Dr. Jeffrey Lansdale
Jeffrey Lansdale is the President of the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, Inc. (ZAMORANO), which is based in Honduras, Central America. Dr. Lansdale has over 30 years of experience in education, working in different sectors and programs related to education. He was Project Director for vocational training programs in Thai villages; Coordinator and Senior Technical Advisor of Honduran Peace Scholarships Project with USAID/Honduras and Founder of Environmental Youth Leadership Program. He also worked as Chief of Party for the USAID/Honduras post-Hurricane Mitch Reconstruction Projects and was Senior Advisor for Policy Reform for the Honduran Ministry of Education, focused on the decentralization of the national education system and the implementation of Education for All, a program sponsored by the donor community to ensure 100% primary school coverage and quality education in Honduras.
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Jeffrey Lansdale has a Ph.D. in Education from Cornell University, as well as an M.A. in International Management of the School for Training, Vermont, and an M.S. in International Agriculture of California Polytechnic State University. He earned his B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University, California.
Speakers
Dr. Marvin Moncada
Currently Dr. Marvin Moncada is on the mission to assist food entrepreneurs from the ideation stage to the market level by providing business support, services and resources such as Research & Development/innovation, scientific design, process optimization, product analysis and food regulations.
Dr. Marvin Moncada has authored and co-authored ten (10) peer-reviewed articles, which have been cited more than 50 times by international researchers, in topics related to functional dairy products and bioprocess engineering, cryogenic freezing, and food nanotechnology. As a researcher and educator, he has trained many undergraduate, graduate students and industry personnel in food entrepreneurship, food processing, ingredient technology, and food regulations. For his pioneering work and his contributions to the fields of food science and bioprocess engineering, Dr. Marvin Moncada has received the certified food scientist award from the International food science certification commission and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
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Marvin Moncada has a Ph.D. and M.S. in Dairy Foods Technology from Louisiana State University. He earned his B.A. in Food Science and Technology from Zamorano University. He is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), and the Zamorano Agricultural Society at LSU (ZAS-LSU).
Dr. Sukant Misra
Dr. Sukant Misra is the Associate Vice Provost for International Programs at Texas Tech University, with responsibilities to provide oversight of international education and research functions of the University. Previous to that, he served as the Associate Dean for Research for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) from 2002 to 2014. He has served Texas Tech University in various faculty and administrative capacities since his initial employment as a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in 1993. Prior to joining Texas Tech, he was a researcher at the University of Georgia for three years. Beyond his service to the Office of International Affairs, CASNR, and TTU, he has served on several local, state, regional, and national organizations involved in the advancement of higher education.
He received his Bachelor and Master's degrees in Analytical and Applied Economics from Utkal University, India, in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He obtained a second Master of Science degree in 1986 and his doctorate in Agricultural Economics in 1989, both from Mississippi State University.
Misra has experience in managing and coordinating many large, faculty-driven, research programs and international initiatives and has many contacts at international institutions, including leading universities in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Romania, Tajikistan, and Turkey. Misra has visited over 20 countries and has worked closely with faculty and administration of many international institutions.
Dr. David C. Weindorf
Dr. David C. Weindorf currently serves as Associate Dean for Research for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and Professor & BL Allen Endowed Chair of Pedology in the Department of Plant and Soil Science. Dr. Weindorf holds a B.S. in Range Management, M.S. in Soil Science (geochemistry minor), and Ph.D. in Agronomy from Texas Tech University (TTU). Awards for Dr. Weindorf include: TTU International Impact Award (2017), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Fellow (2017), SSSA President’s Award (2017), TTU Faculty International Scholarship Award (2015), USDA-NRCS National Cooperative Soil Survey’s Eagle Award (2012); LSU Gamma Sigma Delta’s Agricultural Teacher Honor Role (2011); Fulbright Scholar at Universitatea de ÅžtiinÅ£e Agricole ÅŸi Medicină Veterinară in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2011); Sedberry Award for Outstanding Graduate Teacher in the LSU College of Agriculture (2010); and LSU Gamma Sigma Delta’s Teaching Award of Merit (2010).
Dr. Weindorf is 20+ year member the SSSA having served as chair of the Pedology section (S-5) in 2016. He is a licensed Texas Professional Geoscientist. He was formerly editor of the journal Soil Horizons (2011-2013), and currently serves on the editorial boards of Pedosphere and Geoderma. Dr. Weindorf also currently serves as a trustee advisor for the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (2013-present) and has served as the past president and board member of the Professional Soil Scientists Association of Texas; as well as past president and board member of the Texas Section of the American Society of Agronomy. He is Executive Producer of the acclaimed documentary film “Between Earth and Sky – Climate Change on the Last Frontier.”
