David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He is an internationally recognized geologist who studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. An author of award-winning popular-science books, such as Growing a Revolution: Bringing our Soil Back to Life (2017), The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health (2015) and Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization (2007) he has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, and on a wide variety of TV and radio programs, including NOVA, PBS NewsHour, Fox and Friends, and All Things Considered. His books have been translated into nine languages. He lives in Seattle, with his wife Anne Biklé and their black lab guide-dog dropout Loki. Connect with him at www.dig2grow.com or follow him on Twitter (@dig2grow).
Gillian Flies worked as a human rights investigator, aid worker, election observer and management consultant on four continents before finding her true calling as a farmer. In 2003 she and her husband, Brent Preston, abandoned successful careers in Toronto, packed up their two young children, and moved to a run-down farm outside Creemore, Ontario. Since then, they have built The New Farm into a thriving business and a leading light in the good food movement, providing vegetables to some of the best restaurants in Canada and raising over a million dollars to make local, organic food accessible in low income communities. Gillian is the President of the Canadian Organic Growers and is a leader in the organic and regenerative farming movement. She speaks often on food and farming issues.
Mkomosé (Dr. Andrew Judge) is coordinator of Indigenous Studies at Conestoga College, sessional Lecturer at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University, and former visiting professor at the Center for Engaged Learning Abroad in Cayo District, Belize. He specializes in traditional Indigenous knowledge, ethno-medicine, and land based learning. Mkomosé regularly works with Elders to support conscious awakening to respond to the current state of society. Andrew is an initiated Mayan day keeper and participates in the ancient ceremonial practices of his Anishinaabeg ancestors. In 2018 Andrew founded Minjimendan (In a state of remembering - minjimendan.com) an Indigenous foods garden dedicated to restoring the vitality of Earth.
Louis Robert is an agronomist with more than thirty years of experience in agriculture in Quebec within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec (MAPAQ). His expertise is in soil management, cropping practices, fertilization, crop rotations, farm manure management and alternative crops. After bringing to light the influence of the pesticide lobby in research, he was dismissed from his position at MAPAQ in 2018. He returned to his job 10 months later, receiving an apology from the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault.
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin
Owner-Founder Regeneration Farm LLC, Founder+ President Regenerative Agriculture Alliance
Bio
A native Guatemalan, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin began working on economic development projects with indigenous Guatemalan communities in 1988. He served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program’s Bureau for Latin America and as an advisor to the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. He was a founding member of the Fair-Trade Federation in 1994. Before coming to the U.S. in 1992, Regi worked with artisan communities across the highlands of Guatemala, connecting their small enterprises with fair trade networks in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Regi’s has pioneered innovations in a Regenerative Poultry System that is at the center of a multitude of national and international initiatives. This system is designed to be uniquely aligned with the social, economic and ecological conditions of small farms and marginalized communities and is designed for large-scale and global impact. At the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, Regi works on system-level strategies designed for global application, currently, his work covers communities in the US (Northfield, MN, Omaha, Mead and Winnebago NE, Pine Ridge SD), Hazelton British Columbia, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Most recently, Regi authored a book titled “In the Shadow of Green Man”, My Journey from Poverty and Hunger to Food Security and Hope.
Andréanne has over 10 years of experience studying the interrelationship between supply chains, land use and climate change. Before joining ECOTIERRA, Andréanne was North-American Director for Solidaridad Network, where she negotiated partnerships between actors in the supply chains of thirteen basic products in order to drive the development of public-private partnerships and others business models to promote sustainable sourcing. Previously, Andréanne led the work of the Prince of Wales' International Sustainability Unit on the drivers of deforestation. As such, it brought together agro-industries, NGOs and the governments of Indonesia, Brazil and Ghana to identify ways to decouple agriculture from deforestation. Andréanne also worked at the United Nations Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity. Fluent in English, French and Spanish, she holds a master's degree in environmental policy and regulation from the London School of Economics and a bachelor's degree in international development from McGill University. In 2011, she was selected as the World Economic Forum Global Shaper.
Dr. Caroline Halde is an assistant professor in agroecology at Université Laval. She grew up on an organic dairy and grain farm near Montreal, QC. She received a B.Sc. in Agronomy from Université Laval, a M.Sc. in Agriculture from Dalhousie University, and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Manitoba. She has completed her postdoctoral studies in weed ecology at Cornell University. She now leads the Agroecology Lab, with multidisciplinary research interests in soil health, nutrient cycling, agronomy, and ecology. She co-designed the Summer School in Agroecology at Université Laval.
Abe Collins
Grazier, consultant, cofounder of LandStream, Inc. and a founding board member of the Soil Carbon Coalition
Bio
Abe Collins is a grazier, consultant, cofounder of LandStream, Inc. and a founding board member of the Soil Carbon Coalition. Abe has worked over his life to grow topsoil, shepherd deserts back into prairies, measure landscape function, and build practical tools to equip farmers and ranchers to contract their services growing natural capital and ecosystem services. He has grazed sheep, beef and dairy cattle and lives in Winooski, VT.
Kris Nichols
Soil Microbiologist and founder of KRIS (Knowledge for Regeneration and Innovation in Soil)
Bio
Dr. Kris Nichols is the founder and principal scientist of KRIS (Knowledge for Regeneration and
Innovation in Soil) Systems Education & Consultation. She currently works as a Soil
Microbiologist and Research Consultant with Food Water Wellness Foundation, MyLand
Technologies LLC and Understanding Ag., LLC. Previously, she was Rodale Institute’s Chief
Scientist from 2014-2017 and a Research (Soil) Microbiologist with the USDA, Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) for 14 years. Kris has B.S. degrees in Plant Biology and in Genetics
and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in Environmental Microbiology from
West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Maryland. Her focus
is addressing current and future agricultural needs by building upon a soil health foundation to
identify biological tools to enhance soil health, water and nutrient use efficiencies, pest and
disease management, and mitigate climate change to provide long-term solutions to agricultural
economic viability, food insecurity, and ecosystem services loss. Kris grew up on a 640-acre
grain farm in SW Minnesota. Dr. Nichols has received several awards including the 2012
Conservation Research Award from the International Soil and Water Conservation Society and
has over 25 peer-reviewed publications as well as been quoted in numerous outreach
publications.
Nicole Tautges
Cropping Systems Scientist and Research Director at UC Davis's Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility
Bio
Nicole is a Cropping Systems Scientist and Research Director at UC Davis's Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility. Nicole has conducted on-the-ground agricultural research in wheat, corn, beans, forage, and grazing systems, as well as working with Kernza, a new perennial grain crop. Her research focuses on increasing the diversity of crop rotations and landscape cover in agricultural production systems using a variety of techniques, including the incorporation of legumes, organic soil amendments (e.g. compost), and grazing into row crop rotations. She is especially interested in research linking soil microbial communities and activity to nutrient cycling and agroecosystem functioning, particularly in terms of productivity and economic outcomes for growers.
Jane is Executive Director of SeedChange. Founded in 1945, SeedChange works with 35,000 farmers in 13 countries to build food sovereignty, save seed diversity, and spread sustainable farming. Jane is also co-founder of the Silver Dollar Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of Tides Canada. Jane has dedicated her career to supporting grassroots community leadership. She was profiled by the CBC in their We Are Canada series highlighting young leaders, named one of the 53 most influential people in Canada's food system by The Globe and Mail, and one of Canada's leading women changing the way we eat by Châtelaine Magazine. Jane splits her time between Montreal and Ottawa.