Note from our Chairs

Twelve months ago, I was looking forward to my second opportunity to serve as chair for NYIFT. My first term coincided with the COVID pandemic, which presented a series of interesting challenges for the organization but dampened many of the activities that make section membership fun and professionally fulfilling. As I now consider the 2023-2024 program year, I think that it is safe to say that we are back! A combination of great topics and great venues resulted in full capacity for every event. Our biggest challenge was finding room for an extra five or ten people every time we met – that’s the kind of challenge we like! 

The beauty of each meeting’s success was the range of contributors who took responsibility for a particular meeting and made it happen. Subcommittees worked through corporate mazes to make our events at Mondelēz and PepsiCo successful. The work done to create expert panels on subjects like AI was incredible. IFT President Sean Leighton’s in-person presentation at the March meeting was compelling while at the same time, it demonstrated that we are indeed pushing past pandemic limitations; and, as our capstone event of the year, Suppliers’ Day 2024 provided both a showcase for 166 vendors and a highly relevant technical program for attendees.   

Less apparent but just as important, we were able to bolster the internal structure of the organization so that the New York IFT can continue its mission into the second quarter of the twenty-first century. Our bylaws have been updated to reflect best and current practices. Our financial “deep dive” brought on by the stress of the COVID years has resulted in improved investment strategies and financial management.  

Before I move on to my second term as Immediate Past Chair, I would like to thank the entire board and all the committee members for making this a great year. Chair-Elect Suzanne Mutz-Darwell and Immediate Past-Chair Sophia Jin both made my job as Chair incredibly easy. Additionally, Gerri Cristantiello, as our Chapter Administrator, provided a helping hand with everything we do.  

I am looking forward to working with our new board to make our 2024-2025 program year even better. The Board will be a great mix of new talent and seasoned veterans. Our planning efforts for the fall are already underway.

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When I heard from our elected Chair for 2023-24 that she would not be able to continue for the year due to her new job position, my immediate reaction was “oh no what do we do now?” This section is very near and dear to me as it was started when General Foods relocated me from Dover, DE. I worked closely with Gary Wheelock and Marijan Boskovic to get the section started and I could not see it dissolved on my watch. So, I stepped in as Chair for the remaining calendar year. 

We had a very successful Trivia Night at Rutgers University, and a wonderful Holiday Meeting with Gary Pavlis, Wine Expert from Rutgers University and Eric Schmoyer, Senior R&D Manager – Technical Services from Barry Callebaut. Nothing can ever go wrong with Wine and Chocolate! 

We had another exciting Student Night held at Rutgers University. The program was expanded this year to include professionals from the food industry to speak with students one-on-one to learn about their company and for possible internship positions. 

And lastly, we had a wonderful day for the golf outing. Included in this newsletter are some photos; it was a beautiful day for golf.  

I would like to thank everyone on the CNJIFT Board for their support throughout the year. I welcome and also thank Debbie Levine from Ingredion for accepting the Chair position for the coming year. Kerri Goad-Berrios from Kalustyan has accepted our secretary position and Salvatore Mastriani will be moving from Director-at-Large to Treasurer. Thank you to Ronnie McBurnie for her many years of service as our Treasurer. Ronnie will be moving into the position of Director-at-Large.   

Have a wonderful summer and we both look forward to seeing you all in September.