FOOD FUNDED

Adrian is a Co-Founder and a Managing Director of Provenance Capital Group where he helps develop blended capital structures that catalyze resilient biological systems and businesses.

Before Provenance, Adrian co-founded the boutique consulting firm Hyphae Partners where he helped companies finance and build regenerative business models. Additionally, he worked at Patagonia within its Venture Capital arm Tin Shed Ventures, helping author a standard for Regenerative Organic Agriculture and exploring Regenerative Organic Land Funds.

Ahmed Rahim is the Co-Founder, CVO, Chief Alchemist and Board chair behind Numi Organic Tea, one of the largest premium, organic, Fair Trade Certified tea companies in North America. He chairs Numi Foundation board, working with their farming communities around the world, bringing clean water to their community.

Ahmed co-founded OSC2, One Step Closer to an Organic Sustainable Community, a national community of sustainable natural products CEO’s and business leaders, working in collaborative and innovative ways toward positive change for our food industry, planet and people. He is an advisor and board member to entrepreneurs running sustainable businesses with emerging innovative products in the CPG marketplace, and is in service to those focused on caring for their community and creating positive change for our planet.

Albert Straus has been a leader in sustainable organic farming practices for many decades. He is a strong advocate for organic, non-GMO dairy production, environmental stewardship, and family farms. In 1994, when he converted his family farm to organic - the first organic dairy farm west of the Mississippi River - he founded the creamery in the same year, and it became the first 100% certified organic creamery in the United States. 

Albert aims on having his dairy farm become carbon neutral in 2023 and is extending the carbon-neutral farming model to Straus Family Creamery’s supplier farms. Albert has been recognized internationally for his substantial environmental accomplishments.

Aldo is Managing Director and co-founder of Amazonia Impact Ventures, an impact investment company empowering indigenous and forest people to protect and regenerate the Amazon Rainforest and its biodiversity.

PLANETARIANS makes the best meat combining the power of both worlds: plant-based proteins and fermentation.

Back to the Roots was founded in 2009 by then college seniors Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora after discovering how to grow gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. Since then, Back to the Roots has evolved from urban mushroom farming to a thriving business on a mission to undo food and reconnect families to it through fun, innovative, and delicious Ready to Grow and Ready to Eat products (Organic Mushroom Farm, Water Garden, Garden-in-a-Can, Organic Stoneground Flakes, Organic Breakfast Toppers, and Organic Stoneground Crisps). Back to the Roots currently sells its products in over 14,000 stores worldwide, including Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco, The Home Depot, Nordstrom, Petco, Cost Plus World Market, Loblaw, Giant Eagle, Wegmans, The Fresh Market, Crate & Barrel, Urban Outfitters, Safeway, and Kroger.

Nikhil and Alejandro have been honored with several awards recognizing their efforts in sustainability and entrepreneurship including BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25,” Inc.’s “30 Under 30,” Inc. 500, Forbes’ “30 Under 30,” and CNN’s “10 Next Entrepreneurs to Watch.” In addition, Back to the Roots was named a 2013 Martha Stewart Top Ten American Made honoree and recognized by President Obama as Champions of Change.

Ali is responsible for identifying mission-aligned businesses throughout the U.S. and deploying effectively-structured integrated capital to support their success, with a focus on inclusive resilient food systems and regenerative agriculture.
She has an MBA in Sustainable Solutions, and 13+ years of professional experience catalyzing market transformation, focused on leveraging community development finance to empower marginalized communities.

Alice Mintz is an experienced thought leader in the CPG industry, specializing in turning data into actionable insights for brand growth. As the Director of Solution Architecture at SPINS, she drives revenue and market expansion for brands in the food, beverage, and beauty sectors.

Alice's industry expertise and intellectual curiosity help her solve challenges and uncover opportunities to succeed in a dynamic marketplace.

We are Alicia and Dane, Co-Founders of Nutr, a wellness brand and creator of the patent-pending Nutr Machine – a signature product that makes plant-based milk at the push of a button. We are also launching a nut blends product line for our customers to enjoy making with our machine every day.

Alicia Kidd is a seasoned social impact entrepreneur in the wine industry. With 18 years of professional work experience in the corporate sector, Alicia's passion for wine, travel, art, and culture turned into a part-time job in the wine industry and led her to create her first company The Wine Noire. With the success of her current business, she created CoCo Noir Wine Shop & Bar. CoCo Noir Wine Shop & Bar is a brick-and-mortar wine shop that offers Women, BOPIC, and POC winemakers the opportunity to sell their wines. Her company is raising capital on the Wefunder platform and will open in the 1st quarter of 2022 in Downtown Oakland California.

