FIBR Board of Directors

The Food Industry Business Roundtable (FIBR) is a non-profit trade association (501)c6 that is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

Current Board of Directors

Founding Board Members are designated by an asterisk *.

  • PRESIDENT:

    Anna Valls
    F. Gaviña & Sons

    F. Gavina & Sons, Inc., is a 4th generation coffee roaster. Always having her eye on the family business;; her passion for coffee grew as she studied international business and visited coffee producing countries. She has officially worked at Gaviña since 2008 and is currently settled in the McDonald’s Division. In her free time she enjoys the company of her 3 dogs and cat, cooking, traveling and using her groupons.

  • VICE PRESIDENT:

    Henry C. Leong*
    Vice President
    Quon Yick Noodle Company


    Quon Yick Noodle

    Leong was a charter member of FIBR and has served on the Board Of Directors since then. He continues to support FIBR because it has been a very progressive organization and continues to provide business opportunities and the latest food industry regulation updates and training. He was employed by Quon Yick Noodle Co. for over 35 years manufacturing Chinese noodles.

  • TREASURER:

    Mike Yadzyn
    Vice President, Relationship Manager
    SMBC MANUBANK - Headquarters Office

    Mike Yadzyn is a Vice President, Relationship Manager at SMBC MANUBANK (formerly Manufacturers Bank). Mike has been with the bank for more than 18 years and specializes in bringing a comprehensive suite of tailored solutions and high-touch relationship management to the food and beverage industry. Prior to joining the bank, Mike was a business owner and the president of a human resources consulting company. In his role as Relationship Manager, Mike is always looking to add value for each client. Taking the time to understand their business goals allows him to recommend the right mix of banking and credit solutions to help clients simplify their finances. “Watching our clients grow year after year is extremely rewarding,” he says. SMBC MANUBANK has been a gold sponsor of FIBR since 2012.

  • DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & HUMAN RESOURCES:

    Yvette Nunez
    Director of Operations & Human Resources
    Community Development Technology Center

    Yvette Nunez is Director of Operations and Human Resources at CDTech. She is responsible for payroll, bookkeeping, human resources and the day-to-day operations and needs of the organization, its staff and building. For over 20 years, Nunez has held a variety of positions at CDTech including Sr. Program Director for Business and Economic Development, Director of Operations (previously), and the lead for the Los Angeles Manufacturing Networks Initiative (LAMNI) and the Green Urban Manufacturing Initiative (GUMI). She also served as the Executive Director of the Food Industry Business Roundtable (FIBR) and the Toy Association of Southern California (TASC).

    As a senior manager, her varied experience working with South Los Angeles Small Businesses, manufacturing industries, the implementation of Community Benefits Agreements and Workforce Development Initiatives contributes to her perspective on community issues.

    Nunez has extensive Government and Non-Profit Experience. Before joining CDTech, she worked for RLA (Rebuild L.A.), a non-profit Los Angeles Riot Recovery agency and has served under former Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley, U.S. Senator Alan Cranston and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown. Nunez also worked at Cordoba Corporation, a nationally recognized engineering, program and construction management firm.

    Nunez has received numerous awards and honors and currently is a Board member and officer of the Food Industry Business Roundtable, and a member of the LA Trade-Tech College Culinary & Professional Bakers Advisory Committee, Advancing Women’s Health & Financial Literacy Advisory Committee, the Alliance for Economic Inclusion, the Slate Z Promise Zone Jobs Committee and the South Los Angeles Community Jobs Coalition.

    Formerly, she served on the Board of Girls and Gangs, as a member of the Steering Committee for the Ca Association of Environmental Health Administrators, Safe, Secure and Sustainable Food Systems Symposium, on the Legislative Affairs and Environmental Affairs Committees of the California League of Food Processors and as an Advisory Board Member for the Dorsey Culinary Arts Program.

    Ms. Nunez was a partner and operator of a South Los Angeles Café, Bakery & Market Place for two years and the Chef at the Oso Ranch and Lodge in New Mexico for 10 years. Nunez brings her Culinary and Entrepreneurial experience to her role at CDTech.

  • John N. Pesce
    President
    John Pesce & Associates

    John N. Pesce experienced in working for a major food company in Los Angeles. He was responsible for developing food safety programs, GMPs SSOP HACCP and Food Security employee training, supplier audits, vendor compliance and pest control.

