Skip to content

Regenerative Food Systems Investment

Home
About
RFSI Forum
Women’s Events
- 2024 Meet-Ups
- 2023 Women Transforming Food & Finance
RFSI Europe
- 2024 RFSI Europe
- 2023 RFSI Europe
Directory
News
- RFSI News
- Sign Up for Updates
Resources
More

July 10, 2023September 24, 2023 by rwobeter

Speakers Forum 2023

Teju is an environmental equity consultant, independent researcher, connector and facilitator with a focus on sustainable textiles and environmental / climate justice. She supports the creation of regenerative fiber systems and climate resilient strategies for Black and Indigenous communities and people of the global majority. Teju is the Co-Managing Director of the Fibers Fund, creator / host of the Black Material Geographies podcast, a 2022 honoree for the Conscious Fashion Campaign, and a member of the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network—which supports work that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals. Teju has worked with diverse organizations like Earthjustice and Cooper Hewitt, as well as with institutions such as the United States Embassy of Botswana. She has spoken at several colleges including Princeton University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work supports people, organizations, and companies who are making sustainable futures through textiles, alternative economies, regenerative agriculture and community-centric organizing. Teju lives bi-coastally between Lenapehoking and Ohlone Land.

Teju Adisa-FarrarFibers Fund | Co-Managing Director

Jen Astone is a financial activist and philanthropic leader. At Integrated Capital Investing, she catalyzes foundations and investors to use all their assets – grants, investments, and leadership – to create regenerative and restorative economies. She helped establish the Agroecology Fund, is a Just Economy Institute fellow, and co-publishes The Transformative 25 a list of funds transforming finance for people and planet. She lives on unceded Awawas land - now represented by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band - in Aptos, California, with her partner.

Jen AstoneIntegrated Capital Investing

Derek Axten owns and operates a diversified grain farm in Southern Saskatchewan with his family. He has implemented many innovative ideas to improve resilience and profitability of the family farm. While attending many workshops and conferences with his wife Tannis over the past 15 years, they met many farmers and scientists who taught them to change the way they looked at farming. This led to their journey towards soil health and regenerating their farmland. Learning about soil biology and how soil and ecosystems functions, has renewed their passion for farming, and improved the farm’s profitability. Derek operates a no-till farm and has improved their soil health by seeding intercrops, companion crops and cover crops. Increasing the farm’s plant diversity and intensity is feeding the soil biology, which in turn is regenerating the land. Improving soil health has allowed him to reduce synthetic inputs, increase water efficiency and build organic matter. He has also implemented controlled traffic farming and grazing as part of their farming system. The family farm has also added a food grade seed cleaning facility and flour mill at their farm site. This is an exciting venture that allows them to sell direct to markets looking for regeneratively grown foods. The farm was also recently certified Regenified at the tier 5 level.

Derek AxtenAxten Farms

Darren is a Managing Partner and a co-founder of Biome Capital Partners. He brings 25+ years of transactional and investing experience to the team and previously held a variety of senior executive roles at two Canadian institutional investment managers, including Global Head of Real Estate and Natural Resources. Biome Capital Partners is an investment platform for regenerative food systems at scale. BCP will work hand in hand with stakeholders to recognize ecosystems that restore the land, bring prosperity to growers, and nourish all people.

Darren BaccusBiome Capital Partners | Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Sara Balawajder is a Vice President on Builders Initiative Investment Team, where she helps manage the Foundation Endowment, working to allocate 90%+ of the portfolio to mission-related investments across asset classes. She also leads impact investments for the Donor Advised Funds, seeking out under-represented emerging fund managers dedicated to impact. Additionally, Sara oversees investments for the Firm’s impact-first sustainable food and agriculture portfolio. Her strategy makes investments utilizing early-stage direct equity checks, creative debt financing, and fund structures to facilitate the adoption of technology that support a food system that affords healthy food to all and restores the environment rather than harming it. Previously, Sara worked at Hall Capital Partners and helped manage global, diversified portfolios for ultra-high net worth families, endowments, and foundations. It was during this five-year tenure that Sara developed her passion for impact investing and assisted the firm launch its first Full Consequence Investment Fund. Sara holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University.

Sara BalawajderBuilders Initiative Investment Team | Vice President

Renee is Managing Partner of Bonterra Partners, an investment advisory firm she founded in 2010 that helps investors and businesses develop pioneering agriculture, forestry and other natural capital investment strategies that generate financial returns and regenerate the environment and local communities. She has led and evaluated numerous sustainable agriculture investments in both developed and emerging markets on behalf of investment firms, family offices, corporates, foundations, NGOs and multilateral development banks. Renee was formerly Senior Vice President, Real Assets at New Island Capital, where she focused on investments in sustainable and regenerative agriculture and forestry in the Americas and the rest of the world. Previously, she was a private equity executive at RIT Capital Partners PLC and Pantheon Ventures. Renee received a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Management of Science & Engineering from Stanford University.

