Mrs. Yeong Boon Yee is a Senior Technical Consultant for the Oil and Soyfood Programs for U.S. Soybean Export Council for SE Asia (USSEC). Based in Singapore, Mrs. Yeong facilitates and coordinates the human nutrition programs including market development and technical assistance.

A major area of her work over the past decade is in advancing knowledge and understanding on the role of soy in human health through education programs to increase awareness and understanding of recent scientific research and in technological improvements for soy products development.

Dr. Mario Capanzana is the former Director of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Department of Science and Technology, Philippines. He currently holds a professorial lecturer position at the University of Sto. Tomas Graduate School, where he teaches MSc in Food Science courses. He recently completed his post as the Research and Development Leader (RD Leader) at the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao City, under the Science for Change (S4C) program of the Department of Science and Technology. In this role, he was tasked with providing leadership, guidance, and assistance to strengthen the university's research capabilities through various capacity-building initiatives, with the ultimate goal of establishing the university as a Center for Functional Food Research and Development in Mindanao.

 

Dr Capanzana was the Project Director of the FNRI’s 2018-2020 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS). He is actively involved in the scientific community and has held positions as the former President of the Philippine Association of Nutrition, President/Convenor of the Food Science and Technology Council, and as a member of the Philippine Association of Food Technologists (PAFT) Inc. and the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers – Department of Science and Technology Chapter. Dr Capanzana is also actively involved in the field of food and nutrition as a researcher, an educator, and in community development and extension. His research interests are Food Fortification, Functional Foods, Technology Transfer and Food Quality and Safety, Food Product Development, and Intervention Studies. He has contributed significantly to the crafting of the Food Fortification Law in the Philippines and other policies in Food and Nutrition. He holds several patents and utility models as an inventor. He has published numerous scientific papers in the area of food, health, and nutrition in International and Local scientific journals.

 

Dr Capanzana is the 2016 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee (The highest honor given to a government employee in the Philippines) for being a key player in addressing malnutrition in the country. He is a Fellow of the Philippine Association of Nutrition and an Honorary Member of the Nutritionist-Dietitians Association of the Philippines (NDAP). Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Committee for crafting the policies and standards of B.S. Food Technology Education in the Philippines.

 

He is a Chemical Engineer with a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Food Science and Technology from Hawkesbury Agricultural College (now the University of Western Sydney), Australia, and as an ASEAN Protein Project Scholar and received a Master of Science in Food Technology from Mysore University, India as a Colombo Plan Scholar. In 1996, Dr Capanzana was awarded his Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of New South Wales, Australia as an Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) Fellow.

Dr. Benito A. Oliveros received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Master of Science major in Animal Science from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). He got his Doctor of Philosophy major in Animal Science with specialization in Ruminant Nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, U.S.A. Dr Oliveros served the University of Philippines Los Baños as faculty member from 1977 to 1998 teaching animal nutrition courses and serving as adviser to undergraduate and graduate students. In 1996, he joined Roche Philippines, Inc. as Animal Nutrition Manager and in 1997 he was assigned as Regional Technical Manager to provide technical support to sales and marketing of vitamins, enzymes and carotenoids in Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

With the acquisition of DSM of the vitamin business of Roche in 2003, Dr. Oliveros continued his service to DSM Nutritional Products Philippines until 2013. In 2014, he was assigned as Regional Technical Manager for Carbohydrase of DSM Nutritional Products Asia Pacific Ltd. Pte. until his retirement in July 2016. He continued his service with DSM as consultant until 2017. He is also a consultant to Equalivet Inc., a company distributing feed additives and Vision 2000 Feedmill Corp. Currently, Dr Oliveros is the In-Country Representative for Philippines of United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC).

