Dale Cyr
Inteleos
ACAS Session: 1.4 AI’s Impact on Conformity Assessment
Dale serves as CEO and Executive Director of Inteleos, where he oversees healthcare certification programs with over 150,000 certificants in over 100 countries. With over 25 years’ of executive experience, he has pioneered initiatives that expand access to high-quality healthcare certifications worldwide.
Dale shares his expertise in business and certification through lectures and workshops around the world and is presently sits on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Finance Committee for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). and the Association of Talent Development (ATD) Credentialing Institute. He also is a co-inventor of a patent for a new type of test question and measurement.
Dale has his MBA in finance from the Albers School of Business and Economics, Seattle, WA, and has completed the Social Finance program from Oxford University, Oxford, UK and earned the Digital Transformation certificate from the Harvard Business School. Dale holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
Chris Dubay
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
ACAS Session: 2.2 - Development of Standards and Conformity Assessment
Christian Dubay is vice president and chief engineer for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). In this role, he oversees engineering and research including standards development, standards publishing, electrical and fire protection systems engineering, building and life safety fire protection engineering, industrial and chemical engineering, emergency response and responder safety, research, and the Fire Protection Research Foundation. In addition, he oversees NFPA’s standards administration which is responsible for the development process of the 300+ NFPA codes and standards. Mr. Dubay also serves as the chief technical spokesperson for the association
In addition to his responsibilities at NFPA, Mr. Dubay currently serves as Chair of the ANSI Board of Directors.
Jessica Evans
NSF
ACAS Session: 2.2 - Development of Standards and Conformity Assessment
Jessica currently serves as the Director of the Standards development team at NSF, an Ann Arbor, Michigan based independent, global services organization dedicated to improving human and planet health for more than 80 years. With over 20 years of experience with the organization, she leads a team of experts in developing consensus-based standards across a range of industries, including food, water, dietary supplements, cosmetics, consumer products and sustainability.
Jessica has held key leadership roles with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), including serving on the Board of Directors, the Board Executive Committee, the Executive Standards Council and as Chair of the Board of Standards Review. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she received the ANSI Meritorious Service Award in 2019.Beyond her professional accomplishments, Jessica is deeply committed to community service. She serves as a Trustee for the Foundation for Saline Area Schools and as Vice Chair of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce Board, where she actively supports educational and economic development initiatives.
Matt Gantley
UKAS
ACAS Session: 1.3 - The Interface of Conformity Assessment in the EU and in the US
Matt Gantley is the CEO of UKAS, a leading global Accreditation Body and major contributor to the UK and global quality infrastructure. Accreditation by UKAS means that conformity assessment bodies (testing and calibration laboratories, inspection and certification bodies) have been assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality and integrity.
With over 25 years of experience in conformity assessment, Matt has a distinguished career in the TIC Sector. Before joining UKAS, he served as the Managing Director of NQA Certification and held senior Directorship roles in certification, training, and consultancy firms. His notable accomplishments include strategic and commercial leadership, as well as international management experience in Europe, North America, China, and India.
After completing an MBA at Manchester Business School, Matt returned as a lecturer on Business Strategy on the Executive MBA Programme. In addition to fulfilling Non-Executive roles for Elmhurst (Energy Efficiency Certification), he was a Board Director of SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) and chaired the Association of British Certification Bodies. Recently, Matt has been appointed to chair an International Accreditation Forum (IAF) sustainability working group and was formerly the Chair of the IAF CertSearch management group.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and has over nine years of experience as an Environmental Management and Sustainability Consultant. Furthermore, Matt holds the titles of Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers.
Rohit Israni
INCITS/AI
ACAS Session: 1.4 AI’s Impact on Conformity Assessment
Rohit Israni serves as chair of the US committee (INCITS/AI) responsible for participation in international AI standards (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42) and acts as the liaison for SC 42 with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and ML Commons. He is also the founder and CEO of Certient AI.
Prior to founding Certient AI, Rohit led Intel’s global ecosystem enabling programs within the Developer Relations Division for AI, Datacenter, and Network. He co-founded and led the Intel AI Builders partnership program, managing a global team focused on building strategic partnerships with AI ISVs, SIs, OEMs, CSPs, and university AI programs worldwide. His technical expertise includes AI and machine learning, having developed advanced pattern recognition algorithms at Imaging Technology (now Teledyne Dalsa) and at KLA-Tencor’s Advanced Technology Group. He holds multiple patents in machine learning and pattern recognition.
