Managing Director, she is passionate about leveraging enterprise to drive sustainable development. Prior to GreenPath, Jacie advised teams founding early-stage social ventures in the San Francisco Bay Area. She formerly worked as a Technical Advisor and Manager at TechnoServe, where she supported a portfolio of market-based agriculture and enterprise development programs across East Africa. Jacie has supported and consulted on a variety of ventures focused on value chain development, smallholder training and extension, producer certification, and environmental marketing. Before migrating to warmer climates, Jacie grew up on a family farm in northern Wisconsin. She loves running, traveling, and all things coffee.

Maria Isabel Andrade received a BSc (Agronomy) in 1984 and a M.Sc. (Plant Genetics) in 1985 from the University of Arizona. She also obtained a Ph.D. (Plant Breeding and Plant Physiology) from North Carolina State University in 1994. She strengthened her skill in communicating as a teaching assistant at both the University of Arizona and North Carolina State University. She also got involved in student affairs as Secretary of the African Student Association at North Carolina State University, as Secretary (1992) and as Administrative Secretary for the Graduate Students Association in the Department of Horticulture at the North Carolina State University in 1992. Having worked on root crops since 1985 and done her PhD on sweetpotato in NCSU, and knowing that their benefits would be substantial if diets are supplemented, Maria has always had deep interest in bio-fortified crops.

Maria Andrade has 30 years of working experience in Africa.  Her research interests include technology transfer, breeding seed systems and the amelioration of value chains for income-generation. She has spent the last 21 years working in Mozambique. The first 10 of these, she served as a regional cassava and sweetpotato agronomist for the Southern Africa Root Crop Research Network, a program run conjointly by IITA and CIP. From 2002-2006 she coordinated a five year IITA project on Accelerated Multiplication and Distribution of Healthy Planting Materials of the Best High Yielding Varieties of Cassava and Sweetpotato.  Over one million farmers received improved planting material under this project in 98 of the 141 districts of the country with Maria collaborating with 124 partners to achieve this challenging objective.

In 2006, she joined CIP to manage the SASHA Southern Africa Sweetpotato Support Platform bringing together sweetpotato breeders from Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique and Angola, with a research emphasis on breeding drought-tolerant sweetpotato varieties. She has released 30 bio-fortified sweetpotato varieties of which 20 are drought tolerant. The Mozambican government recognizes bio-fortified sweetpotato as a food and nutrition security crop. These drought tolerant varieties have reached more half million farmers and farmers have adopted them and making profit selling the roots and the vines. Maria is highly skilled in training other breeders, facilitating knowledge sharing and constructing communications platforms to heighten the visibility and impact of sweetpotato in Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce Vitamin A deficiency and improve markets and crop production.

She also serves as CIP’s country liaison scientist with the Government of Mozambique, coordinating with the Regional Leader as needed to address specific requests from Government officials and entities. She also worked closely with other CGIAR scientists in the region to capitalize on potential synergies to be gained from joint planning and will be spearheading the Sweetpotato Support Platform for Southern Africa under the SASHA project. In the Platform for Innovation of Agriculture and technology transfer in Mozambique she represents all CGIARs members of this platform (8). She is also in the board of Directors of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa. Maria served as the vice president for fund raising for ISTRC global for five years. She also was one the recipients of the 2016 World Food Prize, received also an outstanding Alumnus Award from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University and Appreciation Award for Outstanding Leadership & Contribution to the development of roots and tubers crops in Africa.

James Joseph is the founder of Jackfruit365™- an initiative to create an organized market for Indian jackfruits, 80 percent of which is reported to be wasted every year.

James has over 20 years of Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing experience in India, North America, and Europe with Globally reputed organizations like Microsoft, 3M and Ford. In his last role as the Director, Executive Engagement at Microsoft India; he was responsible for strengthening Microsoft’s relationship with the senior executives of top 200 enterprises in India. Prior to this role James was responsible for the manufacturing industry marketing for Microsoft UK. Before joining Microsoft UK, he held manufacturing, supply chain, business development, sales and marketing positions at Minda, 3M, Ford Motor Company, i2 Technologies and Informatica. James is a recipient of several awards including Circle of Excellence, the highest award for Sales and Marketing employees across the world at Microsoft, Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year at TiEcon Kerala 2013, New Age ICON d’ YOUTH Kerala 2011, etc.

