Sara Brand is the Founding General Partner of True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in women-led businesses improving environmental and/or human health. She is also the co-founder of (512) Brewing, the largest draught-only, self-distributing microbrewery in the U.S. before COVID. Sara was previously in venture capital and management consulting in the Bay Area as well as in a variety of strategic and operational roles in large tech companies.

Claire is the CEO of Flourish, helping women break the diet cycle and sustain healthy habits through counseling, accountability, and community support.

Briana has dedicated her life to doing well by doing good. She is passionate about our incredible home state of Maine and working with fishermen to help create a more resilient and thriving coast through kelp farming. As the CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, she and her team have forged a new path for seaweed aquaculture in the US by working with fishermen to grow kelp as a climate change adaptation strategy - and building national demand for that kelp. The ASF team and partner farmers now account for the majority of line-grown kelp grown in the US and are proving that a model that puts farmers, planet, and people first can drive an entirely new way of producing food. Bri has followed a mission-driven path that brought her to kelp - including serving several tours as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service, starting and selling a wholesale bakery focused on employing newly resettled refugees, and creating the first Economic Development programming suite at the Maine-based Island Institute.

Anne Carlson is the Founder/CEO of Jiminy’s, building the next generation of pet food by thinking differently about the protein in our pet’s bowl.

Carissa has devoted a decade of her career to launching and sustaining brands in emerging industries such as plant-based foods, cannabis and food tech. In 2016 she rescued 40,000KG of misfit produce while operating her juice bar. Her first hand experience with food waste, and marketing background, led Carissa to searching for a solution for food waste that wouldn’t go unnoticed.

Lezlie Karls is a forward thinking leader in the chocolate industry, serving as the co-founder, co-CEO, and Creative Director of Mid-Day Squares. Under her leadership, the company has seen tremendous growth, with the potential to generate over $100 million in revenue in the next few years. As the Creative Director, Lezlie brings her passion for innovation to the forefront, constantly pushing the boundaries in brand marketing and storytelling. This, combined with her commitment to diversity and inclusivity within the company, has set Mid-Day Squares apart as a leader in the industry. With her guidance and expertise, Mid-Day Squares is poised to become the next big name in better for you chocolate.

Jennifer Stojkovic is a General Partner at Joyful Ventures, an early stage VC fund focused on sustainable protein, and the founder of Vegan Women Summit (VWS), a platform of over 50,000 women professionals in the future of food. In 2022, Jennifer published her debut award-winning book, The Future of Food is Female. Prior to her career in food technology, Jennifer built her career in Silicon Valley under Ron Conway, Founder of SV Angel, and worked with the world's largest tech companies including Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

Kayalin Akens-Irby is an impact-oriented strategist who has spent her career working across tech, investment, and policy to reshape the way we do business to build a sustainable future together. Kayalin is Head of Growth at Planet FWD, the leading climate management platform for consumer companies to tackle climate change.

An Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and teacher, Andrew Zimmern is regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the food world.

Prior to resuming her role as Executive Director, she built the self-sustaining model for the AdvoCare Foundation from the ground up. The AdvoCare Foundation is a private foundation focusing on ending the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Before that, she was part of a team guiding Lockheed Martin through a national restructuring of community relations and an impending 90,000-employee shortage by prioritizing STEM education in the company’s CSR portfolio. Her other leadership roles relate to Dallas Regional Chamber, Greenhill School, March of Dimes, and the U.S. Department of Education, where she was on the committee organizing the first Mayor’s Back to School Fair. Whitney has extensive board service and board governance experience. Now, Whitney serves on the boards of Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, The Concilio, John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health and the Texas Ballet Theater, where she is part of a team dedicated to prioritizing diversity and inclusion in the world of dance. Whitney has also authored two award-winning children’s books.

