CropLife America Hires Dr. Nader M. Elkassabany as Senior Director of Environmental Policy

Source: CropLife America

Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA), announced that Dr. Nader M. Elkassabany will join CLA as senior director of environmental policy, effective July 20, 2015. In his position as senior director, Elkassabany will be responsible for the development, implementation and management of science and regulatory policy strategies on environmental issues to help further CLA’s objectives and strategic plan. He will also work closely with member leaders to manage the Environmental Risk Assessment Committee and its working groups.

“Dr. Elkassabany is an outstanding addition to our science and regulatory team,” stated Vroom. “His expertise is invaluable, with 25-plus years of experience working in the field of pesticides, including 15 years in the registration and reregistration of pesticide active ingredients in the Office of Pesticides Programs at EPA. Dr. Elkassabany’s commitment to scientific rigor will help the crop protection industry continue to push forward with the development of precise and sustainable pesticide products.”

As the director of regulatory affairs pertaining to registration at S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in Racine, Wis., Elkassabany supervised a team of staff responsible for securing and maintaining federal and state registrations for all consumer products. Previous to that position, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Elkassabany served as the branch chief in the Office of Pesticides Programs, Antimicrobials Division, Risk Assessment and Science Support Branch. Before joining the EPA, Elkassabany was a research assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, for five years. He also taught as an adjunt professor of microbiology for Montgomery County Community College in Rockville, Md., for 10 years.

At CLA, Elkassabany will report to Dr. Janet E. Collins, senior vice president of science and regulatory policy. “Dr. Elkassabany’s experience working in regulation from the federal side and at a product manufacturer will be key to achieving many of CLA’s goals. Additionally, his international work, including a pilot project under a NAFTA agreement with the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency of Canada, will help us in our work with our global partners.”

Elkassabany received a Bachelor of Science in agriculture at the University of Alexandria in Egypt and a Master of Science in entomology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in entomology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and has received three U.S. EPA Bronze Medals for Commendable Service.