o Dawn Pickett is the senior director of food safety at Smithfield Foods, Inc., where she manages the food safety requirements for more than 35 Smithfield processing facilities. In her current role, Pickett is responsible for food safety at all facilities, including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) affairs, USDA regulatory compliance, product pathogen issues, and product foreign material concerns. She has played an integral role as an employee of Smithfield for 18 years. Originally hired as a microbiologist and quality assurance technician, Pickett was instrumental in developing and maintaining the first less-than-daily sanitation program at a USDA ready to eat manufacturing facility. Pickett is a graduate of the Smithfield Foods Black Belt Program, a meat science program held in conjunction with Iowa State University that teaches the science behind food manufacturing, and maintains HACCP, SQF, and PCQI certifications. She earned her master’s degree from DePaul University and holds undergraduate degrees in Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.