The year I spent at The Local Food Center was an excellent opportunity to learn to wear a lot of hats. I was able to contribute to a number of projects, expand on my managerial skill set and increase my knowledge of Food Science. Along with completing the day to day tasks of managing and supervising a food manufacturing team of 2-5 people, my role included periodically repairing manufacturing equipment, production planning, writing production procedures, product research & development and maintaining relationships with local farmers. Below are some of my experiences at The Local Food Center: - Wrote and submitted a $50,000 grant application.- Developed an Acidified Banana Puree Product and completed Better Process Control School along the way.- Designed the drafts for a company catalog.- Created a real time inventory log using Google Sheets and Google Forms to increase the efficiency of manufacturing data analysis.- Collected and analyzed local produce auction market data to progress conversations with an institution looking to purchase local produce. - Created an adjustable business model for buying,washing, and selling local produce- Acted as a company representative and delivered local produce to a hospital.

Worked closely with the primary grant writerRegistered the company to electronically apply for federal grantsExamples of organizations I interacted with include: Dun & BradStreet, System of Awards Management,Grants.gov, NIH, eRA, Secretary of State, and the IRS.

I bridged the communication gap between the Entrepreneurship Coordinator for the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State and students. I actively developed new and creative ways to increase student enrollment and engagement in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program.

Research into current trends to aid in creative development, create multiple versions of product concepts within cost targets, ingredient availability and nutritional requirements, Trial Scale-Up Preparation, work with equipment in production facility, and documenting progress in development projects.

Cold called alumni to raise funds for the Pennsylvania State University.