IFT Proud Member Focus: Meet Michele Perchonok

How do you identify?

I identify as a straight woman and the mother of a lesbian.

What is your background?

I have an undergraduate degree in chemistry. Through a summer job prior to my junior year, I discovered food science. I received my Master’s and PhD degrees at Cornell. Half of my career was in the food industry working in product development at The Quaker Oats Company Pet Food Division and Riviana Foods. The second half of my career was working at NASA Johnson Space Center where I was responsible for space food product development, menu definition, nutritional requirements implementation, food processing, food packaging development, and the integration of NASA food science research for exploration space missions. I also fed the astronauts for the last six years of the Shuttle Program. Before retirement from NASA, I was part of the Human Research Program management team which oversees all the research to mitigate the human risks for future Mars missions.

Throughout my career, I served IFT in over 30 volunteer opportunities, including as 2018/2019 IFT President. I am also an IFT Fellow and the 2016 recipient of the IFT Cal Willey Award.

I retired in 2017 and moved to Denver. I stay active by walking, hiking and cross- country skiing. In addition, I love gardening and have a large vegetable garden and several flower beds. And my husband, Bob, and I travel internationally three times a year. Traveling internationally allows us to learn about different cultures and viewpoints. Wherever we go, we ask what the country laws are relating to the queer community and the attitude towards the queer community.

How has being a?member?or ally of the LGBTQIA+ community impacted you personally and/or professionally?

In 2005, our daughter, Jennifer, came out to us during her freshman year in college. Though I had never suspected that Jenn was a lesbian, it made perfect sense to me when she told us. Soon after, she came out to us, Bob and I went to a lunch ‘n learn where we heard the stories of several members in the queer community. We were shocked to hear the personal story of one gay young man who had been kicked out of their house when they came out to their parents. To this day, I cannot understand how any parent can reject their child, no matter who they are or what they have done.

While I was IFT President-elect and President, the IFT Board began developing their DEI policy. The result was a core value of Inclusion and the Include Award in honor of George Washington Carver. I am proud that IFT took the initiative before many other organizations did and that I was part of it.

As IFT President in 2019, I was at the first gathering of what became the Proud Resource Group. I represented the IFT Board at the event but more importantly, I was there as an ally, the mother of a lesbian.

What advice do you have for somebody to be a part of the community within the food industry?

We are all different in some way. And for that reason, we should all be treating our fellow humans with understanding, compassion and respect. Get involved in something that you are passionate about and be yourself!

What do you hope to see in the food industry or IFT?

I want the food industry to be totally committed to diversity in such a way that we don’t have to talk about it anymore and it is just a given. I know that we are not there yet but the more we act on accepting our unique characteristics among us and using that to make our goals, we will all be that much better.

How do you think IFT Proud can best provide support to the LGBTQIA+ community in the food industry and beyond?

IFT Proud should continue providing a safe space where our LGBTQIA+ community can get to know each other and themselves. It is so important that IFT Proud provides opportunities for our members to volunteer and learn to be a leader without having to be worried about being accepted. By providing resources such as education, training and professional development, our members can more easily navigate other spaces such as work or community and be more successful in all that they do.