Meet Our Speakers
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin
CEO & Managing Director, Food Systems for the Future Institute
Ertharin Cousin is the Managing Director and CEO Food Systems for the Future Institute. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. From 2012 to 2017, she led the UN World Food Programme, providing food assistance to over 80 million people annually. Cousin served as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2009 to 2012. She has held leadership roles at Feeding America and in corporate retail. Cousin is on several boards and has been recognized on multiple influential lists.
Aaron Johnson
CEO & Owner, Oasis Fresh Market
Aaron “AJ” Johnson is the Owner & CEO of Oasis Fresh Market and Oasis Fresh Foundation. Before Oasis opened in 2021, North Tulsa, near Historic Greenwood’s Black Wall Street district, had been labeled a ‘food desert’ for over 14 years. AJ became passionate about contributing to long term health for residents in underserved communities when he learned that the life expectancy was 11 years shorter than other parts of Tulsa. Now his vision to create an Oasis in the middle of a food desert has become a reality. Oasis exists to eradicate food deserts by providing fresh and healthy access to all. Oasis Fresh Market aims to change the narrative of America’s underserved populations by bringing grocery innovation to food deserts across the nation. Oasis offers vital resources to families and connects them with local assistance programs that will exponentially increase their livelihoods. AJ is honored to build bridges for customers, community residents, and employees with valuable resources to improve health and wellness from a holistic lens. “The word Oasis means refuge, safe place, shelter,” AJ says. “We offer more than just groceries. We’re equipping people for life!” AJ is a graduate of The University of Tulsa and was nominated Distinguished Alumni in 2022 for his work in North Tulsa.
April S. Love
Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic
April joined the Food Law and Policy Clinic in January 2025. Prior to joining FLPC, she served as the Policy Analyst for the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University (The Policy Center), where she led the development of equity-centered policy recommendations to ensure farmers of color are prioritized in legislation and programming. April is passionate about supporting historically marginalized groups and communities through equity-focused policy development and education. Prior to her role at The Policy Center, April served as a law clerk for the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, the Louisiana State Senate, and the Louisiana House of Representatives. She holds a BA in English from Tougaloo College, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Mississippi, and a JD from Southern University Law Center, where she earned certificates in Public Law and Tax Law. April is an active member of the Louisiana Bar.
Bob Tucker
President, Chicago Community Loan Fund
Bob Tucker serves as President of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, where he leads the organization’s strategic vision and oversees its nonprofit financing and support services. He previously held roles as Interim President and Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President of Programs at CCLF. Bob brings extensive experience in credit analysis and complex financing. Prior to joining CCLF, he was Corporate General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and a Partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP. He holds a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a BA from Emory University.
Chris Gessele
Cooperative Development Specialist, North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives
Chris Gessele serves as a Co-op Development Specialist on the Rural Development Services team at the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) in Mandan, ND. A member of the team since 2023, Chris's areas of focus include partnering with rural communities across the state to improve food access and sustain quality of life in rural North Dakota. Chris has a professional background in corporate communications and newspaper journalism, and lives in Bismarck with his wife and three children.
Danielle Nierenberg
President and Co-Founder, Food Tank
Danielle Nierenberg is a world-renowned researcher, speaker, and advocate on all issues relating to our food system and agriculture. In 2013, Danielle Nierenberg co-founded Food Tank (foodtank.com) with Bernard Pollack, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Food Tank is a global convener, thought leadership organization, and unbiased creator of original research impacting the food system. Danielle has an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and spent two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. Danielle is the recipient of the 2020 Julia Child Award.
