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March 19, 2025April 15, 2025 by rwobeter

WTFF 25 Speakers

Stephanie Anderson is the author of From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture (The New Press, 2024). Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, TriQuarterly, Flyway, Hotel Amerika, Terrain.org, The Chronicle Review, Sweet and others. Stephanie is the 2020 winner of the Margolis Award for social justice journalism and a co-editor for the University of Nebraska Press “Our Regenerative Future” book series. Her debut nonfiction book, titled One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture, won a 2020 Nautilus Award and 2019 Midwest Book Award. Stephanie holds an MFA from Florida Atlantic University, where she serves as Assistant Professor of Creative Nonfiction.

Stephanie AndersonAuthor

Dr. Connie Baptiste is a proud Air Force retiree, award-winning chef, and Certified Peer Support Specialist. She is the founder of Hunter Family Farm, GrowWell, and MFH Services4U, blending agriculture, mental wellness, and culinary arts across Georgia. With over 20 years of experience, she advocates for veterans, farmers, and food service professionals. Named the 2023/2024 Woman Veteran of the Year, Connie also serves on national advisory boards for mental health and agriculture. She is a sought-after speaker, published contributor to Warrior Songs, and holds a Doctorate in Humanitarianism. Her mission: to grow well, lead well, and live well.

Dr. Connie Hunter BaptisteFarmer | Life Coach | Veteran | Mental Health Advocate

Jasmine Crowe-HoustonGoodr | Founder

Mara Fleishman’s passion for food systems advocacy began in her early 20s, driven by a personal autoimmune diagnosis and a deep belief in food as a catalyst for change. With over 20 years of experience, she has been a formidable force in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, including her tenure as Global Director of Partnerships at Whole Foods Market, where she shaped industry-wide initiatives. As a mother of three, Mara understands firsthand the challenges parents face in ensuring their children eat fresh, healthy food. As CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation for the past decade, she has been a leading voice in the movement to transform school food. Her expertise lies in system-level change and programmatic engineering—analyzing complex challenges and developing actionable solutions. Under her leadership, the foundation has become the nation’s most trusted advocate and resource for helping school food programs serve more fresh, scratch-made meals. Mara is a sought-after speaker, prolific writer, and influential thought leader on school food reform. She serves on regional and national boards, frequently presents at conferences, and is widely recognized in publications as a driving force behind reshaping America’s food landscape.

Mara FleishmanChef Ann Foundation | CEO

Shayna Harris is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Supply Change Capital, an early-stage venture fund investing in technologies that are transforming the food system. Shayna has over 20 years of global operating experience across 20+ countries, and has served as a C-Suite executive at venture-backed startups including Farmer's Fridge and Sourcemap, driving rapid growth. Earlier in her career, Shayna built the sustainable procurement program at Mars and launched and led several industry-wide sustainability leadership initiatives. Shayna is a board member of Aqua Cultured Foods, Celleste Bio, Helios AI, PartnerSlate, and the non-profit Naturally Chicago. Shayna is a Fulbright Scholar, speaks several languages, and holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a dual BA in International Relations and Political Science from Boston University. Shayna has been recognized as a Chicago Business Journal Woman of Influence, named to the Inc Female Founders 500 list, and designated a Top Emerging VC by Venture Forward. Shayna is also a published author and Forbes contributor.

Shayna HarrisSupply Change Capital | Co-Founder & General Partner

Beth Leonard is the CFO of 4P Foods, a regional distributor of fresh, local food based in Warrenton, VA. 4P Foods connects more than 200 food producers and 15 cooperatives and food hubs with institutional demand - K-12 schools, universities, health care providers, and retailers - across the Mid-Atlantic. To finance 4P's growth, Beth has been instrumental in building out a blended capital stack that includes philanthropic and governmental grants, equity, and a wide range of debt vehicles. She is also an impact investor in regenerative food businesses, so she has sat on both sides of the fundraising table. Beth brings to her work decades of experience in international finance, banking, and insurance as well as a global perspective having sailed around the world (twice) with her husband and lived in more than 35 countries. She considers herself a recovering capitalist pioneering alternative models that use market forces to shape a resilient, profitable, sustainable business; turn extraction into regeneration; and share value creation with all who have contributed to it.

Beth Leonard4P Foods | CFO

Lolita NunnPotlikker Capital | Director of Program and Investor Relations

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’BrienMontcalm | Partner

Tina is a systems leader, strategist and futurist within the Organic and Regenerative Agriculture movements in the United States. Her 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, regenerative agriculture financing, consumer activism related to clean label and organics, plus unfolding food as medicine and nutrient dense systems. Tina holds multiple board and advisory positions across the regenerative agriculture movement. From 2022 to 2024 Tina co-founded and led the Nutrient Density Alliance, an effort to link consumer demand to regenerative agriculture and shore up the demand systems needed to support safe framer transition into regenerative systems. From 2018-2022 Tina worked for Danone North America where she was the Senior Director of Food & Agriculture Impact and developed the first stacked financing program within the CPG regenerative movement, comprised of millions of dollars in grant, philanthropic, and impact investing capital directly available to key farming partners. Tina worked at Kellogg Company from 2001-2018 on food systems transformation and sustainability for some of the world’s largest organic brands. 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 as it relates to scaling regional regenerative food systems.

Tina OwensTransformational Investing in Food Systems | Regenerative Agriculture Systems

Kathleen has been in the philanthropic and impact investing world for more than two decades. She founded and led Conscious Capital, an impact investment and philanthropic advisory firm and led that for ten years before moving into intensive, organizational and issue-specific work. She has helped raise over $500MM over the course of her career. Her work has centered on aligning the use of capital with an individual’s or organization’s highest values and the belief that transformational financial and social impact occur only when qualitative and quantitative measures are focused on in equal measure. At Regenerative Social Finance, she leads the organization’s efforts to secure values-aligned capital to support entrepreneurs working in regenerative agriculture, climate and energy, education and community impact. She has a master's degree in public policy from Tufts University and a BA from Mount Holyoke College. She is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®.

Kathleen PaylorRSF Social Finance | Vice President, Impact Investing and Philanthropy

Meghan RoweWhite Leaf Provisions, Inc | CoFounder & CEO

Heather K. Terry is the Founder & CEO of GoodSAM PBC, a certified B Corp committed to sustainability and climate action. Under her leadership, GoodSAM achieved B Corp certification in 2022, won numerous awards—including the prestigious Anthem Award and multiple NEXTY's—and expanded nationally into Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and key retail partnerships, making sustainable snacking more accessible. She has raised over $10.5 million to scale GoodSAM’s mission-driven business. With over a decade in the CPG industry, Heather has built and advised multiple brands, focusing on female-founded businesses. She has successfully placed 300+ SKUs in major retailers nationwide. A tireless advocate for farmers' rights, equity, and inclusion, she champions indigenous and smallholder farmers in developing climate and planetary solutions. Heather studied Pastry Arts & Chocolate at the International Culinary Center and holds an MFA from Rutgers University and a BA from Valparaiso University. She has been a mentor, angel investor, and advisor to emerging wellness brands aiming to land on major retail shelves. She is a sought-after speaker at industry events, including New Hope, Loyola, Good Housekeeping, Climate Collaborative, COP, and FLII.

Heather TerryGoodSAM PBC | Founder & CEO

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