The American Society of Baking has announced the appointment of five new members to the ASB Board of Directors effective February 19, 2021.

"We’re excited to expand our board with five new members who will bring diverse expertise and insight to our work,” said Kent Van Amburg, executive director of ASB. "They join us at an exciting time as ASB continues to focus on strategies to build innovative networking and educational opportunities for the wholesale baking community. We are confident they will provide valuable perspectives and we look forward to their contributions.”

The five new board members are: 

• Talia Merriman (Sepe) has worked for Hostess for the past 4 years in Research and Development. A graduate of Kansas State University’s Bakery Science program, Talia has been on the Product Development Competition committee for the past 3 years, becoming chair of the Committee her second and third year. Talia grew up in a bakery and has always had a passion for baking and innovation.
• Bruce Campbell grew up in the baking industry working for his Dad, Sterrett “Red” Campbell with Pak-it during high school and college after graduating from Vanderbilt Mechanical Engineering school. After a short stint outside of baking in the plastic extrusion industry, Bruce rejoined his father and brother building a new company Camtech (Campbell Technologies). After AMF acquired Camtech in 1997, Bruce relocated to Richmond where he has worked with AMF for 23 years in engineering, sales, management, and senior leadership positions.
• Scott Houtz is president of Air Management Technologies, which has provided sustainability, thermal, and air management solutions to Food Processors for 27-years. Scott has over 35 years of experience and is a Certified Energy Manager and Indoor Air Quality Professional as well as a member of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), American Society of Baking (ASB), American Bakers Association (ABA), and Baking Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA). 
• Monica Kline is director of business operations and education at The EnSol Group, a firm that delivers innovative engineering solutions to the baking and snack food industries. Her work focuses on developing best practices for employee training and working with clients to both retain staff and prepare them for growth.
• Eric Lewis is the vice president quality assurance / regulatory at Flowers Foods & Subsidiaries. Flowers Foods produces and markets a wide variety of fresh and frozen bakery foods-from breads, buns and rolls to snack cakes and pastries.

In addition to the five new members, the 2021-2022 Board is comprised of the following individuals:

• Chairman Rod Radalia, Aunt Millie's Bakeries, Fort Wayne, IN
• 1st Vice Chairman Brittny Stephenson Ohr, Sugar Foods Corporation,Villa Rica, GA
• 2nd Vice Chairman Rod Harris, Shick Esteve, Kansas City, MO
• 2022 Program Chair Cindy Chananie, Cinch Bakery Equipment, Little Falls, NJ
• Ash Gurney, Dawn Foods, Endwell, NY
• Xochitl Cruz, Bimbo Bakeries, USA, Horsham, PA
• Todd Thornberg, Alpha Baking Co., Inc. Chicago, IL
• Scott McCally, Auto-Bake Serpentine Plano, TX
• Shawn Dewey, Franz Family Bakeries Springfield, OR
• Jose Lopez, AB Mauri, St. Louis, MO
• Sarah Elizabeth Moore, Pepperidge Farm Inc/Campbell Snacks, Norwalk, CT
• Jeremiah Tilghman, Canyon Bakehouse, Johnstown, CO
• Joanie Spencer, Avant Food Media, Kansas City, MO
• Jorge Zarate, Grupo Bimbo S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, Mexico
• Trent Wanamaker, DuPont, New Century, KS

Click here to see the video announcement of the new board members.