Rohit earned a master’s degree in engineering with a specialization in robotics and AI from Tulane University and a master’s degree in management science and engineering from Stanford University.
Andy Kireta
ASTM International
ACAS Session: 2.2 - Development of Standards and Conformity Assessment
Andrew G. Kireta Jr. is the president of ASTM International, a leading global developer of international standards and standard-related services across 90 industries, 147 technical committees, and 13,000 standards. Prior to joining the staff of ASTM, he served as president & CEO of the Copper Development Association (CDA) (McLean, Virginia), a not-for-profit trade association that serves as the world’s foremost resource on copper and copper alloy applications.
Kireta has a long history in standards development across many standards development organizations. An ASTM International member since 1998, Kireta worked primarily on the copper and copper alloys committee (B05) and its subcommittees, as well the committees on pesticides, antimicrobials, and alternative control agents (E35), additive manufacturing technologies (F42), and fire standards (E05). He was recognized with the 2016 Award of Merit, the highest society-level award, and was also recognized by the B05 committee with the Copper Club Award and the Arthur Cohen Memorial Distinguished Service Award for his contributions. Kireta served as a member of the ASTM board from 2014-2022, serving as chair of the finance and audit committee, vice chair, and chair of the board. He also previously served as vice chair and chair of the board of SEI international, an ASTM affiliate company certifying safety across a number or industries and products.
Kireta started his career in the nuclear power industry in the design, analysis and construction of power piping systems and he holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Dr. Vijay Krishna
ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB).
1.4 AI’s Impact on Conformity Assessment and 2.4a - Making the Invisible Visible: How Demonstrated Competence Drives True Assurance
Dr. Vijay Krishna is vice president, credentialing at ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). He has over 25 years’ experience in education, personnel certification, assessment-based certificates, and work-based learning. He has served as an expert/consultant for UNIDO, ISO, APEC. He is the co-convenor for IAF and APAC working group for persons and convenor for IAF task force on competence of accreditation body assessors and experts. He is also an IAF/APAC peer evaluator and served on APAC MRAMC.
Dr. Krishna holds a doctoral degree in Human and Organizational Learning/HRD from The George Washington University, where he has taught graduate-level courses in leadership, organizational change, and learning in adulthood. He has also published in peer-reviewed journals including the International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy, and Research, Human Resource Development International, Advances in Human Resources, and International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management. He is the founding editorial board member of the International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management.
Doug Leonard
ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)
ACAS Sessios:
- Welcome to Day One - What Makes Us a Community?
- Looking Back and Looking Ahead.
R. Douglas Leonard Jr. (“Doug”) is the Executive Director of the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the most comprehensive and globally recognized accreditation body in the world. Under Doug’s leadership, ANAB continues to expand its extensive portfolio of accreditation programs, delivering trust and credibility across a wide range of industries and government sectors.
With more than three decades of experience in accreditation, conformity assessment, and international recognition frameworks, Doug’s work has consistently focused on strengthening quality systems and advancing the global credibility of accredited results.
As former President and COO of the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (L-A-B)—acquired by ANAB in 2015—he established strong technical competence and trust that led to international recognition of accredited laboratories results.
On the international stage, Doug serves as a lead evaluator for the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) and actively contributes to the work of APAC, the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), and is a founding member of the North American Accreditation Forum (NAAF).
He currently serves on the APAC Capacity Building and Evaluator Training Working Group and has been a lead trainer for APAC evaluators, mentoring the next generation of accreditation professionals and helping to strengthen regional capacity across the Asia-Pacific region. His commitment to evaluator development reflects a broader passion for peer-based quality assurance and the growth of trusted systems.
Doug has also served two terms as President of the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA). Whether through technical engagement, training, or strategic leadership, he remains focused on elevating conformity assessment performance and fostering global alignment in accreditation.
Laurie E. Locascio, PH.D. NAE
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
ACAS Session: 2.1 - Welcome Back to Day 2 - ANSI, the Standards Community, and the Conformity Assessment Community
Dr. Laurie E. Locascio began her tenure as president and chief executive officer of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2025.
She previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) following confirmation by the U.S. Senate in April 2022. In this capacity, Locascio oversaw NIST in its mission to promote U.S. innovation and competitiveness through measurement science, standards, and technology, including NIST’s implementation of the U.S. Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET) and implementation of the CHIPS for America program at the Department of Commerce.
