Caren Wilcox & Associates L.L.C. (CWA) serves clients searching for domestic/international strategic public
policy advice and organizational and crisis management services concerning food and agriculture. CWA works
with those interested in agriculture and food policy with a special emphasis on food safety and public health, as well as sustainable
and organic agriculture issues.
Caren Wilcox, the president of the firm, is an experienced business executive and public servant, having
served as the first Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and run corporate functions
at a large corporation and two trade associations.
She has recently served as Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association, and prior to that as senior agriculture
and food safety advisor to the current Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
Wilcox is also the former director of government relations of Hershey Foods Corporation, where she directed corporate responses
to both general corporate issues such as marketing and advertising, environmental regulation compliance, and
finance, and to food specific public policy issues at the federal, state and local level of government. During
her entire professional career she has had special experiences building voluntary and mandatory Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP) systems, as well as with various public health and environmental programs.
CWA partners with other firms and individuals to carry out effective solutions for its clients.
Experience
Caren Wilcox & Associates L.L.C. (CWA) brings extensive experience to private sector clients and academic institutions
as well as some governmental organizations in the fields of standard setting, regulatory policy and has specific experience
in HACCP development, and sustainable and organic agriculture and processing. CWA performed such functions as:
- Analyzing and proposing practical solutions for clients concerned about legislation and policy development
at all levels of government in the food and agriculture arena, as well as issues with public health agencies;
- Standard setting and helping organizations review their operations for standards compliance and for emergency
response planning for naturally occurring and deliberately caused events.
- CWA was called upon, following September 11, 2001, to help organize counter-terrorism dialogues concerning potential
bio-threats in the United States, and facilitated communications among groups that have a role in counter-bio-terrorism,
but which had not traditionally shared information, integrating them further into the national security community.
- Organizational development projects were carried out for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva to create
a trust fund for the Codex Alimentarius to support food safety experts' participation in Codex from the developing world. In
addition, operational reviews of communications and public affairs were carried out for universities and a public-private
technology group.
- Currently CWA is working on implementation issues for agriculture from the recent Farm Bill, and advises on
food safety reform options under discussion in the United States.
- Ms. Wilcox delivers lectures and seminars on topics such as new food regulatory structures, food
safety and security, standard setting in general, and agriculture, in universities and private seminars in the United
States, Europe and Asia, and writes articles and opinion pieces on these topics.
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