During his work across three continents James had the rare opportunity to design Signature dining experiences for his clients with several internationally renowned Chefs which helped him to develop Jackfruit365™

James is also an author and his first book “God’s Own Office- How One Man Worked for a Global Giant from a Village in Kerala” was published by Penguin Books and released by Shri Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala in October 2014. Malayalam translation of the best seller got published by Manorama Books and released by Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder of Infosys, in October 2015. In addition James serves as a guest lecturer at IIM Kozhikode, writes columns for leading newspapers and regularly speaks at events to promote entrepreneurship among youth in India.

He has a Masters in Engineering Business Management from University of Warwick, UK and has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram.

Founder, owner, and Managing Director of Virtual Linguistic Solutions (VLS) and Organic Trade & Investments (OTI), a Ghana based online retail store selling organically produced commodities, from Shea butter to herbs, which are sourced from small holder farmers. Esther Asante, was awarded the “Best Female eCommerce Entrepreneur of the year” at the Ghana maiden eCommerce Awards, at Swiss Spirit Alisa Hotel, Accra on November 2018, making her the first woman to ever be honored with such an award in the history of the Ghana eCommerce Awards, organized by OML Africa.

She was Commercial and Quality Manager of Swissport Ghana from 2015 to 2018, and the Relocation Manager of Executive Relocation Africa for more than 12 months before she decided to hop on her own ship.

Gina leads a research programme to understand the role of agricultural biodiversity in improved nutrition and health and serves as the Bioversity International focal point for the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

She develops, leads and manages nutrition research activities and projects on the use of agricultural biodiversity, particularly in the context of smallholder farmers in developing countries. Her activities also include research design, implementation and analysis of primary research questions related to the role of agricultural biodiversity, nutrition and sustainable diets. She also identifies and pursues opportunities for funding and provides technical assistance to other CGIAR Research Program leaders working on the diet diversity and diet quality cross-cutting Intermediate Development Objective.

Prior to joining Bioversity Gina worked for the Nutrition Division of FAO on food-based indicators for use in food and nutrition security programs, nutrition assessment and nutrient requirements. She also managed a research project studying the impact of food security interventions combined with nutrition education on use of locally available foods to improve nutrient intakes, micronutrient status and growth of young children.

Prior to working for FAO, she worked for GIZ in Guinea, West Africa and the public health system in the Republic of Kiribati.

Riccardo Astolfi initially studied engineering, but his passion for food became so all-consuming he finally turned to it full-time.

Riccardo is innovation manager in Euro Company,  Italian company that produces, selects and markets nuts and dried fruits. Prior to Euro Company, Riccardo has been working as R&D manager at Ecor Naturasì, the main Italian distributor and chain of supermarkets specialised in the retail distribution of organic and biodynamic products.

Riccardo wrote a book about baking with Sourdough and regularly writes for various food magazines.

Dr. E.D. Israel Oliver King is Ethno-botanist serving as a Principal Scientist at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, India. His team has created innovative community based models for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, particularly landraces of small millets with the support of national and International agencies. He has contributed to the study on using markets to promote the sustainable utilization of crop genetic resources supported by FAO and IFPRI. He was a researcher for the Payment for Agro-biodiversity Conservation Services project of Biodiversity International in Rome supported by Syngenta Foundation. He was involved in a global study on CBM and Empowerment supported by Wageningen University and the Research Centre/Centre for Development Innovation, Netherlands. He coordinated the small millets project supported by IDRC and served as a National coordinator of IFAD-Bioversity International project on reinforcing the resilience of poor rural communities in the face of Food insecurity, Poverty and climate change through on farm conservation of local agro biodiversity. As a coordinator for South Asia, he facilitated a FAO- ITPGRFA sponsored CBM and Resilience project. He is currently engaged in operationalizing Tribal empowerment projects supported by IFAD EU, NABARD, National Agricultural Science fund, National Academy of Sciences, and Frauen Power e.v Germany. His current passion is Natural Resources and Tribal livelihoods, Sustainability management, Gender issues and Community institutions, Folk-art and traditions and Visual documentation.

