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Meet Senior Decision Makers from the following industry sectors:
RETAIL/ FOOD & DRINK BRANDS/ FOOD SERVICES/ RESTAURANTS & FAST FOOD CHAINS
- Director, Commodities And Technical Services
- Director Sustainability And Climate Change
- Raw Materials Purchasing Director
- Procurement Director
- Procurement Manager
- Senior VP, CSR & Sustainability
- Agricultural Sustainability Manager
- Agronomist
- Fruit & Vegetable Manager
- Principal Research Officer
- Program Manager
- Corporate Head Agriculture
- Director Of Environmental Regulatory Compliance
- SVP Of Conservation
- Director Of Global Operational Risk Management And Sustainability
- VP Corp Agri
- Vice President, Extended Enterprise
- Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Quality Assurance
- Environmental Engineer
- Social Mission Director
- Director, Strategic Sourcing
- Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
- Director HSE
- Director for Sustainability
- Sustianble Food Systems Manager
- Environmental Coordinator
- Vice President, Corporate Affairs
- Vice President - Director of Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility
- Director of Agricultural Research
- Director of Sourcing and Relationships
- Senior Director- Global Supplier Initiatives
PROCESSORS/ BROKERS/ TRADERS
- Trader, Protein
- Agribusiness Director
- General Manager Trading
- Sustainability & Farmer Support Manager
- Director, Agricultural and Analytical Services
- Director HSE
- Senior Director Quality Assurance and Regulation
- Vice President, Operations Services
FARMERS / GROWERS
- VP of Agricultural Operations
- AVP Environmental
- Managing Director
- Executive Vice President
- General Manager
- Farmer
- Owner
NGOs
GOVERNMENT
ORGANIZATION INVOLVED WITH CROP SCIENCE
LENDERS & INVESTORS - FINANCE SECTOR, FOUNDATIONS & DONOR AGENCIES
GLOBAL COMMODITY ROUND TABLES
UNIVERSITIES
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Speakers for the summit include:
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Steven S. Balling, Ph.D.
Director, Agriculture & Analytical Services
Delmonte Foods |
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Steve Balling is the Director of Agricultural and Analytical Services for Del Monte Foods. He is part of a team of scientists responsible for agricultural research, seed operations, and pest management programs supporting 17 crops grown on 110,000 acres. Over the past 20 years, Steve has been involved with the development and implementation of Del Monte’s widely recognized integrated pest management efforts in fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Balling also manages Del Monte’s agricultural research program, including pest management research, new variety trials, and pea, bean, and corn breeding at six Del Monte locations in the West and Midwest. He directs the seed operations, which annually produces seven million pounds of corn, pea, and bean seed for Del Monte operations.
Steve received his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and his Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of California, Berkeley.
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J. Alan Beamon
Director, Coal and Electric Power Division - Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting
Department of Energy |
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Alan Beamon is the Director of the Coal and Electric Power Division in the Energy Information Administration’s Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting. He has worked on electricity analysis projects since 1984. His responsibilities include the development and maintenance of the coal, renewable, and electricity components of EIA’s National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). NEMS is used each year to produce the Annual Energy Outlook, which provides projections through 2030 of energy consumption and prices. It is also used to prepare special studies, including those requested by Congress or the Administration. Key areas of analysis have included the development of the National SO2 Allowance Database and analysis of the impacts of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Recent work has focused on the impact of proposed environmental regulations on the electricity sector – especially efforts to reduce nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide. He received his degree in economics from the College of William and Mary in 1982.
