Her Story
About Sherrie
Sherrie Robertson is a seasoned Food Safety and Quality professional with more than 26 years of experience in food manufacturing, dedicated to advancing food safety culture, operational excellence, and consumer protection. What began as an opportunity to secure a job quickly evolved into a lifelong passion for an industry she describes as both challenging and rewarding. Throughout her career, she has developed a reputation for combining technical expertise with a people-centered approach, recognizing that sustainable food safety begins with engaging, empowering, and supporting the individuals responsible for producing safe, high-quality products every day.
Sherrie began her career as a Quality Lab Technician in beverage manufacturing and steadily advanced through increasingly impactful roles. She spent eight years as a Quality Systems Coordinator, a position specifically created to formalize the work and leadership she was already providing within the organization. From there, she transitioned into plant-level Food Safety and Quality Management positions, later expanding her expertise through bakery quality management before moving into corporate quality leadership. Today, as a Senior Food Safety and Quality Manager with Country Pure Foods, she serves as a trusted resource for manufacturing facilities across the organization, helping teams navigate challenges, identify practical solutions, and approach complex issues from multiple perspectives. Her ability to mentor, guide, and support plant teams has made her a valued partner in driving continuous improvement and regulatory compliance.
At the heart of Sherrie's leadership philosophy is a deep commitment to people. She is passionate about developing training programs that connect with frontline employees on a human level, fostering engagement, ownership, and pride in their work. A natural problem solver, she believes that strong food safety cultures are built when employees feel respected, valued, and empowered to contribute. Her work is driven by a simple but powerful mission: ensuring that every consumer has access to safe, high-quality food. With a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science from the University of Connecticut, a Master's Certificate in Food Safety and Defense from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and multiple industry certifications, Sherrie continues to champion excellence in food safety while advocating for the people who make it possible.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sherrie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a blend of tenacity and humanity, with an unwavering focus on the end consumer. Tenacity was the first word that came to mind, but it is really a lot about humanity and keeping the consumer as my ultimate focus at the end of the day. I believe that everyone should have access to safe food, and that principle guides everything I do. I am fiercely committed to remembering that we all eat food, and we are all assuming that everything we eat is going to be safe to eat. We owe that to our consumers. By maintaining this focus on both the human element in our operations and the people who ultimately use our products, I have been able to stay grounded in what truly matters and drive meaningful impact in my work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is to keep growing and keep trying. This advice has stayed with me throughout my entire career and has become a core principle I live by. No matter what challenges arise or what obstacles I face, the most important thing is to maintain momentum and never stop pushing forward. I always knew that I wanted something more than what I had growing up, and while I did not always know exactly what that was, I knew I had to keep growing and keep trying to get there. This mindset of continuous growth and persistent effort has been fundamental to everything I have achieved.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say the biggest challenge in my field right now is leadership truly understanding the importance of the people on the production lines. I am a huge advocate for the people working on those lines, and I feel like they often get forgotten and treated more as machines or equipment than as human beings. This is a critical issue because these are real people who live in functionality every day, and those of us working in the food industry need to remember that we all eat. We are all consumers who assume that everything we eat is going to be safe, and we owe that level of care and quality to everyone. The challenge is getting leadership to shift their perspective and recognize that our production employees are not just cogs in a machine but valued human beings whose work directly impacts the safety and quality of the food that reaches consumers.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I go back to the golden rule that we all learned in kindergarten, which I really must have internalized: treat people the way that you would like to be treated. This principle is fundamental to everything I do. I believe that everyone here is a human being, and we are all just going about our lives, having our careers and jobs and families, and we need to maintain that humanity amongst each of us. Beyond treating people with respect and dignity, I also live by the principle to do good and to leave things better than I find them. Growing up very poor and what I call underhoused, I always knew that I wanted something more than what I had, even if I did not know exactly what that was. That experience taught me to keep growing, keep trying, and always strive to make a positive impact wherever I go.
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