Rockville, Maryland, October 22, 2024—AOAC INTERNATIONAL announced that Deborah McKenzie, AOAC deputy assistant executive director and chief standards officer, was named the inaugural recipient of the award with her namesake. The Deborah McKenzie Award is a special recognition established in 2024 to honor McKenzie’s exceptional service to AOAC and to recognize her accomplishments as a long-time member of the AOAC staff. Mary Kay Krogull, AOAC president, presented this award on behalf of the AOAC Board of Directors to McKenzie as an unannounced addition to the Awards Ceremony at the AOAC INTERNATIONAL 2024 Annual Meeting & Exposition, in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 26.
Since joining the Association in 2003, McKenzie has worked tirelessly to elevate AOAC’s standards development and methods approval programs and processes. In 2023, she assumed her current role, overseeing implementation and execution of AOAC voluntary consensus standards processes and Official MethodsSM and Performance Tested MethodsSM programs. McKenzie and her team coordinate and administer associated deliberations, including facilitating numerous topic-specific AOAC working groups and expert review panels to reach consensus on Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs®) and Official MethodsSM, respectively.
“AOAC Official MethodsSM and SMPRs continue to gain attention globally and make an impact on safety and healthfulness of today’s food supply,” said Krogull. “It is wonderful that Deborah is being recognized for all her hard work and dedication in overseeing these critical AOAC programs.”
“AOAC has been an integral part of my career, allowing me to be engaged in the changing analytical sciences community,” McKenzie said. “Receiving this award was a great surprise and a meaningful honor.”
This award aims to continue honoring staff members and recognizing those who have been outstanding in their efforts to carry out the principles and further the mission of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. As the highest award bestowed upon a staff member, it celebrates extraordinary service to the Association.
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About AOAC INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1884 with our beginnings in the USDA and US FDA, AOAC INTERNATIONAL is an independent, non-profit membership association of analytical science professionals in government, industry, and academia worldwide. Our mission is to advance food safety and product integrity through standards, validated test methods, and laboratory quality programs. We publish outcomes, including Official Methods of AnalysisSM, in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL and provide laboratory proficiency testing programs. AOAC also facilitates collaboration and training of scientists and other stakeholders to address challenges with sustainable analytical solutions. For more information, please visit AOAC.org.
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Caption: Mary Kay Krogull, AOAC president, presents Deborah McKenzie, AOAC deputy assistant executive director and chief standards officer, with inaugural award.
