About the Academy of Food Marketing
About Us
The Academy of Food Marketing is the only wholly industry-supported program of its kind in the U.S. It was established in 1962 to raise awareness for the wealth of career possibilities in the food industry and to support the food marketing program within the Department of Food, Pharma and Healthcare. This includes the undergraduate food marketing program at Saint Joseph's, which is one of the specialty majors in the Haub School of Business, as well as the dedicated Food Marketing M.S. and MBA programs. The Saint Joseph's University Food Marketing Program is recognized around the world for the quality and caliber of its graduates.
Through a rigorous curriculum and exposure to industry events and experiential learning opportunities, our students are prepared for a broad range of exciting careers in the food and allied industries. In addition, scholarships are available specifically for food marketing majors thanks to the generous support of our alumni and the food industry.
Please contact our staff for more information.
Staff Members
Board Members
Our Board of Governors is made up of nearly forty senior industry executives from various national food and consumer packaged goods-related companies. They provide direction, counsel, planning and financial support to the Academy.
-
CHAIR
GEORGE KNOBLOCH
Chief Operating Officer
Key Food Stores Co-OperativeTREASURER
ANTONY J. FEROLIE '84
Chief Executive Officer
C.A. FerolieOFFICER
MARIA MACHITA
VP, Consumer Sales & Marketing
Domino Foods, Inc.OFFICER
ERICA L. KAHR '01, '18
Director of Sales, C&S Wholesale/Ahold Delhaize Team
Nestlé Purina North AmericaSECRETARY
Alison Nolan
Executive Director, Academy of Food Marketing (ex officio)
Saint Joseph’s UniversityPIA AMALFITANO
VP, Commercial Strategy & Operations
Bayer Consumer HealthSTAN BARRASSO
EVP, Eastern U.S.
Acosta Sales & MarketingCOLLEEN CALLAHAN
Customer Team Lead, Sales VP, Ahold-Delhaize
KellanovaMONICA CANTZ
Executive VP & Practice Leader
CircanaNICK CAPOBIANCO
VP of Sales, Strategic Customers U.S.
Ferrero USA, Inc.ROGER CARNIE
VP, Industry Affairs
The Bumble Bee Seafood CompanyBUTCH CASSIDY '92, '04
SVP, Corporate Distribution
AcxionRICK CICERO '97
VP, Center Store Merchandising
C&S Wholesale GrocersBILL DERBYSHIRE
VP, Sales & Marketing
Liberty Coca-ColaRICH DI GREGORIO, JR.
Senior Director, Customer Strategy
KenvueJOSEPH DIANGELO, E.D.D.
Dean, Haub School of Business (ex officio)
Saint Joseph’s UniversityLOUIS J. ENI, JR.
President & CEO
Dietz & Watson, Inc.JEVON EWIG
Senior Vice President
Porky Products, Inc.DAGMAR T. FARR
Senior Advisor
The Food Industry Association (FMI)GARY FECHTER
SVP, Pennsylvania Division/Delaware Region
Wegmans Food MarketsJESSICA GASSER
Chief HR Officer
Wakefern Food Corp.COLLEEN JOHNSON
Vice President Trade Marketing, Sales and Retail Operations
McCormick & Company, Inc.JACK KELLY '77
President
KG AssociatesMICHAEL KELLY '74, '80
C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (Retired)JOHN MACHUZICK '78
General Mills, Inc. (retired)CHERYL A. MCCONNELL, PH.D.
President (ex officio)
Saint Joseph’s UniversityJOE MCDONELL
Head of Sales, Meals & Beverages
The Campbell's CompanyJEAN MCGIVNEY-BURELLE, PH.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs
Saint Joseph’s UniversityMERIDETH NELSON URAM
VP & General Manager, North America Foodservice
General Mills, Inc.DAVID NOLEN
VP Category Leadership & Shopper Insights
The Kraft Heinz CompanyJOSEPH O'CONNOR
Applegate President/Hormel Vice President Retail Division
Hormel (Applehate & Columbus)GINA PETERSON
VP, Category Leadership & Industry Affairs
The Hershey CompanyJOHN POPLAWSKI '90, '97
VP, Chief Real Estate Officer
Wawa Inc.MIKE POTTHOFF
VP, U.S. Sales – Large Format Channels
Anheuser-BuschJ.M. PROCACCI '74
CEO
Procacci Brothers Sales Corp.RYAN REDNER
President & CEO
Redner’s MarketsRICK SAKER '04, '05
SVP, Operations
Saker ShopRites, Inc.TIM SANTORO
VP, Greater Philadelphia Division
The Giant CompanyMELISSA SCHWARTZ '99, '07
Regional VP
Aramark CorporationERIC SKAE
CEO
Carbone Fine Food
Food Marketing Association
The Food Marketing Association is a student-run organization with a mission to provide both food marketing majors and non-food marketing majors at Saint Joseph's University the opportunity to connect with real-world executives and gain insight into potential careers. Their goal is to make students more aware of the countless job avenues they can pursue and teach them how to approach interviews with confidence. This organization hosts events featuring speakers from major companies for students to learn from and network with. Visit the Food Marketing Association's Instagram to learn more.
Food Marketing Educational Foundation
The Academy of Food Marketing and The Food Marketing Educational Foundation are fully supported by the food and allied industries. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania in 1993. It is registered in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Virginia. Contributions to The Food Marketing Educational Foundation are tax exempt.
By supporting both the graduate and undergraduate Food Marketing programs at Saint Joseph’s University, the Foundation contributes to the success of one of the largest majors at the University.
Peck Fellowship
In 1986, the National-American Wholesale Grocers’ Association (NAWGA) established an endowment in recognition of the achievements of retiring NAWGA President Gerald Peck to support teaching and research in food wholesale management. The Peck Fellowship has evolved into a series of three-year appointments of food marketing professors from Saint Joseph’s University to contribute to the understanding of distribution as it relates to food retailing and food service. The Peck Fellowship represents a collaborative three-year academic research opportunity between a chosen faculty researcher and an industry organization.
The current Peck Fellow is George Latella, MBA, assistant professor of practice in Food Marketing. His research appointment is with International Foodservice Distributors Association for a two-year period concluding May 2025. George will work to publish research that can be helpful to the IFDA and the Food Marketing community.
Previous Peck Fellows include Ernest Baskin, Ph.D., Richard Kochersperger, Patrick Kirschling, Ph.D., John Stanton, Ph.D., Richard J. George, Ph.D., Nancy Childs, Ph.D., and Dr. Emily Moscato. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about their research and publications.
Contact Us
Location and Mailing Address:
Academy of Food Marketing
Saint Joseph's University
5600 City Avenue
387 Mandeville Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19131
E-mail:
tgaymon@sju.edu (for general inquiries)
Office Phone:
610-660-1600
Office Hours:
Mondays through Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays Closed
Please note that hours are subject to change during the summer months and fall/spring breaks.