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Greg Campbell
US Sales Manager
UTZ Certified |
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Greg Campbell is the new US Sales Manager for UTZ CERTIFIED - Good Inside, a program to improve business practices, social and environmental sustainability on coffee, tea, and cocoa farms. He was hired by UTZ Certified in March 09. Based in Chicago, IL with over 20 years experience in sales, sales management, sales effectiveness and training with Sara Lee, Kraft, Nabisco, and RJ Reynolds He has been responsible for developing and implementing sales techniques to develop leads, identify qualified prospects, sales processes and tools, in addition to solutions sales training. Most recently, he had the opportunity to attend the CQI Q-Grader training course held at Coffee Solutions in Milford, MA. The Q Grader Program is a rigorous testing and certification program, which is the first comprehensive professional accreditation for coffee graders and cuppers, recognizing the deepest talent at work in our industry.
Greg is excited to be a part of the UTZ Certified team where he will work with companies throughout North America in driving sustainable programs and providing quality products to consumers. UTZ CERTIFIED is a sustainable quality label and assures that your products are Good Inside. More information is available on their website www.utzcertified.org.
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Claude Corcos
Marketing Manager
Toro Micro Irrigation |
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Claude Corcos has a B.S. in economics from Lehigh University, an M.B.A. from Penn State University, and is a Certified Irrigation Designer. He has worked in sales, marketing, and product assurance roles over his 19 years of experience in water supply systems, wastewater collection systems, and irrigation system design.
Claude is currently employed by The Toro Company as the Marketing Manager of their Micro-Irrigation division. Claude’s team generates educational materials to help growers understand the value of drip irrigation technology, guides the product development efforts of Toro, and promotes Toro products into the agricultural market. He is a member of the Water Management Committee of the Irrigation Association and past chair of the Drip/Micro Common Interest Group, also of the Irrigation Association.
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Jan W. de Weerd, Ph.D.
VP Global Ag Strategy and Services
ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston |
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Jan joined ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston in January 2009 as Vice President of Global Agriculture Strategy and Service providing senior leadership for global raw product strategies and initiatives.
He earned a Ph.D. in Horticulture Science with a minor in Business Administration from Washington State University in 1992. Prior to this, Jan earned his Masters degree in Industrial Management and Field Crop Science from the Agricultural University of Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Jan worked for NatureMark Potatoes, a unit of Monsanto Corporation, from 1992-2001. At NatureMark, Jan held roles in Research, Business Operations, Product Development, and Marketing. Jan has led his own professional services firm, Agribusiness Solutions, since 2001, working with companies such as Heinz, Syngenta Seeds, and Simplot.
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Robert Farris
Consulting Vice President
Business Intelligence Strategy
Hitachi Consulting
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Robert Farris, Hitachi Consulting Vice President of our Business Intelligence Strategy practice, has more than 21 years of information technology and consulting experience. He has served both in consulting organizations with Andersen Consulting, Navigator Systems and Hitachi Consulting, and in industry organizations with Bankers Trust and American Power Conversion. Farris specializes in developing the strategy for a BI Program, specifically defining and implementing the team organization, architectures, technologies, methodologies and internal processes. He has recently been focused on developing Hitachi Consulting's service offerings related to Environmental Sustainability and has published articles on Building Sustainability Scorecards. Farris is a graduate from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management with a minor in Computer Science.
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Ellen Feeney
VP Responsible Livelihood
WhiteWave Foods |
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Ellen Feeney has served both corporations and non-profit organizations in marketing, PR, employee relations, investor relations and financial development. Ellen has long been driven by a passion for corporate social responsibility (CSR), and an enduring faith in the power of business to change the world for the better. To that end, she is a great believer in mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses and non-profits.
Having experienced first-hand many successes in the realm of cause-related marketing, Ellen believes that aligning business and NGO’s under a common umbrella is a powerful tool both affect social change and to build brand equity. Ellen served on the BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) Colorado Network board beginning in 1996, and was a founding member of P3 Colorado (People, Planet, Profit) in 2000.
In her current role as Vice-President of Responsible Livelihood for WhiteWave Foods, Ellen oversees the organization’s corporate sustainability program. Her responsibilities include environmental initiatives, community involvement efforts, non-profit alliances and VIA, WhiteWave’s values-in-action program to promote employee volunteerism.
