ORGANIC RISING - Key Persons
Director ANTHONY SUAU is a Pulitzer Prize and an Emmy Award winning journalist. For thirty-five years he has documented the effects of events on the lives of people around the world with a specific focus on revealing social, economic and political injustice. For more than twenty of those years he worked as a contract correspondent for TIME and the National Geographic Magazine. He is the author of four books and his images have appeared in thousands of publications, museums and films worldwide.
Job Titles:
- Ceo Nature 's Path British Columbia, Canada
Arran Stephens is a Canadian entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist. He is co-founder of Nature's Path, a leading manufacturer of organic foods. He is regarded as a pioneer in the food industry and has received numerous acknowledgments for his work promoting sustainable agriculture, organics, and opposition to genetic food modification.
Job Titles:
- Farm Manager Stone House Farm Hudson, New York
Ben Dobson is the Farm Manager for Stone House Farm located in Hudson Valley, NY. The farm produces certified organic and non-GMO grains for cover crop seed, human consumption, and livestock feed. Dobson is also the director of Hudson Carbon, a collaborative research project focused on monitoring the ecological impacts of farming systems with relation to carbon sequestration.
In partnership with Jim, Rebecca Goodman, Ben Pahl and his wife wife Corey mutually operated the Northwood Farm, an organic dairy and beef farm near the town of Wonewoc, Wisconsin.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director California Certified Organic Farmers Santa Cruz, California ( 2011 - 2018 )
Cathy Calfo joined CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) and served as the executive director/CEO from 2011 to 2018. CCOF is a nonprofit organization based in Santa Cruz, California that advances organic agriculture for a healthy world through organic certification, education, advocacy, and promotion. CCOF advocates on behalf of its members for organic policies, supports the growth of organic through education and grants, and provides organic certification that is personal and accessible. CCOF represents more than 3,400 certified organic farmers, processors, retailers, and private labelers, as well as more than 175 businesses and over 100 individuals and families who are CCOF's supporting members.
Producer CHRISTINA VIRCILLO is the creative director and owner of Three One NYC, a motion design and video production studio located in Times Square that produces content for Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Food Network and NBC. In addition she has collaborated on several projects with Deepak Chopra. She has recently been selected as 1 of 120 Global Accelerator Delegates to the United Nations Foundation to work on Global Solutions.
Job Titles:
- Co - Owner of Blue Hill
- Executive Chef Blue Hill Restaurant New York and Pocantico Hills, New York
Dan Barber is the Chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. He is the author of The Third Plate. In 2002, Barber was named one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. He has received several James Beard Foundation awards, including the 2006 award for Best Chef: New York City and the 2009 award for Outstanding Chef. The James Beard Foundation also named him the top chef in America in 2009. Also in 2009, he was named one of the world's most influential people in Time magazine's annual Time 100.
Job Titles:
- Producer
- Producer at Sabotuer Media / Goldcrest Films
David Kennedy is a producer at Sabotuer Media/Goldcrest Films. He is known for his work on Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (2015), Biography: I Want My MTV (2019) and The Social Network (2010).
Job Titles:
- General Manager of AgriEnergy Solutions
Dean Crane is the General Manager of AgriEnergy Solutions in Princeton, Illinois. He has been actively engaged in biological farming since 1982 when he began working with AgriEnergy founder Dave Larson. Today most of Dean's acreage is used for the research and development of products. Prior to being named general manager in 2001, he planned biological soil fertility programs as part of AgriEnergy's agronomy sales team. He is a Certified Crop Advisor.
Executive Producer DEEPAK CHOPRA, M.D has authored more than 80 books, including 22 New York Times bestsellers. His medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and an adjunct professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. For more than a decade, he has lectured at the Update in Internal Medicine, an annual event sponsored by Harvard Medical School's Department of Continuing Education and the Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also a Distinguished Executive Scholar at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, and a Senior Scientist at the Gallup organization.
Dr. Charles Benbrook is an American agricultural economist, pesticide litigation consultant and former adjunct professor with the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University. Dr. Benbrook was also the scientific advisor for the Organic industry research organization "The Organic Center] from 2004 to June 2012.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington
Dr. David Montgomery is a professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is a member of the Quaternary Research Center. Dr. Montgomery received his B.S. in geology from Stanford University in 1984, and his Ph.D. in geomorphology from University of California, Berkeley in 1991
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Purdue University
- Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology Purdue University
Dr. Don Huber is a Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Idaho (1957, 1959), a Ph-D from Michigan State University (1963), and is a graduate of the US Army Command & General Staff College and Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was Cereal Pathologist at the University of Idaho for 8 years before joining the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology at Purdue University in 1971.