Dr Oliveros’ fields of interest are vitamin nutrition, enzymes in animal nutrition, feed formulation and feed technology. In recognition of his work as animal nutritionist, Dr Oliveros received the PSAS Outstanding Animal Nutritionist Award given by the Philippine Society of Animal Science in 2010, the PHILSAN Outstanding Animal Nutritionist Award given by the Philippine Society of Animal Nutritionists in 2015 and a Plaque of Recognition as Pillar of Animal Nutrition given by the Institute of Animal Science UPLB in 2017

Mr. Greg Greving is a Director on the United Soybean Board, currently serving his fifth year. He farms with his two sons, Jeremy and Shane, and four grandchildren on a 100% irrigated farm. They grow soybeans, commercial corn, seed corn, white corn, popcorn, and wheat, and also contract harvest seed for Pioneer. Greg serves on the Demand Action Team in the Health and Nutrition Priority Area and has held leadership roles with SNI Global (2022-2023). He has also been appointed to the Soy Transportation Coalition for 2025.

Mr. Will McNair serve as Director of Soy Foods, Oil and Global Team Development for the U.S. Soybean Export Council. Prior to that, he fostered ties between USSEC and its members as Stakeholder Relations Manager, serving in that role for almost six years.

He has also led USSEC’s worldwide sustainability initiative, in addition to his planning responsibilities for the annual U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange. Before joining USSEC, McNair worked as a researcher at the University of Tennessee, focusing on conservation agriculture and oilseed markets. He also served as a contractor with the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), working as an analyst in the Buenos Aires embassy concentrating on agricultural conditions, economic trends, government policies, and commercial practices of the Argentine cotton industry.

He also worked as a translator for the Brazilian sugar cane industry and speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician. McNair holds a bachelor’s degree in international economics and a master’s degree in agricultural economics, both from the University of Tennessee.

He grew up in Texas and Virginia, and his interest in agriculture and the world markets began while spending time at his family’s cotton, sorghum, and cattle farm in Texas.

Mr. Tarik Eluri has over 10 years of experience working at the intersection of agriculture, development, and sustainability. His work has allowed him to develop an international perspective on how to scale and execute sustainability programs.

At the USAID Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement, Tarik served as a Program Manager, liaising cross-functionally with USAID and land-grant universities to fast-track the development of new climate-smart crop varieties. Through this work, he developed new research partnerships and tools to expedite trait discovery.

Tarik also worked at Control Union NA, LLC, where he expanded the global capacity of multinational corporations' voluntary sustainability verification programs. His experience with sustainability schemes like Bonsucro, RSPO, and GlobalGAP helped companies like PepsiCo, Unilever, and Nestlé drive change across global agricultural value chains.

Currently, Tarik is the Sustainability Manager at the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), where he manages the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP). He works alongside Abby Rinne, USSEC’s Director of Sustainability, to communicate the sustainability advantages of U.S. Soy versus other soy origins. Through their work, they aim to ensure that the soybean industry secures a more profitable and sustainable future.

Dr. Heng Kiang Soon has over 15 years' experience on food and nutrition research and education. As a nutrition scientist, his current research focus is on food waste valorization for food and agricultural applications.

Over the years, his research inventions have been taken up to industry scale. He has also been providing research and development consultancy to the industry. He is passionate in promoting healthy diet and nutrition to the community and frequently featured in the media. 

Dr. Cecilia Acuin is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines, Los Baños and served as Senior Scientist, lead for Human Nutrition, at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines until May 2020.

Prior to her work at IRRI she was also the Chief Science Research Specialist, Nutritional Assessment & Monitoring Division and Chair, Institutional Ethics Committee at the Food & Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), Department of Science & Technology, Philippines. In this position, she was responsible for the conduct of the Philippine National Nutrition Surveys, and oversaw nutrition research projects of three Sections: the Nutritional Assessment Section, the Nutritional Statistics and Informatics Section, and the Nutritional Interventions, Evaluation and Policy Section. Her research interests are in the areas of maternal and child health and nutrition, food security, food and health systems and operations research, and risk factors of non-communicable diseases.