Alisa Knapp grew up at Green Gulch Farm Zen Buddhist Meditation Center in Northern California and is the founder and principle at Grows Together Consulting where she advises on full cycle innovation and growth strategy for consumer brands of all sizes. Find me if you want to talk Buckwheat!

Allison Kelly is deeply committed to fighting economic inequality through innovation and out-of-the box partnerships at a community-based CDFI, ICA where she has been serving in the role of CEO since June 2019.

Prior to ICA, Kelly was the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at CDC Small Business Finance, a leading U.S lender focused on supporting entrepreneurs in undertapped communities. Kelly has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and for-profit worlds, having worked in the financial- and healthcare-service industries.

Amelia is the Founder and CEO of Act Bar, a vegan protein bar brand on a mission to fight food waste through upcycled ingredients. A former pro volleyball player, she’s now channeling her competitive edge into building a scalable, sustainable food business.

Ami is the founder of Avenue Communications, a marketing communications and PR consulting group based in the Bay Area. She’s partnered with a range of mission-driven food, health & wellness and consumer technology brands. Prior to consulting, Ami ran communications at Plum Organics.

Amrita has built multiple fast growing, global organizations. As a strategist and operator, she has shaped the future of organizations and built operational capabilities of multiple functions. Amrita is a core member of the Management Committee at Acumen, where she has led multiple C-Level roles including CFO, Chief Strategy Officer and more.

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.

Andy Naja-Riese is CEO of AIM, leading programs, partnerships, and advocacy to advance equitable food systems. With 17 years in public health and food policy, he previously worked at USDA and now serves on multiple local and national advisory boards. He helped secure over $1B for sustainable agriculture and food access in California.

Andy holds degrees from Harvard and Cornell, and lives in Sonoma with his husband and dog, enjoying gardening, cooking, and wine.

Aner is passionate about pioneering multi-stakeholder governance and ownership models that ensure more equitable and fair outcomes for workers and communities. He serves on the boards of Transform Finance, Complete Solar, Firebrand Artisans, Native American Natural Foods (Tanka Bar).

Before starting Candide, Aner was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group, where he in the energy, water and transportation sectors.  Prior to that, he worked at Israel's leading Project Finance consulting firm. Aner holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics and History from Tel Aviv University. He is fluent in Spanish, French and Hebrew.

Angie is the Head of Programs and Member Services at the Upcycled Food Association where she supports businesses in elevating food to its highest and best use. She has +10 years of experience in the CPG industry designing environmental and social impact programs, having worked with mission-driven companies like Prather Ranch, Numi Organic Tea, and Imperfect Foods.

Previously, Angie led the CPG team at Fair Trade USA where she spearheaded the first fair trade certification in the US dairy industry.

Angie Mertens is a board member of Slow Money Northern California and part of the FOOD FUNDED production team. Her expertise is in program design and implementation, training early stage companies, investors and corporates to scale their social impact, and ecosystem building.
Angie has been spearheading ONE WORLD Training as the Program Director since 2015. She has produced numerous ecosystem events and enterprise showcases in collaboration with organizations such as Social Venture Circle, toniic, Spero Ventures, Nia Impact Capital and others. Angie is a lifelong health-focussed eater, passionate cook and can be found exploring Bay Area’s farmer’s markets.

After previously working in international development and at the United Nations, Ani's health journey inspired her study Holistic and Ayurvedic Nutrition. She eventually combined her passion for health & wellness and sustainability by creating Chai Five Organics. Chai Five is the first 100% single origin, heirloom chai created to energize, and heal stress damage. Ani brought together her  ancestral and scientific knowledge to create her chai blends while remaining committed to supporting sustainability, farmer equity, and community empowerment. Chai Five is rooted in ancient Ayurveda, and is perfect for those seeking a coffee alternative or anyone seeking a delicious daily ritual to heal stress and nourish the body and mind naturally.

I have been involved in digital media, marketing, and social impact for over 25 years. I have gotten into GOOD TROUBLE in San Francisco and throughout California to address major societal issues. I founded and served as chair of the Bayview.coop steering committee. We built a website where people could go to buy and sell healthy food. From farmers and distributors direct to consumers, our website drives traffic and informs the public about alternative food sources.