His agricultural research the past 50 years has focused on the epidemiology and control of soilborne plant pathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, and physiology of hostparasite relationships. Research also includes nitrogen metabolism, micronutrient physiology, inhibition of nitrification, and nutrient-disease interactions.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientist Rodale Institute Kutztown, Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2017
Dr. Kristine Nicholes was the Chief Scientist at Rodale Institute for over three years. Prior to joining Rodale Institute, Dr. Nichols was a Research (Soil) Microbiologist with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in North Dakota for 11 years and a Biological Laboratory Technician with ARS in Beltsville, MD for 3 years. Kris received Bachelor of Science degrees in Plant Biology and in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota in 1995, a Master's degree in Environmental Microbiology from West Virginia University in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Maryland in 2003.
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Professor Biological Scientist Washington State University
Dr. Michael Skinner is a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University. He did his B.S. in chemistry at Reed College in Portland Oregon, his Ph.D. in biochemistry / chemistry at Washington State University and his Postdoctoral Fellowship at the C.H. Best Institute at the University of Toronto. He has been on the faculty of Vanderbilt University and the University of California at San Francisco. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Reproductive Biology at WSU and UI. Dr. Skinner is an expert in testis and ovary biology and cell-cell interactions, and his current research has demonstrated the ability of environmental toxicants to promote the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease phenotypes due to abnormal germ line epigenetic programming in gonadal development. This non-genetic form of inheritance is how the environment can impact biology, evolution and disease etiology. He has identified epigenetic biomarkers for a number of human diseases including male infertility, paternal transmission of autism, arthritis, and preterm birth. Dr. Skinner has over 350 peer reviewed publications and has given over 350 invited symposia, plenary lectures and university seminars.
Job Titles:
- Medical Director Franciscan St. Francis Health Indianapolis, Indiana
- Medical Director of the NICU
Dr. Paul Winchester is the Medical Director of the NICU at Franciscan St. Francis Health and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Riley Childrens Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Winchester provides clinical care to infants in a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, attends high-risk deliveries, and provides pediatric clinical follow-up care. He also assists in clinical education of nurse practitioners, residents, and fellows. He is involved on several faculty and state health advisory committees.
Job Titles:
- EVP and Chief Technology Officer Monsanto from 1981 to 2018
Dr. Robert Fraley was an Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto Company until his retirement in 2018, where he led a team of agricultural scientists dedicated to developing seeds. Fraley oversaw teams of researchers focused on plant breeding, plant biotechnology, ag biologicals, ag microbials, precision agriculture, and crop protection innovations that will help to feed our growing population.
Dr. Tyrone Hayes is a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at Berkley Univeristy in California. His research focuses on the role of steroid hormones in amphibian development. His two main areas of interest are metamorphosis and sex differentiation, but he is also interested in growth (larval and adult) and hormonal regulation of aggressive behavior.
Job Titles:
- Professor in the Department of Zoology
- Professor of Zoology and Environmental Toxicology University of Wisconsin - Madison
Dr. Warren Porter is a professor in the department of Zoology and has been studying low-level contaminant/pesticide mixtures at environmentally relevant concentrations that affect/alter developmental processes, neurological function (learning abilities and aggression levels), immune function, and endocrine function for more than 25 years. He is also interested in the process of infection and the biochemical responses to bacterial and viral infections. He is a co-founder of Isomark, LLC, that uses naturally occurring stable isotopes in breath for early detection of infection.
Producer ELIZABETH KUCINICH serves on the board of the Rodale Institute, the oldest organic research institute in America; is a founding board member of J/P HRO - Sean Penn's Haitian relief organization and an advisory council member of DC EFF, the world's largest environmental film festival. As the recent director of policy at the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in Washington, DC. (2013-15), Elizabeth worked on issues of GMO labeling, drugs in meat, chemicals in agriculture and pollinator protection. She is the executive producer of GMO OMG, and the producer of the film Hot Water (2015). She is married to former eight-term congressman and two-time Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.
Executive Producer ELIZABETH MOORE, is a philanthropic conservationist and president of the TREE Foundation, an international nonprofit based in Sarasota that's dedicated to tree and forest research, exploration, education and conservation worldwide. She owns the 1,143-acre Triangle Ranch in Florida where three miles of the Myakka River run through wetlands under oak and palm trees. Triangle Ranch is a vital part of the connecting piece between the Myakka River and Tatum Sawgrass marsh, the most vulnerable of the four depression marshes of the Myakka River valley. Its undeveloped acres keep the Myakka flowing the way nature intended, protecting water quality and land for humans and 120 species of wildlife, including threatened species like the crested cara cara, the gopher tortoise and the indigo snake.
Worden Farm is an 85-acre certified organic family farm in Southwest Florida, founded and actively run by Chris Worden, Ph.D. and Eva Worden, Ph.D. Their produce is 100% USDA-certified organic and available directly to the local community in season, at farmers markets and through a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm membership program.
Fred Kirschenmann is an American professor, organic farmer, and a leader in the sustainable agriculture movement. Kirschenmann is board president of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and the former director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Kirschenmann is considered "one of the most prominent spokesmen for the sustainable farming movement.