Juanita Baltodano is the president of APPTA, or, the Association of Small producers of Talamanca. With Fair Trade revenues, APPTA has constructed a tele-school for a remote community that would otherwise have no access to education. APPTA also hired an agronomist to teach members new production techniques that substitute for the use of pesticides. The farmers intersperses cocoa and banana trees shade trees, which supports ecological diversity and sustainability. In addition, APPTA created a small fund to give emergency loans to members in times of need.

As a founding member, Juanita has been head of the association council for more than a decade and is currently president of the Cooperativas Sin Fronteras. The Cooperative is dedicated to developing fair trade in organic products from various organizations in Latin America.

Clement is founder and ceo of Green Gold Social Enterprise.  Green Gold introduces a solution to alleviate poverty and combat malnutrition in the North of Ghana by introduction smallholder farmers to Moringa as an additional cash crop. Moringa seeds are bought and processed into Moringa Oil by Green Gold. The moringa oil which will be sold to the global cosmetic industry while the nutritious leaves will be used locally to combat malnutrition. Besides involving smallholder farmers, it is also establishing its own plantation and processing factory and create fair wage jobs. At least 50% of the profit made by Green Gold S.E. is reinvested in the farmers’ communities in the areas of health, education and economic development.

Bhavani has been working at MSSRF since the year 2000. Rural development, food, nutrition and livelihood security issues are the focus areas of her work. Between 2004 and 2006, she was on deputation to the National Commission on Farmers, Government of India, as officer on special duty to the chairman. From 2012 to 2018, she was project manager of the multi-country Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research programme consortium led by MSSRF. Before joining MSSRF, she was an officer in State Bank of India for a decade. Bhavani has a MPhil in Planning & Development from IIT Bombay and PhD in Economics from Madras University.

Alice holds a PhD in Population Genetics, MSc in Plant Biotechnology, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a BSc in Agriculture. She coordinates the activities of the ICRAF seedbank in Nairobi and regional field genebanks to ensure that superior tree germplasm is available for ICRAF collaborative projects and other interested users.

Her main areas of interest include conservation and use of important indigenous African tree germplasm, communicating generated scientific knowledge so that informed choices can be made in implementing science-based technologies, and mentoring young scientists, especially African women.

Ryan Black is the CEO and co-founder of SAMBAZON, the industry leader in Açai and the first brand to bring organic Açai from the Brazilian Amazon to the United States. Black is a pioneer in the natural foods industry, creating the company in 2000 with his brother Jeremy Black and friend Ed “Skanda” Nichols after a surf trip to Brazil.

After eating his first Açai bowl, Black saw an opportunity to create nutritious, Açai-based products to share with people all over the world while committing to a socially- and environmentally-conscious business model. This was before buzzwords like social responsibility and entrepreneurship existed, and from day one, Black has ensured that SAMBAZON stays true to its founding principles and commitment to doing good. In addition, Black paved the way in helping create the current organic and fair trade certification standards for wild-harvesting the Açai crop where they did not previously exist. SAMBAZON continues to operate under the Triple Bottom Line philosophy, which measures success economically, socially and environmentally. This progressive, forward-thinking culture is thread through the fabric of SAMBAZON today.

Black is also the co-founder of the tri.org, a non-profit organization working to empower and educate millennials into mobilizing and building a more conscious future, socially, in sustainability and economically. Together, with like-minded partners, SAMBAZON, Thrive Market, Numi Tea and Dr. Bronner’s, Black and the tri.org are working to build a community of activists, conscious warriors and change makers.

Prior to co-founding SAMBAZON, Black received his BA in Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and in European Football Leagues. Now, Black lives near the beach in San Clemente, CA and his passions include travel, music, and surfing. He speaks multiple languages, and credits his time in Boulder and his international football career as the stepping-stones to building a socially-responsible, international business.

Stefano Padulosi joined Bioversity International in 1993 to develop and implement a project on underutilized crops of the Mediterranean region, including a study on rocket.

