David Tharp
Executive Director, International Association for Food Protection
David Tharp serves as the Executive Director of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) with offices located in Des Moines, Iowa. He launched his association career as the Director of Finance and Administration for IAFP in 1993; in 1997 he was promoted to the role of Executive Director.
IAFP provides food safety professionals worldwide with a forum to exchange information on protecting the food supply. This is achieved through two monthly journals, the Journal of Food Protection and Food Protection Trends, and through an Annual Meeting where research topics on food safety issues are presented. More recently, IAFP helped organize a conference in China, has held a symposium in Europe and now has plans for a Latin American Symposium in 2008.
Prior to his employment with IAFP, Tharp worked in Public Accounting. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Drake University in Des Moines with a major in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. In addition, Tharp earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives.
Entering China Program (pdf)