Renee CheungBonterra Partners | Managing Partner

Anthony Corsaro is an entrepreneur, investor, and regenerative agriculture evangelist whose mission is to help heal our people and planet through ventures that inspire the production and consumption of healthy, nutrient-dense foods. Anthony is the Managing Director at Outlaw Ventures: a family office backing the rebels, radicals, and revolutionaries building the better food system of tomorrow. Outlaw Ventures is in the process of raising a venture capital fund to invest in early-stage regenerative consumer brands. Anthony is also the Creator and Co-Host of The ReGen Brands Podcast: a podcast about the consumer brands supporting regenerative agriculture and how they’re changing the world. He is also a Co-Founder of Regen Coalition: a non-profit trade association of regenerative CPG brands working to solve the biggest problems facing regenerative brands in a collective and collaborative fashion. Anthony’s family has been deeply involved in the food system for almost 100 years since his orphaned grandfather started selling fresh produce in the early 1930s. That business grew into one of the leading regional fresh produce distributors in the country and today serves 2,500+ retail customers in 20 states. Anthony helped steward the most recent growth phase of the company as a third-generation contributor and executive leader in the business. His professional background in food distribution and personal health journey led him to his work in building regenerative food systems.

Anthony CorsaroOutlaw Ventures | Founder & Managing Director

Tim Crosby is Principal of the Thread Fund, Steering Committee Member Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Chair Transformational Investing in Food Systems Initiative, and advisor to numerous projects. He has developed a regional food hub, a loan loss reserve fund at a credit union, researched a logic model gap between for-profit and non-profit investors, and partnered to develop a sustainable ag loan program at a CDFI. Prior, Tim was a professional photographer and graphic designer. Tim holds a Sustainable MBA from Presidio University and a BA in Anthropology from Kenyon College.

Tim CrosbyThread Fund & Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS) | Principal & Chair

Charley CummingsWalden Mutual Bank | Founder and CEO

Skya Ducheneaux is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and spent her first 18 years of life on a cattle ranch on the CRST Reservation in South Dakota. She has a MBA in Business Administration. She previously spent her summers interning for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, where she was introduced to the Native CDFI world (Community Development Financial Institution). Skya worked diligently to create the first national Native CDFI dedicated to Indian agriculture, which launched in 2019. Skya remains connected to agriculture, just from the other side of the table.

Skya DucheneauxAkiptan | Executive Director

Zach Ducheneaux was appointed Administrator for USDA’s Farm Service Agency on February 22, 2021. In this role Ducheneaux will provide leadership and direction on agricultural policy, administering loan programs, and managing conservation, commodity, disaster, and farm marketing programs through a national network of offices. Ducheneaux previously served as the Executive Director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council and had been with the IAC since the 1990s. He has also previously served as tribal council representative for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He has spent his career educating people about the critical role of improved food systems, value-added agriculture, and foreign exports to respond to the enduring economic and social challenges facing Native Americans and reservations. Ducheneaux serves on the board of directors for Project H3LP!, a nonprofit founded by his family to benefit their local community by providing life lessons through horsemanship. His family still operates the 4th generation ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Zach DucheneauxUSDA, Farm Service Agency | Administrator

Mr. Eger’s career has focused on developing promising ideas into vibrant companies in finance, technology, healthcare, and media. Prior to IEG, Mr. Eger was Chairman of Pet360, Inc. (Combined — PetMD.com, Pet Food Direct, Pet360) which was sold to PetSmart in 2014. Mr. Eger is also the Founder & CEO of Entertaining Ideas, a media and idea incubator, which incubated IEG. His media accomplishments include: Executive Producer of War/Dance, the Academy Award nominated and Emmy-winning documentary about Ugandan child soldiers, Development Producer of Academy Award nominated How to Survive A Plague, and Producer of Shoot Down. Founder, Chairman and CEO of AMEX-listed Sheffield Pharmaceuticals. Founder, TechSource, a technology transfer company serving private and public universities. Co-Founder, Kachina Capital, a firm that advised companies on strategic and financial matters. As a conservation buyer, Mr. Eger partnered with The Open Space Institute and The Trust for Public Lands to preserve 7,000 acres of land and restore two historical estates 100 miles NW of New York City.

Douglas EgerIntrinsic Exchange Group | Chairman & CEO

Dan EpleyWhole Foods Market | Vice President of Dry Grocery

Sherry Frey brings more than two decades of industry experience to her role as Vice President, Total Wellness at NielsenIQ (NIQ). With a background in market research, innovation and consulting, she has elevated clients across the fresh, CPG and wellness industries, providing forward-thinking insights, combined with practical strategies. In addition to leading NIQ’s Total Wellness team and industry engagement, Sherry has been a featured speaker at many national and international industry events and is often sought as a media and analyst resource on topics related to consumer health, wellness and environmental issues. Sherry’s view of health and wellness spans beyond personal health and wellness, encompassing how we collectively think about the health of the planet.