Dion Dawson
Founder/CEO, Dion’s Chicago Dream/Cosmic Crate
Dion Dawson is the founder and Chief Dreamer of Dion’s Chicago Dream and CEO of Cosmic Crate, a technology platform helping organizations run smarter, more efficient operations. He started his work on Chicago’s South Side and has grown it into a multimillion-dollar operation that now delivers fresh food to more than 5,000 families every week. His work proves that big problems like food insecurity can be solved with the right systems, discipline, and vision. Dion is a TED speaker and nationally recognized leader who has been honored by the White House, Crain’s Chicago Business, and the Chicago Innovation Awards. More importantly, he’s someone who believes in building real opportunities, creating jobs, and showing what’s possible when you stay committed to your purpose.
Eli Moraru
Co-Founder & President, The Community Grocer
Eli Moraru is an award-winning social entrepreneur with a deep commitment to food justice and neighborhood-led change. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (2021), Eli has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree in the Social Impact Category, by the Philadelphia Business Journal as an Inno Under 25 Honoree, awarded the Inaugural Penn President's Sustainability Prize by the University of Pennsylvania, and has been featured on MSNBC, NowThis, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and NPR, among others. With roots in political activism and a love for all things food, Eli brings a people-powered approach to building systems that work for everyone. As the Co-Founder of The Community Grocer he alongside his Co-Founder Alex Imbot and a coalition of stakeholders are reimagining the corner store as a new pillar of health equity, nutrition access, and community resilience from soil to supper.
Elizabeth (Liz) Abunaw
Owner/Operator, Forty Acres Fresh Market
Liz Abunaw is the founder and owner/operator of Forty Acres Fresh Market, a Chicago based grocer launched in January 2018. Alarmed by the lack of fresh food options on Chicago’s west side, after leaving her sales job at Microsoft in November 2017, Liz committed to opening an affordable fresh market with a bountiful selection of produce, meat, grocery staples, and more in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Starting with an innovative mobile strategy centered on full-selection pop up produce markets, Liz has grown Forty Acres from idea to a robust business that includes a 10,000 square foot brick and mortar store that opened in September 2025. Since its inception, Forty Acres Fresh Market has serviced thousands of customers throughout the city of Chicago through popup produce markets, residential delivery services, and its full-service grocery store. Forty Acres’ impact on food accessibility in Austin has garnered investment from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the USDA Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the American Heart Association Social Impact Fund, Famous Amos Ingredients For Success Initiative, the city of Chicago, State of IL, and other funders. Prior to launching Forty Acres Fresh Market Liz was a partner manager in Microsoft’s sales division and before that spent ten years at General Mills, Inc. A native of New York state, Abunaw moved to Chicago in 2012 when awarded a full-tuition fellowship to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, from which she graduated in 2014. Liz is a 2002 Cornell University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Policy Analysis and Management. She holds the staunch position that while Chicago deep dish is delicious, it is not pizza. It is casserole. Pizza folds.
Evan Daily
Senior Program Manager, Economic Development, Invest Atlanta
Evan Daily serves as Senior Program Manager of Economic Development at Invest Atlanta, where he leads the organization’s award-winning food access strategy, deploying place-based investments in disinvested communities to improve access to healthy, affordable food, strengthen economic mobility, and build healthier, more resilient neighborhoods. Evan builds systems, programs, and partnerships that translate economic development priorities into measurable outcomes. Working across public institutions, local and national businesses, nonprofit organizations, and neighborhoods across Atlanta, he has helped catalyze nearly $92 million in capital investment and supported 676 jobs citywide. Through the organization’s food access strategy, Evan stewards nearly $19 million in public capital and, in 2025 alone, supported 31 businesses and expanded access for more than 650,000 shoppers through loan, grant, technical assistance, and commercial site selection programs. As an architect of Azalea Fresh Market, Atlanta’s public-private grocery store, Evan is an advocate for partnerships designed to close market gaps to deliver both financial and community returns. He is deeply committed to leveraging food systems as a tool for creating lasting, positive social, environmental, and commercial outcomes, at the intersection of public institutions, the private sector, and communities. Before joining Invest Atlanta, Evan built a multidisciplinary foundation across commercial real estate due diligence, food security research, municipal food policy, public health and nutrition, and agricultural systems and enterprise development. His work has ranged from shaping food access policy for the City of Atlanta, leading community food security research in Atlanta’s Spanish speaking community, designing vertical agriculture production systems in Costa Rica, connecting smallholder farmers to capital in Kenya, and supporting pasture-based livestock operations in New Zealand. Evan holds a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness from Massey University in New Zealand and a master’s degree with honors in Agribusiness Innovation from La Universidad EARTH in Costa Rica.
