Advisory Council

Rebecca Fisher
Project Manager
Horticulture New Zealand

Rebecca Fisher is a project manager for Horticulture New Zealand, where she is involved in putting forward fruit and vegetable growers’ voices in relation to policy aspects of agricultural regulations in New Zealand. Prior to this, Rebecca managed the Crop Protection Portfolio for a consultancy company for 11 years, working with many small grower groups to register crop protection products and providing industry guidance through the regulatory process. Rebecca completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in horticulture at Massey University in New Zealand.

Juliet Goldsmith
Plant Health Specialist
Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA)

Juliet Goldsmith is a Plant Health Specialist with over 25 years of expertise in plant protection, agricultural trade, and phytosanitary regulation. She currently serves at the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), where she has been pivotal in fostering regional collaboration among CARICOM Member States to protect plants and plant products from pests and enhance market access opportunities.

Previously, Juliet worked with the Ministry of Agriculture in Jamaica where she managed the Pest Risk Analysis Unit, overseeing pest risk assessments and market access submissions, and served as a Senior Plant Protection Officer, leading research on sustainable pest management strategies. She has also contributed to international phytosanitary standards as a member of the IPPC Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols and the Expert Working Group on the International Movement of Cut Flowers. Additionally, she served as a Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) developing country expert, further advancing global phytosanitary capacity.

A published researcher, Juliet holds a Master of Science in Biology (Biotechnology) and a Bachelor of Science in Entomology and Marine Sciences. Her strategic leadership and dedication to capacity building have significantly strengthened plant health systems across the Caribbean region. She is a Jamaican national based in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Gord Kurbis
Senior Associate
T. Bjornson and Associates Consulting Inc.

Gord Kurbis has more than 30 years of experience in the Canadian agriculture sector, providing global leadership on policy, innovation, trade, and regulatory issues. He previously served as Vice President, Trade Policy and Crop Protection at the Canada Grains Council, where he led industry advocacy on domestic and international policy challenges related to trade, technology, and innovation.

His expertise spans phytosanitary and regulatory issues, sustainability, free trade agreements, and technology adoption, with extensive engagement in international forums including the WTO, APEC, Codex, FAO, and the International Grains Council. He has held senior roles with organizations such as the International Grain Trade Coalition and the Global Pulse Confederation and is a frequent speaker at global and regional policy forums.

Gord holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Manitoba and is based in Winnipeg, Canada.

Quincy Lissaur
Executive Director
Safe Supply of Affordable Food Everywhere (SSAFE)

Quincy Lissaur has more than 20 years of experience in the global food sector, providing leadership on food safety, sustainability, standards development, and organizational management. In 2013, he became the Executive Director of Safe Supply of Affordable Food Everywhere (SSAFE), a non-profit membership organization focused on improving public health by strengthening the safety and integrity of global food supply chains. In this role, he oversees SSAFE’s operations and projects, supports the Board in setting strategic direction, and represents the organization publicly. SSAFE works through public–private partnerships with intergovernmental organizations, academia, NGOs, and the private sector, and supports the development and implementation of WTO-recognized standards for safe food production and trade.

Previously, Quincy spent five years in management consulting and eight years at the British Standards Institution (BSI), where he led the development of fast-track food industry standards, including PAS 220–224 (now the ISO 22002 series) and PAS 96 for Food Defense. In 2012, he founded his own management consulting firm, advising clients on food safety, sustainability, compliance, and general management. Alongside his role at SSAFE, he continues to work with a select group of private clients and previously served as the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Medellín from 2020 to 2022.

Quincy holds a degree in Entrepreneurship from Babson College. A Dutch national with extensive international experience, he is based in Colombia and spends significant time in the United States and Europe. He is fluent in Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and conversational in French.

Andressa Oliveira
Lead – Regulatory Affairs
PI Industries Ltd.

Andressa Oliveira is an agronomist with an MBA in agribusiness and 18 years of experience in crop protection products regulation. Since February 2025, she has served as the regulatory affairs lead for PI Industries Ltd. where she has been responsible for building the regulatory strategies for new molecules at the company.

Andressa began her career in 2007 and had the opportunity to work in big companies such as Dow AgroSciences Ltda. (Corteva) and Bayer S.A. holding different positions in the regulatory area, contributing to the registration of important solutions for Brazilian agriculture, and gaining experience in project management, dossier building, people management, trade enabling, and development of regulatory strategies for Latin America countries.