Sherry FreyNielsenIQ | Vice President, Total Wellness

Jessamine is Managing Director at Alder Point Capital Management, where she leads investments in farmland and timberland and the firm’s impact and ESG efforts. Throughout her career, Jessamine has focused on using financial resources to generate positive environmental outcomes in rural communities. Prior roles include Principal of Real Assets at New Island Capital Management, a single-family investment office; leadership of the Alignment Insights team at RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance; and CFO/COO for Electric Vine Industries, a solar microgrid company working in remote communities in Southeast Asia. Jessamine began her career with The Nature Conservancy, where she developed a deep appreciation for the role of private land stewardship in biodiversity and habitat conservation.

Jessamine FitzpatrickAlder Point | Managing Director

Bert is the founder and MD of Impact Ag Partners whose expertise has been instrumental in the strategic approach the asset management company has taken to real asset investing in ag and creating value for investment partners. Bert has turned his 25 years of agribusiness experience towards asset management to meet the growing demand from investors who wish to invest in Ag as a profitable impact investment and NbS in addressing climate change. IAP has over $600m of AUM across Australia & North America under separate managed accounts. These assets have produced 2% increase in soil carbon sequestration and realized $1 million in soil carbon sales along with other natural capital co-benefits.

Bert GloverImpact Ag Partners | Managing Director

Dominick leads investment and portfolio management activities for Dirt Capital Partners. He has worked extensively in land-based investing, including for seven years at BioCarbon Group, a global private-equity impact investment firm backed by institutional investors. Previously he worked at Working Lands Investment Partners, a private-equity real asset investment firm specializing in complex projects with value derived from agriculture, timber, and ecosystem services; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Markets; and was a lecturer in Forest and Ecosystem Finance at the Yale School of the Environment. Dominick serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Green Bank and the CT Department of Agriculture Diversity Equity and Inclusion Working Group. In addition, he and his wife operate a small diversified organic farm in Connecticut. He holds an MBA, an M.E.M. and BA with distinction from Yale University.

Dominick GrantDirt Capital Partners

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is the co-founder/CEO of Tree-Range Farms, farmer Salvatierra Farms, founder/board president Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, and co-founder of Regenerative Agriculture Solutions.

Reginaldo Haslett-MarroquinTree-Range Farms | Co-Founder & CEO

Cate Havstad-Casad is a first-generation farmer/rancher, designer, systems-thinker, fundraiser and agricultural advocate. Cate has built and scaled four impact driven businesses over the past nine years. At the age of 23 she founded Havstad Hat Company and began her self-employed career as a designer and maker. Cate began farming with her husband in 2014, both first generation farmers. Starting on 5 acres of leased land, Cate and her husband now manage 365 acres of prime farmland at Casad Family Farms in Madras, Oregon. Utilizing holistic management, EOV monitoring, regenerative and Organic land management practices, they grow a diversity of vegetables, hays, grains, manage arid rangelands and raise cattle, pigs and chickens. Casad Family Farms has scaled their management and increased ecosystem health through historic drought and 80% loss of irrigation waters in the arid region on Central Oregon they farm. CFF is an EOV verified farm/ranch and their beef has been a part of the nutrient density study at the Bionutrient Food Association. In 2021 Cate founded Range Revolution, a category-defining regenerative leather goods company which is building 100% of its products out of traceable American cattle hides coming from verifiably regenerative lands. Range Revolution addresses the 5 million cattle hides that are thrown into the trash each year, seeking to rebuild systems for whole-carcass utilization, increasing margins for processors and producers. Range Revolution will launch DTC and in select retailers Winter 2023 with a full collection of handbags and luggage. In 2022 Cate was part of a grassroots effort to acquire Agricultural Connections LLC, a regional food distribution business based in Bend, Oregon. Together with a few dedicated co-conspirators, they raised the funds to acquire the LLC and place it into cooperative ownership. Inspired by perpetual purpose trusts, their effort secured the critical resource that local-food distribution businesses provide a region, in perpetuity, and expanded equity for the food producers of their region. Since the acquisition and cooperative transition, Agricultural Connections Cooperative has increased revenue by 44% and created bylaws for producer, employee and buyer member-ownership classes. At the heart of each company Cate has founded or been a part of is an ethos to work hard to make a more beautiful, resilient, healthful and equitable world for tomorrow.

Cate Havstad-CasadCasad Family Farms | Farmer/Rancher/Designer

Alex Heilman is the co-founder of Mad Markets and works across the regenerative organic value chain with farmers, processors, brands, and investors. Prior to joining Mad Agriculture in 2021, Alex was the Director of Sales at Mercaris, a Price Reporting Agency exclusively focused on organic and non-GMO commodity markets. He holds an A.O.S. in Pastry Arts from The Culinary Institute of America, a B.S. in Food Systems & Applied Economics from The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and is an Executive MBA candidate at INSEAD.

Alex HeilmanMad Markets | Co-Founder

Stephen Hohenrieder serves as the CEO of Grounded Capital, which he founded after spending more than a decade exploring ideas about the role of private capital in building the health of systems rather than monetizing the symptoms of unhealthy systems. As a general partner, operator, consultant, and student, his work has primarily focused on food systems––from land and production to the consumer––and the opportunity to integrate regenerative practices along the entire supply chain. Stephen previously served as the CEO of a family office, COO and interim-CEO of a small manufacturing company, founded the wealth and asset management businesses at ThinkEquity Partners before selling to Panmure Gordon in 2007, and began his career investing across a broad range of assets at Montgomery Securities. He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Agribusiness.

