Diamond V® announces a new member of the company’s international poultry team and a new member of its research and innovation team.

Mike Mitchell, North American Poultry Director, announced that Diamond V has gained additional expertise with Poultry Specialist Francisco Portela, MS, a new team member to serve poultry producers in Latin American countries and Canada.

Mr. Portela has more than 26 years of professional experience in the layer, turkey, and broiler chicken industries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in Spain and Canada. His poultry industry career incudes work with High-Line International (as Regional Business Manager for Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean), Hubbard LLC (Group Grimaud & Frères), Hubbard-ISA (Shaver Poultry Breeding Farms), and Canada Packers (Shur-Gain Grain Division).

Mr. Portela’s educational background includes the Master in Science, majoring in Monogastric Nutrition, from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He also holds the Bachelor in Science, majoring in Animal & Poultry Husbandry, as well as accreditation as a zootechnician from the University of Costa Rica in San Jose. His continuing education in Canada includes certification in business management and key account management. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Diamond V also is pleased to announce that Tiffany Kwan, MS has joined as a Research Associate in the company’s Research & Innovation Group, supporting the company’s trusted expertise in animal nutrition and health, world-class research, and growing innovation program.

Ms. Kwan brings to Diamond V a unique background of microbiology, molecular biology, and engineering. Her research experience includes intestinal microbial ecology, anaerobic organisms, microbial fermentation, mathematical modeling, and media formulation. At Diamond V, her interests focus on microbial interactions, fermentation technologies, microbial metabolism, and pathogen mitigation.

Before joining Diamond V, Ms. Kwan was a research professional managing the labs of Drs. Margie Lee and John Maurer in the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center at The University of Georgia. She also worked as a biotechnologist intern at Microbial Developments in the UK.

Ms. Kwan holds the Master of Science in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences from the University of Georgia, where she studied under Dr. Lee, investigating the effects of intestinal microbes on Salmonella growth in the poultry gut environment. She also holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, where she provided assistance on in vitro studies of microorganisms used in wastewater treatment.