CHICAGO — During the American Society of Baking (ASB)’s BakingTECH 2022 conference, held March 1-3 in Chicago, Brittny Stephenson Ohr, director of product management for Villa Rica, GA-based Sugar Foods Corp., was named the association’s 2022-23 board chairman.
She succeeds immediate past chair Rod Radalia, VP of innovation for Ft. Wayne, IN-based Aunt Millie’s Bakeries.
“I am so proud to represent all facets of the baking industry together in this room,” Stephenson Ohr said when she took the gavel in Chicago. “I look forward to developing our training and education program to ensure this wealth of knowledge is carried on for generations to come.”
Stephenson Ohr has been an ASB member since 2012 as a way to build her professional network as a young baker. In 2013 she joined ASB’s Young Professionals Committee, where she helped welcome other new entrants to the industry and association. She also served on the BakingTECH planning committee in 2015 under the leadership of board chairman Anthony Turano, VP of operations for Berwyn, IL-based Turano Baking Co., and BakingTECH program chair Wendi Ebbing, VP of Marketing for Bundy Baking Solutions.
In the coming year, ASB will place a heavy emphasis on training and education, a critical need for the industry.
“We’re really focused on how we can support the wholesale baking industry and our members,” Stephenson Ohr said. “When you think about everyone struggling to find talent — or just finding people to show up and work in the plants — you have to get them the right training and skills to do the job. There’s a huge gap … we need a robust training program that’s supported by bakeries and equipment and ingredient suppliers. ASB is well-positioned to bring all those people together and build a dynamic, meaningful and sustainable training and education program that can help the industry.”
To support the initiative, ASB recently hired Amy Leigh Beecher as its first director of education and training.