Stephen HohenriederGrounded Capital | CEO & Founder

Brett is the president of Agroforestry Partners (AP), an alternative impact investment fund designed to implement agroforestry practices on American farms in pursuit of economic and nature-based returns. AP solves for the financial and technical hurdles associated with agroforestry/regenerative agriculture adoption, and it aims to be a positive force for solving cultural hurdles that slow this transition, as well. Prior to Agroforestry Partners, Brett worked in the ESG & Sustainability Advisory Solutions practice at FTI Consulting, advising corporate clients and asset managers on their sustainability programming and communications. Prior to FTI, Brett spent 15 years as a sell-side equity research analyst covering the packaged food and agribusiness industries in North America and EMEA for BB&T Capital Markets (now Truist), The Vertical Group, and Seaport Global. His sustainability research areas include climate adaptation planning, natural resource systems mapping, U.S. environmental law, and global ESG reporting standards, frameworks, and ratings. Brett graduated from the University of Scranton with a BS in Finance and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a MS degree in Natural Resources.

Brett HundleyAgroforestry Partners | President

Alec JaffeAlec’s Ice Cream | Founder & CEO

James Johnson is a 4th generation farmer and partner in W.R. Johnson and Sons LLC in Columbus, NM. W.R. Johnson and Sons is a diverse operation growing Upland and Pima cotton, paprika type chile peppers, onions, durum wheat, grain sorghum, pecans, pistachios, and grazing animals sheep and cattle. James attended Texas Tech University where he studied ag economics and horticulture before returning to the farm in 1995. In 1999 James took on the task of implementing subsurface drip irrigation on the farm to protect the deserts most precious resource of water. The farm now has moved into a regenerative agriculture approach, focusing on improved soil health, balanced fertility, and improved quality and yield of all products produced. James currently is the Chairman for Cotton Incorporated, and also serves as a member of the Mesa Farmers Cooperative Inc. and the New Mexico Cotton Growers association. James and his wife Kena have been married for 22 years, together they are raising the 5th and 6th generations on the farm, two sons(Taylor and Walker),daughter (Kalee) and granddaughter(Emery).

James JohnsonW.R. Johnson & Sons LLC | Managing Member

A 5th generation Montana rancher, still overseeing his family’s ranch, founded in 1908, Zach has combined his years growing up, working on, and managing the family ranch with co-founding and operating multiple land-based businesses. For the past 15 years, Zach has innovated and led holistic and regenerative management across assets in several U.S. states and abroad in New Zealand. More recently, through the past five years, Zach has been focused with teams on catalyzing both family office and institutional investment explicitly into regenerative agriculture, as well as supporting regenerative agriculture’s rapid growth through new third-party certifications, its emerging consumer-market premiums, and as a scalable solution to climatic, economic, and social challenges. Zach, based in Bozeman, Montana, is Senior Vice President and COO of Impact Ag’s U.S.-based business.

Zach JonesImpact Ag Partners | COO

Sarah Kelley serves as Co-Managing Director of the Fibers Fund and consultant to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) for its Initiative on Sustainable Fibers and Textiles. She has been working at the intersection of food systems and fiber systems for over 20 years and has been a leader in efforts to raise funder and investor awareness of the fiber sector. Sarah is Principal of Common Threads Consulting, working with a range of funder and impact investor clients at the intersection of philanthropy, equity, and sustainability. She has also served as consultant to Textile Exchange for the past several years and is the lead author of Textile Exchange's 2022 Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis and 2023 Regenerative Ag Outcome Framework. Sarah was selected as a 2018-19 Just Economy Institute Fellow (formerly RSF Integrated Capital Institute), focusing on integrating investment and grantmaking strategies to drive change in the U.S. sustainable textile field.

Sarah KelleySAFSF Initiative on Sustainable Fibers | Co-Managing Director, Fibers Fund

John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, a regenerative agronomy consulting company. John is the host of the Regenerative Agriculture podcast, and is known for developing crop nutrition management systems that increase yields and profitability while reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides.

John KempfAdvancing Eco Agriculture | Founder

Adam is Managing Director for the Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI), an ecosystem of support for regenerative transition that includes the outcomes-based Soil & Climate Health Initiative third-party verification program for farms and brands. For the past dozen years he has worked at the intersection of climate and agriculture, from policy advocacy to technical analysis of regenerative supply chains. Adam previously held roles with Quantis, Wine Institute, and California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN). He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Adam KotinSoil Carbon Initiative (SCI) | Managing Director

David LeZaks, Ph.D. is the Managing DIrector of Food System 6. He is an environmental scientist and financial activist whose work is centered around developing innovative mechanisms for financing the transition to regenerative farming and food systems. David completed his Ph.D. in Environment and Resources and an M.S. in Land Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is based in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is active in a number of community organizations and spends his spare time gardening and participating in a variety of silent sports.

