FOOD FUNDED

Eliot Coleman is world famous as an organic pioneer. He is a farmer, author, agricultural researcher and educator. His 1989 book, The New Organic Grower, is important reading for organic farmers. He has trained many organic farmers and has inspired countless others.

With his partner Barbara Damrosch and daughter Clara Coleman, he runs Four Season Farm in Maine.

Dave Chapman runs Long Wind Farm in Vermont and is the Executive Director of the Real Organic Project. He has been active in the movement to Keep The Soil In Organic.

He is proud to be a current member of the Policy Committee of the Organic Farmers Association. He served on the USDA Hydroponic Task Force.

Linley Dixon is the Co-Director of the Real Organic Project while farming a small organic vegetable farm in Durango, CO.

She has a Ph D in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida and a Masters in Plant and Soil Science. She has been working on organic integrity for the last decade at the national level.

Elliot Begoun is a 30-year industry veteran, author, podcast host, founder of TIG Brands, and champion of Tardigrades. TIG Brands supports a community of entrepreneurs interested in building nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brands that become Tardigrades, not Unicorns. Learn more about TIG Brands’ programs here and catch Elliot at FoodBytes, the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute, and the Natural Products Business School. Tune into the TIG Talks podcast and find Elliot’s articles in publications such as The Huffington Post, SmartBrief, and New Hope.

Orleatha Smith, co-founder of Sip Herbals and successful wellness startups, is a forward-thinking businesswoman with a diverse portfolio. With a Master's Degree in Education and a biology teaching credential, she combines her passion for inclusive science-based wellness with her entrepreneurial skills. With over a decade in the wellness community, Orleatha is known for scaling businesses that bridge the natural and digital worlds. Alongside her co-founder Kelly, she leads Sip Herbals, an herbal tea company showcasing nature's healing properties. Orleatha's background as a holistic lifestyle coach, SAAS developer, and educator has garnered her media recognition and features in prominent publications.

Born and raised in Colombia, Helmut Drews grew up going to the dairy farms of his grandfather where he specialized in the Holstein breed from California. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a Mechanical Engineering degree and has an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Though he spent the first 10 years of his career in strategy consulting, and corporate development in technology, the pull towards getting back to the land, raising animals, and following his grandfather’s pioneering footsteps inspired him to start Encina Farms.

I have been a farmer my whole life, even while employed in a corporate job. A farmers’ work is to supply nutritious food to people while stewarding the soil and animals to their most healthy existence

David Kaisel has grown and milled heirloom wheat as Capay Mills since 2015 to reintroduce community-centered flour milling to “de-commodify” California’s grain economy. Capay Mills grows and mills unique heritage grains that encourage small farmers to introduce cereal grains as a profitable rotational crop, while educating consumers about the flavor, diversity, nutrition and environmental benefits of fresh-milled, minimally processed, local flours.

Christen Brown is an experienced community leader, social scientist and entrepreneur. Driven by the oral history of his elders and collective experiences, he takes pride in the Creation of Society platform. The Oakland native has been recognized by the Global Food Justice Center of Expertise for his commitment to making cultural staple foods and nutritional supplements available to members of the sickle cell community, in the form of health packages, at no cost.

A pioneer in the Moringa industry, Creation of Society serves as an information platform that educates the public on the evolution of sickle cell using art, entrepreneurship and agriculture. Creation of Society is setting a new standard for how to address the needs of the sickle cell community and how to successfully cultivate Moringa in California.

Stephanie Chan, CEO, is an advertising professional with over 17 years of experience in marketing, branding, design and strategy.

Her postgraduation experience includes leadership roles in entrepreneurial environments, including founding a design firm and working directly with clients to set up, market and grow their businesses.

Youngwon launched the award-winning Asian-inspired brand Dokkaebier in 2020 to bring innovation and much-needed diversity to the craft beer scene. With 15 years of experience in the food and beverage industries in South Korea and the U.S., Youngwon has launched and distributed craft beer, spirits, and wine, including Agwa de Bolivia, Bernini, Champagne Armand de Brignac, Patron, and Stolichnaya, and more.

Chris Oates, the visionary Founder and CEO of WAJU Water, is pioneering a new era of hydration by sourcing water directly from fruit. With eight impactful years at PepsiCo as the Head of Emerging Beverages Innovation, his aptitude for trend-spotting and wellness product development was cultivated.

Inspired by the overlooked resource discarded during fruit dehydration, he launched WAJU in 2020. This refreshing, nutrient-rich beverage is his innovative solution to sustainability challenges, set to revolutionize the water industry.

Autism Advocate and Organic Operations Executive with over thirty years experience in the Foodservice, retail and e-commerce channels including time with notable companies including Disney, Safeway and Revolution Foods.

Passionate about leveraging technology to bring a cleaner food supply to the masses. I pride myself on building relationships that grow and support health, wellness and regenerative food companies.

Andres Izquieta Is a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur in the areas of food and beverage, fashion, and media. His passion and drive sits at the intersection of impact, culture, and community.

David is the co-creator of the Mission Driven Finance Regenerative Harvest Fund. He leads the Fund’s business development, structured finance, and impact due diligence. He and his team create opportunities that match risk with return and reconnect impact investors to the entrepreneur's performance.

David’s work is focused on an industry-wide commitment to agroecological social, environmental, and climate impact investing and asset management.

Colleen is a lifelong advocate of improving health of people and our planet through better food. She has worked on the market level and in public policy at the local, state, and federal level. Colleen's goal is to leverage the power or consumer demand to rapidly clean our food system and planet.

She launched the idea of Purity Verification of agricultural toxins (pesticides, heavy metals) in her company ZEGO (B Corp and Woman Owned) in 2019 both to provide transparently clean food to consumers and to educate them on how to demand Purity Verification from other brands.

Colleen is in the process of purchasing a small gluten free organic grain mill in Montana to create a new business model called a Collaborative Integrated Value Chain (CIVC). CIVC is a for profit collaborative of farmers, the mill, brands, and consumers working together  to bring better pricing and ecosystem health to all.

Founder @ Sanchi Foods, puffed bean snacks made from 3 ancient beans, Modern Snacks inspired by ancient wisdom.

Advocate for diverse, nutrient- dense food sources and regenerative farming.

Paul Muller is a partner in Full Belly Farm, a 450-acre diversified organic farm. With his wife Dru Rivers and other partners, he has helped create a farm focused on local/regional marketing; diverse cropping patterns; ecological health and diversity; Soil building; Carbon sequestration through cover crop management; fostering vibrancy and beauty.

Full Belly Farm is located in the
beautiful Capay Valley of Northern California. Full Belly has been
farmed using organic practices since 1985 and is certified by California
Certified Organic Farmers.

Merril Gilbert is the CEO of Curious Futures and founder of FoundHer Forward, where she helps entrepreneurs build scalable, profitable businesses. With expertise in CPG, food-tech, and health-wellness, she’s a trusted advisor for investors and founders, known for turning vision into sustainable success.