Prior to her appointment as NIST director, Locascio was vice president for research at the University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland Baltimore, also serving as a professor of bioengineering. Before that, Locascio had a stellar career at NIST, rising from a research biomedical engineer to lead the agency’s Material Measurement Laboratory and finally acting as associate director for laboratory programs and principal deputy director.
Locascio is a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
She earned a B.S. in chemistry from James Madison University, an M.S. in bioengineering from the University of Utah, and a Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Maryland Baltimore.
Marcus Long
IIOA (Independent International Organisation for Assurance)
ACAS Session: 1.5 - Effectiveness of Accreditation Today and Tomorrow - What's Working, Improvements Needed, What Should the Future look like?
Marcus is Chief Exectuive of IIOA (Independent International Organisation for Assurance) since 2011, a trade association of global assurance bodies who offer a range of conformity assessment-based services.
In addition, Marcus is on the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) and the Joint IAF/ILAC Executive Committees in his role of Joint Chair of the Joint (IAF/ILAC) Working Group Communications.
Prior to joining IIOA Marcus was Head of External Affairs at UK national standard body BSI. Before BSI Marcus worked in the rail, telecoms, retail and automotive sectors for BT, Marks & Spencer, Next and Land Rover in customer service and procurement roles.
Marcus has an MBA from the University of Stirling and a BSc in Economics.
Kim Lucy
Microsoft
ACAS Session: 1.4 AI’s Impact on Conformity Assessment
Kim Lucy is a Director of GRC Standards at Microsoft, where she has worked for over a decade. She began her career at EY performing info security auditing and consulting. Kim has practical experience implementing and auditing security and privacy standards for diverse organizations, and now works as part of Microsoft’s Corporate Standards Group, participating in ISO/IEC standards committees to help develop, draft, and revise international standards for artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, and conformity assessment. She is particularly interested in the alignment of international standards to regulatory and legal frameworks, as well as modernizing conformity assessment ecosystems to address the unique challenges of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Larry Lynch
National Restaurant Association
ACAS Session: 2.3 - Conformity Assessment in a Government Context
Larry Lynch recently retired as Senior Vice President of Health, Safety, and Regulatory Services at the National Restaurant Association, where he now serves as an advisor representing the Association in food safety, science, exam development, and accreditation. He led the creation and delivery of nationally recognized, accredited credentials and continues to support program accreditation, regulatory compliance, instructor development, and product innovation.
Larry previously served as President of the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association in 2016 and continues to deliver ANSI- and ISO/IEC 17024-accredited certifications. Earlier, he was Director of the Disney Institute, where he advanced training, leadership, and customer experience initiatives.
Actively engaged in industry leadership, Larry has served for 17 years with the Conference for Food Protection, contributed to GFSI, and participated in international standards development with ISO, including work on ISO 22003. He has also served on several boards, including ANSI and Workcred.
Larry holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, pursued graduate studies in Public Administration at Rutgers and earned a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from Rollins College. He resides with his family in Ponce Inlet, Florida.
Riccardo Mariani
NVIDIA Italy
Keynote Speaker
Riccardo Mariani is the vice president of industry safety at NVIDIA in Italy. He's responsible for developing cohesive safety strategies and cross-segment safety processes, architecture, and products that can be leveraged across NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence-based hardware and software platforms.
Jeanné Mensingh
2.4a - Are you ready for AI? Digital Readiness in the Laboratory
Mrs. Jeanné Mensingh brings over 30 years of experience in analytical chemistry, laboratory management, quality systems, LIMS, consulting, and lead assessment. She holds an ACS‑certified B.S. in Chemistry from Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana at Monroe) and completed postgraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University.
Jeanné is a Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Certified HACCP Auditor (CHA), and Certified Software Quality Engineer (SQE) through the American Society for Quality (ASQ). She is also a certified ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor, ISO 17025 Lead Assessor, and EPA‑certified in Drinking Water Microbiology, Inorganics, and Organics, with additional experience in DoD/DOE QSM and NELAP programs (MNELAP, FL DoH, and LDEQ).
Her training spans Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), software validation in regulated environments, and International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council GMPs. Jeanné has provided QA and LIMS support to organizations adhering to GMP, GLP, EPA Drinking Water regulations, ISO 9001, ISO 17025, and TNI standards. She possesses extensive hands-on expertise in wet chemistry, chromatography, and spectroscopy.