Greg Hummel
Owner, The Law Offices of Gregory Hummel LLC (DBA PPP-Law)
Gregory Hummel is a public-private partnership lawyer whose practice, Gregory Hummel dba ppp-law, focuses on real estate development and finance, design and construction contracts, project finance, public finance, incentives, and complex public-private partnerships. His work is centered on projects where public purpose and private execution must be aligned through disciplined structuring, realistic capital stacks, credible operating partners, and practical implementation documents.
Greg has advised on development and infrastructure-related transactions that require coordination among public agencies, private developers, lenders, investors, contractors, consultants, and community stakeholders. His experience includes structuring incentive packages, development agreements, project documents, financing arrangements, and risk-allocation frameworks that make complicated projects financeable, buildable, and sustainable. He has lectured and published through both PLI and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, where he is a senior member.
For community-serving grocery and neighborhood retail initiatives, Greg’s perspective is that success depends on more than placing a store in an underserved community. A durable grocery project must combine the right site, the right operator, the right capital structure, and the right community fit. That means understanding how residents actually shop, what products and prices will earn trust, how SNAP/WIC and transportation access affect demand, and whether the operating model can survive after opening day. His public-private partnership practice brings a practical lens to these issues: public incentives should close real feasibility gaps, private operators must be accountable and capable, and community-serving retail should be structured to stay open, serve well, and strengthen the neighborhood over time.
Jon Roesser
General Manager, Weavers Way Cooperative Association
Jon Roesser is one of the leading figures in the Philadelphia cooperative economy. Jon has been the General Manager of Weavers Way Cooperative Association since May, 2015. Prior to his role as general manager, Jon served as the Co-op’s human resources manager for six years. As General Manager of Weavers Way, Jon is committed to rebuilding local control over the Philadelphia region’s economy by engaging in commerce in a way that is fairer and more sustainable, and where prosperity is more evenly shared. Jon is a leader in reestablishing the Philadelphia “Food Shed” by providing locally-owned and operated food producers and growers with access to the values-driven consumer marketplace. He is also an advocate for a food system that is environmentally and ethically responsible. Jon believes that existing needs-based food access programs are essential but inadequate, and that food insecurity can be greatly reduced through creative, neighbor-helping-neighbor solutions. Prior to joining Weavers Way, Jon worked for 13 years with the Adecco Corporation where he specialized in talent acquisition and business management. Currently, Jon serves on the Montgomery County (PA) Sustainability Committee and the Board of Directors of the Mt. Airy CDC. A native of Philadelphia, Jon has a bachelor’s degree in communications from La Salle University and a master’s degree in English from Arcadia University.
Justin King
Policy Director, Propel
Justin King is Policy Director at Propel. He works to connect Propel’s millions of customers with policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure their needs and experiences are represented in the policy process. Prior to joining Propel, Mr. King was Associate Director in the Financial Security Program at the Aspen Institute and worked for more than 12 years at New America. His work has centered on developing and advancing innovative public policies that expand economic opportunity. Mr. King spent nearly seven years as a staffer for former U.S. Senator James Jeffords (I-VT), working extensively on both the Senate Finance and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committees. He was responsible for a wide range of issues affecting children and low-income Americans, including TANF, Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. His writing and commentary have appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Vox, and The Washington Monthly. He is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and a native of Vermont.