    John has over 51 years of experience in the food industry in both production and executive management capacities. For 27 of those years, he worked at a subsidiary of Kellogg’s', where he developed curriculum and provided employee training in sanitation and hygiene, CGMP's, SSOPs, SPC and pest control and industrial safety. He has extensive experience in thermal processing of canned food products and was responsible for employee training in retort and orbitort operations.

    He is a member of four professional organizations (AFDO) Association of Food and Drug Officials the (ASQ) American Society for Quality .and the (ASM) American Society for Microbiology and (FIBR) Food Industry Business Roundtable where He is on the Board of Directors and a trainer for CGMP’s, SSOP’s, GLP’s and Prerequisite for HACCP. He is also a Food Defense Coordinator. He is also an Instructor Proctor for the Certified Professional Food Manager Program and is a registered ServSafe Instructor Proctor for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and he is a GFSI internal auditor.

    Mr. Pesce is a licensed steam engineer by the City of Los Angeles. He has attended the University of California at Davis' Better Process Control School;; the American Institute of Baking for certification in Food Processing Sanitation and Hygiene; the University of Tennessee's Statistical Process Control Management for Food Processing;; and the University of Southern California's Food protection Certification Program for food plant manufacturers. He also has a certificate in Seafood HACCP. He is licensed by the structural pest control board # RA-45864 as a pest control applicator. He is also a Food Defense Bioterrorism Risk Management coordinator.

  • Laura Lee
    General Manager
    Soyfoods of America

    Laura Lee is General Manager of Soyfoods of America, a family enterprise. Laura has been with Soyfoods from the beginning when her parents started the business. Still in high school, she began as a gopher and clean up person, and tells us she can still handle a mean floor squeegee!

    While going to USC for business with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, she kept the Company books and handled in store demos. After graduating and working full time for Soyfoods, she found out how smart mom and pops were and that the "standard" business models that she learned about didn't really apply to a family run operation. She then learned all the pitfalls of running a food manufacturing plant: regulations, maneuvering big chain store, insurance, etc. 25 plus years later, she is still learning new things and really appreciates FIBR!

    Outside of Soyfoods, Laura is a belly dancer and supports many charity events.

  • Phil Tian
    Quality Assurance Manager
    Tawa (99 Ranch) Supermarket, Inc.

    Phil is the Quality Assurance Manager of Tawa (99 Ranch) Supermarket, Inc. with a Food Science background from Chapman University. He is responsible for developing and implementing cGMPs, SSOPs, product SOPs and food safety plans for hot deli items, creating employee HACCP training programs, performing various safety audits, and responding to consumer feedback.

    Phil is a member of Institute of Food Technology (IFT) and Food Industry Business Roundtable (FIBR). As a native Mandarin speaker, he voluntarily helped Mr. Mas Hori to translate the GMP and SSOP training material to Mandarin.

    Certifications and Degrees: HACCP, SSOP, GMP Preventive Controls Qualified Individual, Certified Professional Food Manager, Certified Instructor for Food Protection Manager Certification, Registered ServSafe Examination Proctor, B.S. Biological Engineering, M.S. Food Science

    His hobbies include cooking and traveling.

  • Sherine Kanagasunderam
    Senior Quality Assurance Manager
    The Mochi Ice Cream Co.

    Previously was Quality Assurance Manager, Elizabeth's Food Co., Inc. -EFC, QAM/SQFP at QTrade Teas & Herbs for 8+ years.

    I was born and raised in Sri Lanka and started my career as a Confidential Secretary. At the beginning of 2000’s, the companies in Sri Lanka started working with Japanese companies to improve productivity. I got selected to participate in the learning programs and seminars and become a 5S Champion and ran Quality Circles which lead to higher efficiency and productivity for nearly 10 years.

    I moved to US with my family and started working at QTrade Teas in 2010 in their Quality Department. I was able to create a quality management system and obtained the SQF Certificate in 2014.

    Specialties – 25+ years’ experience in food manufacturing, SQF, BRC, HACCP, GMP's, FDA/USDA regulations and audits/recalls, 5S Champion & Kaizen movement, KPI's, OEE, COQ, HR management, SA 8000, Malcolm Baldrige Quality System, Green Productivity, quality circles.

    Sherine has over 25 years of experience in the food industry, in both food safety management and productivity improvement in manufacturing. She has extensive Experience in Japanese 5S method and was a 5S Champion for over 5 years in Sri Lanka. She is also a member and a certificate holder of the American Society for Quality. She was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to the USA in 2009. Food safety is her passion. When not working she enjoys being with her husband and two children, their birds, two cats, and cyber-shopping.

