Claudia Coles
President
Seafood Products Association (SPA)

Claudia Coles is President of the Seafood Products Association (SPA) located in Seattle, Washington. SPA provides regulatory and scientific technical assistance to the Seafood and Food Processing Industry.

Claudia retired from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) after 35 years of public service in 2018. During her time with WSDA she served as the Policy & External Affairs Advisor, Compliance Officer, Food Safety Program Manager, Field Inspector and Food Microbiologist.

Claudia is a member of several National Food Safety Committees including the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) where she was the 2012-2013 President, the Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA) Executive Advisory Board and the Seafood HACCP Alliance (SHA) Executive Board.

Claudia received five awards from the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration for her consistent leadership in food safety, Seafood HACCP, Botulism Recall Team, Interstate Milk Shippers Conference Dairy HACCP promoting state and federal partnerships.

Claudia earned her Bachelor of Science in Food Science from North Dakota State University. Claudia is a Class 14 graduate of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program and in 2024 received AFDO’s highest honor, the Harvey W. Wiley Award.