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Tina Fitzgerald
Acting Director of Produce and Social Responsibility
IPC SUBWAY |
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Tina Fitzgerald has been with Independent Purchasing Cooperation (IPC) since it’s inception in 1996. IPC is responsible for procuring all SUBWAY® food, packaging, distribution, equipment and services. Fitzgerald is the Acting Director of Produce and Social Responsibility. Some of her main accomplishments at IPC are establishing the Corporate Social Responsibility program for the chain as well as implementing and managing a Produce Program for SUBWAY®. Both programs were enormous endeavors as SUBWAY® did not have any formalized produce purchasing programs nor Social Responsibility programs or processes in place. She also implemented the SUBWAY® Uniform and Cleaning Chemical Programs. Other accomplishments include facilitating the initiation of the Australia/New Zealand office of the IPC. She now works closely with the other IPC offices including Europe, Latin America and, of course, Australia/New Zealand integrating their sustainability and CSR needs into the SUBWAY® World Wide Strategic Plan.
Fitzgerald’s experience with SUBWAY® is extensive. Before assisting with the successful launch of IPC North America, she was Vice President of SUBWAY® Development in Oregon and SW Washington. Fitzgerald was responsible for approving new franchisees, assisting them with restaurant site location, building design, construction and openings. Fitzgerald worked with other SUBWAY® Development offices and was responsible for all vendor and distribution contracts/relationships for a four state territory in the Northwest area of the US.
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Edward R Flanagan
President
Jasper Wyman & Son |
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Ed Flanagan joined Wyman’s in 1993 and has been President & CEO since 1995. Prior to that he worked for 12 years for H.P. Hood, Boston in dairy and citrus marketing, sales and general management responsibilities. He also worked in various sales and marketing roles for Ocean Spray Cranberries and for Waddington’s U.S.
Mr. Flanagan presently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and will become Chairman in 2010. He also is a member of the Sustainable Food Laboratory, an international effort to improve food system sustainability. In the past he has served as President of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) and as a member of the Florida Department of Citrus Foodservice Advisory Board. He holds a BA degree from St Michael’s College, Colchester VT and an MBA from New York University.
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Steve Frenkel
Chief Policy Advisor
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency |
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Steve Frenkel is the Chief Policy Advisor at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency where he oversees the agency’s work on climate change and energy initiatives. Steve also represents Illinois in the development of the Midwestern Governor’s Energy Security & Climate Stewardship Platform. Prior to joining Illinois EPA Steve served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Illinois Governor’s Office where he directed the state’s energy and environmental policy. Steve earned a Masters Degree in public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Maisie Greenawalt
Vice President
Bon Appétit |
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Maisie Greenawalt has never had a non-hospitality related job. She got her first restaurant job at 14 as a salad girl, attended the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and has since worked for the Taco Bell Corporation, World Wrapps, and Bon Appétit Management Company as well as running her own hospitality training company. As Vice President of Bon Appétit Management Company, Maisie Greenawalt oversees communications, culinary development and marketing. Her job includes shepherding the strategic initiative she was instrumental in creating for Bon Appétit to be known as the most socially responsible company in the food service industry. She also handles all internal and external communications for Bon Appétit including public relations. Some of the issues Maisie has helped Bon Appétit tackle include local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs and, most recently, the connection between food and climate change.
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Val Haskell
Director
Hitachi Consulting |
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Val is Director of Hitachi Consulting’s Business Intelligence and Performance Management practice. She has been working in the field since 2000. During her German Marshall Fellowship in Europe, she focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). On the Fellowship, she met with the Corporate Social Responsibility leader for the European Chamber of Commerce, the Energy Industry practice leader for Danish Industries Association to discuss the greening of business and its economic impact on Danish Industry, Pontis Foundation that works with Central European business to integrate CSR and business, and the Global Public Policy Institute that reviewed the Global Reporting Initiative’s CSR reporting guidelines. As a believer in community involvement (a part of CSR), Val actively engages in her community as a neighborhood leader, volunteer for an exchange student program, AFS and sits on the City of Dallas: Citizen’s Police Review Board. Val’s interest in Corporate Social Responsibility stems from a belief that business is holistic.