Anna Lappé is a national bestselling author, a renowned advocate for sustainability and justice along the food chain, and an advisor to funders investing in food system transformation. A James Beard Leadership Awardee, Anna is the co-author or author of three books on food, farming, and sustainability and the contributing author to thirteen more.

Anna is the founder or co-founder of three national organizations including the Small Planet Institute, Small Planet Fund and Real Food Media. Anna developed and leads the Food Sovereignty Fund, a global grantmaking program of the Panta Rhea Foundation.

With nearly four years at Honeycomb Credit, Annamarie Galante has spoken with thousands of business owners navigating their funding options.

Whether you're hesitant to work with a bank or curious about involving your community in your business growth, Annamarie has the insights to help you make an informed decision.

As the son of Asian immigrant small business owners, Anthony has been working in economic opportunity for communities of color, in particular immigrant communities. He helped channel capital to communities of color and immigrant small business owners. He learned the benefits and drawbacks of CDFI lending to small businesses through 15+ years at Opportunity Fund and California FarmLink.

On the boards of Common Future and RSF Social Finance, he has worked to connect wealth holders and community wealth builders and/or social enterprises. Anthony has most recently partnered with the collaborative CA BIPOC Farmer/Land Steward Relief Fund. His current role at Kitchen Table Advisors focuses on shifting capital to fuel the economic viability and self-determination of a multi-racial next generation of sustainable small farms and ranches.

Anthony Myint is a chef, food activist and co-founder of The Perennial Farming Initiative and Mission Chinese Food. His focus is helping the restaurant industry fund carbon farming and to create a renewable food system rooted in healthy soil.

Arno Hesse is dedicated to financing a sustainable and equitable future with thriving food systems and regenerative technologies.

As a co-leader and investor with Slow Money Northern California, Arno has led multiple investments in food businesses, with a focus on climate change and social justice. Previously, he was Executive Vice President for Retail Markets at MUFG Union Bank, now U.S. Bank.

Aruna Lee grew up in a Buddhist monastery in South Korea where home-grown vegetables were at the heart of every meal. In 2014, she launched Volcano Kimchi in San Francisco and has since dedicated herself to the art of fermentation to craft high-quality kimchi and sauces.

Sourcing from local organic growers, Aruna puts a local flare on traditions to create products that are uniquely Volcano Kimchi.

Ashani developed his own sauce, a Caribbean fusion finishing sauce called Lion’s Breath. During this process, he immediately recognized the barriers that discourage entrepreneurs of Color from participating in the retail food product industry.

After attendeding The Art Institute of Northern Virginia, Ashani opened and ran a catering and bartending company, DeGruv Liquid Catering, executing over 8,000 Events.

Ashani is truly dedicated to serving the Black + Indigenous POC maker community.

Co-Founder & President of ¡Ya Oaxaca!

Bay Area native with 18+ years experience building brands in the active lifestyle consumer segment.

Bakari is passionate about the mission of Uhuru Foods & Pies. In fact, at the Uhuru Pies booth at a local farmers market he encourages customers to volunteer in contributing to the mission. He believes African people have contributed to building economic stability for others.

“Today, we must build an independent African economy to feed, clothe, and house ourselves once again.” You can find Bakari in the bakery, at the market, delivering Uhuru Pies or organizing for Uhuru (Freedom).

Co-Founder and CEO of SMBX --the world's first Small Business Bond marketplace, which connects qualified small businesses with investors in their communities.

He was an adjunct professor of finance at UC Santa Cruz and San Francisco State from 2009 to 2020. He built a fintech research program at UC Santa Cruz shortly after the 2008 financial crisis.

Bill is a financial activist. He connects people and ideas to create opportunities for transforming the capital markets. In his role as CEO of Iroquois Valley Farms - as well as through his previous endeavors as the founder of the independent advisory and consulting firms, 45North Partners and NorthFork Financial, and as a co-founder of HomeStake Venture Partners, an innovative platform to help mid-market businesses access non-extractive growth capital from like-minded investors - he is deeply committed to creating opportunities to support self-determination, thriving communities, and vibrant ecosystems.

