Eric Mittenthal is the vice president of sustainability at the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), previously serving as the organization’s vice president of public affairs since 2012. He leads the Meat Institute’s sustainability initiatives and also focuses on developing communications to bust myths on the role of meat in the diet and how meat is produced.

Mittenthal joined NAMI from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) where he worked closely with dietitians and led IFIC’s efforts in communicating with journalists and influencers. Mittenthal moved to Washington D.C. following a career as a television reporter and producer in several markets around the country including Atlanta, Jacksonville, NC and Idaho Falls, ID. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and also received a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA.

Presentation: Taking Continuous Improvement from Concept to Action

Hank Bongers is NAMI's director of worker safety and human resources.

Bongers joined the Institute in April 2017. Previously, he worked in the food industry for Frito-Lay, Kerry Americas and American Foods Group.

Bongers graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a Bachelor of Science in Social Science and subsequently earned his M.S. degree in Safety Management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

He is a Certified Safety Professional. Bongers also volunteers with the National Safety Council serving as past chairman of the Business and Industry Division and on the Board of Delegates.

Presentation: Taking Continuous Improvement from Concept to Action

Since joining Technomic in 2010, Rich Shank, vice president of Research & Insights, has led the growth of Technomic’s proprietary consumer research practice. He has conducted a diverse number of studies that span from consumer journeys and segmentation to menu optimization and pricing analytics. In his time at Technomic, he has been instrumental in launching our Ignite consumer brand tracking service, our concept testing product and our restaurant pricing practice.

Rich has more than 20 years of industry and academic research experience that spans the long-term care, mental health services, distribution and foodservice markets. He has a Master of Arts degree in sociology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and sociology from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Presentation: Taking Continuous Improvement from Concept to Action

Bill Principe is a Partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP where focuses his practice on occupational safety and health regulatory issues. He works with companies on compliance with both federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state safety and health regulations. Before joining Constangy, Bill was an attorney with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in Washington, D.C. Bill graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a dree in English and he received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Presentation: Understanding OSHA Requirements for Dealing with COVID-19

Jeremiah Johnson is the Corporate Manager of Sanitation, Regulatory Compliance and HACCP at Hormel Foods, where he is responsible for implementing and training food safety and regulatory expectations in both USDA and FDA regulated facilities. He is also a PC lead instructor for both human and animal food. Jeremiah has worked at Hormel for 12 years and previous roles have included management of QA departments at a dry sausage production facility in Iowa and a pork slaughter and further processing facility (Farmer John) in California. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Iowa State University.

Presentation: COVID-19: Response and Challenges

Tom Young is the Senior Director of Corporate Safety at Smithfield Foods where he has been for 14 years. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Ohio University.

Presentation: Hazard Recognition and Root Cause Analysis

Shari Franklin Smith, CIH, CSP has 20+ years of experience helping to keep workers healthy and safe. She has worked with protective clothing including high visibility safety apparel and protective coveralls, and 9+ years of experience managing an organization of safety and health professionals supporting 3M’s PPE products such as hearing and respiratory protection, protective clothing, and fall protection and 3M™ Scotchlite™ Reflective Material. She has sponsored human factors research in visibility protective clothing and hearing conservation. She was also a member of the ISEA High Visibility Committee responsible for creating the ISEA/ANSI 107 standard. Shari is currently supporting the health and safety needs for the construction, chemical manufacturing, and the food and beverage industry. She has helped several companies implement hearing protection fit testing, hosted multiple health and safety symposiums for the chemical, food and construction industries, and spoken on emerging health and safety concerns such as COVID-19, diacetyl in coffee processing, manganese hazards in welding, concerns for workers in legal cannabis growing, and changing regulations such as silica and beryllium.

Presentation: COVID-19 Respiratory Protection Program & PPE Intensive Workshop

Kimberly has been the Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Region VII, since October of 2016. Prior to this appointment, she was the Regional Administrator of OSHA’s Boston Region (Region I).

Kimberly joined OSHA in 1987 after having been employed as a Bacteriologist with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. From 1987 through 2016, she held various positions within OSHA, including serving as an Industrial Hygienist in the Region V Peoria Area Office, and an Assistant Area Director in the Region VI Little Rock Area Office. She held multiple positions within OSHA Region V, including Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, Acting Assistant Regional Administrator for Enforcement Programs, and an Area Director in the Madison Area Office and Eau Claire District Office. She also served the agency as the Acting Deputy Director for Enforcement Programs in the OSHA National Office and as the Regional Administrator in Region I.

