Moderator
Joseph A. Levitt, Partner, Hogan & Hartson, LLP

Speakers
David W. K. Acheson, MD, Associate Commissioner for Foods, OC, FDA
William K. Hubbard, Leader of The Coalition for a Stronger FDA
Alison J. Kretser, MS, RD, Executive Director, American Council for Fitness and Nutrition, and Member, FoodMinds Expert Network
Stuart M. Pape, Managing Partner, Patton Boggs LLP
Bruce A. Silverglade, Director of Legal Affairs, Center for Science in the Public Interest

Program Description
What can the food industry expect from FDA during the new administration?  An elite panel of experts, moderated by Joe Levitt of Hogan & Hartson and former FDA CFSAN Director, will review the current situation and forecast what to expect in terms of new food safety legislation, new funding for FDA, consumer protections and new activities in the nutrition area. We will also hear from inside FDA on how the agency is preparing for the transition.

Registration Fees
$249 FDLI Members
$449 Non-members
$249 Academics, 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, Government

Special CD Price!
Purchase the CD set for just $75 with your registration. To receive the special price, CDs must be purchased at the time of registration. Offer limited to one CD set per registrant. In order to use this CD, your portable CD player or computer player must be able to support the MP3 format. Shipping & handling charges will apply.

Tax: CD orders shipped to Washington, DC addresses will be charged 5.75% sales tax. Orders to Maryland addresses will be charged 6% sales tax.

Please contact FDLI at (800) 956-6293 or (202) 371-1420, or e-mail comments@fdli.org.

1:00 p.m.
Audioconference begins

1:05-1:10 p.m.erator
Welcome and introductions

1:10 -2:15 p.m.
Roundtable Discussion with faculty members

2:15-2:30  p.m.
Questions from Sites

2:30 p.m.
Audioconference ends

DAVID WILLIAM KENNEDY ACHESON, MD, FRCP is the Associate Commissioner for Foods in the Office of the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He provides advice and counsel to the Commissioner on strategic and substantive food safety and food defense matters and works with individual FDA product centers, as well as the Office of Regulatory Affairs to coordinate FDA’s food safety and defense assignments and commitments. In addition, he serves as the Commissioner’s direct liaison to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and to other U.S. departments and agencies on food safety and food defense related inter-agency initiatives. Dr. Acheson is developing an agency-wide, visionary strategy for food safety and defense. The strategy will identify and characterize changes in the global food safety and defense system, and identify current and future challenges and opportunities. It will name potential barriers, gaps, and most critical needs in a food safety and defense system.  The strategy will serve as the framework in helping the agency prioritize and address food safety and defense challenges. As a Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) office director, Dr. Acheson had the lead for emergency response, as well as outreach and communications to industry, state and consumers on issues pertaining to the Center. Previously, Dr. Acheson served as Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response at CFSAN.  Before joining the agency, Dr. Acheson held several research and academic positions. He has served as an associate professor at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, where he focused on research of foodborne pathogens and, prior to that, as an associate professor at Tufts University in Boston.  There he undertook basic molecular pathogenesis research on foodborne pathogens. Dr. Acheson is a graduate of the University of London Medical School in the United Kingdom, with training in internal medicine and infectious diseases. He has published extensively and is internationally recognized both for his public health expertise in food safety and his research in infectious diseases.  Additionally, Dr. Acheson is a fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

WILLIAM K. HUBBARD is the leader of The Coalition for a Stronger FDA. Previously, he was the Senior Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning, Office of the Commissioner, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He advised the Commissioner on agency policy, coordinated the development of the agency’s rulemaking, and oversaw the planning and evaluation functions of FDA. Mr. Hubbard began his career in Federal service in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served as a higher education specialist at the Department of Education. After serving one year at the Environmental Protection Agency, he joined FDA as a program analyst. Mr. Hubbard worked in FDA’s Office of the Commissioner in various capacities (as well as serving in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)). He received numerous FDA awards for outstanding performance, as well as the Presidential Award for Design Excellence, the Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Public Service, the HHS Distinguished Service Award, and the Presidential Executive Rank Award (twice). He is currently retired in North Carolina. Mr. Hubbard received his BA in history and American studies from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and his MA in Public Administration from American University.