Blair Kellison is the CEO of Traditional Medicinals, an independent company that embraces sustainability, ingredient purity, and social and environmental activism. Traditional Medicinals, a Certified B Corporation, is the leading seller of wellness tea in the U.S. and the pioneer of the wellness tea category in the U.S. and Canada. Blair, a former CPA with Ernst & Young, worked as a brand manager at Nestle Foods. In 1995, he took a 70% pay cut and a huge risk that would become the best decision of his career — leave his business development position for a mission driven, all natural food company called Fantastic Foods. That bold move started him on the path of working in what he most believes in: mission driven, health and wellness companies. He was CEO of Alternative Medicine, a multi-media publishing company, and he co-founded and helmed Natural Snacks. Blair cites Traditional Medicinals’ reinvention of the standard business model as his inspiration, and is continuing the company’s fulfillment of its mission: connecting people to the power of plants.

Brett is a venture capital investor at Touchdown Ventures focused on consumer products and digital commerce, working closely with eighteen94 Capital, Kellogg’s corporate venture fund. Brett’s prior experience spans financial services to early-stage consumer facing ventures, allowing him to bring both an entrepreneur and investor perspective to the market. Originally from Philadelphia, Brett spent several years in Southern California and currently lives in San Francisco.

Frustrated by the absence of Fresh whole plant-based foods in my environment, I decided to be the change, and now we are changing the game! Tha MF'n Vegan is a Smack’n Nourishing Plant-based Food and Meat Alternative company.

We specialize in making the healthy look and taste delicious, by taking traditional unhealthy foods and putting a nutritional spin on them.  We are food allergy-friendly (Soy-Free, Nut-Free, & have Gluten-Free options). You don’t have to compromise taste for national value and vice versa!

Brie's background includes community development, film, event logistics, and business strategy. Storytelling has been a prominent element throughout her career. Throughout the decades, she has also worked on numerous initiatives to aid indigenous people in their plight against environmental and social injustice.

As the Real Food Real Stories Program Director, Brie is passionately dedicated to develop, grow and refine Real Food Real Stories’ live storytelling programs and to continue to grow the fundraising initiatives to contribute to building a resilient and vibrant food storytelling community in the Bay area and beyond.

Bronwen has spent the past 12 years building mission-driven companies in the food and agriculture space, first at the vertically integrated retail and restaurant group Belcampo and for the past 5 years with Just Fare. She is excited to use her experience to continue to grow the impact-driven company and believes in the vast opportunity they have to serve a diverse customer base. Making real change for people, planet and community (and 2 toddlers) gets her out of bed in the morning.

Lotus Foods is one of the most innovative organic and fair trade specialty rice brands, pioneering the preservation of rice biodiversity and more ecological methods of rice production that save water, reduce greenhouse gasses and minimize work for women. As Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Caryl leads Lotus Foods’ strategic mission and vision to change how rice is grown around the world.

Lotus Foods has received the Biodiversity Award for Leadership from the Union for Ethical Bio Trade; Specialty Foods Leadership Award for Vision and Citizenship; Whole Foods Market Supplier of the Year Award for Environmental Stewardship. Caryl holds a MPA from the University of Hartford.

Casey co-leads RSF’s food and agriculture lending portfolio where she identifies new borrowers with a deep commitment to soil, workers, and community and supports our existing portfolio of amazing borrowers. Previously, Casey worked at Nonprofit Finance Fund, where she led financial capacity building consulting engagements —via education, tools, and best practices—for nonprofits across the country. Casey received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Tufts University. She serves as chair of the board for CommunityGrows, a San Francisco local nonprofit.

Charles Wade (he/him/his) serves as the Investment Director for Black Farmer Fund. He previously held senior roles at J.P. Morgan, Lehman Brothers, and Citigroup, where he originated, structured, and distributed a range of credit solutions for private equity firms, hedge funds, and asset managers.

Originally from New Paltz, NY, Charles enjoys animal husbandry, gardening, and backpacking, and he is passionate about leveraging his finance experience to support food entrepreneurs in their efforts to improve the health and sustainability of community food systems.

Charles holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS from West Point.

In 2018, mother-daughter plant-based duo, Chef Kami and Chef Mieko started their plant-based journey.  After realizing that available supermarket vegan food was just vegan junk food, they knew there needed to be a better option. No chemicals, no fillers—just natural ingredients. So they started Hella Nuts™

Chef Kami is the Executive Chef at Hella Nuts The Plant-Based Eatery. Providing flavorful relatable PlantBased eats to the Black & Brown Community.

