Emily Grisbeck joined the Minnesota Section of the Institute of Food Technologists shortly after moving to Minneapolis in 2009 and has been a member of the board since 2010. She has held leadership positions including a previous term as Member at Large, Membership Chair, New Professionals Committee Chair, Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, Finance Chair, President-Elect, President, and Past President. She currently serves as a Director at Large, Strategic Leadership Planning Committee Chair, and Finance Committee Advisor.
During her time with MN IFT, Emily has held multiple roles with companies in the Twin Cities, including Product Development Scientist at Target and Supplier Quality Manager at Buffalo Wild Wings. Through those roles she worked on development, commercialization, and quality improvement of a variety of products, including candy, salty snacks, frozen breaded chicken, sauces, breads, pizza, and frozen appetizers/snacks. She is currently an Associate R&D Manager at General Mills where she leads a team of food product developers working on innovation, renovation, and cost-savings initiatives across the company’s North American Retail portfolio.
Emily holds a degree in Food Science from the University of Georgia and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Derek.
History of the Award
The President’s Award was established by the Minnesota Section of the Institute of Food Technologists in 1987. In the words of the Bylaw adopted to formally establish the Award, its purpose is “to recognize a member in the section who has served the Section and the profession in an outstanding manner”.
The Award consists of an engraved plaque with the citation and an honorarium. The presentation is featured at the first dinner meeting of the year for the Minnesota IFT Section.
All members of the Minnesota Section are eligible for this award. The selection of the award is made by a committee of the Section, which is comprised of current and former Presidents of the Minnesota Section.
Nomination for the award may be made by the any member of the Minnesota Section. The Award recognizes the dedication that many IFT members have for their professional scientific society and says “thank you” to all who have given their time to improve the future of the food sector.