Kate MacKenzie
Executive Director, NYC Mayor's Office of Food Policy
Kate MacKenzie serves as the Executive Director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Food Policy, bringing over 20 years of experience transforming government systems to increase food affordability, equity, and sustainability for 8.5 million residents. A Registered Dietitian, she combines a human-centered perspective with rigorous data to build effective policies. A cornerstone of her work is revolutionizing food education and school meals for the nation's largest district. She secured $250 million for a novel food initiative across 1,600 public schools and integrated science-based, plant-protein standards that exceed federal requirements, impacting over 230 million meals annually. Her approach pairs procurement reform with nutrition education, setting a national best practice for how school food systems can promote health, equity, and climate resilience. She spearheaded NYC’s first 10-year food strategy, Food Forward NYC, and pioneered the country's largest pandemic food response. Her leadership in securing the $500M Good Food Purchasing Initiative earned the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact’s top governance honor. An acclaimed speaker featured in The New York Times and at global forums, she serves on the boards of Common Threads and Grow NYC. Driven by the belief that food is a force for good, her work ensures it fosters health, stability, and stronger communities for all New Yorkers.
Lyneir Richardson
CEO, The Chicago TREND Corporation
Lyneir Richardson is Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School and serves as the Executive Director of the university’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. Lyneir is also CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation, a commercial real estate firm that owns six urban shopping centers and provides economic advisory services to corporations, government agencies and large philanthropic organizations. . Previously, Lyneir was the CEO of the primary economic development corporation in Newark, NJ attracting investment and jobs to the city during two mayoral administrations. Prior to that he also served as Vice President of General Growth Properties Inc. and led a national initiative to develop shopping centers in urban underserved areas. Early in his career, Lyneir was named a U.S. Small Business Administration "Young Entrepreneur of the Year." He began his career as a corporate attorney at the First National Bank of Chicago. Lyneir holds an appointment as a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution and as a Wealth Innovation Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He graduated from Bradley University and the University of Chicago Law School.
Mari Gallagher
Principal, Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group
Mari Gallagher, Principal of Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group, is among the earliest “food as medicine” promoters. She authored Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, a breakthrough study that popularized the term “Food Desert” nationally in 2006 and encouraged Congress to enter “Food Desert” language into the Farm Bill, resulting in billions of investment dollars flowing to disadvantaged communities.
Mari is a market maverick. She led a $75 million shopping center initiative anchored by a full-service grocery store adjacent to the second busiest transportation hub in Chicago. Despite high residential and daytime density, the community had lost its only grocery option. Mari managed the development, advanced community training for construction and retail, and negotiated a 5% community ownership to support ongoing community programs.
Mari conducts market studies for chains, independents, co-ops, and organizations and governments seeking grocer development and retention strategies. When needed, she quantifies impacts on sales from neighborhood crime and develops mitigating strategies to improve market conditions, sales, and safety. In addition to pinpointed food desert, food balance, and buying power analysis, Mari pioneered a hyper-local food insecurity model, intersecting the lack of adequate geographic access to grocery stores with the lack of enough financial access to buying enough groceries to meet basic human needs. Mari’s model to quantify net missing meals is highly reliable, hyper local, and nets out all ways all households of all income levels acquire any type of food or groceries, including income, government programs, food banks, help from friends and family, and any other way that food or meals are acquired. Mari is currently designing strategies to channel the procurement of needed charitable groceries from grocery ventures to boost the grocer’s purchasing power and sustainability in troubled markets. More at MariGallagher.com.
Melissa Ackerman
CEO/Founder, Planet Harvest
Melissa Melshenker Ackerman is the Founder and CEO of Planet Harvest, a mission-driven, forprofit company focused on moving more fresh produce from farms to families. Planet Harvest turns excess and available produce into purpose-built food solutions that reduce waste, strengthen farm economics, and deliver measurable impact. Before founding Planet Harvest, Melissa served as President of Produce Alliance, one of the country’s largest produce management and procurement companies. During the pandemic, she helped spearhead the company’s work on the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program, delivering millions of boxes of fresh food to families in need while helping farmers maintain operations. That experience inspired her to launch Planet Harvest in 2023 with a clear mission: redesign the fresh produce supply chain so farmers can sell more of what they grow, communities receive more fresh food, and the entire system operates with greater efficiency, integrity, and impact.