  • Vanessa LS Jackson
    Quality Systems Consultant
    Aseptic Technology LLC

    Vanessa LS Jackson is a highly experienced Quality Systems professional primarily for the food industry. She has a Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition from San Diego State University and a Master of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University. She has specialized certificated training in Sales and Customer service under the Brian Tracy school of thought.

    She has been associated with very large companies such as Kraft/Nabisco, Conagra, Dolly Madison down to smaller companies such as JJ Snack Foods. She ventured off into Risk Management as a Claims Examiner and because of her background she was assigned several food accounts to professionally investigate, evaluate, negotiate, and resolve food products commercial liability claims, and she was once an independent auditor for ASI.

    Finally, she enjoys the three R’s: reading, roller skating, and relaxing outdoors. She cherishes simple fun times laughing in the company of good friends and family, as well as, volunteering helping others in the community.

Honorary FIBR Board of Directors Members

  • Don Whittemore
    Dandy Don's Homemade Ice Cream

    Once Upon A Time (circa 1962 – 67), Don was a stand-up comedian. He worked under the name Don Harris in Atlanta, Miami Beach & Newport, KY. If you have some free time one day, ask him to tell you some jokes.

    The next part of this biography starts just after that but still long long ago, in the Time Before CDs. Don was in the record business. He convinced DJs to play records by Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, David Bowie, and Cat Stevens (to name a few). Some of those records went gold.

    In the late ’70s, Don decided to leave the record business for good. Too much temptation for a family man, he thought. And too few creative DJs.

    In 1981 Don and his lovely wife Linda (pregnant with their second child) bought an ice cream shop in Tarzana, California called The Creamery. They thought it would be a gold mine. They were wrong. So they worked their keesters off, got into the wholesale business, and began a catering division. These are photos of Don (photo on the left, 3rd from the left) and Linda (photo on the right) at one of their first hot fudge sundae bar catering gigs at the Directors’ Guild of America. This is how the catering division of their company—now with over 1,000 customers—got its start.

    They no longer have The Creamery, or any retail shop. But they have begun putting their homemade ice cream into pints, so once again regular folks can buy their product retail. Funny how things come full circle, even if they do take 20+ years. Don’s favorite part of doing business is dealing with people. He loves talking to his clients, making ice cream with them, and helping them promote their businesses. He loves selling his ice cream to new clients, finding out what they want, tempting them with great service. He just loves people. And he loves making people happy. Good thing he makes great ice cream.

  • Kenny Yee*
    CEO and Founder
    Imuarock International

    Yolk Partners, LLC is an entertainment cross media and intellectual property development and consulting firm. Kenny is also President and CEO of Imurarock Partners, a strategic consulting agency which services media and entertainment enterprises in the China region. Founded in 2008, Kenny is responsible for the firm’s leadership, strategic investments, and business development.

    Kenny began his early career working for Wing Hing Noodle Company, a food manufacturing business based in Los Angeles that was founded by his father, Robert Yee. Wing Hing Noodle Company started in 1978 as a “mom and pop” operation with one machine making authentic noodles for Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles. After working in all levels of the company-including business operations, sales and marketing, Kenny eventually took over the business as President in 1993. Under his visionary guidance, Wing Hing Noodle grew into one of the largest noodle manufacturers and distributors of Asian foods in the U.S., with a broad roster of clients that include PF Chang’s. The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Panda Express, Chili’s Bar and Gill, Applebee’s, Souplantation, and Yard House.

    After overseeing the successful acquisition of Wing Hing Noodle Co. and Passport Food Group by the private equity group Wedbush Capital Partners. Kenny began to pursue a lifelong goal of transitioning to the media sector, forming Imurarock Partners in Shanghai.

    He consulted for the ChopChops animated series, the Animation Creative School with Help university College in Malaysia, and the China Animation Market Conference in Suzhou, China.

    In addition, Kenny helped form Showbucks, a new interactive gaming platform co-funded by Time Warner & Cartoon Network.

    In 2004, Kenny was presented with The Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Asian Business League, also served as President for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, the Food Industry Business Roundtable, and is a very active member in numerous civic and philanthropic organization in the Asian American community.

Founding Board of Directors

  • FOUNDING PRESIDENT:
    Gina Harpur Juanita’s Foods
  • Henry C. Leong Great Harvest Foods, Inc.
  • PAST PRESIDENT:
    J. Mark Roth El Burrito Mexican Food Products, Inc.
  • Shelly Suzuki Suzuki Enterprises
  • Kenny Yee Imuarock International