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Jonathan Kaplan
Senior Policy Specialist
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) |
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Jonathan Kaplan is currently a Senior Policy Specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Since joining NRDC in 2002, he has directed a variety of policy and market-based initiatives seeking to promote more sustainable farming systems and environmentally friendly pest control in the urban environment. Among other efforts, Jonathan has helped to launch the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops, a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop supply chain sustainability metrics for the specialty crop sector. Prior to joining NRDC, Jonathan coordinated research and policy advocacy efforts at San Francisco BayKeeper and Environment California (formerly the California Public Interest Research Group). Jonathan serves on several boards and advisory groups, including those serving the Agriculture Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, Environment California, the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, Food Alliance, Protected Harvest, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute.
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Carol Kramer-LeBlanc
Director for Sustainable Development
U.S. Department of Agriculture |
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Carol Kramer-LeBlanc is Director for Sustainable Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She's located in the Office of the Chief Economist there and provides leadership and coordination within the US Department of Agriculture related to issues of sustainability in agriculture and the food system. Kramer-LeBlanc represents the Department in interagency and international meetings related to sustainability. She also speaks frequently about USDA policies, programs and projects and works with a variety of partners around the country and the world.
Kramer-LeBlanc has extensive experience--both U.S. and international--related to agriculture and the food system, food consumption and nutrition, agricultural and natural resource policy, and international science and technology. In addition to her work at the USDA, she has served at Treasury, and State/USAID. Earlier in her career, Kramer-LeBlanc served on the faculty at Cornell and Kansas State Universities.
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John E. Lamb
Senior Agribusiness Team Leader - Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Department
World Bank |
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John currently serves as Agribusiness Team Leader in the World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department, where he:
- Supports regional and country-specific units in the preparation and supervision of agricultural value chain, export diversification, and competitiveness projects, particularly in Asia and Africa
- Plays the lead role in agri-food standards, especially food safety, representing the Bank before the WTO SPS Committee and Standards and Trade Development Facility, working with regulators on capacity-building and trade facilitation, interacting with private standard holders and certifiers,
- Manages the Rural Investment Climate survey/assessment series, which is designed to highlight what matters to non-farm rural enterprise development in developing countries
- Leads the new SCALAR (Standards for Commercial Agroenterprise, Land Acquisition and Resource management) initiative
- Conceived and will manage jointly with IFC the new “Doing Business in Agriculture” initiative, slated to begin shortly
Prior to joining the Bank, John established and managed for seven years his own produce brokerage and trade consulting enterprise, based in South Florida. Before and after that, for more than 20 years he held senior management and technical positions in two prominent international agribusiness and development consulting firms. During that period he became known as one of the thought and practice leaders in non-traditional agricultural export development, working all over the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
Previously, John served as Associate Director for the NGO Technoserve in El Salvador, and then set up and ran Technoserve’s Nicaragua Program. John began his international agricultural development career by serving in the Peace Corps in Morocco, Ecuador, and El Salvador. Over the years he has worked in more than 35 developing and emerging market countries.
He holds B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard.
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Kathy Larson
VP SUSTAINABILITY
FRONTIER NATURAL PRODUCTS |
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Kathy has worked at Frontier since 1980, and has held a variety of management positions in Purchasing, Quality Assurance, Research and Development, and Marketing. She has been a member of Frontier's management team from its first formation, and she served two terms on Frontier's Board of Directors. She is currently a member of the United Plant Savers' Board of Directors and the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Board. She currently directs sustainability and education programs.