A veteran of corporate America, turned chef and entrepreneur, Joi Chevalier combines In 2018, she was the first African American woman to run for Comptroller of the State of Texas. Today, that experience helps her to connect policy to action in the areas of entrepreneurship and the food+tech. Joi serves on the Board of Directors of Annie’s List. Joi established the Chevalier Fellows, which focuses on bringing Black and Brown consumer packaged goods businesses into the food industry through her role as a board member of NaturallyAustin. She works with the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability’s Central Texas Regional Food Systems Organizing Committee. Joi has been a member of the Chefs Collaborative; Women in Food, Farming, and Food Technology; Women Chefs and Restaurateurs; and is currently a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier (Austin Chapter), an international organization focused on exceptional women culinary entrepreneurs. Joi is presently a member of Google’s national Refresh Working Group, focused on solving challenges in food+tech ecosystem, and is a founder and culinary lead for Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Black Austin. She is a member of the City of Austin/Travis County Food Policy Board, appointed by Mayor Steve Adler.

Michelle is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Wave Foods, the developer of delicious plant-based shrimp products. Coming out of her master’s program in biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, she co-founded New Wave Foods to be the leading provider of great-tasting plant-based seafood products for the health of our oceans and capitalize on the $200B global seafood market. She has since tapped the $9B U.S. shrimp market by doing the initial work on New Wave’s plant-based shrimp to address environmental, human rights, and public health issues from global shrimp production. Michelle believes in a passionate, inspirational approach to discovering disruptive solutions to systemic challenges. She is bullish on technologies that will improve the sustainability of our global food supply chains while keeping the customer at the center of the product development life-cycle.

Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food and agriculture at Forbes. Her debut book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat, was published with Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books in December 2022. Her work has been featured by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, Fast Company and the Financial Times.

R.J. is an expert in operations and patient/member engagement across government-sponsored plans, with a focus on Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) at The Focus Group. R.J. previously led SDoH for CVS Health, and has over 15 years of healthcare experience across multiple national insurers. Prior to health care, he worked in aviation and state government.He holds a BS in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Additionally, R.J. serves as Healthcare Advisor to NEXT VENTŪRES, an early-stage venture fund, focused on Investing in founders and companies defining whole person health. At NEXT, R.J. works with healthcare-focused portfolio companies by helping them better define and execute go-to-market and/or payer contracting strategies.

Paula is a trailblazing leader and a passionate voice for equity. She has over a decade of experience in healthcare focused on health equity, clinical operations, and managing diversity relations across non-profits, healthcare systems, and Fortune 500 companies.

Julianne Eckert is Senior Director of Clinical Quality Programs at Clover Health, a company working to improve healthcare access for Medicare patients.

Sunny Baker works to lead school food reform and create a new culture of regionally-based eating. She is currently serving as the interim Senior Director of Programs and Policy for the National Farm to School Network. She is a co-conspirator in liberation and justice work that centers community-based in Quapaw and Osage lands now known as Little Rock, Arkansas.

John Dillon Harris is a Policy Consultant with the Center for Mississippi Health Policy and lives in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Mississippi in 2015, he began working with nonprofit and community health organizations and went on to receive a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Southern Mississippi with a concentration in public policy. John Dillon works to inform the policymaking process at the state, local, and organizational levels with a health in all policies approach to address the impact of social determinants of health. His goal is to help uplift communities with programs and policies that address health disparities and systemic inequalities through social, environmental, and health justice.

Hernan Colmenero was born where the river meets the ocean on the Texas-Mexico border. His work invokes a call to sit within our environment and listen. As the Founder and CEO of the Institute for Ecology, Scholarship, and Health, he helps firms design creative solutions to conceive, launch, and monitor sustainable bionomic initiatives. His clients include school districts, education service centers, universities, not-for-profit organizations, and private ranch owners looking to make a positive and lasting change in their environment and our future.

Hallie is the Value Chain Director at Sustainable Food Center, working to transform the food system by supporting farmers’ wholesale readiness and expanding institutional buying capacity. She is committed to a just and regenerative agricultural system and has served marginalized producers in vulnerable communities across the Southwest. Prior to her time at SFC, she worked on the Navajo Nation where she managed an extension program that targeted small-scale farmers.

