Webinars

Casey Erickson is the Director of Sales for Creminelli Fine Meats and Daniele Foods. He was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and studied Business Science at Salt Lake Community College.

What first started out as a job in receiving and shipping at Creminelli Fine Meats back in 2016, has turned into a passion for eating and selling the best Italian uncured meats in the US and managing national business for Whole Foods, Walmart, and Albertsons.

Casey eats some type of charcuterie pretty much every day (usually Creminelli), and his favorites are coppa, Campania (smoked salt salami), Wild Boar, and of course, prosciutto. He loves charcuterie and the specialty food industry!

Miles Agatha-Currier joined IDDBA as an Education Coordinator in January, 2023. They manage IDDBA's food safety resources, professional development initiatives, job training modules, and certification programming including the Charcuterie Professional Certification exam. They're the liaison for IDDBA's Deli Advisory and Professional Development Committees and the What's in Store Live Deli Team.

Alicja Spaulding is a strategic marketing leader with 20 years of experience. She began her career in the music industry, leading digital campaigns for global artists like The Killers and Eminem, and went on to serve as VP and CMO in high-growth companies, scaling omnichannel strategies in e-commerce, foodservice, and manufacturing.

Now the founder of Status: Alpha, Alicja serves as a Fractional CMO and Marketing AI strategist. She also created and teaches the world’s first MBA course on AI in Food Marketing, preparing future leaders to lead with AI in a changing marketplace.

Part of the third generation of ownership at Yerecic Label, Elizabeth Yerecic Freedman leads Sales & Sustainability efforts at the company and also oversees the Purchasing, Estimating, R&D and Bill of Materials departments. With a passion for product design and sustainability, Elizabeth launched the SustainLabel!® product suite introducing the first printed pressure sensitive label applied to PET to be recognized by the Association of Plastic Recycler’s Preferred Design Recognition program in 2023. Elizabeth participates in various areas of the Fresh Food industry outside of IDDBA, including a position as co-chair of the 2025/2026 Annual Meat Conference and an active role as a member of the Food Industry Association’s Fresh Food Leadership Council.

Sarah Weise is the CEO of award-winning marketing research agency Bixa and the bestselling author of InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z. For nearly two decades, Sarah has been a guide to hundreds of leading brands including Google, IBM, Citi Ventures, Cox Communications, US Army, and Ogilvy. Sarah helps brands ask the right questions to achieve a laser-focus on their customers and build experiences that are downright addictive. She's appeared in Business Insider, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, Yahoo! Finance and BBC and is an instructor of 15 LinkedIn Learning courses in Marketing, UX, and Brand Storytelling.

Recognized as one of the industry's "Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers," Sarah is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists and keynote stages. Wherever she goes, Sarah’s infectious enthusiasm and magnetic speaking style inspires and teaches leaders how to grow their business, transform their communities, and leave a legacy.

Trevor has spent his entire working life in the cheese industry. He started in a local cheese shop while attending college to become an architect. Needless to say, designing cheese displays became more interesting than designing buildings.

This first job led him to a better position at Nob Hill Foods, a 29 store supermarket chain based in Gilroy, CA. By the time Raley’s Supermarkets of West Sacramento purchased Nob Hill Foods in 1997, Trevor had worked his way up to Director of Delis.

Trevor worked for Raley’s for another seven years before leaving the retail side of the business to become a specialty cheese broker, where has love for the cheese industry grew.

In 2013, he accepted a job with Lactalis American Group to cover their Southwest Territory. Trevor’s passion only grew from there, as he became an American Cheese Society, Certified Cheese Professional; Authored a book on Lactalis’ 25 PDO Cheeses; was inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers and volunteers on the IDDBA Cheese Merchandising Team.