From 1998 until 2006 he coordinated Bioversity International’s activities in the Central & West Asia and North Africa Region. While based in the Middle East he continued his efforts to promote neglected and underutilized species (NUS), contributing to develop Bioversity’s first strategy for the promotion of these species and launching the first UN Global Project dedicated to them.

The latest project he has been leading -ended in early 2020- was an IFAD-EU funded international program focusing on priority NUS in Guatemala, Mali and India, which aimed at empowering local farmers and other value-chain actors, to build resilient livelihoods through agrobiodiversity-based solutions, strengthen their preparedness in facing climate variability and help them manage associated risks.

Stefano Padulosi started his career as a plant collector in 1986 at the Germplasm Institute (National Research Council) of Bari, Italy. From 1987 to 1993 worked as a plant explorer and taxonomist at the gene bank of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria. In Africa he carried out numerous expeditions to collect and study food crops, including cowpea and its wild relatives which were the focus of his PhD research thesis.

• Neglected and Underutilized Species Community- Bioversity
• India’s food security bill
• Diversity for immunity to climate change and food insecurity, beans in Guatemala- CIAT
• Publications
• Bioversity International
• IITA- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Lucio is one of the most authoritative voices in Italy regarding sustainable agriculture, organic farming and fair trade.

A graduate in Sociology at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Lucio Cavazzoni is one of the pioneers of organic farming in Italy: he began working as a beekeeper in 1978 and then founded the Valle Idice beekeeping cooperative and later CONAPI, National Beekeepers Consortium, of which he remained at the helm until 2008. In 2004 he became president of Alce Nero, one of the major Italian companies gathering together organic farmers, beekeepers and fairtrade producers. Today he is the co-founder of Good Land, a company that helps agricultural and agri-food companies grow in harmony with the territory.

Professor Kadambot H.M. Siddique AM, CitWA, FTSE, FAIA, FNAAS, FISPP, FAAS

Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair and Director The UWA Institute of Agriculture

After completion of his PhD at UWA in 1985 Professor Siddique joined the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) as a cereal crop physiologist and worked his way up to principal scientist and leader of DAFWA’s Pulse Program.  He became the Director of Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) at UWA in 2001 and remained in this position until 2006 when he was appointed to establish and lead The UWA Institute of Agriculture.

Dr. Fabrice DeClerck is the EAT Science Director. In this role, Dr. DeClerck leads the development of EAT’s research and synthesis science. With the Stockholm Resilience Centre, EAT’s Science Secretariat, he works closely with EAT’s partners and programs as the interface between science and practice.

Dr. DeClerck’s professional background is in agricultural and environmental sciences with more than a decade focusing on sustainable development in Latin America, Africa, and South East Asia. His collaborations with the health and nutrition community date back to 2004 focusing on dietary and environmental health in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. DeClerck maintains a role as Senior Scientist at Bioversity International, a member center of the CGIAR. His engagements with EAT enable him to engage closely with UN Agencies such has FAO, UNDP, UNICEF and UNEP; progressive private sector partners; and individuals farmers and farming communities on the radical food transformation needed in support of human health and environmental sustainability.

Dr. DeClerck has a long publication record with more than 110 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on integrated approaches to conservation, food production and environmental health, including several published in Science and Nature. He has co-edited several books, including a two-volume book on Integrating Ecology into Poverty Reduction published in 2012. Dr. DeClerck is a Contributing Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and has held adjunct faculty positions with Columbia University, CATIE in Costa Rica, and the University of Idaho. He serves on the Science Advisory Board for the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP). He was Humboldt State University’s “Person of the Year” in 1995 and recipient of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development’s Young Professional of the Year in 2005.

Dr. Fabrice DeClerck is a Belgian National although he spent the majority of his life in California. He is fluent in French, English and Spanish and has lived in Africa, Latin America and Europe. He earned his doctoral degree in Geography/Ecology from the University of California Davis (2004), and completed his postdoctoral fellowship with the Earth Institute at Columbia University in 2008. He holds a master’s degree in Forest Biology from Iowa State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Plant and Forest Ecology from Humboldt State University. He currently resides in Montpellier, France, with his wife and two children. Dr. DeClerck is an avid brewer, gardener and chicken farmer.