Vinay Sharma
Global Crop Protection Stewardship Lead
Bayer Crop Science

Vinay Sharma serves as the Global Crop Protection Stewardship Lead at Bayer Crop Science, based in Monheim, Germany. In this role, he is responsible for establishing stewardship policies and collaborating with both internal and external partners to promote the responsible development, launch, and utilization of Bayer products worldwide. With over 20 years of experience in the crop protection and seed industry, Vinay has worked with both Bayer and Monsanto.

He has gained valuable hands-on experience by working closely with smallholder farmers, understanding their needs, and providing innovative solutions to combat major diseases and pests. As the Regional Stewardship Lead for Stewardship and Sustainability in Singapore, he successfully built a vast network of scientists and agricultural professionals, including students from agriculture and medical fields. This platform fosters knowledge exchange and seeks common ground between these two noble professions, ultimately enhancing the socio-economic conditions of smallholder farmers while advancing the mission of “Health for All, Hunger for None.”

Vinay has received recognition from various international organizations for his contributions to the safe and sustainable use of agricultural inputs. He is passionate about science and agriculture, firmly believing that they can play a crucial role in fostering a peaceful existence on our planet by alleviating poverty, combating hunger, and improving environmental and health conditions for all. As a strong advocate for science, he has inspired thousands of young agricultural students and professionals through the “Safe Use Ambassador Initiative,” which has been expanding since its inception in 2017 across more than 14 countries in Asia and Africa. Vinay holds a Ph.D. in Agriculture (Plant Pathology) and an MBA, and he currently resides in Düsseldorf with his wife and son.

Nakia Smith
Director of Crop Protection
The Coca-Cola Company

Nakia Smith is the Director of Crop Protection at The Coca-Cola Company, where she leads the risk assessment and advocacy strategy for agricultural commodities. She works with industry organizations to promote risk based scientific approaches to crop protection that will help to ensure access to safe foods. Nakia began her career at the Florida Department of Agriculture before joining industry and held various technical and regulatory positions at Syngenta before transitioning to the food and beverage industry. She holds BS and MS degrees in Chemistry, both from Florida A&M University. She is a member of the Codex Coalition within the International Agri-food Network, and actively participates in the American Chemical Society AGRO Division.

Melvin Spreij
Advisory Council Chair
Senior Trade Specialist
World Bank Group

Melvin Spreij is chair of the Minor Use Foundation Advisory Council. Melvin joined the World Bank Group as a Senior Trade Specialist in Washington DC in September 2024, where he is responsible for deepening the World Bank’s program on trade and standards, through analysis and operational support on the ground. Previously, he led the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) where he managed the STDF’s trust fund, generating close to US$100 million in donor contributions, as well STDF’s operations, supporting more than 260 SPS projects in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Through project support, the STDF was instrumental and a major driver in setting up the Minor Use Foundation.

Melvin also oversaw STDF’s knowledge platform, partnering closely with a wide range of international and regional public and private sector organizations, development partners and beneficiaries in developing countries. This included work on innovative and cross-cutting SPS topics such as climate change, gender mainstreaming, good regulatory practice, public private partnerships, and reducing SPS-related trade costs through trade facilitation reforms.

Melvin has longstanding expertise in trade, development, agriculture, and law, previously working as a Counsellor in the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the WTO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, as well as other international organizations. He started his career as a commercial lawyer in The Netherlands and holds a civil and business law degree from the State University Leiden, The Netherlands. Melvin has published widely on leading policy areas covering Aid for Trade, sustainable development, food safety and natural resources law.

Agatha Thuo
CEO
Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET)

Agatha Thuo has extensive experience in development/review/domestication of agricultural policy, project management, project monitoring and evaluation, and technical expertise in horticulture and agribusiness. She worked as a county executive and member of the Joint Agriculture Sector Steering Committee (JASSCOM) and the Joint Agriculture Secretariat (JAS) for five years.

She has expertise in soils, environment and water management in the agriculture sector in Kenya, having worked as coordinator for the national extension programs on soil and water conservation mitigation and the National Agriculture Extension Program. She also worked to develop agriculture value chains in Kenya as a coordinator of the Kenya Agricultural Productivity Program (KAPAP).

Today, Agatha is the CEO of the Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET), the agriculture sector board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. ASNET’s role is to coordinate the private sector actors in Kenya, support regulation and policy advocacy for an enabling business environment and continually build capacity of value chain based agricultural associations in Kenya. Agatha is also a board member of Tegemeo Institute of Egerton University, a committee member of the National Technical Advisory Committee of the National Agriculture Value Chains Development Project, a member of the Comesa Regional Food Balance Sheet, and a member of the National Horticulture Task Force.