David LezaksFood System 6 | Managing Director

Brandon leads sustainability for Manulife Investment Management’s timberland and agriculture businesses. He is responsible for ensuring the firm’s core sustainability themes of climate, nature, and people are incorporated into business decision-making, corporate policy, investor communications and reporting, acquisition due diligence, and product development. Prior to joining the firm, Brandon held various technical and consulting roles in environmental finance, renewable energy, and mining. He holds an MPA in International Development from Princeton University (USA), an MSc in Geology from Colorado School of Mines (USA), and a BSc in Geology from Wheaton College (IL, USA). Founded in 1985 and with our headquarters in Boston, Manulife Investment Management’s timberland and agriculture businesses exist to create value through the sustainable management of natural resource investments. With over $15.2 billion in assets under management, we’re the world’s largest natural capital investment manager,1 and we’re committed to investing sustainably across our global portfolio of forests and farms.

Brandon LewisManulife Investment Management | Director, Sustainability, Timberland and Agriculture

Lauren Manning, Esq., LL.M., is an attorney, law professor, and farmer. Before her current role, Lauren was a venture capital investor with food and ag-focused VC firm AgFunder. Lauren began with AgFunder in 2015 as part of AgFunderNews media and research team reporting on issues involving finance, agriculture, climate change, and more. From 2019 to 2021, Lauren supported the Sacred Cow documentary and book project discussing the nutritional, environmental, and ethical case for (better) meat production. At the University of Arkansas, Lauren serves as an adjunct law professor across multiple departments teaching courses on farm animal welfare, food safety, farm succession planning, agricultural cooperatives and local food systems, and more. Lauren is a partner in Northwest Arkansas-based Ozark Pasture Beef, a direct-to-consumer grass-finished and pasture-based livestock partnership selling beef and lamb.

Lauren ManningFood System 6

Tom McDougall is the Founder and CEO of 4P Foods, a Public Benefit Corporation. 4P is a regional food hub based in the Mid-Atlantic that has been connecting local farmers to wholesale and retail buyers, including institutions and food-as-medicine partners, since launching in 2014. Tom is an Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellow, a Founding Member of the Eastern Food Hub Collaborative, and a co-creator of the Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience & Access Coalition. Having financed 4P Foods’ growth with a blended cap stack of mission-aligned capital, Tom is recognized as a social entrepreneur, an activist, and vocal advocate for accelerating social impact investing in the creation of regional, regenerative, and equitable food systems.

Tom McDougall4P Foods | Founder & CEO

Aria McLauchlan is the Co-founder & Executive Director of Land Core, a non-profit organization advancing soil health policies and programs that create value for farmers, businesses and communities. In her role at Land Core, she has shepherded the organization’s rise to the center of the national soil health conversation. She guided the successful passage of language in both the House and Senate in 2019, supporting soil health at the USDA, and built a broad coalition of farmers, businesses, and NGOs to help secure over $50M in federal investment in soil health in the 2018 Farm Bill. In 2021, Aria was recognized with the Emerging Leaders in Food & Agriculture award for her work on U.S. food and agriculture systems and soil health policy. She was a 2018 Exchange Fellow at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture - selected as a leader at the intersection of food, agriculture and climate change equipped to tackle vexing challenges and identify emerging opportunities for systemic change across geographies and disciplines.

Aria McLauchlanLand Core | Co-founder & Executive Director

Paul McMahon is a co-founder and Managing Partner of SLM Partners, an asset management firm that uses investment capital to scale up regenerative farming and forestry systems. The firm manages funds and separate accounts that invest in organic farming in the USA, forestry and orchard crops in Europe, and mixed farming and carbon projects in Australia. Founded in 2009, and a pioneer of investing in regenerative agriculture, SLM Partners manages almost half a billion dollars in capital. Previously, Paul was Vice-President at Climate Change Capital Ltd, where he led a team developing a strategy for a global farmland fund. Before that, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in New York. He has published two books and numerous papers on sustainable food and forestry. Originally from Ireland, Paul holds a PhD from Cambridge University and a BA from University College Dublin. He lives in New York.

Paul McMahonSLM Partners | Co-founder & Managing Partner

Gina NagelPublic Good Provisions | Co-Founder

Being a first-generation rancher, Keith Nantz is a testament to the power of vision, hard work and adaptability. Born and raised in Imbler, OR, he developed an early connection to the land and it’s interconnectedness to all things that sustain life. The lessons learned during these formative years have gone on to shape the foundation of Nexus Beef, a vertically integrated business model in the regenerative agriculture movement. His experiences in traditional agriculture gave him firsthand experience in the inefficiencies and limitations in the existing industry model. Fueled by an unrelenting desire to transform the status quo, Keith conceptualized a vertically integrated approach that has the potential to revolutionize beef production. Embracing new technologies such as complete traceability via EID tags, new processes in waste management, and scaling intensive grazing practices on productive farm ground, Keith is challenging many long-standing paradigms. Facing skepticism from traditionalists, logistical complexities, and market fluctuations has added to the challenges, but with continued innovation, determination, and strong leadership, Nexus Beef will continue to build resiliency in our land, our people, and our rural economies.

