Descriptive Panel Leadership

Spring 2024

May 21 - May 24 LIVE!
Location:
554 Central Ave
New Providence, NJ 07974

For working Panel Leaders: Tap the wisdom of experienced panel leaders to improve your skills in and out of the panel room. Learn and practice effective techniques for all aspects of leading and managing a descriptive analysis panel.
Enroll now and save 10%!
Take advantage of early bird pricing now through December 23rd.

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Course Description

What you will learn:

  • How to successfully select, cultivate, monitor, & motivate a descriptive panel
  • To identify & assess your sensory evaluation practices & ensure they meet your team’s goals
  • How to approach challenges and successes in your panel environment
  • Methodology and applications of trained panels for sensory evaluations
  • How to coach and guide panelists on components of descriptive analysis
  • Controls necessary for panel success
  • Areas of opportunity personal growth as a panel leader
  • Leadership skills for conducting your panel efficiently, effectively, and with confidence
  • Best practices for leading virtual panels
  • Skills required of successful panel leaders
    • Leading group discussions
    • Continued panelist training
    • Panelist feedback

What you will do:

  • Practice developing terminology/lexicons and deepen your facilitation skills
  • Collaborate with course instructors & other panel leaders to problem solve panel challenges
  • Create a protocol in an unfamiliar category
  • Examine how test controls and context can influence sensory verdicts
  • Audit and develop strategies to augment your panel’s daily practices
  • Identify opportunities and strategies to grow panel skills and morale
  • Discuss virtual panel leading adaptations and techniques with other panel leaders


Who Should Attend

Sensory professionals who are currently leading descriptive analysis panels (Spectrum, Flavor or Texture Profile, QDA, Odor profile, Skin feel, Fabric feel, etc.)


Important:


  • This course will improve and expand panel leading skills.
  • This course will not teach you how to train a panel.
Instructors

Emily Richter

Senior Project Manager

Emily Richter has worked in the field of Sensory Science for 11 years and currently serves as a Senior Project Manager at Sensory Spectrum with expertise in sensory evaluation of food and beverages. She brings her years of CPG industry experience to her consulting role to provide practical guidance to her clients. Emily has extensive experience in panel leading as well as training food panels and panel leaders. She enjoys connecting with existing panels to transform them into motivated panels who consistently produce accurate and actionable data. As a trained moderator, she also enjoys qualitative research and working directly with consumers to gain front end insights to guide innovation objectives. Emily holds a B.S. in Food Science from The Pennsylvania State University and a Certificate in Market Research from the University of Georgia.

Katelyn Booz

Senior Program Manager

Katelyn Booz currently serves as a Senior Program Manager at Sensory Spectrum with expertise in sensory evaluation of food/beverages, personal care products, and household goods. She works with a diverse portfolio of clients to assist them in understanding the sensory properties of their products to inform strategy for new product development, reformulations, and claims support. She enjoys developing protocols for difficult-to-assess products and working in non-food categories such as aroma/malodor control and shaving. Katelyn champions the importance of a well-trained and led panel and works with panelists and panel leaders through panel leader coaching, monitoring panelist performance and data quality, training food and non-food descriptive panels, orienting quality panels, and teaching the Sensory Spectrum course on Descriptive Panel Leadership. Katelyn has worked in the field of sensory science for over seven years and holds an M.S. in Nutritional Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in Biology from Lafayette College.