Kathy Davis, Communications
Who you gonna call in an emergency? For the past several years at WSDA, that response buster was usually Randy Treadwell. Currently manager of the agency’s Rapid Response and Emergency Management Program, Randy will leave WSDA as of Nov. 1 to take on a new career challenge.
He has been hired as a project manager with the Association of Food and Drug Officials. AFDO is an international, nonprofit organization that aims to streamline and simplify regulations nationwide by collaborating with the public and private sectors to improve food and medical product safety.
In his new role, Randy will work with many in the same network of food safety and emergency response professionals he has come to know. His work will focus on the FoodSHIELD online platform that allows public health officials to securely collaborate and share information and data.
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| "Randroid" could be seen rolling around NRB pre-pandemic |
Career path
Randy started with WSDA right after earning a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington in 2009. Gena Reich in the Food Safety Program hired him as a food safety officer for Eastern Washington.
“I have always appreciated Gena’s willingness to take a chance on a recent public health grad with no experience in food safety outside of the classroom,” he said.
He joined the Rapid Response Team (RRT) project, becoming the coordinator, and the RRT program manager. RRT was then merged into Animal Feed Program, where Randy also served as program manager.
He is particularly proud of the success and growth of Washington’s RRT, a multi-agency effort that works with local, state and federal partners to respond quickly to food and feed emergencies, such as contamination and food-borne illness outbreaks.
“In outbreak response you’re often ‘in the trenches’ with folks from various agencies for long hours through holidays and weekends, and you form a kind of bond and friendship,” Randy said. “While it might not be as often, I’m excited that I’ll continue to work with much of my work family in a different capacity.”
Stepping up
Erin Coyle, who has worked with Randy since July 2019 as the agency’s emergency management specialist, will become interim program manager upon his departure.
“She has done an absolutely stellar job, and I am certain that her energy and collaborative approach will continue to serve the program and the agency,” Randy noted.
Erin joined WSDA five years ago. She worked as a certification specialist in the Organic Program for three years before joining the Rapid Response and Emergency Management Program. She credits Randy’s mentorship for the growth and leadership opportunities she’s had in the emergency management field.
“It was through Randy’s support, partnership, and mutual respect that our program was able to navigate 626 (and counting) days activated to support an unprecedented state response to the COVID-19 pandemic and concurrent natural disasters,” Erin said.
Erin also noted that she appreciates being able to maintain the personal friendship she developed with Randy and his wife, since they will both continue to be based in Spokane for their work.
“I can’t say enough nice things about Randy; he has been a true asset to this agency,” she said.
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| Randy, center, with colleagues from WSDA, Washington Department of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at a national RRT meeting. |
In summary: Randy Treadwell, currently manager of the agency’s Rapid Response and Emergency Management Program, will leave WSDA as of Nov. 1 to take on a new career challenge as a project manager with the Association of Food and Drug Officials. Erin Coyle, who has worked with Randy since July 2019 as the agency’s emergency management specialist, will become interim program manager upon his departure. Read more about it in this Insider blog post.