Mike Lee
Principal Futurist, The Future Market
MIKE LEE Author & Designer, MISE Principal Futurist, THE FUTURE MARKET Mike is the author and designer of Mise: On the Future of Food, a book of scenarios depicting what our food system could look like in the future. Ranging from 2033 to 2067, the four scenarios in Mise (pronounced "meez") help readers understand the potential long-term impact of today’s current events on how we make and eat food in the coming decades. As the principal futurist of The Future Market, Mike explores what our food system could look like in the next 5 to 50 years. He partners with established food and agriculture companies to research the future of food and develop innovation strategies that empower them to flourish. Through The Future Market and his previous venture, Alpha Food Labs, Mike has created future scenarios and innovation strategies for organizations including Danone, Mars, Campbell’s, Simple Mills, and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Previously, he served on the Innovation & New Ventures team at Chobani. A frequent global speaker, Mike has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, Fast Company, and The New York Times, as well as at events like Natural Products Expo and Groceryshop. He regularly writes about innovation at thefuturemarket.substack.com. Raised in Metro Detroit by a family of Chinese American restaurant owners, Mike draws on the region's diverse innovation frameworks—from family food ventures to the auto industry's concept cars—to shape his forward-looking methodology. He holds a business degree from the University of Michigan and a design degree from the Parsons School of Design.
Rodger Cooley
Executive Director, Chicago Food Policy Action Council
Rodger Cooley, Executive Director of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC), has worked for 25+ years in urban agriculture and sustainable equitable food systems helping facilitate policy and projects. Rodger previously spent 9 years with Heifer International, supporting the development of urban and rural farming projects in Chicago and the mid-western United States. CFPAC works by supporting community partners across the food system to build trust for collaborative systems change. CFPAC’s team and community partners advocated for and directly support the implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Policy (GFPP) in the City of Chicago, Cook County, as well as local health care and higher educational facilities. CFPAC has also partnered with Illinois allies to reform and update composting, school food purchasing, worker cooperative regulations, and expanding funding for local food infrastructure. Rodger serves on the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation, the Chicago Food Equity Council, the IL Agriculture Equity Commission, and is the Board Chair for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Rodger has a Master's degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College and has served as adjunct faculty at DePaul University and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Ruby Ferguson
Senior Director of Community Engagement, The Greater Chicago Food Depository
Ruby Ferguson is a food justice strategist, trust-builder, and nutrition expert committed to celebrating food by transforming food systems. She serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Relationships and Community Planning at the Greater Chicago Food Depository and was appointed as the city’s first Food Equity Policy Lead in the Mayor’s Office. In this role, she stewards the Food Equity Council, uniting city leaders and grassroots organizations to advance the Food Equity Agenda. With a background as a registered dietitian, Ruby previously directed nutrition services at a Federally Qualified Health Center, where she oversaw WIC clinics, clinical dietetics, and community cooking programs. Her work is grounded in building trust across systems and uplifting the leadership of those who also dream of a more equitable and vibrant food system. Ruby holds degrees from Spelman College (BA/BS), Auburn University (MEd), and the University of Illinois at Chicago (MS).
Sean Park
Program Director - Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University
Sean Park is currently a Program director for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. As Director of the Value-Added Sustainable Development Center, he works with rural communities to develop sustainable business models that address community needs. Sean has worked as an Economic Development Director, an SBDC Advisor, and the owner/operator of a grocery store in rural Illinois for 10 years. He currently leads the technical assistance for the Illinois Grocery Initiative, a state program providing funds for grocery startups in food deserts.
