Curiosity to Leadership: Career Lessons from Women in Science
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
FREE
Course Description
This webinar brings together four accomplished scientific leaders to share their unique career journeys, pivotal decisions, and the lessons learned along the way. Through candid discussion, each speaker will reflect on the paths they took to leadership, the challenges they navigated, and the strategies that helped them build impactful and fulfilling careers in science. Attendees will gain insight into diverse career trajectories across scientific disciplines, practical guidance on professional growth, and real-world perspectives on mentorship, resilience, and leadership. Designed for scientists at all career stages, this session aims to inspire, inform, and empower participants by highlighting the experiences and wisdom of women who are shaping the future of science.
Moderators: April Schumacher. Global Scientific Affairs Specialist, Neogen; Alex Tudor, Food Safety Microbiologist, Bio-Rad Laboratories
Speakers
Mary Kay Krogull holds a BS in Biology and an MS in Food Chemistry from the UW-Madison (and all but dissertation towards a PhD). Mary Kay is currently the Sr. VP of Business Administration at Eurofins. Mary Kay is responsible for Business administration for the Food and Feed businesses across North America and is the Sr. leader of the Canadian Cannabis laboratory. Previously Mary Kay worked for 4 years as President of Eurofins Scientific, Inc. Food US.
Prior to joining Eurofins, Mary Kay worked in multiple executive level positions at Covance Laboratories including VP of Business Operations Global Early Development, VP of Global QA Global Early Development, Global Sr. Director of Lean Six Sigma and a Certified Master Blackbelt, Director of Bioanalytical Testing, and Manager of the Food Chemistry Division. Notable is her three years as Director of the Pharmaceutical Testing Division for Covance, a Division of LabCorp, one of the largest Contract Research and Medical testing companies in the world, where she directed the start-up of the GMP Pharmaceutical Testing Division. Under Mary Kay’s leadership, the Pharmaceutical Testing Division grew from $0 to $10M in sales in three years.
In her current role, Mary Kay leads a team of 11 direct staff to manage the business aspects of the Food and Feed Testing, including IT, QA, acquisitions and real estate, on boarding of large complex multi-site projects, managing the Chief Scientific Officers and engaging with the technical community in the marketplace. Mary Kay facilitates the High Potential training program for new Business Unit Managers for the Eurofins Food groups and acts as a mentor for other business managers. Mary Kay lives in Madison, WI. When not working, Mary Kay likes to travel, read mysteries and spend time with family and friends. Mary Kay is the chair of the BOD for A2LA and serves as a Director on the BOD of AOAC. She is a member of the IFT, IAFP, AOCS, and co-chair of the ACIL Regulatory Committee.
Wendy McMahon has been a food safety advisor in the Office of Critical Foods at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2024. In this position, she provides policy, scientific and technical advice and assistance related to safety of infant formula and other critical foods. Wendy worked for Mérieux NutriSciences (Silliker, Inc.) for over 30 years supporting industry with their food safety and quality programs. Much of her career focused on designing contract research studies for evaluating methods for the detection of pathogens, assessing stability of product formulations by challenging with pathogens and spoilage organisms, and determining microbial kill from heat and non-heat processes used in production.
Wendy is a fellow of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, Chair of the Committee on Safety and Security, member of the Official Methods Board, and a member of Expert Review Panel on Microbiology Methods (past co-chair for 10 years). She has been very active in other industry associations including IAFP, MicroVal, and recently completed two appointments on National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). She has numerous publications and presentations and is a co-author of the Salmonella chapter in the Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods.
Wendy is a graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana obtaining a BS in Biology and MS in Food Science.
Melissa M. Phillips has been a research chemist in the Chemical Sciences Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2008 and is currently Division Scientific Advisor for Measurement Services. During her time at NIST, Melissa has served as a coordinator of the Reference Materials programs for food nutrition and food safety as well as several NIST Quality Assurance Programs (QAPs). Her interests include development and evaluation of new analytical methods for the determination of marker compounds, vitamins, and contaminants in foods and natural products, and improving the measurement capabilities of the food and natural products communities using reference materials and quality assurance programs. Melissa obtained a B.S. in Chemistry, an M.S. in Forensic Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Michigan State University. Melissa is a fellow of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, Chair of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Technical Programming Council, and has served previously as a member and Chair of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Official Methods Board.
Pamela Wilger is the Fellow Scientist – Microbiology with Post Consumer Brands, in Lakeville, Minnesota. Pam is the Technical Leader and an expert resource of Microbiology, Quality, and Food Safety. Pam has worked with manufacturing facilities of food, pharmaceuticals, personal care ingredients, animal feed and pet food for 40 years. She is an applied microbiologist who spent a few years in product development, food microbiology research, and senior leadership. Her focus has always been on helping the manufacturing plant be the best they can be with minimizing microbiological risk along with getting the most accurate data possible.
Pam often collaborates with industry peers and participates in professional organizations to learn, share knowledge, and maintain knowledge of current practices for effective food safety controls and programs. Previously, Pam spent 21 years with Cargill in its Corporate Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Affairs Department as an Applied Microbiologist and Food Safety Expert. Prior to that position, Pam was with Quest International for 11 years as the facility microbiologist and lab supervisor, then as a researcher in product development of fermented hydrocolloids.
Pam is currently the Vice President of the IAFP Executive Board and will become President of IAFP in 2027-2028. Since 2010 Pam has been a U.S. representative of the Technical Advisory Group to the ISO Technical Committee 34 on Food Products, Sub-Committee 9 on Microbiology, actively working on international standard development for Method Validation, Challenge Studies, Sampling, and Environmental Surface sampling to name a few.
She also is a member of the MicroVal General Committee. Finally, since October 1, 2024, Pam is a director-at-large for the Executive Board of AOAC and is currently co-chairing the working group to update Appendix J on validation of microbiological methods. Pam received her B.S. and M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while also working at the Food Research Institute.