Shuronda Robinson is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who actively leads civic causes in Austin and nationally. She is a media and public relations expert who seeks equitable solutions to systemic issues while working with the community, businesses, and governments to implement programs and projects. She is a military mom and an avid writer and reader.

Shannon Jones, III served as the Director of Austin Public Health with the City of Austin for two years before his retirement in April, 2017. Under his oversite the Department achieved accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) – Austin was one of the first five accredited agencies in the State of Texas. He was the Deputy Director of Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department from August 2011 to April, 2015. He was with the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department/ Austin Public Health since July 1999. In 2015, he received the Garnet F. Coleman “Eternal Flame” award, an award for individuals who have demonstrated a strong commitment in their careers and everyday lives to raising awareness about mental health and health disparities. In January of 2011, Mr. Jones was appointed by President Obama Administration’s Secretary of Health and Human Service to serve as Chair of the National Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (ACET) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His term ended January of 2014. He has also served as Member of the CDC’s National Study of Determinants of Early Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) in the African American Community. Mr. Jones served as the Chair of the Austin/Travis County Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning (CHA/CHIP). In this role, he coordinated and helped organize the collaboration of the major health care and public health agencies along with many of the social services, transportation and various other public/private agencies in the city and county. The CHA/CHIP will serve as the first major comprehensive planning effort to address the key identified social determinants of health that impact the Austin/Travis community. He started the radio talk show “Health Talk” on KAZI, a show he hosted for over 11 years focusing on ways to improve the health of our citizens in Austin and Travis County.

Larry Wallace served as Enterprise Chief Administrative Officer for Central Health, the public entity in Travis County, Texas that improves the health of the community by ensuring access to health care for those who need it most. Mr. Wallace also served as President for the Community Care Collaborative, the public/private partnership between Central Health and Seton Healthcare Family. The Community Care Collaborative works with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2011, Mr. Wallace led the launch of Central Health’s locally owned non-profit health plan Sendero Health Plans, and today sits on the Sendero Board of Directors. His work focused on coordinating services between primary care, specialty care, behavioral care, hospital, and social service providers. Mr. Wallace created the Eastern Travis County Health & Wellness Collaboration by bringing together leaders from the City of Austin, Travis County, Cap Metro, Huston-Tillotson University, and local safety net health care providers to focus on improving access to health care for residents of East Travis County. Previously, Mr. Wallace served as Vice President of Community Health at JPS Health Network in Fort Worth.

Kelenne Blake is the Executive Director of Black Mamas ATX, an organization whose mission is to ensure that Black women and birth givers survive and thrive before, during and after childbirth.

President and co-founder of Equidad ATX, a catalyst of holistic, equitable, and transformative revitalization and the disruption of systemic poverty in ATX’s Eastern Crescent.

Lejjy is CEO of CULT Food Science and previously co-founded a YCombinator-backed bio startup, and also serves on the board of New Harvest Canada.

A firm believer in leveraging the scale and power of business as a force for good, Jinder is a brand storyteller who continually seeks to deepen connections with consumers. Having built his foundations at Unilever, Jinder is leveraging his passion for purpose to pioneer brand-building and social impact at Bimbo Bakeries, a global leader in fresh baked goods.

Ezekiel has nearly 30 years of experience designing, developing, and implementing software solutions for a wide variety of organizations.

Katy Hart is a senior operations leader specializing in startups and nonprofits with 15 years of experience in various operational functions. Katy has worked in food systems, primarily in food waste reduction, since 2014.

Daniel Russek is the founder and CEO of Atarraya, Inc., a company working to make shrimp the protein of the 21st century. As CEO, Russek is responsible for the company’s products and vision, strategic development, business opportunities, and more. He founded Atarraya in 2019 to improve the lives of small fishermen and revitalize the aquaculture industry. Atarraya uses biotechnology and artificial intelligence to redefine the limits of what is possible in seafood production and distribution. Russek was trained as an economist, but developed an early attachment to the Oaxacan coast in Mexico when he was still in college. He was shocked at the poverty he saw in the area while handing out post-hurricane relief supplies, and decided to develop productive initiatives to help rural populations improve their income and living standards, especially fishermen.