Dr. Acuin’s involvement in multi-country research initiatives includes the following among many others: as a Member of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences Committee on Nutrition and Anthropology; and as a Consultant and Vice-Chair of the WPRO Regional Advisory Committee on Health Research in the WHO Western Pacific Region. In the Philippines, Dr. Acuin has been the Co-Chair of the Philippine National Health Research System, Research Utilization Committee; Head of the Secretariat of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Study Group; Consultant in various capacities of USAID, UNICEF, World Bank, etc., as well as for academic institutions and local organizations such as the Zuellig Family Foundation among others. She obtained her Ph.D. in Nutrition with minors in Nutritional Epidemiology and Risk Communication from Cornell University, USA.

Dr. Michelle Braun is a dedicated nutrition scientist with experience in clinical research and nutrition translation. For over a decade, she served as the Global Protein Scientific Affairs Lead for DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences/IFF. 

As such, Dr Braun oversaw all protein-related nutrition/health outcome research, served as spokesperson for research to numerous audiences around the globe.  She served in leadership roles for many adjacent professional and industry associations and currently she is the Director of Partnerships for the Soy Nutrition Institute Global.

Prof. Antonius Suwanto is a professor of Microbiology and Genetic Engineering at Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia; and an adjunct professor in Atma Jaya Indonesia Catholic University. He is currently a member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI).

He graduated from Department of Agricultural Product Technology (B.Sc. Cum Laude) from Bogor Agricultural University; and obtained his M.Sc. and PhD degree in Molecular Microbiology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He served as an American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Ambassador for Indonesia (2012-2015); a member of Technical Team on Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms; and senior advisor for the Indonesian Society for Microbiology (Permi).

During his career, he received a number of excellent research and academic awards, such as Rockefeller Research award, International Foundation for Science (IFS), Indonesian Toray Science and technology Foundation Award, Indonesia Biodiversity (KEHATI) Award, and The Best Researcher Award from Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

Three patents have been granted for his work on novel hydrolytic enzymes; and the formulation of an effective probiotics to prevent bacterial diseases in crop plant. Professor Suwanto is known scientifically as the first to report the presence of more than one chromosome in prokaryote, which was achieved through his work on genome mapping of a photosynthetic anoxygenic bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides in 1989.

Prof. Suwanto is currently interested in Microbial Communities and Metagenomic study of Indonesian traditional fermented foods (especially for Tempeh Nutrigenomics applications); biotechnology of plant‐bacterial interactions to control Ganoderma disease in oil palm; and Novel Lipase prospecting for oleochemical biotransformations.

Mr. Renato Reyes is currently the President/Chairman of Miracle Soybean Food International Corp, Philippines. He holds an MBA from the University of the Philippines and is a Certified Professional Accountant both in Canada and the Philippines.

He is also a current member of the Institute of Management Accountants of Ontario, Canada and the Institute of Financial Executives in the Philippines. Mr. Reyes also completed graduate studies in Business Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

With over 50 years of experience in general management, he has worked in various industries including food manufacturing, beauty and aesthetics centers, mining, and more. His family business dated back to his grandparents and has been developed over two generations, specializes in duck and poultry farming, as well as poultry hatchery operations.

Mr. Japnit Singh is the Chief Operating Officer at Yamada Consulting and Spire. He specializes in supporting organizations with market entry and growth consulting in Asia. With over 20 years of regional experience, he has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as government agencies from Singapore, the USA, Spain, Oman, and Japan.

These include Ithraa (Oman), Catalonia Trade and Investment, Austrade, JETRO, the United Nations, the ASEAN Secretariat, and others. He also collaborates with private sector organizations such as Hewlett-Packard, Schneider Electric, Hitachi, Rakuten, Griffith Labs, Chili’s Restaurants, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, and more.

His expertise lies in market analytics, business partner matching, and go-to-market strategies for multinational organizations as well as SMEs. He has successfully completed over 1,000 market research projects globally.

For over seven years, Japnit has managed market research and export promotion projects for USSEC, the Soy & Specialty Grain Organization, Northern Soy Marketing, and WISHH.

He is passionate about education and spends much of his free time lecturing and working with local student bodies at NUS and NTU.

Japnit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi and is a part of the MBM 2004 Batch of AIM.