In 2018, mother-daughter plant-based duo, Chef Kami and Chef Mieko started their plant-based journey.  After realizing that available supermarket vegan food was just vegan junk food, they knew there needed to be a better option. No chemicals, no fillers—just natural ingredients. So they started Hella Nuts™

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.

I make business delicious.

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.

Christina Dorr Drake is a co-founder and the CEO of Willa's, which is on a mission to create a plant-based milk that tastes as good as it is for people and the planet. She launched Willa’s in 2021 with her sister, Elena Dorr Zienda, and husband, Rusty Drake. Previously, Christina spent over twenty years working in innovation, brand and marketing strategy leading brands including Panera, Coca-Cola, Target and American Express. She frequently speaks at events, including SXSW on the critical topics of climate change and building mission-driven businesses.

Christine Rico is a social entrepreneur, growth strategist and financial consultant to growth phase businesses with a social impact mission. Her company, CFO on Speed Dial, helps food companies improve profits while they innovate with flavor, sourcing and creating a more sustainable food system.

Christine is also mentor in New York City’s WENYC program (women’s entrepreneurship NYC) and was a 2015 Agent of Change at the Centre for Social Innovation. Christine is a bike-commuting, fruit and vegetable grower who lives in Brooklyn.

Christine is an activist entrepreneur, currently leading Product for Conversational Safety at Twitter. Until June 2020, Christine was co-founder and CEO of PastureMap, an ag software platform used on 6 million+ acres globally. She is an Entrepreneur in Residence of Food System 6, advising regenerative meat companies. With Kinship Foods, a regenerative dumpling brand, she has offered Dumplings For Black Farmers fundraisers to build Asian-American solidarity with Black-led farms. Christine is a board member of Kitchen Table Advisors, a nonprofit serving 80% BIPOC and women regenerative farmers, and a voting member for the board of Greenpeace. Christine has an MBA, an MS in Earth Systems, and a BA in Political Science from Stanford.

A visionary entrepreneur at the forefront of sustainable food innovation. As the Founder and CEO at Oregon Seaweed, Chuck has pioneered the development of pacific dulse, a nutrient-rich seaweed, into a versatile protein source for both human and pet food markets. With a strong background in alternative proteins and sustainable agriculture, Chuck is dedicated to revolutionizing the food industry through innovative, eco-friendly solutions. Chuck’s work not only promotes healthier diets but also supports environmental conservation and sustainable practices.

Cindy is the Associate Director of Food, Beverage and CPG at Adept Packaging. She is a packaging engineer specialist with over 15 years of experience in the food, beverage, and CPG industry. Cindy has supported a broad range of packaging project types including cost savings, brand redesigns, quality, and productivity, although her focus has been on innovation. She has been instrumental in the execution of innovative packaging and product launches for companies such as Diageo, Alberto-Culver (now Unilever), PepsiCo, and Clif Bar & Co. from concept design to commercialization.

Claire Schlemme is an ardent environmentalist who saw a need to fix a broken food system in order to protect the planet. She previously co-founded Boston’s first organic juice company, which exposed her to two primary challenges: food waste and the lack of affordable nutrition.

Committed to finding solutions at the intersection of food, sustainability, and accessible nutrition, Claire launched Renewal Mill.
She holds a BA from Wellesley College and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University.

I started my career in technology as the first African American female conferred in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s more than 100 year program in Aerospace Engineering. My career focus has been on  domestic volume manufacturing of emergent technologies in green/clean & food tech working for companies such as Boeing, Solar Turbines and Bloom Energy before co-founding Healthy Oceans.

After spending 20 years in fashion and luxury businesses, Claude chose to dedicate himself to his interests in food, the environment, social enterprise, and the arts. He has become an avid impact angel investor, particularly in businesses with a sustainable food and agriculture mission.

Claude is the Co-Chair of Slow Money NYC and a founding member of Foodshed Investors New York, which recently merged with Investors Circle. He also serves as Board President of International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the nation’s pre-eminent contemporary music ensemble.

Clayton Harvey is a White Mountain Apache farmer with Ndee Bikiyaa (The People's Farm), a program working to restore personal and cultural health to the White Mountain Apache Tribe through agriculture.

Clayton spends his days growing healthy food for his people in eastern Arizona and teaching community members about food sovereignty, including how families can grow their own foods and revitalize a local food system that existed for thousands of years by Apache ancestors long before the reservation was created.