Stacy Dean
Carbonell Family Executive Director- GW Global Food Institute
As the Carbonell Family Executive Director, Dean champions the institute’s mission to change the world through the power of food. She is a renowned national food policy leader with more than 30 years of experience in the government and non-profit sectors, dedicated to improving nutrition assistance for struggling Americans and tackling barriers ingrained within nutrition programs. Her distinguished career includes her most recent role as the Deputy Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, where she led the Administration’s work on federal nutrition programs. In this role, Dean was instrumental in strengthening the agency’s efforts on food and nutrition security as well as local food systems and resilience.
Prior to her role at USDA, Dean served as the Vice President for Food Assistance Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where she led their research and advocacy work on federal nutrition programs as well as other safety net programs. She has authored scores of papers and analyses on federal nutrition programs, testified before Congress and has been frequently quoted in the media, including the NYTimes, Politico and other publications.
Stacy holds a Master’s in Public Policy and a BA from the University of Michigan.
Stacy is an affiliated faculty member of the Global Women's Institute (GWI) at GW.
Tariq Sheriff
Business Development & Strategy Manager - Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), DC
Tariq Sheriff is the Business Development & Strategy Manager in the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) where he leads the District’s Food Ecosystem development. In this role, he spearheads the creation and implementation of programs and strategies which increase amenity-rich neighborhoods to address inequitable food access. This work includes the management and oversight of several key programs including the Food Access Fund, grocery store attraction and incentive programming, food systems infrastructure programs, and the Nourish DC Collaborative which is a public-private partnership that leverages public dollars to derisk private and philanthropic investments in the District’s food system at a 4:1 match.
Prior to his work at DMPED, Tariq served as a Food Policy Advisor to the Food Policy Director at the Office of Planning where he was responsible for implementing the policy agenda, commitments to international cooperative agreements, and led food systems resiliency programming. As a former Chef, Tariq led the food production operations at DC Central Kitchen and was responsible for over 6000 daily meals for public and charter schools, shelters, and childcare centers.
As an experienced operations and policy leader, Tariq leverages his over 15 years of experience to create systems level change through strategic planning and policy development in collaboration with executives across the public and private sectors. Alongside his advocacy and operations work, Tariq is an Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellow, serves on the District’s Food Policy Council, and the Board of Directors for the Chef Ann Foundation. Tariq resides in the Washinton DC area with his wife and daughter and is a proud girl dad.
Andrew Kramer
President, Kramer Food Marketing
Andrew Kramer has been at the forefront of food marketing and ethnic specialty segments for over two decades. As the current President of Kramer Food Marketing, Inc., he leverages his extensive experience to drive growth and innovation in the sector. His tenure at Ziyad Brothers Importing as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer witnessed strategic enhancements in operations and commercial endeavors, underpinning his capacity to elevate organizational performance. At Kramer Food Marketing Group, Andrew demonstrated his expertise by developing comprehensive marketing strategies for small to mid-sized companies, particularly in ethnic and specialty food niches. His deep understanding of sales and marketing relationships has been pivotal for brands like Urban Accents, Kim & Scott's Pretzels, and Wild Garden Hummus, among others.
Andrew's commitment to category management is evident from his successful initiatives across various food categories and significant retailers such as Jewel, Kroger, and Walmart. Prior to these roles, he made notable contributions at Sears Holdings Corporation as VP/GM Merchandising Innovation, where he was instrumental in developing the Smart Sense brand and advancing ethnic marketing strategies. Andrew's leadership at DPI Specialty Foods as President of the Midwest Division resulted in substantial business growth from $75 Million to $98 Million, managing a diverse team across multiple departments. His vision for national marketing efforts took shape during his tenure as VP Marketing for DPI Specialty Foods, where he hired directors across key segments such as Kosher and Hispanic foods. At Albertsons, as National Director of Ethnic Marketing and Specialty Foods, Andrew led a team dedicated to diverse food segments that catered to varied cultural tastes. During his time at Jewel Food Stores, he introduced innovative programs like the Signature Salmon initiative and managed critical categories including Ethnic Foods.