In 2019, he started a cheese blog www.cheesetraveler.com

Reed Pattison has been a Cheese Manager at Nugget Markets since 2011, overseeing some of the company’s largest locations. Passionate about the history, education, and culture of cheese, he has developed and led training programs for team members across the company and shared his expertise with the public through classes and media appearances. In 2014, Reed dove into the delightfully nerdy cheese world and became the first monger at Nugget to earn a Certified Cheese Professional (CCP), deepening his commitment to the craft. A career highlight came in 2015 when he won an international Roquefort display contest, earning a private tour of the historic caves of Roquefort with the head cheesemaker. Most recently, in 2024, Reed expanded his knowledge by completing the World of Cheese short course at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Heather has worked in the specialty food industry since 2009, focused on launching European specialty cheese brands in the US market. Interval is a French cheese sales and marketing agency, representing 13 French dairies, all specialized in terroir products and pioneers of the French dairy savoir-faire. Heather oversees the development and execution of Interval’s global sales and marketing strategies in North America, focusing on executing strategic programs that build brand value, awareness and increase distribution across channels. Her mission is to solidify Interval's position as an industry leader and to ensure we continually exceed customer expectations. She is passionate about engaging younger generations in the industry; she serves on multiple IDDBA committees, including Events, Next Generation, What’s in Store Live and Market Research.

Claire is in charge of the syndicated content for Datassential's presentation-ready insights library, Report Pro. She's been part of the Datassential team for over a decade. When she applied for her role at Datassential her cover letter stated “I am not only passionate about market research and data analysis, but have a love for all things culinary. I enjoy dining out, cooking in, and introducing people to new foods.” which holds true today. Datassential's platforms are her happy place and a job that allows her to spend all day finding new food and beverage trends and playing with data is a dream come true. She has a BS in Decision Science and a BA in Hispanic Studies from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a hobby veggie gardener and mom to two budding foodies.

With a remarkable career spanning over 45 years in the food industry, Richard commenced his journey as an NPD food technologist with St Ivel, before moving into commercial roles across the international food ingredient and food manufacturing sectors. He spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives, including the import, processing, and distribution of Non-GMO soy lecithin from Brazil, a feat that involved the design, establishment and commissioning of a dedicated Non-GMO soy lecithin processing plant in the UK to serve all the major food brands and manufacturers. Richard's commitment to excellence was further demonstrated through his establishment of Cert ID Europe followed by Cert ID Asia, renowned Non-GMO and food safety UKAS accredited certification bodies. His brainchild, FoodChain Europe, became a focal point for impactful training and consulting services. In the present day, Richard serves as BSI's Global Director for Consumer, Retail & Food driving and accelerating BSI's global food assurance portfolio worldwide. His influence extends particularly over regions like the UK, Ireland, the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, to redefine food safety and quality assurance. Richard's achievements go beyond his role, as he holds a patent in the realm of ice cream and has earned the prestigious titles of Fellow at the IFST and SOFHT. Furthermore, his status as a recognized authority in gene editing and modification for food and agricultural applications cements his legacy as an industry expert.

Colleen McGinnis Ritter is a dedicated sales professional with over 9 years of experience as a client and sales manager in CPG. Colleen received a bachelor's degree in marketing & management at the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana and applies her knowledge of business, market research, and consumer insights in her daily interactions with her clients and sales team.

Monica Burton is a Director of Account Development for Nielsen IQ. She manages the fresh vertical specialized in client development with emerging businesses. With 17 years of experience, Monica has dedicated her career to fresh clients, beginning with the Perishables Group and now with Nielsen IQ. Monica received her bachelor's degree in marketing and international business. Monica loves getting to know her clients personally and becoming a true partner and dedicated resource.

Suzy Badaracco, President of Culinary Tides, Inc., is a foresight expert with over 19 years of experience in trends intelligence and predictive forecasting. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminalistics, an Associate degree in Culinary Arts, and a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition. Suzy's expertise is further enhanced by her training in military intelligence, Chaos theory, and predictive analysis techniques.

Under her leadership, Culinary Tides, Inc. has become a premier consultancy in the food industry, renowned for its ability to accurately predict and profile trends across various domains, including food, beverage, consumer behavior, health, government, and technology. The firm specializes in identifying the birth, origin, trajectory, and longevity of trends, enabling food industry partners to strategically navigate the market. By revealing relevant patterns, Culinary Tides, Inc. empowers clients to develop products that resonate with customers, creating effective entrance, navigation, and exit strategies. Suzy Badaracco's insights and innovative methodologies have established her as a leading figure in foresight and trend forecasting.

