Food Protection Trends - September/October 2022 - 406

BEYOND the BIO
Name: Evan Rosen
Employment: President, Excelsior Food Safety Solutions LLC
Location: New York, NY
Rosen's career moves 'ever upward' in pursuit of better food safety for all
Evan Rosen's career in food safety wasn't something he honed from an early age or even as
he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees. In fact, it was a rather serendipitous work
assignment that has led to a thriving consulting business for the ambitious scientist.
" I would say I've always loved science and
found ways in school and extracurricular activities
to learn about different subjects, " Rosen
said. " As I got older, I became more interested in
computers and software. I think it's safe to say I
was a geeky kid in school, but I wanted to learn
beyond what was taught in the classroom. "
At home, Rosen's mother - a pilot -
provided real-life examples of how science and
determination could lead to a rewarding career.
Rosen explained how his mom first worked as
a pilot for a private company, then moved to
operating Cessna planes and eventually went
to work for the Federal Aviation Administration
as a plane safety inspector and airport
safety inspector. Among her many accolades,
she belonged to the Ninety-Nines, a professional
organization for female pilots formed by
Amelia Earhart in 1929.
" I am so proud of her, " Rosen said. " She was
a pioneer in a man's world and navigated it so
well. I will never forget her taking me up in the
plane and just looking down over New York
City and Long Island (where I grew up) and
being absolutely amazed. "
Perhaps it was the ability to see the earth
from thousands of feet above that led Rosen
to pursue his bachelor's degree in geography
from State University of New York (SUNY)
Albany. He then went on to complete his
master's degree at SUNY, this time in public
administration. At the time, Rosen had no idea
how geography, public administration and
food science would triangulate into his future
career, but looking back, he says the pieces
were all there.
" One of the things I liked best about SUNY
was its proximity to state government and
the opportunities that gave me to learn about
systems that directly affected my life, " Rosen
said. " I am not a political person, but you
can learn a lot about how to navigate state
and government systems as an individual or
group to achieve certain things. I learned so
much about regulatory affairs during this time,
and that knowledge was useful once I started
working in food safety. "
By the year 1997, Rosen had started his professional
career, but in the field of information
technology (IT). However, he was IT consulting
in the year 2000 for a company that made
406 Food Protection Trends September/October
in manufacturing and learned, from the
ground up, production, supply chain, and
the overriding aspect of quality assurance, "
Rosen said. " That company was small enough
where I got the chance to wear all the hats
and learn about everything. I fell in love with
the compliance and food safety side of the
business. I started taking courses, earning
certifications and it grew from there. "
In his next role with AIB International,
Rosen was a food safety auditor and gained
experience in a variety of mills and factories
in the name of food safety compliance and
regulation. He said his time with AIB set
the stage for the next years of his career as
he developed skills and experience with a
multitude of food safety and quality assurance
functions including Vice President of Food
Safety and Quality Assurance at PacMoore
Products, Inc. and Director of Global Quality -
Systems & Governance at Tate & Lyle.
In 2019, he decided the time was right to
break out on his own.
Chinese take-out condiments/sauces, along
with small antiseptic hand wipes, food packaging
and nonfood packaging. By the very nature
of working in the company, Rosen started to
learn more about food safety regulation.
" From there, I found a new opportunity

Food Protection Trends - September/October 2022

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