Jennifer Petersen is the chief science officer at Sun World International, a global variety development business serving 2,300+ growers across the globe and committed to the principles of sustainability. Sun World pioneered table grape varietal development and formalized their genetics’ program in the late 1980s.

Jennifer has been delivering innovation to the produce industry for over 25 years. In her early career, she was a small-scale producer of a certified organic fruit, vegetable, and seed operation in the coast range of Oregon. She has since led R&D projects and teams that deliver exceptional fruit and vegetable varieties to meet the evolving needs of growers and consumers around the world.

In her current position, Jennifer drives Sun World’s industry-leading R&D program to deliver healthy, flavorful, and sustainable solutions that are firmly rooted in science and emerging technologies.
Jennifer obtained her Bachelor of Science in Horticulture at Oregon State University and her Ph.D. in Plant Biology at U.C. Davis. She was a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholar in Mexico and has conducted agricultural research in more than 20 countries around the world.