Natha Dempsey is president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, the trade association for the North American foodservice packaging industry. At FPI, she advocates for the interests of the industry and champions its efforts to expand recycling and composting of foodservice packaging. In her previous position at FPI, Dempsey served as vice president. Prior to joining the association in 2010, she held various positions at SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association (now called Plastics Industry Association).

Eric Le Blanc is the SVP of Marketing at Category Partners, LLC; a retail sector, business insights company founded in 2008, which specializes in driving growth by executing consumer and market research, data analytics and technology solutions.

Prior to joining Category Partners in 2023, Eric worked for nearly 20 years leading Tyson Foods’ marketing efforts in the Deli channel, with responsibilities spanning from consumer and shopper marketing, trade marketing, customer planning and development, and business strategy. In this capacity he pioneered the use of data and insights in the Deli channel at Tyson Foods, including original and innovative studies and methodologies that led to new and sometimes surprising insights into consumer behaviors and attitudes in this section of the store. He served 5 years on the IDDBA Board of Directors and has been recognized as an industry thought leader.

Eric is a native New Englander and a current resident of Western New York, where he lives with his wife of 36 years and fluctuating portions of their four grown children. When no one is looking, Eric is a writer, musician, and hobby farmer.

Tom Barnes is the chief executive officer of Category Partners, LLC; a retail sector, business insights company founded in 2008, which specializes in driving growth by executing consumer and market research, data analytics and technology solutions.

Tom has successfully led Category Partners by developing strategic partnerships, proprietary data reporting tools and adding primary consumer research capabilities to Category Partners services. Since taking the reins at the end of 2016, Category Partners has more than doubled its annual revenue.

Prior to joining Category Partners in 2013, Tom held a senior position at Wada Farms Marketing Group leading a major retailer account group for more than 9 of his 13 years with the company.

Tom got his career start in the IT field. His IT background, coupled with his subsequent experience in perishables industry sales and marketing, has afforded him a unique and valuable perspective on the relationship between data management, business insights and success in the retail perishables arena.

He was raised in Pocatello, Idaho, and is a proud Idaho State University Bengal. Tom currently hails from Idaho Falls, Idaho where he and his wife are doing their best to raise their five beautiful children. Tom loves to run, coach sports of every kind, and simply be with his kids every chance he gets.

Sam is an Account Manager at M&R Label and a dedicated sales professional with 10 years of experience in the printing industry. Known for his ability to understand customer needs, deliver on commitments, and remain a reliable resource for his clients, he focuses on providing label solutions for the Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty, and Cannabis industries. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their young son who turns two in October.

Miles Agatha-Currier joined IDDBA as an Education Coordinator in January, 2023. They manage IDDBA's food safety resources, professional development initiatives, job training modules, and certification programming including the Charcuterie Professional Certification exam. They're the liaison for IDDBA's Deli Advisory and Professional Development Committees and the What's in Store Live Deli Team.

Casey Gorman is a Bakery Specialist for FGF Brands with 20 years experience in food service, cake decorating, commercial baking and training bakery staff. She currently supports the Walmart and Sam's Club national account sales team for FGF. When Casey is not wrangling her four dogs and energetic 1 year old, she enjoys learning and sharing her passion for bakery with newcomers in the industry.

Jeff Gholson joined Rise Baking in 2021 as Senior Vice President of Procurement after serving in a similar role at Brill Incorporated since 2013. In his current position, Jeff oversees Rise's North American Strategic Sourcing team and is focused on exceeding expectations in delivering delicious traditions through raw materials, packaging and indirect purchasing. Jeff has over 35 years of procurement and commodity risk management experience working with major brands including Keystone Foods, Coca-Cola, GoldKist and FC Stone. He served on the Board of the Sweetener Users Association and is the past President of the Southeastern Grain and Feed Association.

Cara Golberg is the Director of Sales and Consulting for the Consumer Panel at NIQ. With extensive experience working with both small and large retailers and manufacturers across Fresh categories, Cara is a seasoned expert in consumer shopping behaviors. She possesses deep insights into how consumers shop both in-store and online, making her a valuable resource for understanding and navigating the evolving retail landscape.