SPEAKER BIOS

KATHERINE BEDARD enjoys removing regulatory barriers in export markets at Wine Institute. From assisting exporters, to finding export certification requirements, to complex negotiations with the United States, European Union, China and others, she open markets for products. Katherine served as an International Trade Specialist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, focusing on eliminating trade barriers for processed agricultural products, including U.S. wine. She brings many years of experience in international trade and development having worked at the Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C. and in the Office of the President of the World Bank Group. Katherine has a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a Master of Arts in European Politics from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain.

DEBRA DEVLIEGER is a National Food Expert in FDA’s Office of Human and Animal Food Operations.  She has been with the agency for 35 years. 

She has assisted in the development and implementation of some of FDA’s most significant projects and programs including the Seafood and Juice HACCP regulations, Preventive Controls for Human Foods and FDA’s Systems Recognition Program. 

Debra has also helped develop and implement food safety training courses and inspection programs and has provided technical assistance to both domestic and foreign field staff.  She has traveled to several countries in response to food safety issues and to provide outreach and training to foreign government competent authorities and the food industry. 

CHRIS HARTLESS is the Director of Technical Services and Compliance at Fetzer Vineyards in Mendocino County, California. He began his career in the wine industry in 1995 when he joined the quality department at a Napa County winery. Since then Chris has held a variety of technical roles in the wine industry to include Chemist, Technical Services Manager and Quality Director. His current responsibilities include managing quality and food safety programming throughout wine production at Fetzer Vineyards, as well as support for export compliance in the international market. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California

GREG HODSON has served as President of FIVS for the last six years. He works as Chief Technical Regulatory Liaison for E. & J. Gallo Winery in the United States of America. He has a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and a Doctorate in Food Chemistry. After working as an analytical chemist in the dairy industry, he spent 12 years working with the UK Government on technical aspects of food legislation. During this time, he conducted negotiations for the UK in the European Union, Codex Alimentarius, the United Nations, and the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Greg joined Gallo in 1997 and has held a wide variety of positions in winery research management, regulatory affairs, and compliance. He is currently responsible for technical regulatory affairs issues in connection with trade in wine, both in the United States and internationally. He is a member of the US industry delegation to both the World Wine Trade Group and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Wine Regulatory Forum and for 16 years was Chair of the California Wine Institute’s Technical Advisory Committee.

JEFFREY READ is an International Policy Analyst on the International Affairs Staff at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.   In this capacity, Mr. Read provides outreach and support to foreign governments wanting to learn more about the U.S. food safety system.  Mr. Read also coordinates information exchanges between FDA and foreign government counterparts through audits, conferences, and meetings of senior leadership.   Mr. Read holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Oregon.  Prior to coming to the FDA, Mr. Read worked as an International Aviation Operations Specialist with the Federal Aviation Administration.

LAUREL PARKER is the Director of FIVS-Abridge, working heavily on international alcohol regulatory and trade agreements matters. Her role also includes providing guidance on international trade policy and compliance matters impacting the global alcohol beverage industry. In this capacity, she works closely with international producers and government regulators from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Wine Regulatory Forum, the International Wine Technical Summit (IWTS), and the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG). She received her Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University School of Law in Washington DC, and a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in International Relations and Spanish, from the University of South Carolina. Recently, Laurel earned a Diploma in Wine Law (focus on Trademarks & Geographical Indications for Wines & Spirits) from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne in France. She has also authored articles on WTO compliance and wine intellectual property law.

TIM RYAN is Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance, for E. & J. Gallo Winery. He is responsible for ensuring compliance with the relevant regulations in all areas of alcohol beverage production, distribution and advertising, for both U.S. and international markets. He also works through appropriate trade associations to monitor and influence relevant regulations on a global basis. Tim earned Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. degrees from University College Cork, Ireland (1987, 1991) and a Master’s in Business Administration from St. Mary’s (Moraga, CA) in 2006.

ERIC WILKES has worked in the beverage industry since completing his PhD in chemistry at the University of Newcastle in 1997, where he held both teaching and technical positions. Initially spending four years based in the Hunter Valley with the then independent Rosemount Estates he moved to SA in 2001 to take up the role of Group Chemist with the Foster’s Wine Group based at the Wolf Blass Winery in the Barossa Valley. In 2007 he accepted the role of Global Manager Analytical Services with the Foster’s Group overseeing the integration and alignment of testing and technical services across their whole beverage portfolio on three continents. In 2010 he joined P&N Beverages in Sydney as National Technical Manager with responsibility for new product development, product QA, customer feedback and product compliance before returning to the wine industry in 2011 where he is the Group Manager, Commercial Service at the Australian Wine Research Institute. Current areas of research include, new methods for wine analysis, environmental impacts of wine production, wine stability, methods to determine authenticity and the impact of metals on wine development. He is a past Chair of the Interwinery Analysis Group, is an active member of a number of international working groups on wine analysis and export regulations, co-author of a book on wine analysis and a regular speaker at national and international regulatory and wine chemistry conferences.