Tavel Bristol-Joseph is the Pastry Chef and Partner at Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit, TLV and Canje in Austin, and Ladino in San Antonio, Texas. After moving to the United States from Georgetown, Guyana, Bristol-Joseph attended the New York Restaurant School. Bristol-Joseph worked in a variety of restaurants in New York before moving to Tucson in 2006, where he joined Fox Restaurant Concepts. He worked within the restaurant group for two years before going to Zona 78 where he met and began working with Chef Kevin Fink. Fink and Bristol-Joseph decided to move to Austin to open Emmer & Rye in November 2015. Emmer & Rye has been included in Bon Appetit’s “America’s Best New Restaurants 2016” list, as well as named Austin American-Statesman’s “2018 Best Restaurant in Austin.” In 2020, Bristol-Joseph opened Hestia with Fink which has been named “#1 Best New Restaurant in America” by Robb Report. Bristol-Joseph was named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “Best New Chefs of 2020,” and in 2022, Canje was awarded “Best New Restaurant 2022” by Bon Appetit and featured in The New York Times as one of America’s Best Restaurants of 2022. Overcoming many struggles and challenges growing up have helped Bristol-Joseph continue his path towards success. He always believed he would have a brighter tomorrow, even though his childhood where he was poor, sleeping on floors for most of his life, he kept believing in himself and knew that through hard work he would reach his goals.

A native Texan, Rick began his culinary journey in Maine where he accepted a seasonal internship at Oakland House Inn. He soon found his way back home in San Antonio working for Chef Scott Cohen in La Mansion’s fine dining restaurant Las Canarias. After a strong desire to return back to the east coast and fulfill a dream of working in New York City, Rick began a stage at Café Boulud, which led to a full-time position, working directly under future James Beard ‘Rising Star Chef’ Gavin Kaysen. After Café Boulud, Rick went on to work under Terrance Brennan at Picholine and Ed Brown at 81 on the Upper West Side. Returning to Texas in 2009, Rick accepted the position of sous chef with fellow Café Boulud alum Shawn Cirkiel. Shortly after, Rick was given the opportunity to become Sous Chef alongside Executive Chef Rene Ortiz at James Beard Foundation Award-nominated La Condesa. After his first year, he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine and in August of 2013 named Executive Chef at La Condesa. In 2023, La Condesa earned another James Beard nomination for Outstanding Restaurant.

e. Gerald is currently the opening Chef at Knife and spoon at the Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes. Knife and Spoon was voted best new restaurant in Orlando weekly also number two best new restaurant by USA Today. Gerald was tapped in 2021 to compete in the inaugural season of The Globe on the food network. Gerald is a frequently featured talent at some of the country’s most sought out culinary festivals including Aspen, Atlanta, Charleston and Pebble Beach. Gerald was also featured at the James Beard house once again in 2019 with fellow Top chef alums for Silvia Barban’s inaugural dinner. Chef Gerald is a level two certified WSET Sommelier.

Julia Collins is a serial entrepreneur who spent her career building food companies and was the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company. Today, Julia leads Planet FWD, the leading climate management platform for consumer companies. Empowering the next generation of sustainable brands through its proprietary software, Planet FWD’s platform reduces the cost and complexity of creating sustainable products. The platform is inspired by Planet FWD’s own snack brand, Moonshot, which launched in 2020 as the first climate-friendly snack brand.

Dr. Sweta Chakraborty is the CEO of North America, We Don’t Have Time. She is a partner at Pioneer Public Affairs. She is also the founder and principal of Adapt to Thrive, a venture that seeks to better inform individuals, businesses, and government entities on the complex, interconnected challenges, such as food insecurity and disease, already existing and emerging from a warming planet.