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James C. Lime
VP Environment Health & Safety
ConAgra Foods |
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Jim joined ConAgra Foods, Inc. in April 2007 based in Omaha, Nebraska as Vice President, Corporate Environment, Health & Safety. In this capacity, Mr. Lime is responsible for the global environmental, health and safety programs, strategy and policy, including compliance programs. He is responsible for managing ConAgra’s EHS reputation from a corporate social responsibility perspective.
Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, he was the Vice President, Corporate Environment, Health & Safety for Pfizer Inc. based in New York City. He was Vice President, Safety & Industrial Hygiene for the Warner-Lambert Company until Pfizer Inc. acquired the company in June, 2000. He held positions of Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Compliance and Director, Corporate Purchasing for Warner-Lambert.
Prior to joining Warner-Lambert, Jim worked for J.M. Huber Corporation as Vice President, Corporation Purchasing and Transportation. He also worked for Colgate-Palmolive Corporation as Manager of Raw Materials Purchasing in New York City. Jim began his industrial career with Westvaco Corporation in New York City. He held various positions of increasing responsibility in sales, finance and purchasing.
Jim graduated from Rutgers College with a B.A. in Business Administration. He received an M.S. in Forest Management from the State University of New York at Syracuse. He received an M.S. in Pollution Prevention and Remediation from Rutgers Cook College.
Jim is a member of the Global Environmental Management Initiative and past Chairman of the Board of the World Environment Center, both organizations based in Washington, DC.
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Rob Michalak
Director of Social Mission
Ben & Jerry’s |
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Rob Michalak is Ben & Jerry's Global Director of Social Mission & Public Elations, which includes Consumer Services. Rob is on the senior leadership team at Ben & Jerry's. Rob's role at Ben & Jerry's is to energize and direct the progressive side of the Company based on the Company’s three-part Mission Statement, most specifically the values articulated in its Social Mission. This is Rob's second time around at the Vermont-based ice cream company. He served as Ben & Jerry's "PR Czar" in the company's halcyon growth years from 1989-1998. Rob came back to Ben & Jerry's in his new role in June, 2006.
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Nathan Morr
Director Social & Environmental Responsibility
SunOpta International |
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Nathan Morr is currently the Director of Social and Environmental Responsibility for the SunOpta International Sourcing and Trading Group and President of Beta Pure Foods a division of SunOpta. SunOpta is a billion dollar Food Company and one of the leading organic ingredient and private label companies in the world. He is the Board President for the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association (FTSLA). The FTSLA is a rapidly growing network of leading organic food companies driving change in agriculture. Nathan has been involved in various successful sustainability projects over the past 5 years, ranging from local grower programs to global corporate programs.
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Jennifer V Orgolini
Sustainability Director
New Belgium Brewing Co., Inc. |
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Jenn started on the bottling line at New Belgium over 15 years ago. Subsequently, she became NBB’s first CFO and, later, COO. As Sustainability Director, her recent initiatives include creating a Sustainability Management System, writing the company’s first corporate sustainability report, completing a life cycle assessment of the carbon footprint of a six pack of Fat Tire Amber Ale, and securing over $1 million in funding from the Department of Energy to demonstrate peak load reduction.
Jenn received a B.A. in Humanities from Washington College in Maryland. She has an MBA in Finance from Regis University and completed the course work for a Masters in Applied Ethics from Colorado State University.
New Belgium Brewing Company, located in Fort Collins, CO, is the country’s 3rd-largest craft brewer with sales in only 21 states. New Belgium leads the industry in both innovative product and practice. Known for its flagship, Fat Tire Amber Ale, as well as esoteric wood beers like the sour brown, La Folie, New Belgium is wind- powered and employee-owned.
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Lorraine Smith
Independent Sustainability Consultant |
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Lorraine Smith is an independent sustainability consultant who combines private sector and NGO experience to bring about positive social and environmental change. During her four years at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, she honed her knowledge of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement within the consumer goods life cycle including groceries, garments, and electronics. Along with her independent consulting she continues to act as an Associate for CBSR.
