Debie "Neikiya" Blair
Home Entity – Phenomenal Phi Alpha Chapter
Home University – The Pennsylvania State University
Initiation Date – April 20, 2009
Entity Roster Number – #60
Since high school, Sister Debie “Neikiya” Blair has always been intrigued by the food that we eat every
day. Her love of food began with examining nutrition facts panels and experimenting on her father to
create a diet plan to help him reduce his cholesterol. After college, Debie began her career as a Food
Quality Specialist at Kraft Foods, Inc., but now she is a Product Developer at Mondelēz International,
working on the infamous Oreo cookie brand.
Most recently, Debie is credited with the creation of the red cookie that comprises the newest Oreo
flavor, Red Velvet Oreo. For more than a year, she has been working on perfecting the flavor and
appearance of the cookie, preparing for its national launch, which was earlier this month on February 2 nd.
Using her academic knowledge of food and informal expertise in delicious cookies, the Oreo that we all
know and love was transformed into the new and improved Red Velvet version. Debie has also worked on
other Oreo flavors such as Lemon, Cookie Dough, Fruit Punch, and Limeade, although Red Velvet was the
first product that she worked on completely from start to finish.
In 2010, Debie graduated as the valedictorian in both her major and academic college from Penn State
with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Food Science. Not only has her degree allowed her to
create fantastic Oreo cookies for everyone to love, but also she is an adjunct professor of Nutrition and
Food Science at Montclair State University, she is the owner and co-founder of a small book publishing
company called Sugar Run Publishing, and she is one half of the creative duo behind Dat Lyfe Clothing.
In her spare time, she conducts interviews with high school students as part of the Alumni Admissions
Interview Program for the Penn State Schreyer Honors College, and she trains daily with her boyfriend’s
personal training company in preparation for an upcoming fitness competition.
Currently, Debie is combining all her hobbies and occupations together to create a food and fitness book
meant to guide people through the many intricacies of food, touching on subjects like organic food,
gluten free, and macronutrients. Her first venue to speak on these topics will be a local high school,
where she hopes to enlighten future scientists about career opportunities available in the food science
and nutrition fields.
Staying busy has always been part of Debie’s character; she vows that every new task she takes on in
her life is another piece of the puzzle that helps her through life. In other words, no venture is a waste of
time, whether a “success” or a “failure”. Most importantly, no matter where the rest of her life takes her,
it is for certain that she has left her imprint in history as “the girl who made those awesome cookies!”
Chicago Tribune
Bloomberg News
TODAY.com
Interested in nominating a sister to be recognized next month?
Fill out the Sister of the Month Submission Form and email it to Director of Engagement, Genevieve Padro,
at [email protected].
Past 2015 Sister of the Month Nominations
January 2015