Catching up with Kathleen “Katie Jo” Close

Kathleen “Katie Jo” Close was a member of Cohort VIII.  

At that time, she was a consumer safety officer (auditor) working within the Audit Staff within FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) conducting objective evidence-based audits that evaluate adherence to domestic standards for human and animal foods such as the MFRPS-human food, AFRPS-animal food. The domestic audit program is a foundational building block to the continued progress of establishing an Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) as mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Since then, she was appointed as the ORA point-of-contact for FDA’s Accredited Third-Party Certification Program (TPP). She performs domestic and international audits at participating entities to ensure foods imported into the United States meet FDA regulations. She provides technical assistance, training, and education on TPP to internal and external stakeholders (globally). She also creates and monitors the TPP workplan to ensure FDA meets regulatory oversight requirements set forth in Title 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart M.

“The Fellowship Program provided me the opportunity to learn and develop leadership and communication skills- which I use daily in personal and professional settings. Most importantly, the program allowed me to learn about myself and gave me the tools to push myself to be the next best version. I am grateful.”