Lorraine’s extensive engagement with a wide range of diverse stakeholders, including socially responsible investment experts, anti-sweatshop activists, municipal leaders, and large retail and consumer products companies has brought her an understanding of the complex issues ranging from human rights in the supply chain to consumer education. She focuses on taking a life cycle approach to sustainability, and to supporting collaborative, learning-based activities.
Lorraine has also written for a range of publications on the topic of ethical sourcing. Recently published works include Retail Council of Canada's Canadian Retailer Magazine, Sept/Oct 08, “The politics of sourcing”; “A peek behind the eco-fabric curtain, an overview of raw materials” for Fashion Takes Action’s web launch (March 09); and CBSR’s “Retail CSR Leadership Report: Ethical Sourcing” (June 07).
Prior to her five years’ experience in sustainability consulting, Lorraine worked as a Senior Business Analyst for Manulife Financial, Manager of Logistics for a New Zealand-based electronic engineering firm, as well as supporting fundraising and communications for World Wildlife Fund Canada. Lorraine is fluent in French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese and has an Honours BA from Mount Allison University.
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Lori Ann Thrupp, PH.D.
Manager of Sustainability and Organic Development
Fetzer/Bonterra Vineyards |
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Lori Ann Thrupp (“Ann”) is Manager of Sustainability and Organic Development at Fetzer Vineyards. In this capacity, she provides outreach, technical assistance, and information about organic and sustainable farming practices for growers, wineries, and the broader community. She develops partnerships with many stakeholders involved in sustainability initiatives; and facilitates communication of Fetzer’s sustainable practices. She also serves as a Consultant (and was formerly Managing Director) for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to education and promotion of sustainable practices. Previously, Ann worked with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Agriculture Initiative. She also has worked as a consultant in sustainable agriculture for Robert Mondavi, the Roots of Change Fund, and for several other organizations and companies. Ann has many years of experience in international agriculture education, organic farming, research and policy analysis. From 1990-1998, she was Director of Sustainable Agriculture at the World Resources Institute. Ann has a PhD and MA from Sussex University and a BA from Stanford University, and speaks Spanish fluently. She has written over 70 publications related to agriculture and natural resource management, and is a Board Member of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. She’s an avid runner, and also enjoys roller-blading, hiking, and gardening.
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Sonja Tuitele
VP of Communications and Sustainability
Aurora Organic Dairy |
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As Vice President of Communications, Ms. Tuitele is responsible for developing and executing AOD’s communication strategies, reputation and issues management, and crisis communications. She is also responsible for overseeing all of Aurora Organic Dairy’s sustainability initiatives.
Before joining AOD, Ms. Tuitele was Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Wild Oats Markets from 2001 to 2007. In this role, she was responsible for all communications for the Company nationally, including investor relations, media relations, corporate social responsibility, crisis management and employee communications.
Prior to that, Ms. Tuitele was an associate partner with Genesis, Inc., a Denver-based strategic consulting firm, and she started her career as a journalist.
Ms. Tuitele received her M.S. degree in Marketing Communications from Northwestern University, and her B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Hawaii. She has won several awards for her work in the corporate communications field, including a Silver Anvil for Crisis Management, and the 2008 Woman of Achievement Award from the Association for Women in Communications.
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Sabrina Vigilante
Director, Markets - Americas & Asia Pacific
Sustainable Value Chains
Sustainable Agriculture Division
Rainforest Alliance
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Sabrina Vigilante is the Director of Markets, Americas and Asia Pacific for the Rainforest Alliance where she has pioneered development of international markets for coffee and other Rainforest Alliance certified agricultural products. She has proactively engaged key business in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia to stimulate market demand for certified farm products. Sabrina has served as the Rainforest Alliance spokesperson in international conferences for specialty coffee, tea, and beverages in Japan, Costa Rica, Australia, Dubai, Europe, Central America and the USA. She earned an MBA in international business from Bryant College and a BA in English with a concentration in Anthropology from Tulane University.