Professor M S Swaminathan has been acclaimed by the TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century and one of the only three from India, the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. He has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as “the Father of Economic Ecology” because of his leadership of the ever-green revolution movement in agriculture and by Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General of the United Nations, as “a living legend who will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction”. He was Chairman of the UN Science Advisory Committee set up in 1980 to take follow-up action on the Vienna Plan of Action. He has also served as Independent Chairman of the FAO Council (1981-85) and President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1984-90). He was President of the World Wide Fund for Nature (India) from 1989-96. He also served as President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (2002-07), President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1991-96 and 2005-07) and Chairman, National Commission on Farmers (2004-06). He was a trustee of Bibliotheca Alexandrina in its formative years.

He served as Director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (1961-72), Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (1972-79), Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture (1979-80), Acting Deputy Chairman and later Member (Science and Agriculture), Planning Commission (1980-82) and Director General, International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines (1982-88).

A plant geneticist by training, Professor Swaminathan’s contributions to the agricultural renaissance of India have led to his being widely referred to as the scientific leader of the green revolution movement. His advocacy of sustainable agriculture leading to an ever-green revolution makes him an acknowledged world leader in the field of sustainable food security. The International Association of Women and Development conferred on him the first international award for significant contributions to promoting the knowledge, skill, and technological empowerment of women in agriculture and for his pioneering role in mainstreaming gender considerations in agriculture and rural development. Professor Swaminathan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1971, the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986, the first World Food Prize in 1987, and Volvo, Tyler and UNEP Sasakawa Prize for Environment, the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 2000 and the Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal, the Mahatma Gandhi Prize of UNESCO in 2000 and the Lal Bahadur Sastri National Award (2007). He is the recipient of Padma Shri (1967), Padma Bhushan (1972) and Padma Vibushan (1989).

Professor Swaminathan is a Fellow of many of the leading scientific academies of India and the world, including the Royal Society of London and the U S National Academy of Sciences. He has received 84 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world. He currently holds the UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai (Madras), India. He was a Member of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha), during 2007-13. During 2010-13, he chaired the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) for the World Committee on Food Security (CFS). He also Chairs the Task Force set up by the Ministry of External Affairs to oversee the projects undertaken in Afghanistan and Myanmar in the field of agriculture.

During 2013, Prof Swaminathan received the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration and Greatest Global Living Legend Award of NDTV. He was also elected at the 20th International Congress of Nutrition held at Granada, Spain, “as Living Legend of International Union of Nutrition Sciences”. He received the Life Time Achievement Award at the 9th Nutra Summit in Bangalore. He received the “Yerarinjar” (agricultural legend) award for his work in sustainable agriculture in India today. He received Bharath Shanthi Dootha Award, 2017 (World Peace Festival Society, Warangal). He is also the recipient of World Agriculture Prize (2018).

More reading on Prof Swaminathan here:

Scientist, Hunger Fighter, Food Prize Laureate

Living Legends in Indian Science

Zero Hunger is Possible

Matthew Dillon is director of agricultural policy and programs at Clif Bar & Company and director of Seed Matters, an initiative of the Clif Bar Family Foundation. He previously founded Organic Seed Alliance, launching the nation’s first organic plant breeding programs. Raised in an agricultural family in Nebraska, Dillon has held diverse roles in the organic agriculture field since 1982 including farmer, policy analyst, nonprofit director, and consultant to organic food companies. In 2012, he was appointed to the National Genetic Resource Advisory Council. In 2016, he was honored by GOOD Magazine as one of the GOOD 100 who are improving the world in creative and innovative ways.