Keith NantzNexus Beef

Lolita NunnPotlikker Capital | Director of Program and Investor Relations

Tim currently serves as the VP of Business Operations at Nuss Farms in Lodi, CA. Tim spent the first decade of his career in the fresh produce industry focused on international exports working for T&G Global (BayWa) and CH Robinson. He later worked in business development at agtech startups, most recently with Apeel Sciences. Tim is also the CoFounder of The Modern Acre, an industry leading weekly podcast exploring the latest in business, investing, technology, and sustainability in agriculture.

Tim NussNuss Farms | Sr. VP of Operations

Pete Oberle is a Managing Partner at Trailhead Capital and a financial professional with over 23 years of experience working in investment banking and private equity. He has 15 years of real estate and management experience, serving as President of FREO Group US, where he helped build a $150M AUM platform for the firm. Pete also has been investing in early stage companies as a private investor since 2014, focusing on opportunities within the agriculture, food, renewable energy, and human health spaces. He has a BA from Dartmouth College, as well as an MBA from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Pete OberleTrailhead Capital | Managing Partner

Calla Rose Ostrander a founding partner of Terra Regenerative Capital, an catalytic investment fund whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices by opening up access to value-add markets. Terra Regenerative Capital provides flexible funds and development services to aggregation, processing and manufacturing businesses that are dedicated to sourcing from regenerative producers. A political economist by training, she has spent the past ten growing the regenerative agriculture movement by working with funders, governments and communities to foster adoption, policy and investment.  Calla Rose is also a team member of the People, Food & Land Foundation where she supports The Carbon Project, Restore & Regenerate California, and community composting. She is an advisor to Mycelium Youth Network and Kiss the Ground, and has served on the boards of Californians Against Waste, The Laughing Coyote Project, Mad Agriculture, LA Compost, and as a special advisor on climate change and natural and working lands with the State of California Natural Resources Agency. Prior to her work in regenerative agriculture she spent a decade working in local climate policy for the City of Aspen and the City and County of San Francisco.

Calla Rose OstranderTerra Regenerative Capital | Founding Partner

Robyn O’Brien is on Forbes Impact 50 List for her work at the intersection of agriculture and climate. She is the founder of Sirona Ventures and co-founder of rePlant Capital, financial services firms scaling climate solutions on farm and inside the food industry. She is a Fulbright scholar, best-selling author and widely recognized speaker on global food systems.

Robyn O’BrienSirona Ventures | Founder

After over 8 years managing and evaluating food security and rural health programs in Africa, Jenny founded Guidelight Strategies, a strategic consulting firm focused on the design and implementation of strategic initiatives in the food/ag and environment sectors. In 2020, Jenny developed and published a national landscape analysis of the barriers for ranchers and farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture in the US, alongside Patagonia. She also supported the SAFSF special project and roadmap on US fiber systems, led by Sarah Kelley. Jenny now serves as the Executive Director of FORA, Funders For Regenerative Ag, as well as continuing to oversee the work of Guidelight.

Jennifer O’ConnerFunders for Regenerative Agriculture | Executive Director

Tina is a systems leader, strategist and futurist within the Organic and Regenerative Agriculture movements in the United States. She is currently the Sr. Fellow of Regenerative Agriculture at the Soil & Climate Alliance of Green America and is co-leading the Nutrient Density Alliance. Tina’s background spans two decades within the world’s largest food companies and includes leading transformational shifts in food and agriculture systems via supply and operations as it relates to on-farm profitability, sustainability, carbon sequestration, consumer activism related to clean label and organics, plus unfolding food as medicine and nutrient dense systems. She walks the talk through regeneration of the land on her own family farm in Michigan where Tina and her family raise heritage, pastured animals for nutrient dense outcomes, to regenerate their land, and to provide a deeper understanding of these food systems as it relates to scaling regional, regenerative agriculture nationally.

Tina OwensSoil & Climate Alliance of Green America | Sr. Fellow of Regenerative Agriculture

Poornima is the Cofounder and CEO-President of Trace Genomics. Trace Genomics is on a mission to protect and activate soil’s hidden potential for healthier soils and a healthier planet. Poornima earned a Ph.D in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University and a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. After completing her Ph.D, Poornima did a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, and worked closely with the Broad Institute and the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua. She has pioneered new genomics methods to make sequencing more affordable and accessible, taught the first “Applications of high throughput sequencing” class at Stanford, is an inventor on several microbiome patents, and an author on a dozen highly referenced publications in the genomics space.

Poornima ParameswaranTrace Genomics | Cofounder and CEO-President

Esther is the CEO of Cienega Capital, a regenerative investment firm utilizing an integrated capital approach to systemic change in the areas of soil health, regenerative agriculture, and local food systems. Cienega Capital is also part of the #NoRegrets Initiative, a regenerative asset strategy focused on the health of agricultural soils and agricultural communities in North America. Esther has over 20 years of experience in mission-based financial services ranging from microfinance to risk capital investments, in partnership with financial institutions, family offices, foundations, and investment advisors. She is also a faculty member of the Just Economy Institute.

