Panelists

Amy Tryon

Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs - North America, Hill's Pet Nutrition

View Bio

With 12 years in the pet food industry, including 10 in global regulatory affairs, Amy is the North America Regulatory Affairs Senior Manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition (a Colgate-Palmolive subsidiary). She spearheads a team responsible for critical product compliance areas. This includes ensuring adherence to regulations for formulations, finished products, and packaging, alongside providing essential export and market access support for products distributed globally. Her dedication to enhancing compliance processes and demonstrating strong regulatory leadership has been recognized with multiple awards during her tenure at Hill's.

Actively engaged in shaping industry standards, Amy collaborates closely with the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) on various ingredient definition workgroups and committees, fostering partnerships with state regulators and other pet food industry experts. She further contributes as a member of the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) Pet Food Committee, serves as Vice-Chair of the Pet Food Institute’s (PFI) AAFCO subcommittee, and holds the position of Vice-President on the Pet Food Association of Canada (PFAC) Board of Directors. Before her work at Hill’s, Amy spent six years at the Kansas Department of Health & Environmental Laboratories. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management.

Dr. Haley Larson

Assistant Professor - Kansas State University

Dr. Haley Larson is an Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition and Health at Kansas State University’s Olathe campus, where she focuses her research and academic initiatives on advancing animal health, nutrition, and regulatory science. Her research translates results from In vitro gastrointestinal fermentation models to live animal field trials to improve the evaluation of feed ingredients and accelerate the development of innovative nutritional solutions for companion and production animals.

Dr. Larson also plays a key role in expanding industry-academic partnerships, having helped develop graduate programs that foster collaboration across the Kansas City Metro and beyond. Her efforts to enhance laboratory capabilities at K-State Olathe support applied, translational research, and her dedication to the campus’ animal health regulatory affairs initiatives has positioned K-State as a hub for regulatory education and workforce development.

She currently serves as the Director and Scientific Lead for the Scientific Review of Ingredient Submissions (SRIS), a national partnership between the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and Kansas State University. In this role, Dr. Larson supports the development and maintenance of science-based regulatory frameworks essential to the safety, transparency, and continued innovation of the animal nutrition industry.

Dr. Jane Schuh

Director of Agricultural Research and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs - Kansas State University

Dr. Jane Schuh is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University. With a distinguished background in cellular and molecular biology, she brings decades of leadership experience in research administration, faculty mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Prior to joining K-State, she held multiple leadership roles at North Dakota State University, including Vice President for Research and Creative Activity and Director of Strategic Initiatives. Dr. Schuh is a passionate advocate for the land-grant mission and is committed to advancing agricultural innovation, student engagement, and research that addresses global challenges.

Dr. Kathy Gross

Adjunct Professor - Kansas State University

Dr. Kathy Gross retired after a 32-year career at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., where she led R&D teams focused on innovations in pet nutrition research and product development. She now serves as an Adjunct Professor at Kansas State University, contributing her expertise to the pet food science and animal health programs on both the Manhattan and Olathe campuses. In addition, Dr. Gross consults on topics such as companion animal nutrition, pet food and ingredient product design, innovation, and animal health. Dr. Gross is a Professional Animal Scientist with board certification in Animal Nutrition.

Before retiring from Hill's Pet Nutrition, Dr. Gross held the role of Worldwide Director of R&D, overseeing the nutritional design, clinical studies, and global claims for all Hill’s companion animal products. Her tenure included leading product development and research departments, spearheading the pet wearables innovation team, and managing University collaborative research programs. With over 100 publications, abstracts, and book chapters to her name, and 20 patents granted, her research has spanned a diverse range of canine and feline nutritional and health topics, including probiotics, prebiotics, digestive function, cancer, urinary health, obesity, and the benefits of ingredients like L-carnitine and lipoic acid.

Dr. Gross earned her PhD in Animal Nutrition from Kansas State University, an MS in Animal Nutrition from Virginia Tech, and a BS in Animal Bioscience from Penn State University. She and her husband have two grown daughters and a son. They live on a ranch in Topeka, Kansas, where they raise Red Angus cattle and enjoy life with several horses, a dog, and a cat.

Leah Lambrakis

VP of Research & Development, Nutrition, & Scientific Affairs - Simmons Pet Food

Leah Lambrakis is the Vice President of Research & Development, Nutrition and Scientific Affairs at Simmons Pet Food and Simmons Animal Nutrition. Leading a team of over 40 scientists, together they drive innovation in pet food formulation, nutrition, process engineering, and ingredient technology. Leah has a life-long passion for nutrition, health and wellness, and innovative advances on how to feed our pets better. Throughout her 25+ year career, Leah has built deep expertise in pet food science. In addition to her leadership role at Simmons, Leah is actively involved in the industry, serving as Chair of the Pet Food Institute's (PFI) Nutrition Subcommittee, as a Board Trustee for the Morris Animal Foundation, and recently joining the Pet Food Association of Canada's Board of Directors. Leah holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Animal Science and Animal Nutrition from the University of Guelph, Canada.

Dr. Marshall Stewart

Executive Vice President for External Engagement and Chief of Staff - Kansas State University

With a passion for supporting and strengthening the people of land-grant institutions, Marshall Stewart is a nationally recognized leader in higher education and university stakeholder engagement. As Kansas State University’s first executive vice president for external engagement and chief of staff, he acts as the president’s principal liaison with university, government and community leadership.

Reporting directly to the president and serving as a member of the president’s cabinet, Stewart facilitates strategic initiatives and partnerships that have local, state, national and international impact. He leads and directs universitywide engagement efforts to strengthen the institution, enhance economic impact and deliver on the promise as a next-generation land-grant university. Stewart oversees administrative staff from the Offices of the President, Corporate Engagement, Division of Communications and Marketing, Engagement, Government Relations, Interdisciplinary Programs, Extension, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, McCain Auditorium and Military and Veterans Affairs. He provides leadership for the prestigious Landon Lecture Series and manages special projects in collaboration with the president, provost and other senior university leaders. Additionally, he partners strategically with the KSU Foundation, K-State Alumni Association and K-State Athletics to advance the university’s Next-Gen K-State strategic plan.

Stewart earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural education, master's in agricultural education and doctorate in education with an emphasis in agricultural and extension education, all from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Melissa Weber

Director of Technical Services - Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition

When Dr. Weber received her PhD in Meat Science from Kansas State University, she never envisioned the impactful career she would develop in the pet food industry. After five years working in the fresh meat sector at Cargill, she transitioned to pet food, contributing to innovation, new product launches, and cost-effective recipe formulations at Mars Pet Care.

Currently, Dr. Weber serves as the Director of Technical Services at Wilbur-Ellis, where she oversees R&D, lab services, and technical sales for the Pet platform. She is passionate about developing scientific talent, fostering customer partnerships, and conducting research that drives significant impact in the pet industry. Dr. Weber constantly challenges her teams to consider the "so what" to ensure that research and product development efforts address market and product challenges effectively.