Gabriele Volpato is a research fellow in the project “Food Systems for Sustainable Development in Africa” ​​and teaches courses in Ecology and Gastronomic Zoology at Unisg. He has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Padua and a PhD in Social Sciences and Anthropology from the University of Wageningen (Netherlands).
For his doctorate, he conducted research in Western Sahara and Algeria among Saharawi refugees and nomads, studying their subsistence practices and ethnobiological knowledge, especially in relation to the use of desert resources and the breeding of dromedaries. As part of a post-doctorate at the University of Georgia (US), Volpato conducted research at the Maasai communities of Laikipia (Kenya), analyzing resilience and adaptations in their pastoral system using dromedary breeding and practices of beekeeping as case studies.
As a scholarship holder for Wageningen University, Volpato also analyzed the importance of traditional and ethnobiological knowledge in creating resilience in Cuba in a context of transition and relocation of the national food system. His research and interests are interdisciplinary and include human ecology and use and management of natural resources, ethnobiology, food systems, sustainability and bio-cultural diversity, pastoralism and breeding systems and human-animal relations in general.

Mark Dorfman is biomimicry chemist and principal with Biomimicry 3.8. His work centers on the premise that living organisms, by necessity, have developed sophisticated, highly effective, life-friendly chemistries that can inspire provocative, high-performing, sustainable technology for modern society.

Mark applies the design principles of nature’s time-tested chemical strategies to develop innovative solutions to the toxic chemical and material challenges of the 21st Century. He couldn’t image a better way to spend the work week!

Mark has worked closely with clients such as Estee Lauder, Colgate, Ashland Chemical, Natura, Johnson and Johnson, WD-40, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Conoco-Philips, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Kimberly-Clark, Patagonia, UC Berkeley’s Center for Green Chemistry, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a set of challenges as diverse as nature herself.

Mark has been a featured speaker the GreenBiz Forum, The Guardian’s Making Green Chemistry Mainstream event, Greener Electronics Council summit, Chemical Manufacturer’s summit, Outdoor Industry Association’s Sustainability Working Group meeting, Textile Exchange conference, and the Green Chemistry and Commercial Council’s Innovation Roundtable. He has shared his work, including the wonderful fact that Nature is Alive with Chemistry, on numerous occasions, most recently during the 2016 Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference.

Prior to joining Biomimicry 3.8, Mark worked in the nonprofit sector researching and writing case studies on industrial chemical pollution prevention and waste water management practices. These research efforts influenced the creation of federal and state public policies including the Federal Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, the New Jersey Pollution Prevention Act of 1991, and the Federal Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000.

Mark is a board member of the Biomimicry NYC regional network, where he helps to cultivate a community of nature-inspired practice in the New York City metropolitan region in conjunction with The Biomimicry Institute’s Global Biomimicry Network. He also sits on the Science Advisory Board of Pantheon Enterprises, a chemical company at the forefront of sustainability in Phoenix, Arizona. He brings nature into his NYC home by maintaining three distinct aquatic environments.

Radhika has a trans-disciplinary background covering fields of visual communication, storytelling and sustainability science research. She has conducted extensive fieldwork across remote regions of India, engaging with issues of forest rights of tribal communities.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Design Communication from Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore and a Master of Science in Social Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development. Her researchhas focused on cross-scale linkages in policies shaping food systems.

Radhika has previously worked at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, coordinating communication between scientists and global seafood corporations for the SeaBOS Initiative.

Radhika is a Donella Meadows Fellow and Member of the Balaton Group, a global network of practitioners and researchers in sustainability and systems thinking.

Shenggen Fan (樊胜根) has been director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2009.

Dr. Fan joined IFPRI in 1995 as a research fellow, conducting extensive research on pro-poor development strategies in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He led IFPRI’s program on public investment before becoming the director of the Institute’s Development Strategy and Governance Division in 2005.

He is one of the Champions of Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward cutting global food loss and waste. He serves as a member of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He serves as advisor to many national governments (including China and Vietnam) on agriculture, food security and nutrition.

In 2017, Dr. Fan received the 2017 Fudan Management Excellence Award. The award is referred to in China as the “Nobel Prize for Management.” This highly prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of management.

In 2014, Dr. Fan received the Hunger Hero Award from the World Food Programme in recognition of his commitment to and leadership in fighting hunger worldwide.

Dr. Fan received a PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nanjing Agricultural University in China.

