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Speakers
Luis Cañas, The Ohio State University
Dr. Luis Cañas is Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in Entomology at Ohio State University. Dr. Canas is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in the management of insect pests that attack plants in controlled environments, with more than 22 years of experience. His research provides applied solutions to problems caused by thrips, whiteflies and mites among others. He has published 40 research and extension papers. His areas of expertise include insect management using insecticides and biological control agents, biodemography, insect‐plant interactions. Currently Dr. Canas is Co-Chair of the Master of Plant Health Program at Ohio State and Zamorano Alumni President.
More information at: https://entomology.osu.edu/our-people/luis-canas
Jose Cisneros, North Carolina State University
J. José Cisneros has been the Director of International Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at North Carolina State University (NC State) since 2015; he is also a Professor of Practice of Entrepreneurship in the department of Horticultural Science. He earned an M.B.A. in Marketing and Supply Chain Management, and a MS in Horticulture, both from Michigan State University. Prior to joining NC State, Cisneros was the founder and program director of the Global Agribusiness Program at the University of Missouri, a marketing outreach specialist at Michigan State University, and an entrepreneur for ten years. Cisneros uses an entrepreneurial approach to manage the office of CALS International Programs. Within such approach, he has developed the most comprehensive interactive database of faculty international activities among peer agricultural colleges. He has also founded the CALS Global Academy and he is currently developing a new international development model –CREdO- that seeks to integrate research, education, and outreach in global initiatives with the participation of governments agencies, universities, and research and outreach institutions.
More information at: https://cals.ncsu.edu/horticultural-science/people/jjcisner/
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Michael S. Hawn, Smithfield
Michael holds a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Georgia (1993) and an M.B.A. from the Thunderbird School of Global Management (2007). He has earned the Certificate in International Agriculture from the University of Georgia and the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management. He is fluent in Spanish. Since August of 2013, Michael has been working as Smithfield Hog Production’s Senior Director of Human Resources with responsibility for Recruiting, Development, and Safety. Before that, in 2007, he began working as the Director of Human Resources for Smithfield’s international businesses with a principle focus on the implementation of best management practices and standardization throughout the international farming operations. Michael joined the Smithfield group of companies through Carroll’s Foods in 1998 as the Human Resource Manager for the Laurinburg Division. As the Murphy Brown business took shape, his responsibilities developed to incorporate the multiplication operations and the Smithfield Premium Genetics business as well as various projects of importance to Murphy Brown as a whole, most notably the establishment of several international recruiting relationships that the company continues to use today in its search for future managers.
Gustavo Lascano, Clemson University
Dr. Lascano was born in Ecuador and grew up in several places in Latin and North America. Dr. Lascano received his B.Sc. in Animal Science from Zamorano University in Honduras. He obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. at The Pennsylvania State University with specialization in Ruminant Nutrition. After this Dr. Lascano accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and was the leader in developing the ruminant nutrition laboratory. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Clemson University where he continues this work. Dr. Lascano has taught classes including Principles of Animal Nutrition, Advanced Ruminant Nutrition and Metabolism, Integrative Dairy Cattle Management, and is developing an International Animal Production Management class to be incorporated to the Animal and Veterinary Sciences curriculum at Clemson.
Jeffrey Lansdale, Zamorano University
Dr. Jeffrey Lansdale has 35 years of experience managing development and education programs in different regions of the world. During the past 30 years in Honduras, Dr. Lansdale has assumed leadership roles of USAID-funded projects, primarily in the education sector. He has coordinated directly with governments, local and international NGO’s, and major donors including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and international development agencies of Canada, Japan, Spain, and Sweden. Since 2014, Dr. Lansdale has served as the President of Zamorano University. Dr. Lansdale lived in Greece for 18 years, where his father served as director of the American Farm School. He managed refugee rehabilitation programs on the Thai-Cambodian border for two years, spent a year in India, and conducted his dissertation research in Bolivia for a year. Dr. Lansdale holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, master’s degrees from California Polytechnic State University and the School for International Training in Vermont, and a B.A. degree from Stanford University. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Greek. He is an adjunct professor of North Carolina State University.
More information at: https://www.zamorano.edu/en/message-president/
Millan Ludeña, Motivational Speaker
Winner of a Guinness Word Record by running half a marathon in the Earth’s deepest point, Millan Ludeña is considered Ecuador’s most influent motivational speaker and one of Latin America’s referents divulging his “Filosofia del Limite” (Limit philosophy). With about 80 conference talks a year, more than a hundred thousand people have been inspired to believe in the extraordinary and to believe in fighting for their dreams. His adventures have defied the most extreme places in the planet. He is one of 14 people to have ran more than 100 kilometers in the words coldest (Antartica) and hottest (Sahara Desert) places. He is the only one to have connected Eerths closest points, from the closest point of the center of the Earth to the closest point to the sun. He is a TED Talks speaker. He studied statistical engineering ij ESPOL and Agribusiness in Zamorano University. He obtained his MBA at INCAE Business School and in 2018 he received the Dr. Vicente Rocafuerte recognition, the highest recognition Ecuador’s National Assembly can give to a citizen.
Cynthia Machado, Novozymes
Cynthia Machado is a Technical Services Senior Scientist at Novozymes NA (Since May 2017) supporting the Food and Beverage’s business. Prior to working for Novozymes, Dr. Machado worked at General Mills Inc. (2010-2017) in product development. She led innovation, renovation and cost saving projects for brands such as Fiber One, Nature Valley, Chex Mix and Gardetto’s. Dr. Machado obtained her M.S. (2006) and Ph.D. (2010) degrees in Food Science from Purdue University, Indiana. Her areas of research were on the antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds, and nutritional and physical improvement of storage proteins in common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) by using Transglutaminase. Dr. Machado obtained her B.S. degree in Food Science and Technology from Zamorano University in Honduras (2002). Dr. Machado is a member of IFT and a mentor for Emerging Leaders Network Program at IFT.