 ALISON J. KRETSER, MS, RD is Executive Director for the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN), a nonprofit organization that brings together food and beverage companies, associations and health and nutrition advocates to work toward viable long-term solutions to the obesity epidemic. The ACFN Foundation in partnership with PE4Life and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) Foundation launched the Healthy Schools Partnership, a pilot program in Kansas City in 2007 that blends nutrition education with physical education. Ms. Kretser is also a member of the FoodMinds Expert Network resource, a consulting firm specializing in strategic food and nutrition marketing, policy and thought-leadership and serves as a member of the ADA nutrition labeling task force. Previously, she was the Senior Director of Health and Nutrition Policy at the Grocery Manufacturers (GMA), where she developed and coordinated regulatory and health and wellness initiatives, including leading the launch of Take a Peak an in-store promotion of MyPyramid supported by GMA and the Food Marketing Institute. She was responsible for a myriad of health and nutrition issues both domestically and internationally. She coordinated the efforts of GMA member companies to provide the federal government with the food and beverage industry’s position on the implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel. She served as a member of the Maryland Governor‘s State Advisory Council on Physical Fitness from 2002-2004. Ms. Kretser received her BS in Nutritional and Food Science from the University of Delaware and her MS in Nutrition from Syracuse University.

JOSEPH A. LEVITT is a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P. He focuses on the development and implementation of legislative and regulatory policy regarding the manufacture and marketing of food, drugs, and medical devices and how to work effectively with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and related agencies. He also brings in-depth knowledge to a wide range of matters, including food and drug safety, biotechnology, labeling, advertising, and bioterrorism. He has experience articulating, defending, and negotiating positions before the U.S. Congress, the Office of Management and Budget and White House Staff, FDA, Department of Agriculture (USDA), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security, and other agencies. Mr. Levitt is a twenty-five year veteran of FDA. Before joining Hogan & Hartson, he was Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), where he led successful efforts to modernize food safety regulation and enhance the security of the U.S. food supply, before that, he served as Deputy Director for Regulations and Policy at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). He has helped streamline the new drug review process and launch the agency’s food labeling initiative. Mr. Levitt received his BA magna cum laude from Cornell University and his JD cum laude from Boston University, where he was a member of the Law Review.

STUART M. PAPE is the Managing Partner and a member of the Executive and Management Committees of the Washington, DC law firm of Patton Boggs LLP. He specializes in food and drug, agricultural, and consumer product safety law. Mr. Pape’s practice involves appearances before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and numerous other federal and state regulatory bodies as well as the U.S. Congress. Before joining the firm, he served in various positions in the Office of the Chief Counsel at FDA including as Associate Chief Counsel for Food. From 1978-1979 Mr. Pape served as Executive Assistant to FDA Commissioner Donald Kennedy. In 1978 he received the FDA Commendable Service Award. Mr. Pape is the author of numerous articles on food and drug law and serves on the Advisory Board of World Food Regulation Review and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Guide to U.S. Food Labeling Law. Mr. Pape is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

BRUCE A. SILVERGLADE is Director of Legal Affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization supported by approximately one million members. Mr. Silverglade coordinates CSPI's legislative and regulatory activities on food labeling and advertising, dietary supplements, nutrition policy, and international issues. He has also supervised federal court litigation and served as counsel in federal court cases involving product labeling and advertising. In 1988 he organized a broad-based coalition effort by health, medical and consumer organizations that culminated in the enactment of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA). Prior to joining CSPI, Mr. Silverglade worked at the Federal Trade Commission as a Staff Attorney and later served as an Attorney-Advisor to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Office of Policy and Planning. Mr. Silverglade received his BA, cum laude, in political science from the University of Illinois, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and his JD from Boston College. He also studied at Harvard Law School as a Special Student in Law and Public Policy.