Ms. Faye Christine Matriano has extensive experience in marketing food & beverage brands, including Coca-Cola, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, Royal Spaghetti, Dewberry cookies, Birch Tree powdered milk, and Betty Crocker baking mixes, among others. She is currently the Global Brand Marketing Director for the plant-based arm of Century Pacific Food, Inc.

 In this role, she has collaborated with export sales to bring unMEAT canned and frozen meat alternatives to more than 7,000 doors worldwide, including Walmart, Carrefour, Woolworths, and Cold Storage.

Mr. Leonardo Chapula is an experienced marketing professional with over 15 years of expertise in the global marketing landscape. His extensive international experience and diverse background provide him with a comprehensive and strategic approach to marketing, particularly in the promotion of soybeans and related products.

Currently serving as the Human Sector Marketing Specialist for the Americas at the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), Leonardo is responsible for promoting soybean oil, high oleic soybean oil, and soy-based foods. He also leads relationship-building efforts across Latin America and Canada, working to strengthen the market presence and expand opportunities for U.S. soy products.

Born and raised in a small town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, Leonardo hails from a family with deep roots in sugarcane farming, giving him a unique perspective on agricultural marketing. He earned a Master’s degree in International Development Studies from Iowa State University, which set the stage for his global career. After completing his studies, he moved to China to further broaden his professional and cultural horizons. Today, he resides in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he continues to lead innovative marketing initiatives in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Julian Lin, currently serves as the Taiwan Market Director of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). He monitors the soy and oil seed complex, identifies market trends and policies impacting U.S. soy demand, and adjusts USSEC market development programs accordingly. He also plans and implements Animal and Human Utilization activities in Taiwan.

With over twenty-eight years of experience in international agri-business, including soybean crushing, soy-food, feed industries, and export market development for U.S. soybeans in Taiwan, Lin brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. He previously worked at Uni-President Enterprises Corp., Taiwan's largest food company. He holds an MBA from Long Island University and an EMBA from National Chengchi University.

Ms. Joanna Qian, the Human Utilization Program Manager for U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) China, is responsible for focusing on the opportunities to develop demand for U.S. soybeans in the Chinese soy food and edible oil industry. In this role, she identifies the opportunities for the U.S. soy industry, designs subject matter marketing campaigns to deliver the advantages of U.S. soybean to the target audience and capture sales leads for USSEC members.

Before joining USSEC, Joanna managed various online and offline food & beverage promotion activities for Italian and Dutch government agencies and sourced food products for Metro Cash & Carry (an international leader in B2B wholesale).

Joanna has systematic problem-solving skills to card valuable market intelligence and provide a diversified portfolio in the segments. Joanna holds an MBA degree from the University of Manchester.

Mr Randy Duckworth is the Executive Director of the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA), a position he has held since January 2025. In this role, he oversees day-to-day operations, provides strategic direction and leadership to advance SSGA's mission and vision, and cultivates relationships with SSGA members and industry partners. 

Prior to joining SSGA, Mr Duckworth served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Pulse Federation, based in Dubai. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business/finance and a law degree from Seattle University School of Law. Since graduating, he has specialized in agricultural association management, international food marketing, and food assistance programs. Throughout his career, Mr Duckworth has overseen marketing, promotion, and research activities in over 75 countries, focusing on establishing market linkages between producers, processors, exporters, and buyers or food manufacturers.

He has held several notable voluntary positions, including serving as a Representative to the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN), a Member of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research Advisory Committee at Michigan State University, and a former member of the UN FAO World Pulses Day Oversight Committee. Additionally, he has been a former member of the USDA Food Aid Consultative Group and a former chair of Protected Harvest, where he promoted and certified sustainable agriculture production and marketing practices.

     Mr. Shane Frederick is the Manager of Strategic Programs for the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA). A Certified Professional Project Manager (CPPM), Frederick’s roles include managing SSGA's international activities, including promotion of the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand program, SSGA University and other events and workshops.

       Frederick has served in his current role at SSGA since November 2021 after first joining the organization as its communications manager in April 2020. Previously, Shane spent more than 25 years working as a writer, reporter and editor for multiple publications.

       He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and earned his CPPM certificate from St. Thomas in 2024.

