The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announced the promotion of four staff members.

Michelle Albee Matto, MPH, RDN has been promoted to Associate Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Nutrition

 Michelle Matto provides technical and regulatory leadership to advance IDFA’s nutrition and health advocacy, ensuring dairy’s role in federal nutrition programs and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). In addition, she delivers training on dairy standards and labeling, and provides guidance to IDFA members related to product labeling. Prior to joining IDFA, Matto worked at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., and her Master of Public Health degree in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Society for Nutrition and is a past board member of the DC Chapters of both the Institute of Food Technologists and the Society for Nutrition Education.

Melissa Lembke has been promoted to Associate Vice President, Programs and Partnerships

 Melissa Lembke provides strategic leadership for IDFA’s conferences, workshops, virtual programs, and other association sponsored events. She oversees the management of all program areas, which includes program development, delivery, and evaluation, as well as sponsorship, budget setting, knowledge management, and all external relationship management. Previously, she held senior marketing and event services positions at nonprofit organizations, an international law firm, and prominent DC event venues conceptualizing and implementing high-quality and engaging programs.

Donald Grady has been promoted to Senior Director, Legislative Affairs

 Donald Grady advocates for IDFA’s legislative policies and objectives with policymakers and other stakeholders, as well as assists with developing IDFA’s legislative goals and strategies. Prior to IDFA, Grady served as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Representative Jim Costa (D-Calif.). He coordinated and managed all legislative efforts and constituent services related to the agriculture industry and the House Agriculture Committee. Before that, he was a legislative correspondent for U.S. Representative Jim Marshall (D-GA). Grady earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Denison University.

Tyesha Wilson has been promoted to Director, Financial Services

 Tyesha “Tye” Wilson leads IDFA’s finance and accounting processes, including: budgeting and planning, financial statement preparation and analysis, audit, risk assessment, and administration of the organization’s payroll and employee benefits programs. Wilson joined IDFA in 2002 as the accounting assistant. Prior to IDFA, she was an accounting and HR assistant at the IT consulting firm Interliant.