A holder of an MBA in Marketing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andrew's academic background complements his professional achievements. He is proficient in Italian with professional working knowledge and has elementary proficiency in Spanish.
Mark Watson
Co-Founder and President, Potlikker Capital
Mark Watson is Co-founder and President of Potlikker Capital, a farm community governed charitable integrated capital fund dedicated to supporting BIPOC farmers at the intersection of racial and climate justice. He is also the founder of Keel Asset Management LLC, a financial advisory firm that provided socially responsible financial planning and investment advisory services to nonprofits, public and corporation pension plans. Mr. Watson started his career as a banker at the First National Bank of Chicago, now JP Morgan in commercial banking, corporate and public finance. He had a 35-year career which included managing investment portfolios for foundations, endowments, private and public pensions funds. Mr. Watson also co-designed and helped to launch and manage an integrated racial justice capital fund which deployed capital to BIPOC entrepreneurs , The Boston Impact Initiative Fund. He serves as an advisory board Member of MIT/Health Innovation Systems Inc.; a Steering Committee member of Transformative Investors in Food Systems (TIFS) ; a Director of Winrock International and Board Chair of Possibility Labs. Mr. Watson holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance, University of Illinois Champaign -Urbana and a master’s in business administration, The Booth School, University of Chicago.
Jordan Schenck
Chief Executive Officer, Flashfood
Jordan Schenck is Chief Executive Officer for Flashfood, an app-based marketplace that strives to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with affordable, fresh groceries before they’re thrown away. Prior to taking the CEO role in May of 2025, Jordan served as Flashfood’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Jordan Schenck is a global consumer brand and technology leader, named as one of Forbes’ top 50 Most Innovative Chief Marketing Officers in 2021, and offers deep expertise and experience in building sustainability-focused brands. She served as head of consumer marketing for Impossible Foods and as co-founder, chief revenue officer of beloved wellness brand Sunwink.
At Sunwink, Schenck led the company to become one of the fastest growing ready-to-drink beverages in the market. As head of consumer marketing for Impossible Foods Jordan supported the company's growth from foodservice to quick-service restaurants, launched the company's product with national chains like Burger King, and expanded its presence into new markets.
Jordan serves on several food tech boards, including Atomo Coffee, a food-tech startup improving coffee taste and confronting the climate crisis by reinventing coffee for tomorrow.
Rachel Newman
Community Health Manager, Restore OKC
Jordan Schenck is Chief Executive Officer for Flashfood, an app-based marketplace that strives to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with affordable, fresh groceries before they’re thrown away. Prior to taking the CEO role in May of 2025, Jordan served as Flashfood’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Jordan Schenck is a global consumer brand and technology leader, named as one of Forbes’ top 50 Most Innovative Chief Marketing Officers in 2021, and offers deep expertise and experience in building sustainability-focused brands. She served as head of consumer marketing for Impossible Foods and as co-founder, chief revenue officer of beloved wellness brand Sunwink.
At Sunwink, Schenck led the company to become one of the fastest growing ready-to-drink beverages in the market. As head of consumer marketing for Impossible Foods Jordan supported the company's growth from foodservice to quick-service restaurants, launched the company's product with national chains like Burger King, and expanded its presence into new markets.
Jordan serves on several food tech boards, including Atomo Coffee, a food-tech startup improving coffee taste and confronting the climate crisis by reinventing coffee for tomorrow.
Joe White
CEO, Everseen
Joe White is the Chief Executive Officer of Everseen, a global leader in Vision AI solutions transforming retail operations. With over 30 years of experience in enterprise technology, he has built and scaled innovative solutions across retail, logistics, and industrial sectors. Prior to joining Everseen, White served as Chief Product and Solutions Officer at Zebra Technologies, where he led strategy and development for a broad portfolio including machine vision and mobile computing. His career also includes leadership roles at Motorola and Symbol Technologies. Known for driving large-scale innovation and customer-centric growth, White is focused on expanding Everseen’s AI capabilities and accelerating its global impact.
