Darin Detwiler

Associate Teaching Professor

About

Dr. Darin Detwiler: 

Associate Teaching Professor at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies.  Previously served as an Assistant Dean from 2017-2021.  Dr. Detwiler began teaching courses at Northeastern in 2014. He has served as Co-Chair of Faculty Senate Subcommittees and as the Faculty Advisor for TEDxNU 2023-2024. He has been an honoree at Northeastern University Academic Honors Convocation in 2022 and 2023, a recipient of the 2016 CPS Excellence in Teaching Award and a nominee in 2023.  Detwiler was a featured speaker inTEDx NortheasternU 2020.  He was a member of the Teaching Inquiry Fellows Program (2023 Cohort through the university's Center for Advancing Teaching Through Research.  Detwiler has taught doctoral courses and numerous courses in a variety of graduate programs (with a focus on Regulatory Affairs, Global Economics of Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Development, Global Corporate Social Responsibility, and Social Impact), bringing experience in academic leadership from five years of instruction and program development at Bellevue (WA) College and 16 years of award-winning teaching at public schools in Washington State.

Well-respected food safety advisor and author.  For over 30 years, he has played a unique role in controlling foodborne illness.  In 2023, QA Magazine named Dr. Detwiler to “The Food Safety Set”: One of “21 People Who Have Shaped the Last 30 Years of Food Safety.”  He is the recipient of the International Association for Food Protection’s 2022 Ewen C.D. Todd Control of Foodborne Illness Award as well as their 2018 Distinguished Service Award.

In the early 1990s, the USDA’s Secretary of Agriculture enlisted Detwiler’s support in the preparation and implementation of their Pathogen Reduction Program in response to the 1993 Jack in the Box E.coli outbreak.  In 2004, the Secretary of Agriculture appointed him to two terms on the USDA’s National Advisory Committee for Meat and Poultry Inspection. He went on to represent consumers with NGOs, served on Conference for Food Protection councils, and supported the FDA’s implementation of FSMA.  He is the current Chair of NEHA’s Food Safety Program Committee. His leadership capacities include numerous advisory and editorial boards as well as having long consulted on food safety issues with industry in the U.S. and abroad. 

Detwiler’s research and insights have appeared on television and in print, including his column and articles in Quality Assurance and Food Safety Magazine and his books Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions (2020), Building the Future of Food Safety Technology: Blockchain and Beyond (2020), and the graphic novel Outbreak on the Menu (2023). 

Dr. Detwiler is a sought-after speaker and has addressed key issues in food safety at corporate and regulatory training events, as well as national and international events in Spain, Dubai, and the UK.  He has been featured as a speaker before VTEC, STEC CAP, Food Safety Consortium, Food Safety Summit, AFDO regional events, FDA regional seminars, and multiple state public and environmental health conferences.

A consumer food safety advocate since 1993, Dr. Detwiler has been featured in a variety of national news stories on food safety with media such as The New York Times, Food Safety News, CNBC, CNN, NPR, PBS’s Frontline, and ABC’s Good Morning America.  The 2023 documentary Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food features extensive interviews and insights from Dr. Detwiler.

He is a contributing writer to numerous food industry publications and is quoted frequently by journalists across the country.  Detwiler is a member of the editorial advisory board for Quality Assurance Magazine, as well as on numerous committees and advisory panels related to food science, nutrition, fraud, and policy. Detwiler is also the host of GFSR’s “Eye on Food Safety with Dr. D.” webinar.  He is a frequent guest on a variety of podcasts or webinars related to food policy and education.

A Navy submarine veteran, Dr. Detwiler graduated from the Navy's Nuclear Power schools and served as a mechanical operator, an engine room supervisor, and a quality assurance inspector for a submarine's nuclear propulsion plant.  Dr. Detwiler holds a B.A. in History and Education and an M.A.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.  He earned his Doctorate in Law and Policy at Northeastern University with his research on state food regulatory capacity and alignment with federal policy.  

Dr. Darin Detwiler's unwavering dedication, extensive expertise, and unparalleled contributions have solidified his status as "an American Food Safety Icon." With a profound impact on public health, he continues to inspire and lead the way towards a safer and more secure food system.

Education

PhD from Northeastern University (2016)

Professional Experience

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

2014- Northeastern University, College of Professional Studies, Boston, MA

Associate Teaching Professor (2020-Present)

Assistant Dean: Academic and Faculty Affairs for Professional Programs (2017-2021)

Doctoral Thesis Advisor and Dissertation Committee Chair (2017-2021)

Lead Faculty

Assistant Teaching Professor (2016-2020)

Adjunct Instructor / Academic Consultant (2014-2016)

2001-2013       Lake Washington School District, Redmond, WA

Teacher Expert: District-wide Instructional Technology, Math, Science (2004-2013)

Department Head / Teacher: Redmond Middle School, Redmond, WA (2009-2013)

Head Teacher / Department Head: BEST High School, Kirkland, WA (2001-2009)

2002-2006 Bellevue College, “Venture Program,” Bellevue, WA

Adjunct Professor / Program Developer (2002-2006)

1998-2002       Anacortes School District, Anacortes, WA

Teacher / Job Coach: Remedial high school courses, summer school sessions

1998                Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

Instructor: Adventures in Science and Arts course: “Natural Disasters in our Backyard”

 

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

1993- Detwiler Consulting Group, LLC

Federal Policy Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Media Advisor

2021- Netflix, Hollywood, CA

Technical Consultant / Interviewee - Food Safety Documentary: “Poisoned”
(Anticipated release in June, 2023)

2018- Elsevier Academic Press, Cambridge, MA

Author

2017- Quality Assurance and Food Safety Magazine, Valley View, OH

Member, Editorial Advisory Board
Contributing Editor
Contributing Writer
Columnist: “The Consumer Perspective” / “Herculean Effort”

2014-2016       STOP Foodborne Illness, Chicago, IL

Senior Policy Coordinator

National Policy Advisor - National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection
National Policy Advisor

2005-2006       Washington State History Museum, Olympia, WA

Curriculum Developer: Public school history content tied to museum exhibits

2000-2001       The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, WA

Newspaper in Education Coordinator

1998-2002       Thousand Trails Resort, Bow, WA
Recreation Director and Entertainment Coordinator

1993-1994       Smith’s Home Furnishings, Bellingham, WA
Electronics and Appliances Sales

1992-1993       Lehmann’s Appliances, Bellingham, WA
Customer Service and Delivery

1992-1992       Caleb Brett, USA, Inc., Ferndale, WA
Petroleum Quality Assurance Inspector, shipboard and refineries

MILITARY

1992-1994       U.S. Naval Reserves, Seattle, WA 

Destroyer Tender USS Acadia (AD-42) Training Unit (1992-1993)

1986-1992       U.S. Navy                                                                        

Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Nuclear Submarine USS William H. Bates (SSN-680) (1988-1992)

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program

Qualified in Submarine Warfare

Awarded various medals, ribbons, and letters of commendation

Cold War Veteran | Gulf War Veteran

Honorable Discharge

 

MILITARY VETERAN

2022-  United States Submarine Veterans Inc. (USSVI)

Executive Director: US Submarine Veterans 501(C) 3 Charitable Foundation (USSVCF)

Vice Commander: USSVI Los Angeles / Pasadena Base

Associate Editor / Contributing Writer: American Submariner Magazine

Publications