Esther ParkCienega Capital | CEO

Chris is founder and General Partner at Pelican Ag – the UK’s first venture fund investing in regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. Before this he grew Pelican Founders as a leading impact investment advisor for sustainable food and ag companies. Working with over 35 companies which received over £350m in subsequent funding. Previously he spent 16 years at Blackrock, Jupiter and CCAM, where he raised $1.8bn for 5 funds. He’s trustee to a 7k acre commercial farm in Scotland. Steers Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet UK initiative and is passionate about gut health.

Christopher RamsayPelican Ag | Founder & General Partner

Micki has been at the forefront of the confluence of digital technology and agriculture. As a Silicon Valley operator, Micki led teams that built some of the most innovative businesses on the Internet: Netscape, eBay, Ask Jeeves, and three successful start up exits. Micki founded the Sustainable Food Systems program at Orange, and served as the Operating Partner at Radicle Growth, an early stage AgTech investment fund. Most recently, Micki was the founding employee and Chief Digital Officer at Unfold Bio to develop better genetics and digital services for Vertical Farming. Micki is currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Farmhand Ventures and serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of Boost Biomes, developing microbiome products for agriculture. Micki earned a B.S. in Information & Decision Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.

Micki SeibelFarmhand Ventures | Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Kevin is the co-founder and Vice President of Product at Kateri Environmental Corp., where he oversees the technical aspects of carbon project development and new environmental product development. Kevin previously was an Associate at Soilworks Natural Capital, where he managed deal flow and lead the firm's carbon strategy which culminated in the founding of Grassroots Carbon. Kevin has worked on a variety of carbon crediting programs ranging from deferred timber harvesting to agricultural interventions to reforestation, but is most excited about the ability of regenerative land management to store carbon in soils and restore biodiversity and hydrology.

Kevin SilvermanKateri Environmental Corp. | Co-founder & Vice President of Product

Eric Smith is CEO/Co-Founder of Edacious, a technology platform for differentiating food quality and creating linkages between soil and human health through food nutrient composition. He was most recently Director of Neglected Climate Opportunities, the Grantham Foundation's venture capital vehicle where he led investments in businesses that can remove carbon and GHG at scale. Eric was previously with SJF Ventures and worked for BlackRock on climate finance, in addition to providing advisory services to forest carbon and other natural resource management projects. He received his MBA and Master of Forestry from Duke and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica.

Eric SmithEdacious | CEO

McKenzie is a Principal at Tin Shed Ventures, Patagonia’s corporate venture arm, focused on VC deals in regenerative ag, biodiversity, and apparel innovation. Previously, she led Luminate’s US seed-stage investing in civic & political tech and helped grow the broader impact investing field at Omidyar Network. She spent her early career as a consultant at PwC and holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) from Georgetown University and a Master of International Business (MIB) from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

McKenzie SmithTin Shed Ventures | Principal

Ethan is the CEO at Propagate, an entrepreneur and startup growth expert. He co-founded Propagate to make it easier for farms to turn a profit when adopting agroforestry practices and is passionate about using business to deliver climate solutions. Prior to co-founding Propagate, Ethan spent his career leading growth strategy and sustainability initiatives at startups as well as consumer facing companies and sports entities. He holds a B.A. in Social Justice & Sustainability from Miami University.

Ethan SteinbergPropagate | CEO

Kat Taylor works in service of restoring social justice and environmental well-being to build a more equitable and inclusive world. Currently, she serves as Co-Founder and Board Chair of Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution and certified B Corporation. She is also a Co-Founder Investor and Special Limited Partner at Radicle Impact. Kat currently serves as Board President of NextGen Policy, which fights for progressive policy change to address environmental, social, racial, and economic inequities in California. She is also the Founder of TomKat MeDiA, which is dedicated to storytelling from emerging and unheard voices that entertain, inspire through action campaigns, and transform society for the common good. As Founder of Growing the Table, Kat works to expand market opportunities for California’s small-scale Black, Indigenous, Latino, female-owned, organic, and regenerative farmers and increase food aid to struggling families. Kat is a Founding Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, dedicated to inspiring a regenerative food system through ranching best practices, training, educational tours, scientific research, and school food and garden programs. Kat serves and has served on many non-profit boards including, Ecotrust, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, ProPublica, Community Bankers Association, Forager, and CuriOdyssey. She graduated from Harvard College and earned a JD/MBA from Stanford University.

Kat TaylorTomKat Foundation | President; TomKat Ranch | Co-Founder

Philip Taylor, Ph.D. (he/him) is the Executive Director of Mad Agriculture. He co-founded the organization in 2016 with his life partner, Nicole Brinks, to reimagine and restore our relationship to the land, sea, and each other through good agriculture. Prior to founding Mad Ag, Philip was a career global ecologist who specialized in ecosystem and soil carbon cycling. His research ranged widely, from understanding soil ecology and ecosystem biogeochemistry to exploring solutions to the sustainability challenges of agriculture. Philip’s work has been published in numerous journals, including Nature, Nature Climate Change, and Ecology, and he has diverse international experience in both private and public sectors, having led research and business efforts throughout North America, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Now, he is bringing his entire being into Mad Agriculture—his life’s work, until he returns to the soil.