Doug Rauch
Former President, Trader Joe’s
Doug Rauch spent 31 years with Trader Joe’s Company, the last 14 years as a president, growing the business from a small, nine-store chain in Southern California to a nationally-acclaimed retail success story with more than 340 stores in 30 states. How did Trader Joe’s, a company that started as a 7/11 knockoff, become the hottest retailer in America? The answer lies in its innovation. Rauch developed the company’s prized buying philosophy, created its unique private label food program, and wrote and executed the business plan for expanding Trader Joe’s nationally. He also championed the development and execution of Trader Joe’s University and the prized customer experience orientation. He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.
Through his experience at the Trader Joe’s, Rauch has learned to be a master of innovation. In multimedia presentations filled with great stories and eye-opening case studies, he shares how to create a self-sustaining culture of innovation, build a brand in a competitive marketplace, and lead with a purpose.
Rauch retired from Trader Joe’s in 2008. He is currently a board member at Conscious Capitalism, which looks at how four specific tenets—higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture—can simultaneously build stronger businesses and improve society as a whole.
He was also a recent senior fellow at the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative, where he focused on the challenges of food waste, hunger, and obesity.
Rauch received his executive MBA from the Peter Drucker School of Management, Claremont University, where he won several honorary awards including the Early Career Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. Rauch is also a trustee at Olin College, chairs the board of overseers at WBUR, and serves on the board of several for-profit and non-profit companies.
Rob Karr
President & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association
As President & CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), Rob brings over 30 years of experience to the Association. Rob joined the IRMA in 1994, coordinating IRMA’s government relations efforts. Additionally, he had the responsibility for IRMA’s membership development efforts. In 2012, Rob was named Executive Vice President and assumed the position of President & CEO on Jan. 1, 2014. Rob currently serves on the Employment Security Advisory Board to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Illinois Attorney General’s Franchise Advisory Board, and the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Food Safety Advisory Committee. In 2009, Rob was appointed by then-Governor Pat Quinn to serve on the temporary Pension Systems Modernization Task Force. In addition, Rob served on the Board of the Council of State Retail Associations from 2014-2020 and as Chairman in 2019. In 2025, Rob was elected to the Board of the Illinois Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). In 2021, Karr was recognized by United to Safeguard Against Illicit-Trade for his work in Illinois enacting a comprehensive organized retail crime law. In 2024, FMI- The Food Industry Association, bestowed upon Rob the Donald H. MacManus Award for extraordinary achievements in public affairs. This year, the National Retail Federation presented Rob with the J. Thomas Weyant Award. Established in 1995, this award recognizes individuals who enhance the retail business environment in their state and promote the economic benefits of the retail industry. He is a graduate of Illinois State University. Rob is a native of Chicago and long-time resident of Jacksonville where he and his wife, Lori, reside. They are the proud parents of four and are the really proud grandparents of one.
Liz Ravenscroft
Manager, Circle C Market
Liz began working at Circle C Market in Cody, Nebraska, in May 2021, where she teaches Accounting, Personal Finance, Marketing, Work-Based Learning, Introduction to Business, and junior high technology, and manages a student-run grocery store that provides hands-on retail experience. The market was established through an interlocal agreement between the school and the Village of Cody, a partnership that was developed to support both education and community sustainability. With an MBA in IT Education, she combines classroom instruction with real-world application, helping students develop business, leadership, and customer service skills. In addition to her work in education and retail, Liz and her husband, Kevin, are actively involved in their family's ranching operation, which gives her a strong appreciation for the connection between local producers and rural grocery systems. They have two daughters: Kayleigh, a recent graduate of Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools, and Lilly, who is entering 11th grade. Her combined experience in education, small business management, and rural community sustainability provides her with a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing independent rural grocery stores.
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