Cole is a modern-day shepherdess, an agrarian entrepreneur, educator, and community advocate. With over a decade of experience working in land stewardship, regenerative agriculture, and targeted grazing with sheep and goats, Cole's pursuits contribute to ecological resilience, wildfire mitigation, evolution in the fiber and hide industries, and supporting the next generation of agrarian change-makers.  Shepherdess Land and Livestock Co. is a targeted grazing business with educational, consulting, and wool production arms. She is also the director of the Community Supported Grazing Program, an endeavor of the Ojai Fire Safe Council, and co-director of the Grazing School of the West, a training program for new shepherds and grazing entrepreneurs.

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.

At the American Sustainable Business Network, Colton manages the Clean Water is Good for Business and the Regenerative Agriculture and Justice initiatives that connect business leaders with issue advocacy. He obtained his M.A. in Global Environmental Policy from American University and published the peer-reviewed article "Ecological Costs of discrimination: racism, red cedar, and resilience in farm bill conservation policy in Oklahoma, in the Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems." He previously worked on sustainability, agriculture, and justice through fellowships at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Food Tank, and the Rural Coalition. Before entering the policy world, Colton worked in sales and marketing for the natural foods industry and spent time on organic farms in Spain and Costa Rica through work exchange programs.

What do I want? Equitable access and financial support for anyone interested in sustainable, growth-oriented, generational wealth building entrepreneurship!

When do I want it?? Now!!

Combining 2 decades of experience assessing, creating and optimizing people and operational "systems" with a doctorate in Public Policy and Education Leadership - Cynthia tries to throw the majority of her mental effort and physical labor behind actions and initiatives that solve the (arbitrary, racist and systemic) inequities that prevent individuals from fully realizing economic market success.

Cynthia Samanian is the founder and CEO of Hidden Rhythm, an experiential marketing agency for natural food and wellness brands. From interactive dinners to pop-ups, Hidden Rhythm’s one-of-a-kind events showcase brands to influencers, media, and more. Cynthia is also the host of The Business of Experience, a new podcast that uncovers tactics, inspiration, and resources to elevate events into engaging and impactful experiences.

Dan Kurzrock is the co-founder and "Chief Grain Officer" of ReGrained. ReGrained is an ingredient company and packaged foods innovator that rescues and upcycles nutritious grain generated by the brewing industry into SuperGrain+ flour. SuperGrain+ is versatile ingredient that produces tasty better-for-you better-for-planet foods from savory to sweet applications. Dan created ReGrained out of his hobby for homebrewing beer, where he first discovered that so-called "spent" grain could be given a delicious second life. He is now obsessed with better aligning the food we eat with the planet we love through Edible Upcycling.

Daniel has contributed to the foundational success of 5 technology startups and has worked in Silicon Valley, Israel, and Asia Pacific. At VMware R&D he founded the prototyping practice and has a gift for scaling and accelerating early stage teams.

Darren Preston was born and raised in New York City. In 2008, he moved to California to attend Menlo College, where he studied business. As an entrepreneur, he has experienced a multifaceted journey. His vegan lifestyle began in 2012, inspired by his passion for animal rights. In 2019, noticing a lack of local plant-based options in the Bay Area, he founded Malibu's Burgers. The startup started as a food truck in 2020 and uniquely grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the restaurant is located at 326 23rd Street, Oakland.

Darren believes that food can be both plant-based and flavorful. Most menu items are inspired by nostalgic comfort foods from the cooking of his Foundational Black American and Puerto Rican grandmothers in New York City, as well as his own mother’s cooking, known colloquially as Chef Lulu, founder of Casa Borinquena.

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.

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.

Dry farmed organic produce.

David co-leads the Food & Beverage Practice at the law firm Hanson Bridgett, a long-time Certified B Corporation. He is an experienced business attorney, providing corporate, tax, and international licensing and distribution expertise to the firm's agribusiness and other transactional clients.

David Mancera is a Monterey County native and deeply connected with the agriculture sector, rooted in his early experiences as a child laborer in the fields. His foundational years in agriculture propelled him to earn a bachelor's degree in Agriculture Business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, fostering a career that began in sales and marketing and evolved across various facets of the industry. David's trajectory in produce sales at FoodSource Inc. not only broadened his professional network but laid the groundwork for advanced studies, culminating in a Masters in Agriculture and Resource Economics from UC Davis. He currently serves as a Director of Kitchen Table Advisors, where he uses his extensive knowledge and passion to empower small farmers. David also dedicates his time to educating future generations in sustainable agriculture practices.