Rhonda Taylor
Rhonda Taylor has recently joined the Department of Food Science, and the Extension food safety team, as Food Science Outreach Extension Specialist and Food Processing Manager. Rhonda obtained her B.S. in Science from the Purdue University School of Agriculture focusing on Ecology and Land Management, as well as an additional A.S. Degree in Applied Science in Biotechnology. Prior to coming to Extension, she worked as a seed analyst for the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center and as a research technician working with soybeans and canola. Rhonda joined Purdue’s Food Science department in 2013 as a laboratory manager/research assistant in Food Safety with a research focus on food-borne pathogens, primarily in poultry and beef.
In her new position, Rhonda will function as the point of contact for Food Science Extension programming. This includes working with the fresh produce industry, homebased vendors, and those interested in food processing validation studies. She will also maintain the ServSafe website, be the point of contact for Extension Educators offering Servsafe classes, and assist with coordination of Better Process Control School and FDA and Validation workshops.
Rhonda’s work with the produce industry will involve coordinating PSA grower trainings, participating in the trainings as part of Extension’s PSA training team, and maintaining the SafeProduceIN website.