

(Washington, D.C. – November 19, 2014) The International Dairy Foods Association has named Emily R. Lyons to fill the position of director of regulatory affairs and counsel. In this role, Lyons will be responsible for working with members and government agencies on environmental, worker safety and sustainability issues, as well as food safety and food defense. She also will serve as legal counsel on issues involving contracts, antitrust, and statutory and regulatory interpretation. 

Originally from a small dairy farm in Northern Illinois, Lyons graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences and a minor in Environmental Economics and Law.

Lyons’s passion for the dairy industry inspired her to attend Vermont Law School, where she focused on the interplay between environmental law and agricultural and food issues. While in law school, Lyons was a member of the National Moot Court Team, co-chair of the Food and Agricultural Law Society and head note editor for the Vermont Law Review. She passed the Illinois bar exam in July.

Lyons has held a series of internships with agricultural organizations and companies, including the National Farmers Union, the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the National Pork Producers Council, Novus International and Pfizer Animal Health. She also served as a summer associate with Brown, Hay & Stephens LLP in Springfield, Ill., where she managed complex environmental cases, and as a law clerk for Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC in Washington, D.C.

"We’re very pleased to welcome Emily and add her legal expertise and passion for the dairy industry to IDFA’s regulatory affairs team. Her knowledge of environmental law and animal science, particularly as they pertain to food production, will be a valuable asset to IDFA and our member companies," said Clay Hough, IDFA senior group vice president.

Lyons currently lives in Washington, D.C.  

#   #   #

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.