2007 40 Under 40 Honoree: Kristen Dixon

Kristen Dixon is the director of operations for Chestnut Labs, which is owned by Dairy Farmers of America Inc. At Chestnut Labs, she is responsible for assuring standards compliance and managing a 20-member staff.

“I have worked very hard, with a great staff, to grow this lab from a small corporate lab into a profitable, accredited contract-testing facility,” Dixon said.

“Every day, our labs are conducting testing on thousands of samples, and that testing is helping to protect consumers from food-borne diseases.”

She also is the director of microbiology and chemistry/technical analysis coordinator for DFA.

“I … assist the 25 DFA manufacturing facilities across the United States regarding microbiology-related issues, including (the) creation of testing and sampling criteria, training, procedure development and auditing against quality standards,” Dixon said.

She also is owner of Dixon Acquisitions, which focuses on rental properties; and co-owns of the local Housemaster property inspection franchise and Christmas Décor, a franchise focused on residential and commercial lighting.

Dixon and her husband, Tony, have a daughter, Abigail, who is 13.

Dixon said her proudest achievement was earning her master’s degree in Business Administration from Drury University when her daughter was still a toddler.

“I managed to work full-time with a 3-year-old and still accomplish this goal,” Dixon said.

Her schedule is still pretty full these days – Dixon is involved with several community organizations, including Southeast Rotary and Ministries of Love, which was founded by her husband’s grandfather and builds Christian Schools in southern Chile and the Patagonia region of South America.

Stats

Position: Director, Microbiology, Chemistry/Technical Analysis, Dairy Farmers of America; Director of Operations, Chestnut Labs

Age: 36

Favorite professional sports team: St. Louis Cardinals

A quote to live by: “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”

Information accurate at the time of the honor.