Dr. Weindorf previously served as Associate Professor and Assistant Professor of Soil Classification/Land Use at Louisiana State University (LSU). Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor of Soil Science at Tarleton State University. In addition, he served as coach of the intercollegiate soils judging teams at Tarleton State and LSU; he now coaches the TTU team.
Dr. Mindy Brashears
Dr. Brashears is a Professor of Food Safety and Public Health and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Dr. Brashears research program focuses on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Her work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. Her work has resulted in commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that reduces E. coli and Salmonella in cattle prior to slaughter and a post-harvest intervention with the same properties in beef. She also leads international research teams of students and faculty to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security in these sectors and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She teaches courses in food microbiology and food safety and offers industry training opportunities in HACCP, food sanitation, recalls and food security. She is past-Chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group, and involved in multiple professional groups. She has received numerous awards including the IAFP Laboratorian Award, AMSA achievement award and the Big 12 “Rising Star” award for excellence in technology transfer. She was recently named as one of the top 25 “Future Icons” in the meat industry by the National Provisioner. She has an extensive publication record in peer reviewed journals and has been invited to speak at national and international events on the topics of her research. Her research is the basis of multiple commercialized technologies currently used in the industry and she holds 18 patents for her work.
Dr. Luis Cañas
Dr. Luis Canas is an Associate Professor of Entomology at The Ohio State University. His field of expertise is Insect Ecology in Controlled Environments and his research concentrates on integrated pest management of pests that attack plants grown in controlled environments. Dr. Canas has more than 20 years of experience and has published 49 scientific papers, 75 outreach articles and has given more than 100 presentations at state, national and international levels. Dr. Canas has served in the committees of 20 post graduate students, several of whom now hold high level positions in academia and industry. Dr. Canas is currently co-chair of the Plant Health Master Program and director of the Ohio State - Zamorano Program. He is past president of the North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America and current president of the Zamorano Alumni Association. Dr. Canas currently has collaborations in the US, Central and South America, West and East Africa.
Pedro Pablo Rodríguez
Pedro Pablo Rodríguez earned Agronomist and Agricultural Engineering degrees from Escuela Agrícola Panamericana (Zamorano) in 1996 and 1997, respectively. He then completed an internship at Purdue University in horticulture and agribusiness. In 1999, upon his return to Guatemala, his home country, he started his first experience as an agribusiness entrepreneur. With a group of Guatemalan growers and colleagues, he founded the company Agrovessa to produce and export vegetables to the East Coast of the United States. In order to expand markets and diversify crop production, in 2001, Pedro Pablo founded the company VEDEX, in partnership with one of his former Zamorano classmates from Guatemala. In 2006, Pedro Pablo moved to California and started a working relationship with Western Onion Sales, a California based company that produces, processes and markets vegetables in the United States and international markets. This business relationship allowed him to expand his export business of agricultural products from Latin America to the U.S. and to begin exporting products from the United States to Central and South America. Pedro Pablo has also served as an agribusiness consultant in Afghanistan, Mexico and Guatemala and participated in agribusiness fairs in numerous cities around the world including Berlin, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Toronto, and Lima. He is currently working on a new company, Panamerican Farms, while continuous expanding his import/export business in Latin America, the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.
Dr. Jaime Malaga
Dr. Jaime Malaga is Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Texas Tech University. His areas of expertise include agricultural trade, food marketing, and demand analysis. He worked previously with the Texas Agricultural Marketing Research Center at Texas A&M University and with the US Agency for International Development. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and has consulting experience with several funding agencies, including The World Bank, USAID, USDA, and IDB, in several countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Dr. Samuel Zapata
Dr. Samuel Zapata is an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service/ Texas A&M University. Dr. Zapata serves the 20-county area of the South Extension District in Texas. Dr. Zapata also conducts applied research focused on farm management, economic feasibility analysis, economic impact of new invasive pests and diseases, and economics of biofuel production. Dr. Zapata research agenda also includes theoretical and empirical efforts to better understand the technology adoption processes of farmers and agribusiness, production inputs optimization, non-parametric analysis of interval-censored data, and meta-analysis. Dr. Zapata received his Ph.D. in Applied Economics and M.S. in Applied Economics and Statistics from Clemson University, and B.S. in Agriculture from Escuela Agricola Panamericana (Zamorano).
Dr. Ivan Borja
Dr. Borja is a professor of Public Health and Director, Health Economics Program, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. Dr. Borja has extensive experience working with communities, international organizations, governments, universities and stakeholders in the analysis, design, and evaluation of public policies and sustainable economic and social development projects in Ecuador, Honduras and the United States. Dr. Borja has a PhD. in International Development and an M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University; and Agricultural Engineering and Agronomist degrees from Escuela Agrícola Panamericana (Zamorano). He has worked as a consultant for several organizations including the United Nations, Kellog Foundation, Overseas Development Institute and the Ecuadorian Development Bank.