Her Story
About Vilma
Vilma Calderon is a dedicated food safety and quality professional with more than eight years of experience in quality assurance, food safety compliance, and continuous improvement within the food manufacturing industry. She currently serves as Corporate Quality Coordinator at Teasdale Latin Foods, where she helps drive company-wide quality initiatives, strengthen customer relationships, and support operational excellence across the organization. Although she did not initially envision a career in quality assurance, an opportunity presented by a trusted colleague introduced her to the field and ultimately led her to discover a passion for improving processes, solving problems, and making a meaningful impact on business performance.
Prior to joining Teasdale Latin Foods, Vilma spent more than six years as a Quality Assurance Coordinator with Taylor Farms, where she developed expertise in quality management systems, food safety programs, regulatory compliance, auditing, and preventive controls. Throughout her career, she has embraced continuous learning and professional development, earning certifications including FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food and Seafood HACCP. Her strong technical knowledge, combined with practical operational experience, has enabled her to successfully implement improvements that enhance product quality, consistency, and customer satisfaction.
Vilma is known for her hands-on leadership style and commitment to building strong relationships at every level of an organization. Rather than managing solely from behind a desk, she believes in being present on the production floor, collaborating directly with employees, sharing knowledge, providing coaching, and helping teams understand the "why" behind quality standards and processes. Since joining Teasdale Latin Foods, she has played an instrumental role in elevating product consistency, rebuilding customer confidence, and helping modernize business practices while preserving the company's core values. Her ability to drive positive change and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement has earned the respect of both her peers and leadership team. As a result, the company continues to invest in her professional growth with the goal of preparing her for future leadership roles in quality management and quality assurance leadership.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Vilma
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my ability to learn, grow, and bring what I've learned to life in a way that my peers and higher-ups truly appreciate. Everything for me has been self-made. I didn't have financial support growing up - my parents had me when they were really young, so I had to grow up faster than most people. I didn't get to go to college right out of high school, but I chose to change that narrative for myself. I wanted to be in a position where I could support my own family down the line and guide them in ways I wasn't guided. What really helped me was having people at my past employer who leaned on education and pushed me to learn more and educate myself outside of just work experience. I took courses and acquired certifications instead of going the traditional college route. My experience in the field for 8 years has been huge - it's helped me get opportunities where companies reach out to me just from seeing my background. I'm very open, very communicative, and very hands-on in my work style, and I continuously teach others through my own knowledge and experience. Even now, I'm not done learning - every day is a learning experience. What I really appreciate about my current company is that they're investing in my continued growth and driving for me to eventually become a quality manager or director.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that this field is definitely interesting, and you have to be really open-minded and be able to learn and put into practice what you learn. A lot of us might take a class or go into a course and get a certificate, but don't end up really doing anything with it. For this field, everything that you learn, you definitely have to use and put into practice. And it's not just at work - being in the food industry is kind of universal. You cook at home, you go out to eat, you buy food from people who have small businesses. The learning curve is great and gives you a really good view of things outside the scope that you maybe never considered to think about. It's very exciting to be able to see different practices and different methods and how different industries within the food manufacturing scope do things. It can be stressful, so you have to be able to manage, but nonetheless, it is a great opportunity to grow into something good, and it could potentially lead you into a career that's long-lasting.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family is incredibly important to me. I didn't have a lot of support growing up - my parents had me when they were really young, and I had to grow up faster than most people. I chose to change that narrative for myself because I didn't want to be in a situation where I couldn't help my own family down the line. I want to be able to support my kids, guide them, and give them their own choice of what they want to do while supporting them - opportunities I didn't have. Community is also very important to me. Through my past work at Taylor Farms, I was always involved in giving back to the community, whether it was career day at schools, feeding children in special programs who need help, participating in Alzheimer's events and fundraising walks, or organizing holiday programs for families in need. It gives me a sense of being grateful for what I have now, knowing there are people who are less fortunate that we can help. It's just a good feeling to be able to help others and give back to the community or people who are in need.
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