Raúl is the Director General and co-founder of Alternativas y Procesos de Participación Social A.C (Alternatives and Social Participation Processes), a community-based development organization focusing on ecological regeneration of watersheds, ecological agriculture, development finance, and development of social enterprises. Since 1980, Raúl and his wife Gisela Herrerías Guerra have promoted sustainable regional development processes that benefit the poorest families and towns in the semi-arid region of the Mixteca, Mexico, with the support of an interdisciplinary team of around 200 people. As part of their work on ecological agriculture and amaranth production, Raúl founded the Quali Cooperative Group, a vertically integrated agribusiness sourcing organic amaranth from 88 regional producer cooperative organizations, processing and producing nutritive amaranth food products. Quali supports 1,100 smallholder producers by providing a consistently above market average price for their harvest. Raúl is also the founder of the Water Forever Museum and the Amaranth Development Program.

The work of Raúl and his team has been recognized internationally, receiving the Latin American and Caribbean Award for Water, the Slow Food Award for Defense of Biodiversity, and distinctions from the FAO and UNDP. Raúl has a degree in Philosophy from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a Doctor Honoris Causa in Social Sciences and Humanities from the Universidad Iberoamericana-Puebla.

Gisela Herrerías Guerra is President, Education Director and Co-Founder of Alternativas y Procesos de Participación Social A.C (Alternatives and Social Participation Processes), a community-based development organization focusing on ecological regeneration of watersheds, ecological agriculture, development finance, and development of social enterprises. Since 1980, Gisela and her husband Raúl Hernández Garciadiego have promoted sustainable regional development processes that benefit the poorest families and towns in the semi-arid region of the Mixteca, Mexico, with the support of an interdisciplinary team of around 200 people. As part of their work on ecological agriculture and amaranth production, Gisela and Raúl founded the Quali Cooperative Group, a vertically integrated agribusiness sourcing organic amaranth from 88 regional producer cooperative organizations, processing and producing nutritive amaranth food products. Quali supports 1,100 smallholder producers by providing a consistently above market average price for their harvest.

The work of Gisela and her team has been recognized internationally, receiving the Latin American and Caribbean Award for Water, the Slow Food Award for Defense of Biodiversity, and distinctions from the FAO and UNDP. Gisela has a degree in Pedagogy from the National Autonomous Mexico University (UNAM) and a Masters in Sciences of Enterprise Planning and Regional Development at the Oaxaca Institute of Technology.

Gisela Herrerías Guerra is President, Education Director and Co-Founder of Alternativas y Procesos de Participación Social A.C (Alternatives and Social Participation Processes), a community-based development organization focusing on ecological regeneration of watersheds, ecological agriculture, development finance, and development of social enterprises. Since 1980, Gisela and her husband Raúl Hernández Garciadiego have promoted sustainable regional development processes that benefit the poorest families and towns in the semi-arid region of the Mixteca, Mexico, with the support of an interdisciplinary team of around 200 people. As part of their work on ecological agriculture and amaranth production, Gisela and Raúl founded the Quali Cooperative Group, a vertically integrated agribusiness sourcing organic amaranth from 88 regional producer cooperative organizations, processing and producing nutritive amaranth food products. Quali supports 1,100 smallholder producers by providing a consistently above market average price for their harvest.

The work of Gisela and her team has been recognized internationally, receiving the Latin American and Caribbean Award for Water, the Slow Food Award for Defense of Biodiversity, and distinctions from the FAO and UNDP. Gisela has a degree in Pedagogy from the National Autonomous Mexico University (UNAM) and a Masters in Sciences of Enterprise Planning and Regional Development at the Oaxaca Institute of Technology.

Dr Eric Huttner is the Research Program Manager for Crops since 2012. He started his career in plant molecular genetics working in public research institute, INRA, in France, and has worked for more than 20 years in a range of private companies, including founding a start-up plant genetic analysis service company. He has also been involved in managing public-private research initiatives in both Australia and France. Eric was a founding partner and director of Australia’s Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Science and a member of the Australian Biotechnology Advisory Council. He is a graduate of France’s leading agricultural science school, Institut National Agronomique (AgroParisTech) and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Chinese Academy of Science in 1987.