Santa Maria Mendoza, Evonik Corporation
Santa Maria Mendoza is a technical service manager at Evonik Corporation. She supports swine nutritionist in the assessment of quality of feed ingredients by using NIR technology, implementation of new concepts in feed formulation, and data analysis. Prior to joining Evonik, Santa Maria worked at BIOMIN America where she helped to create awareness of the risk of mycotoxins in feed ingredients and also helped in the development of new products. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Animal and Poultry Science with a minor in Statistics from North Caroline State University. During her graduate program, her research studied the effect of summer heat in all the phases of swine production. Prior to graduate school, she worked at Smithfield Foods as a farm manager where she oversaw the productivity of 2400 sows. She has a BS in Agriculture Science from Zamorano University. Santa Maria production experience and analytical skills give her the capability to effectively communicate with swine producers and be of support at many levels
Alejandro Mesa, PREMEX
Alejandro Mesa Gomez is currently the CEO of Premex, a technology based organization engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of micro nutrient solutions for food and animal feed.Previously he held the position of Executive Vice President and Business Development Manager on the same company where he participated in the internationalization process and strategic transformation. He worked as Management Associate in Schering Plough Corporation in New Jersey and has been actively engaged as an entrepreneur in the creation of companies in the areas of Agribusiness, food and biotechnology. He is an active advocate of the role of private companies and entrepreneurs in the transformation of social realities and value creation in the construction of more prosperous societies. He is an active member of the following Boards: Vitamin Derivatives in Athens, GA. PIC Colombia S.A. and ANDI (National Association of Businesses in Colombia). He graduated as Agronomist in Zamorano (Pan-American Agricultural School, Honduras). He holds a BSc Degree on Food and Resource Economics from University of Florida, FL and an MBA degree from Thunderbird, Arizona. He also graduated from the OPM Executive Program at Harvard Business School. He recently went to the Executive Program at Singularity University.
Wilmer Pacheco, Auburn University
Wilmer Pacheco is from Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Honduras. He earned a B.S. in Food Science from Zamorano in 2005. Soon after his graduation, Wilmer started a manager trainee program with Murphy Brown, LLC in Laurinburg North Carolina. In 2009, he was granted a research assistantship in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University where he earned his M.S. degree in Poultry Science and his Ph.D. degree in Physiology and Nutrition. In 2015, Wilmer joined the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University as Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor. Wilmer’s extension program supports the feed industry in the state of Alabama and the USA and serves as a catalytic agent to bring new ideas and innovation essential for the future of the feed and animal industry. He also provides extension education in feed mill regulations, feed milling operations, ingredient and feed quality, and poultry nutrition and participates in Departmental recruiting activities such as FFA Poultry Judging and 4-H events. His research has been focused on the interrelationships between feed milling, nutrition, and physiology on poultry performance and includes implementation of feed mill techniques that improve feed efficiency and reduce costs; identification of processing alternatives to decrease bacterial load in poultry feed without affecting the nutrient content and composition; use feed additives (prebiotics, essential oils, organic trace minerals) to improve broiler performance; and analysis of thermos-stability of probiotics and enzymes.
More information at: https://ssl.acesag.auburn.edu/directory-new/u/Wilmer-Pacheco-a7UIVO1O/
Octavio Ramirez, University of Georgia
Octavio Ramirez obtained his B.S (1986), M.S. (1987) and Ph.D. (1990) at the University of Florida in Food Resource Economics with a specialization in Econometrics and Quantitative Methods. He held multiple positions as an Agricultural Economist at the Agricultural Research and Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica from 1990-1998. He then served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and Sociology Area at Texas Tech University (1998-2003). Later he became a Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business at New Mexico State University (2003-2008). He then accepted a position of Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at The University of Georgia (2008–present). 50+ refereed journal articles with many in top-tier disciplinary journals; 80+ selected papers or invited presentations at major professional conferences; $25+ million in grants and contracts; taught 25+ graduate and 25+ undergraduate level courses in mathematical economics, statistics and econometric methods; served as major professor of 25+ Ph.D. and M.S. students and 50+ thesis/dissertation committees; major professional service roles including chairing the National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators, conducting numerous departmental reviews and managing several USDA/NIFA grant panels.
More information at: https://agecon.uga.edu/people/faculty/octavio-ramirez.html
Isidra Sabio, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Isidra Sabio is an Agronomic Engineer, graduated from the prestigious Zamorano University. She was the first Garifuna women to graduate from Zamorano. Isidra also has a MS from Louisiana State University. In 2007, she received recognition for her scientific contribution by the president of Honduras for her work with the United Nations in Malaria control. As of now, Isidra works as a director for the data base for a study on infectious disease at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a self-taught painter; she was born and raised in a Garifuna community in Cristales, Trujillo, Honduras, where she started drawing people from her community since she was young. Currently, Isidra is a painter and drawer engaged in creating beautiful and colorful art that positively reflects Afro-descendent life in Latin America. She started canvas painting in 2017, and since then she has had exhibitions in New York and Washington DC. She has sold many painting in the United States and other countries. Isidra uses her art to attract attention to the Garifuna Community creating images that show their experience, history and progress. As a black woman herself, she is also interested in capturing and highlighting the beauty and internal strength of black women.
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