Dana Brooks

Title

President & CEO

Company

Pet Food Institute

Lunch n’ Learn Session Description:

Updates on the pet food regulatory process — Dana Brooks, president and CEO of the Pet Food Institute (PFI), explains how the current approval process for pet food ingredients is unnecessarily long and complicated. Along with a panel of experts, she explores today’s state of affairs and discusses what the industry can do to improve the process. Panelists include Liz Koutsos, Ph.D., president of EnviroFlight, and Loretta Hunter of Nestle Purina PetCare.

Experience:

Dana Brooks serves as president and CEO of the Pet Food Institute (PFI), the national trade association representing a majority of pet food and treats manufactured in the U.S. She has worked in government relations for 22 years representing a range of agricultural and food interests. Her resume includes director of government relations for Elanco Animal Health, senior vice president of government relations at the National Milk Producers Federation and director of public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation. Prior to joining PFI, Brooks was the senior director of government relations at Land O’Lakes Inc., where she focused on state governments and industry relations at the Arden Hills, Minnesota, headquarters. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas-Monticello and a master’s degree in agribusiness from Kansas State University. Brooks was awarded the alumni merit award at the University of Arkansas-Monticello in 2008, the Women in Agribusiness Ambassador award in 2014, was recognized as the Arkansas State University Agriculture Outstanding Alumnus in 2018 and was named Woman of Influence for the pet industry by Pet Age magazine in 2019 and 2021 and Top 50 in 2022. She serves on the executive board of directors for Pet Partners.