Kimberly has worked on a variety of initiatives, both to strategically effectuate the mission of the agency and to develop and safeguard the health and safety of those OSHA employees engaged therein.

She has worked collaboratively with a host of federal, state, and local government agencies in the protection and preservation of worker and community health and safety, including a collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Indiana state government officials to ensure worker safety during Super Bowl XLVI and a collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and United States Coast Guard to develop and present emergency preparedness training should a federal disaster occur.

She mentored OSHA compliance safety and health officer Assessment Center participants, and has served on sundry of taskforces and committees to develop and implement internal safety and health initiatives to protect OSHA’s personnel.

She currently serves on the SHMS Executive Steering Committee, the Emergency Response Executive Steering Committee, and the Whistleblower Executive Steering Committee.

Kimberly is a graduate of Mount Mercy College and the Iowa State University. She holds a BS in Biology and an MS in Education.

Presentation: OSHA Outreach and Opportunities for Partnership

James A. Paretti, Jr. is an experienced management-side employment and labor relations attorney with in-depth political and policy knowledge of labor, pension, healthcare and employment law, regulations and legislation. Jim is well versed in all aspects of legislative and political processes with demonstrated knowledge in the substance of federal labor and employment policy. He has over two decades of experience working with federal legislators and policymakers, including former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chairmen of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and senior level administration officials.

Prior to joining Littler, Jim was chief of staff and senior counsel to the acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He provided legal and political counsel with respect to all aspects of agency business, administered and managed the Office of the Chair where he was responsible for over 2,200 employees and a 375 million dollar annual budget, and served as primary liaison to regulated stakeholders and Capitol Hill.

His extensive experience includes developing policy and providing legal counsel on the Committee on Education and Labor in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as coordinating external communications and media relations for a senior member of Congress. Jim represented corporate and nonprofit clients in employment litigation in federal and state court, before administrative agencies and in private arbitration while with two Boston firms.

He received his Bachelor’s degree from Harvard and his J.D. from New York University. During law school, he held positions as editor as well as note and comment editor for the New York University Law Review.

Presentation: 2021 Regulatory Outlook

As co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), Michael Lotito strategically advises clients and policy makers on what labor and employment law might become, not just what it is today. He provides counsel in all aspects of traditional labor relations, including matters arising under the National Labor Relations Act.

A nationally recognized thought leader on workplace policy, Michael has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, as well as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In his WPI role, he advocates on behalf of the employer community on a variety of issues, regularly files amicus briefs on vital workplace policy concerns and has led the management community in opposition to the federal persuader rule, which would destroy confidentiality between lawyers and their clients. WPI is active not only in the United States, but also in Europe, with shareholders in Great Britain and Brussels.

Through the Emma Coalition, a project Michael co-founded and named in honor of his granddaughter, he is at the vanguard in preparing American business and the American workforce for the future of work. As technology, especially robotics and artificial intelligence, creates not only unprecedented displacement but also unprecedented opportunities, the Emma Coalition, in cooperation with government and corporate entities, examines what skills the American workforce will need down the road and makes sure America and its people will remain competitive in the years to come. As part of this work, Michael has coauthored a widely read report summarizing what the future workforce can expect and how America can prepare.

Michael represents leading global companies on strategic issues impacting their workplaces, including the intersection of U.S. and international labor standards. He speaks throughout the world to management groups, sharing his passion for the development and implementation of workplace regulations that balance the legitimate needs of businesses, their workforce and society at large.

He is labor counsel to the International Franchise Association, the National Association of Manufactures’ legal compliance program, the Job Creators Network and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's labor and employment law litigation committee.

Human Resource Executive magazine has inducted Michael into its Hall of Fame of the Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys. The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers has elected him a fellow. Awarded an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, Michael is frequently quoted by the media, including Bloomberg BNA, Law360, Forbes, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business Network and The Hill, among others. He maintains a significant social media presence and can be followed on LinkedIn and Twitter.

He received his Bachelor’s degree and J.D. from Villanova University. The Villanova University Graduate School of Human Resources named him HR Alumnus of the 20th Century.

Presentation: 2021 Regulatory Outlook