Mr. Rob Prather brings over 17 years of experience across various sectors of the specialty soybean food agriculture industry, connecting U.S. soybean growers with international buyers and soy food manufacturers. 

His knowledge, business strategies and tactical acumen have helped further export channel development of packaged and containerized U.S. Identity Preserved™, sustainable and regenerative, high quality specialty grains (HQSG) for human, animal, and aquaculture consumption. 

Rob is on a mission to redefine food by building a modern and empowered supply chain comprised of farmers, processors, shippers, distributors, food producers and consumers.

Mr. Austin DeLong is a senior export trader at The DeLong Co., Inc. with over a decade of experience in trading oilseeds, grain, and feed products to the Asian market. Austin focusses on building and maintaining strategic partnerships with key customers, driving The DeLong Co., Inc.'s export growth and fueling business expansion.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agribusiness from The University of Wisconsin-Platteville and is an active board of director for The DeLong Co., Inc. since January 2022.

Mr. Guillermo Mancebo was born and raised in Argentina. He holds a degree in Agronomic Engineering and has lived in seven different countries before settling in the USA in 1998. With 40 years of experience in global agricultural markets, he has worked with food and feed products such as grains, oilseeds, pulses and ingredients.

During his career, he has worked for Continental Grain Company, Scoular, Pipeline Foods, and joined PURIS in 2021 as SVP Global Sales and Business Development. Outside of work, Guillermo enjoys traveling, watching a good soccer game, scuba diving in the Pacific, trying new foods, and learning about other cultures and traditions.

Mr. Todd Sinner is a 5th generation partner at Sinner Bros. & Bresnahan (SB&B) and CEO of SB&B Foods based in Casselton, ND USA. a business specializing in the production, processing and marketing of safe, reliable food ingredients to markets around the world.

Todd has 24 years of global sales & management experience and has traveled extensively around the world promoting U.S. grown Identity Preserved food products. He maintains an active role in local, regional and national organizations including Sinner Bresnahan Healthy Kids Initiative, Specialty Soya & Grains Alliance (SSGA), U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), North Dakota District Export Council and Northern Crops Institute.

Mr. Rick Brandenburger is the president of Richland IFC Inc. Rick also has 43 years of experience in a senior management role in the agriculture industry and 35 years of that in specialty food grade crop supply companies with international experience.

Rick has spent the past 25 years as President of Richland IFC, a specialty food grade soybean and food grade corn supply company. Richland is a vertical integrated supplier located in the Red River Valley of North Dakota/Minnesota.

He is also an owner and operator of a family farm in southern Red River Valley along with his wife and two sons.  

Mr. Aaron Mohs serves as Vice President of Brushvale Seed, a soybean export company dedicated to the research and development, production and processing of identity-preserved food grade soybeans.

Aaron has been involved in the production and processing of food grade soybeans for over 15 years, and has previous experience in edible bean production and processing.

Aaron uses his agronomic background to help Brushvale’s producers grow the highest quality, nutrient dense food grade soybeans.

Mr. Tom Taliaferro is currently the President of Montague Farms, Inc., (MFI), a producer and exporter of food quality grain located in Virginia, USA.

MFI operates a 4,800ac diversified grain farm and a non-GMO soybean export business that has supplied food markets for over 35 years. MFI is directly involved in every stage of soybean supply from variety development through shipping logistics. This vertically integrated model allows MFI to deliver supply solutions that meet the high standards of both producers and end users while carefully managing quality throughout the entire process.

Tom has been an active participant and held leadership roles in both Virginia and national organizations that support agriculture and the soybean industry specifically, including: Virginia Agribusiness Council, Virginia Soybean Board, various Virginia trade missions, SSGA and USSEC.

Prior to joining MFI, Tom worked for 10 years as a management consultant with a focus on strategic planning, program management and process engineering. He led numerous projects ranging in size and scope within the retail, consumer goods and federal government industries.

Tom is a 1999 graduate of The College of William and Mary, earning a B.B.A. degree in Finance. He currently resides in Norfolk, Va with his wife and two daughters.