Philip TaylorMad Agriculture | Executive Director & Co-Founder

Cindy Tolle is CEO of the Evergreen Ranching Companies. Evergreen Ranching is a certified women owned vertically integrated grass-fed/finished model raising regenerativly grazed Audubon Certified Beef on our ranches (Evergreen Ranching and Livestock SD, Evergreen Eco Farm MO, and the Diamond E ranches AZ). Cattle are processed in our USDA certified organic packing plant in Sturgis SD and distributed regionally by Evergreen Specialty Foods. Cindy is a rancher and businesswoman and a formally trained Ecologist. Cindy consults with farmers and ranches on conservation programs that can be really helpful for building a profitable conservation ranch model.

Cindy TolleEvergreen Ranching Companies | CEO

Wood has worked for 30 years with international NGOs, public agencies, and consumer brands to develop ideas that restore environmental quality, regenerate working landscapes, and build community. He was previously the VP Sustainability Innovation at Stonyfield Farm, an organic pioneer then part of the Danone Group, and the founding executive director of Climate Counts. He has advised Sustainable Brands and Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment and now sits on boards for the Duke University Campus Farm and the Center for Good Food Purchasing. He began a five-year appointment to the National Organic Standards Board in early 2020 and is leading a regenerative transition of his family’s farm in North Carolina. Wood has an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a graduate degree in urban and environmental planning and design from the University of Washington.

Wood TurnerAgriculture Capital | Senior Vice President

Renée Vassilos is a Dutch-American Agricultural Economist with twenty years of agriculture industry, investor relations, and investment experience. She is a recognized critical thinker on how innovation will transform agribusiness and the farm towards a regenerative model. Her thinking has been informed by her time with USDA, decade with John Deere, and running her agribusiness consultancy- Banyan Innovation Group. Renée has lived and worked in Amsterdam and Beijing contributing to her robust global experience, cultural competence, and network. She has a BS and MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and University of California, Davis, respectively. Today, Vassilos shares her expertise through her role as the Director of Agriculture Innovation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Board Director positions. For TNC, she manages investments in solutions that will scale soil health building practices. She serves as a Board Director for Seedlinked, the future of seed- leveraging crowdsourcing to revolutionize variety testing and informed sales. She also serves as Board Director for GrainPro, Ultra-Hermetic™ dry good and seed storage solution.

Renee VasillosThe Nature Conservancy | Director of Agriculture Innovation

Olivia Watkins is a social entrepreneur and impact investor. For the past eight years, she has financed, developed, and operated environmental and social impact projects across the US. She currently serves as a co-founder and President of Black Farmer Fund. She also serves as a board member for a Real Estate Investment Trust, Iroquois Valley, that has invested $100M into transitioning conventional farmland to organic farmland. Prior to founding Black Farmer Fund in 2017, Olivia worked in several farm production roles at Soul Fire Farm Institute and Kahumana Organic Farms and financial research analysis positions at Croatan Institute and NC Idea, leveraging her environmental biology background to manage and grow environmentally regenerative and socially impactful business operations. Olivia has an MBA from North Carolina State University in Financial Management, and a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University in Environmental Biology. She was also recognized as 2023 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year, 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 Social Impact list and The Grist 50.

Olivia WatkinsBlack Farmer Fund | Co-founder and President

Mark Watson currently serves President and Co Founder of Potlikker Capital (a non profit charitable loan fund) an integrated capital fund supporting dedicated to support BIPOC farmers at the intersection of racial and climate justice. Potlikker Capital is a supporting entity to Jubliee Justice and RSF Social Finance. He also served as Managing Director of the Fair Food Fund, which offers catalytic capital with a social equity lens and co-designed and launched an integrated racial justice capital fund, The Boston Impact Initiative Fund. He is also the founder of Keel Asset Management LLC, a financial advisory firm that provides socially responsible financial planning and investment adviso

Mark WatsonPotlikker Capital | President & Co-Founder

Chris serves as Chief Executive Officer at Iroquois Valley, where he combines his investment management experience and personal farming background in support of the strategic vision of the organization. Prior to joining Iroquois Valley, Chris served as Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Investments at EnTrust Global, an alternative investment firm based in New York. He was a member of the Management Committee and the Global Investment Committee. As a senior investment professional, Chris covered most asset classes and investment strategies across both public and private markets. Chris grew up on a family dairy farm in Minnesota and maintained an interest in food and agriculture throughout his career. Since 2016, he has been a board member at The Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, a non-profit organization supporting regional food and farming in New York’s Hudson Valley. Chris graduated with an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003 and a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Saint Olaf College in 1998. He is a CFA® Charterholder. Outside of work, Chris enjoys traveling, gardening and hiking with his wife and three sons.

Chris ZuehlsdorffIroquois Valley Farmland REIT | Chief Executive Officer

Post navigation

Previous Speakers RFSI Europe 2023

Advertisement

Information

Contact RFSI Team
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use

Get Updates

Sign Up for our Newsletter

Connect







#—

© RFSI 2022

Proudly powered by WordPress · Theme: Pique by WordPress.com.