Panelists

Amy Tryon

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

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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.

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. 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.