Warren Merkel
ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)
1.3 The Interface of Conformity Assessment in the Global Economy and 2.5 – Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Warren Merkel serves as Vice President, Policy for the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), where he leads ANAB’s public and international policy efforts. His responsibilities include engaging with stakeholders at the Federal, state and local levels and coordinating ANAB’s activities in international accreditation cooperations. Warren and his team also leverage ANAB’s global engagement to support customers that operate in multiple markets.
Mr. Merkel serves as Vice-Chair of the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) and Convenor of the ISO/CASCO Technical Interface Group. Previously, Mr. Merkel led the Standards Services group in the Standards Coordination Office of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Mr. Merkel also co-convened the working groups that revised ISO/IEC 17025:2017, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories and ISO/IEC 17060:2022, Conformity assessment—Code of good practice. Earlier in his NIST tenure, Mr. Merkel was Chief of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP).
Janice O'Brien
Verra
1.5 Effectiveness of Accreditation Today and Tomorrow - What’s Working, Improvements Needed, What should the Future Look Like? and 2.4a - Current Topics in Assurance of Sustainability Information
Janice is Director, Auditing and Accreditation at Verra, leading a team that comprehensively oversees Validation and Verification Body (VVB) performance; providing VVB and Accreditation bodies (AB) training and support, managing onsite witness assessments at project sites, and working with ABs on VVB approvals and oversight. The team’s work underpins Verra’s ability to credibly scale its work, strengthen global auditing capacity, and support all its certification programs. After 13 years in operational and financial risk management, Janice completed an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Conservation and Environmental Science and Master of Forest Conservation degrees from the University of Toronto, subsequently joining Preferred by Nature (formerly Rainforest Alliance Certification) in 2007. As the organization evolved into the world’s largest non-profit Certification Body, she led audits across a variety of standards including AFOLU audits in US, Canada, Central and South America, Africa, India, and Australia. She served as an ENGO representative for the Gold Standard “New Forest and Agroforestry” Global Advisory Panel and participated in working groups for the Pacific Carbon Trust and Verified Carbon Standard. After playing a leading functional and operational role in merging the US and Canada regions and the 2018 acquisition by Preferred by Nature, she served as Director of Forestry Services (US/Canada); overseeing operations, client care, quality monitoring, and leadership of 26+ remote staff committed to the delivery of credible third-party auditing services.
Hanane Taidi
TIC Council
ACAS Session: 1.3 - The Interface of Conformity Assessment in the EU and in the US
A linguist by training, Hanane Taidi graduated from Abdelemalik Essaadi University in English Language and Literature. She started her career with the plastics industry in 1999 where she held a variety of roles that enabled her to gain extensive experience in various fields ranging from management to public affairs, integrated marketing and communications and strategic planning.
She currently holds the role of Director General at TIC Council, the global trade association representing the independent third-party Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry which brings together more than 100-member companies and organizations from around the world to speak with one voice.
Hanane Taidi has also developed an extensive understanding of sustainability, specifically circular economy, and has been part of a pool of experts consulted by the European Commission for the evaluation of sustainability related proposals since 2014.
Additionally, she is a regular guest speaker on Public Affairs and Strategic Communications at the Masters of European Studies organised by the Institute of European Studies, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Bob Yencha
2.4a - Are you ready for AI? Digital Readiness in the Laboratory
Bob Yencha has more than 40 years of experience in technology development and international standards, spanning industry innovation, government consulting, and accreditation. He pioneered early digital publishing standards, becoming an early adopter and developer of semantic language applications using XML contributing to web infrastructure development at National Semiconductor, and later guided the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in shaping the digital healthcare ecosystem. For the past 15 years, he has been an ISO/IEC accreditation assessor with ANAB, NVLAP, and the Singapore Accreditation Council. His work bridges sectors from healthcare and cybersecurity to telecom, AI development, and personal protective equipment, bringing a strategic perspective on how accreditation fosters trust and assurance across all domains and a keen appreciation for the unexpected consequences of the introduction of new technology.
John Zarian
CCO Certification
Session 2.4a - Trends and Future of Credentialing
John is General Counsel and Senior Director of CCO Certification. Prior to joining CCO in 2016, his legal practice emphasized intellectual property and complex business litigation. John is an experienced trial lawyer and mediator, and has taught intellectual property law and alternative dispute resolution courses as an adjunct professor at several law schools in the U.S. and abroad. In 2015 and 2016, he was listed by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 100 attorneys in the Mountain States region. John earned his law degree in 1989 from the University of Southern California, and holds a Masters Degree in Finance and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. In 2025, he completed a Certificate in Dispute Resolution legal program at Pepperdine University.
