Jill Frank
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I was raised in a smaller town in southern Kansas, where I participated heavily in 4-H and orchestra. A chemistry teacher encouraged me to consider the particular program I entered. I have a bachelor’s degree in Bakery Science and Management – I was trained to develop and troubleshoot breads, cookies, cakes, snacks and pies. This is a program that heavily involves science covering food microbiology, cereal science, food chemistry at Kansas State University.
I started working right out of college as a Quality Assurance Manager in an industrial bakery producing cookies and crackers for many major grocery companies and had a department of up to 4 people. I helped in development of products for a number of customers, which led me to working in product development at a number of manufacturers and ingredient companies, not just in baking but in other food categories as well. I spent approximately 9 years at an infant foods company working on bakery and cereal products aimed at infants and toddlers, but have also worked for cookie, bread, food service, nutrition and ingredient manufacturers.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Currently, I am the Food Industry Champion for UL Information and Insights. We help formulators find ingredients via our ULProspector.com platform. In addition to advising a tech company to better understand the food industry and how to talk to food formulators, my position has me writing articles on ingredients to aid food scientists in doing their job, which are published on our knowledge site, along with the other industries that ULProspector serves.
I am also the section President for Kansas City Institute of Food Technologists (KCIFT) and a Certified Food Scientist.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I need to have an understanding of ingredient interactions to make the best products – this has been the constant since the beginning of my career.
In the past, I used response surface methodology to create products. This involved picking ingredients to test, showing consumers the extremes of the tested ingredients in a finished product and having them grade them, then using their data in a statistical analysis to create a product that would produce the most appeal for the consumer.
While my education taught me much, I learned so much more as I went along. I now know more about nutritional interactions, shelf life of products and vitamins than I did when I was in college.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
I have been told I am in a “good old boy” industry many times in my life. I am unfazed by that statement, even though I feel it was intended to lower my self esteem in telling me I would never get ahead. That is complete baloney.
My best advice is to believe in yourself, and never lose the “why” that got you curious in science.
For the college graduates: Ask questions about the leadership of the organization you are entering – find out how many females have leadership roles in the scientific areas of the company for a good gauge of how you might be treated. There are many companies that encourage women to take lead roles.
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
Work-Life balance is a challenge, and you MUST work at it, or life will indeed suffer. Once you have a family it becomes even more important. One thing that I always stressed is sitting down to dinner together at least half the week. Add to the issue that my husband works nights, and it meant that I pushed my employers to allow for me to come in early so I could leave early for that time with family.
When you have kids, be the mom who does science experiments in the back yard. When ever possible talk about why and how things happen. Be willing to say you don’t know and then learn about it together. I have a teenage daughter, who has been encouraged to be curious about science and math. She is considering a path in aerospace engineering right now, but I believe she will be pursuing a career where science will be a part of it.
6. What do you define success as?
Success used to be defined by if my product made it store shelves and sold well. Now it is success if I am able to encourage and inspire others.
7. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Ask questions. No matter if you are the most senior or most junior person on a project, ask questions to learn more. I worked in many a production scenario where line operators were stunned that I would ask them if they could think of any way to make a product run better. Since they saw the product every day, they usually were the most insightful into possibilities for improvement. It helps in developing allies toward a common goal.
Website: http://knowledge.ulprospector.com/author/jill-frank/
I was raised in a smaller town in southern Kansas, where I participated heavily in 4-H and orchestra. A chemistry teacher encouraged me to consider the particular program I entered. I have a bachelor’s degree in Bakery Science and Management – I was trained to develop and troubleshoot breads, cookies, cakes, snacks and pies. This is a program that heavily involves science covering food microbiology, cereal science, food chemistry at Kansas State University.
I started working right out of college as a Quality Assurance Manager in an industrial bakery producing cookies and crackers for many major grocery companies and had a department of up to 4 people. I helped in development of products for a number of customers, which led me to working in product development at a number of manufacturers and ingredient companies, not just in baking but in other food categories as well. I spent approximately 9 years at an infant foods company working on bakery and cereal products aimed at infants and toddlers, but have also worked for cookie, bread, food service, nutrition and ingredient manufacturers.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Currently, I am the Food Industry Champion for UL Information and Insights. We help formulators find ingredients via our ULProspector.com platform. In addition to advising a tech company to better understand the food industry and how to talk to food formulators, my position has me writing articles on ingredients to aid food scientists in doing their job, which are published on our knowledge site, along with the other industries that ULProspector serves.
I am also the section President for Kansas City Institute of Food Technologists (KCIFT) and a Certified Food Scientist.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I need to have an understanding of ingredient interactions to make the best products – this has been the constant since the beginning of my career.
In the past, I used response surface methodology to create products. This involved picking ingredients to test, showing consumers the extremes of the tested ingredients in a finished product and having them grade them, then using their data in a statistical analysis to create a product that would produce the most appeal for the consumer.
While my education taught me much, I learned so much more as I went along. I now know more about nutritional interactions, shelf life of products and vitamins than I did when I was in college.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
I have been told I am in a “good old boy” industry many times in my life. I am unfazed by that statement, even though I feel it was intended to lower my self esteem in telling me I would never get ahead. That is complete baloney.
My best advice is to believe in yourself, and never lose the “why” that got you curious in science.
For the college graduates: Ask questions about the leadership of the organization you are entering – find out how many females have leadership roles in the scientific areas of the company for a good gauge of how you might be treated. There are many companies that encourage women to take lead roles.
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
Work-Life balance is a challenge, and you MUST work at it, or life will indeed suffer. Once you have a family it becomes even more important. One thing that I always stressed is sitting down to dinner together at least half the week. Add to the issue that my husband works nights, and it meant that I pushed my employers to allow for me to come in early so I could leave early for that time with family.
When you have kids, be the mom who does science experiments in the back yard. When ever possible talk about why and how things happen. Be willing to say you don’t know and then learn about it together. I have a teenage daughter, who has been encouraged to be curious about science and math. She is considering a path in aerospace engineering right now, but I believe she will be pursuing a career where science will be a part of it.
6. What do you define success as?
Success used to be defined by if my product made it store shelves and sold well. Now it is success if I am able to encourage and inspire others.
7. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Ask questions. No matter if you are the most senior or most junior person on a project, ask questions to learn more. I worked in many a production scenario where line operators were stunned that I would ask them if they could think of any way to make a product run better. Since they saw the product every day, they usually were the most insightful into possibilities for improvement. It helps in developing allies toward a common goal.
Website: http://knowledge.ulprospector.com/author/jill-frank/