Fred Lee owns and operates Sang Lee Farms is one of Suffolk County's last large vegetable organic farms. Located in the heart of Long Island's wine country, it's a landmark for its beauty, uniqueness and diversity. More than 100 varieties of specialty vegetables, including Chinese cabbages, greens and radishes, are organically grown with a hybrid approach that mixes age-old mechanical cultivation with forward-thinking technology. The farm's management is transitioning from Fred Lee to his son William and his partner Lucy. The farm's story began when Fred's father and uncles began raising produce to supply New York City's Chinatown in the 1940s.
Job Titles:
- CEO Organic Valley La Forge, Wisconsin ( 2016 - 2019 )
George Siemon is the co-founder and the former CEO of CROPP/Organic Valley. The company has grown revenues to over $1 billion annually under Siemon's skilled leadership from 2016 until 2019. In September 2022, George was one of the recipients of the 2022 Honorary Recognition Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The Honorary Recognition Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to their professions, their communities and the university.
George Whitten, along with his wife Julie, own Blue Range Ranch (also known as San Juan Ranch) located in the high desert of Colorado's San Luis Valley. Originally pastoralists, George and his family have been ranching on the same land for well over a century, and have been practicing regenerative agriculture and holistic land management since 1893, long before either of those terms even existed.
Job Titles:
- Director of Agroecology at Stone Barns Center
Jack Algiere is the director of Agroecology at Stone Barns Center. As the organization's first official employee back in 2003, he brought a critical skill set in diversified, regenerative farm practice to the Stone Barns landscape. Since then, he has built an integrated farming operation rooted in land stewardship, innovation, and community, which also serves as a training campus for young farmers, chefs, changemakers, and the public.
Jim and his wife Rebecca ran a 45-cow organic dairy and direct market beef farm in southwest Wisconsin for 40 years. His farming roots trace back to his great-grandparents immigration from Ireland during the famine and the farm's original purchase in 1848. A farm activist, Jim credits more than 150 years of failed farm and social policy as his motivation to advocate for a farmer-controlled consumer-oriented food system. Currently he serves as a board member of Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Family Farm Defenders.
Jim is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science. He also holds a Masters Degree in Reproductive Physiology from South Dakota State University.
Job Titles:
- Owner of Dirty Girl Produce
Joe Schirmer has been the owner of Dirty Girl Produce since 1999. It is a 40 acre Certified Organic family farm located in Santa Cruz County, CA. He is a graduate of UCSC and the UCSC Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Program and has worked on several farms throughout the west coast. Joe currently sits on the board of directors for CUESA (Center for Urban Education on Sustainable Agriculture) which runs the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and is past President of the Board of Directors for the SCCFM (Santa Cruz Community Farmers Markets).
Job Titles:
- Director, Supply Chain Strategy Earthbound Farm San Juan Bautista, California ( 2011 - 2014 )
John Foster's experiences in the organic sector over 30 years consist of farming in Oregon, serving on the National Organic Standards Board, organic inspection and certification management, organic business development, supply chain strategy, and change management for Earthbound Farm.
As a 25-year vegetarian, Julie Sullivan, changed her life when she fell in love with a third-generation cattle rancher, George Whitten. Born into the 1960s counterculture movement in California. Raised in a "crazy hippie household," she protested the Vietnam War, marched in the first Earth Day and stood in solidarity with the victims of the Cambodian genocide.
In 1990, she began teaching with an expedition program for Lesley University in Massachusetts in which students traveled in a school bus across North America to understand environmental issues from the people who lived and breathed them. Ten years into her professorship, Sullivan and her class visited Whitten's ranch to learn about raising cattle.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager Holiday Shores Sanitary District Water Treatment Facility Holiday Shores, Illinois
Operations Manager of the Holiday Shores Sanitary District Kenneth Dulle served on the board of directors for over ten years including a number of terms as president and had also served on numerous committees.
Job Titles:
- Farm Manager Garden of Eagan Farm Northfield, Minnesota ( 2008 - 2015 )
25 years in organic farming, Linda Halley co-founded one of Wisconsin's premier CSA farms in the 1990s, and she has made significant contributions to organic farming models in California and Minnesota.
Educating professionals and the public about organic agriculture is one of Linda's passions. She frequently speaks at organic farming conferences and contributes to a variety of industry newsletters and trade publications. In 2003, she received the Organic Farmer of the Year award from the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service.
Linda holds a B.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Crop Inspector Certification from the International Organic Inspectors Association.
Maira Rodale is an American businesswoman and author who served as chief executive officer and chairman of Rodale, Inc., an Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based publisher of health, wellness, and environmental content. She is the third generation of the Rodale family to lead the company, which was founded by her grandfather J. I. Rodale in 1930, then led by both her father Robert Rodale and subsequent to that by her mother, Ardath Rodale. A lifelong advocate for organic farming and gardening, Rodale is author of five books, including Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe, published by Rodale Books in 2011. She has a blog entitled Maria's Farm Country Kitchen
Job Titles:
- CEO Chairman of the Board Rodale Inc. Kutztown, Pennsylvania