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BEYOND the BIO

up in food safety. I honestly didn't even
know it was a thing at the time."
Natalie then spent most of her career
in retail and food service, finding her
way to roles with Disney and Walmart.
These roles didn't mean she had to
completely abandon her original dreams
of working in health sciences though.
At Disney, she spent eight years in food
safety and public health. "As a food
safety professional, my growth became
exponential once I started working at
Disney," recalls Natalie. "I got to do
some really cool things that people I
work with in the industry never get to
do." This work included investigating
illness outbreaks on cruise ships, briefly
living in Hong Kong to help open a new
theme park, and pandemic preparedness
planning for all Disney parks.
"My background in public health has
really been an advantage for me in food
science," says Natalie. "I often ask my
team, 'Why can't we do it like this?' and
they'll say, 'Because no one has ever done
it like that,' and I'll say, 'But can it be done
that way if it's going to make it better?' "
While at Walmart, Natalie again got to
combine her passion for health science
with food science. Working on strategic
controls to reduce risk among deli products, Natalie and her teams were able to
greatly reduce the number of contamination cases among consumers. "Disney
gave me wild adventures and Walmart
gave me the ability to be strongly strategic," admits Natalie.
Settling Down with Dole...
and Her Dogs
Serving in a newly created role within
Dole as a member of the executive leadership team, reporting to the President
and CEO, Natalie has global responsibility for food safety across all divisions
around the world. While there are a
number of strategic projects she's contin-

uously working to accomplish, she often
finds herself working to help support the
various teams to solve problems as they
evolve. "I'm really, really busy but it's a
lot of fun," laughs Natalie.
"I travel a lot so when I'm home and
my dogs have decided to speak to me
again, because they realize I'm not going
anywhere, I like to spend time with
them," says Natalie, a self-proclaimed
crazy dog lady with two dogs at home.
And when her travel isn't for work, she
enjoys leisurely trips with her mother
and friends.
While her career and home responsibilities are large and travel is broad, Natalie still manages to find time and partake in philanthropic ventures. "I'm very
active with my church and once a month
I lead a group that cooks about 120
meals and we take them to the homeless
here in uptown Charlotte," says Natalie.

Aside from providing meals she enjoys
collecting unused travel toiletries that
she later donates to the homeless. "I like
to be able to bring these people a hot
meal, socks or a little hygiene kit with
those items when I can."
Despite her busy schedule, Natalie
plans to take a few days to return to her
Midwest roots and attend IAFP 2020
in Cleveland, Ohio. "I think in the last
20 years, I've missed two, maybe three
meetings, so I'll be in Cleveland," says
Natalie, who in 2007 served on the
Local Arrangements Committee for
the IAFP meeting in Orlando, held at
Disney, while serving as president of the
Florida Association for Food Protection,
working for Disney. "The networking
available at the IAFP conference is what
makes it so much better than many other
conferences out there."

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD AND WHY?
A: Pineapple, because nothing is better than a Dole Hawaiian pineapple.
Q: WHAT FOOD DO YOU AVOID AND WHY?
A: Sprouts. Everything is bad about sprouts. Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella can

be present on the seed and just grows exponentially during germination.

Q: FAVORITE FOOD SAFETY TIP?
A: Wash your hands properly and use a thermometer when you cook!
Q: WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE DISNEY CHARACTER?
A: Dale, who is one half of the Chip and Dale characters. Because, when I was

a kid I had a gap between my front teeth, just like Dale!

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR DOGS' NAMES?
A: Sasha, which means protector of mankind in Russian. And Bear, who quite

literally chose to live with me.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR FIRST-TIME IAFP ATTENDEES?
A: I know it's hard because there are so many great sessions you want to attend

but really take advantage of the networking. This is where you can meet
people who've written papers and done research you've read about in
school or in magazines. They are here and ready to talk to you and answer
questions. The food safety heroes you've read about.
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Food Protection Trends - July/August 2020

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