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Justin Ward
Vice President
Conservation International |
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Justin Ward has worked for Conservation International since 2000, where he is currently Vice President, Business Practices within CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB). During the last eight years, he has directed CELB’s industry program activities on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, working with major companies such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, Office Depot, Wal-Mart, and Weyerhaeuser.
Prior to joining CI, Justin was a Senior Policy Specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). During more than 17 years with NRDC, he directed the organization's activities on farm policy, international trade and global forest conservation.
He is the author of numerous publications and the recipient of a 1988 Agricultural Conservation Award from the American Farmland Trust. In 1996, Justin was elected to a three-year term on the international Board of Directors of the Forest Stewardship Council, and he currently serves on the steering committee of The Forests Dialogue, a multi-stakeholder forum hosted by the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. He holds a BA in geography from the University of Montana (`81) and an MA from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (`83). He lives with his wife and three children in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Derek Yurosek
VP of Agricultural Operations
Bolthouse Farms, Inc. |
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Derek Yurosek is the Vice President of Agricultural Operations for Wm Bolthouse Farms, Inc., one of the largest fresh carrot operations in the world, and now a premier fresh fruit and vegetable juice producer.
Derek is responsible for every carrot that is grown and packaged at Bolthouse, having learned his trade from his father, David, and his grandfather, Mike, who invented the “baby carrot”. Bolthouse Farms operates in a number of different farming areas, including California, Georgia, Michigan, and Washington. Derek oversees hundreds of employees and is one of the top young business managers in the nation, helping Bolthouse Farms continue to grow and operate as a first-class corporation.
Derek has instituted new organizational and operational methods to meet the challenge of farming in the 21st Century, as well as starting an organic farming operation for his company in the Avenal/Coalinga area. Derek has also spearheaded an aggressive and novel approach to farming carrots, employing water-saving overhead pivot irrigation systems along with other sustainable approaches, such as the use of solar panels to power its water wells – a combination of water saving devices and “green” electrical technology that may be the model for all future “green carrot faming” in the nation.
Derek Yurosek holds a B.A. in Agricultural Business from Colorado State University (1992) and an M.B.A. from Colorado State University School of Business (1994). While at Colorado State, Derek was a three-year starter on the offensive line of the Colorado State Rams.
Derek makes time for his community, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Jim Burke Educational Foundation, Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Committee for the Bakersfield College Agriculture Department, and is Co-Chairman of the Bakersfield High School Agricultural Advisory Committee.
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Rob Michalak, Director of Social Mission, Ben & Jerry’s
Sonja Tuitele, VP of Communications and Sustainability, Aurora Organic Dairy
Ed Flanagan, President, Jasper Wyman & Son
Ellen Feeney, VP Responsible Livelihood, WhiteWave Foods
Carol Kramer-LeBlanc, Director for Sustainable Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Steve Balling, Director, Agriculture & Analytical Services, Delmonte Foods
Maisie Greenawalt, Vice President, Bon Appétit
Jennifer V. Orgolini, Sustainability Director, New Belgium Brewing Co., Inc.
Nathan Morr, Director
Social & Environmental Responsibility, SunOpta International
James Lime, VP Environment Health & Safety, ConAgra Foods
Derek Yurosek, VP of Agricultural Operations, Bolthouse Farms, Inc.
Ann Thrupp, Manager of Sustainability and Organic Development, Fetzer/Bonterra Vineyards
J. Alan Beamon, Director, Coal and Electric Power Division - Office of
Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, Department
of Energy
Steve Frenkel, Chief Policy Advisor, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
John Lamb, Senior Agribusiness Team Leader
- Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Department, World Bank
Audra Karalius, Vice President, Sustainability, Environment & Safety, Sara Lee Corporation
Tina Fitzgerald, Acting Director of Produce and Social Responsibility, IPC SUBWAY
Sabrina Vigilante, Director, Markets - Americas & Asia Pacific, Sustainable Agriculture Division, Rainforest Alliance
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