.png)
speaker bios
Please find below bios, by category
1) Lunch Keynote - Pursuit of Excellence: "Growing for Gold"
2) Plant-Powered Trends - menu, guest & consumer insights
3) Game Changers - they'll have you "Seeing Around Corners"
4) Global Supply Chain & Industry - ag & food systems in a changing world
Lunch Keynote - Pursuit of Excellence: "Growing for Gold"
.jpg)
Cheryl Pounder, Gold Medal Champion
It's always about the journey. That’s the message women’s hockey champion Cheryl Pounder seeks to instill in every audience she speaks to. Believing that learning from our successes, as well as our failures, is the key to staying on the path toward excellence, Cheryl shows audiences that true achievement is found on the way to winning gold.
Cheryl played on six of Canada’s World Championship Hockey Teams, where she was named an All-Star Defense-man in 2005. She was also voted the Top Defense-man at the 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 Canadian National Hockey Championships. Her greatest career accomplishments are her two Olympic gold medals from the Salt Lake City and Torino Olympic Games, and being crowned the International Ice Hockey Foundation World Champion six times.
Currently, Cheryl is a hockey analyst for TSN. She was also the colour commentator for the coverage of the women’s hockey tournament at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics for both TSN and CBC.
-----------------------------
Day Two 12:30-12:55PM | The G&M Centre - Pursuit of Excellence: “Growing for Gold”
-----------------------------
@cherylpounder
Plant-Powered Trends - menu, guest & consumer insights
.jpg)
Asad Amin, Vice President, Market Strategy & Understanding at Ipsos
Asad is Vice President with Ipsos and the resident Canadian consumption expert. He leads the syndicated Foodservice Monitor and the FIVE tracking studies.
Asad is a market research consultant with close to 20 years of supplier side research experience. His skillset ranges from set up, launch and management of large syndicated studies, brand health trackers and advertising copy tests.
Asad completed his education in the UK, earning his Master of Science degree in Operational Research from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also has his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Essex.
----------------------------
Day Two 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Emerging Ideas: The Future Plant-Powered Products & Menus
----------------------------
.jpg)
@amandatopper
Amanda Topper, Associate Director of Foodservice Research at Mintel
Amanda has more than a decade of market research experience spanning industries including healthcare, travel, hospitality, retail food, and foodservice. She is an Associate Director, responsible for overseeing Mintel's foodservice research offerings, and providing insight and competitive analysis across deliverables, and client and industry presentations. She was previously a Senior Analyst specializing in the retail food industry. Her insights have appeared in top outlets including The Wall Street Journal, GQ, CNN, TIME, and leading trade publications.
Prior to joining Mintel, Amanda was a Research Analyst at a global public relations agency working on full lifecycle market research projects that fueled public relations campaigns for food, beverage, and foodservice clients. She executed a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including online and telephone surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and online communities for clients.
Amanda is also well-versed in restaurant social media strategy, media analysis and measurement, and influencer relationships. She is a writer for several food publications including Thrillist and InsideHook, and manages a personal restaurant review blog and food Instagram account.
Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Sociology, and Business from Indiana University-Bloomington, as well as a Certificate in Principles of Marketing Research from the University of Georgia.
-----------------------------
Day Two 9:00-9:30AM | The G&M Centre - Plant-Based Menu Insights and Consumer Trends
-----------------------------
Day Two 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Menu Optimization: Insights & Consult with the Plant-Based Gurus
-----------------------------
_edited_p.png)
Margot Swindall, Director, Business Development of Technomic
Margot Swindall, Director of Business Development for Technomic, aligns syndicated and custom research and consulting insights to support strategic business growth for the company’s Canadian clients. She draws upon over 30 years of Canadian and U.S. industry experience, working for a variety of foodservice CPG, operator and distribution organizations, including Campbell’s, Unilever, Sabre Marketing Group, Sodexo, Sun Rich Fresh Foods and Fresh Start Foods. Her tenure at these organizations spanned innovation, customer marketing, insights, and sales and marketing leadership roles for food consumed away from home.
During her time at Sun Rich Fresh Foods, and Fresh Start Foods, Margot became intimately aware of the challenges and opportunities working in a fresh produce supply chain environment. Here she gained hands-on experience navigating independent to chain operator local and national supply of fresh, high quality produce.
Margot holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Guelph’s Hotel and Food Administration program, where she also taught marketing as a sessional instructor for three (3) terms. Margot’s passion and leadership for the foodservice industry have also played out in a variety of volunteer roles throughout the industry. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, golf, yoga and cycling. She is mother to three dynamic and ever-changing Generation Z young adults.
--------------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre -The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
--------------------------
Game Changers - they'll have you "Seeing Around Corners"
.jpeg)
Rita McGrath, Professor, Top 10 Global Business Thought Leader & Author from Columbia Business School
Rita Gunther McGrath is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, and a longtime professor at Columbia Business School. She is widely recognized as a premier expert on leading innovation and growth during times of uncertainty. Rita has received the #1 achievement award for strategy from the prestigious Thinkers50 and has been consistently named one of the world’s Top 10 management thinkers in its bi-annual ranking. As a consultant to CEOs, her work has had a lasting impact on the strategy and growth programs of Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
Rita is the author of the best-selling The End of Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). Her new book is Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). She has written three other books, including Discovery Driven Growth, cited by Clayton Christensen as creating one of the most important management ideas ever developed. She is a highly sought-after speaker at exclusive corporate events around the globe, such as the Global Peter Drucker Forum.
She received her Ph.D. from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.
Follow Rita on Twitter @rgmcgrath. For more information, visit RitaMcGrath.com.
-------------------------
Day 2 9:30-9:45AM | G&M Centre - Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen (via video)
-------------------------
@rgmcgrath
Margaret Coons, CEO & Founder of Nuts for Cheese
Food preparation and production have been long-time passions for Margaret. A vegetarian since the age of 12 and vegan since the age of 19, creating delicious alternatives to more conventionally available food products was a hobby that turned into a career. She didn’t grow up in a vegetarian family, so she began to cook for herself at a pretty young age and became interested in making vegetarian and vegan dishes. Working as a chef in a vegan restaurant, Margaret spent many late nights in the kitchen creating cashew-based vegan cheeses. In 2015 she decided to try her hand at a local farmers’ market booth with the vegan cheeses she had been making for a couple of years. This was when the young chef-turned-entrepreneur combined her passion for food and her commitment to her dietary choices to create Nuts for Cheese. Just as she started the booth at the farmers’ market, demand began to soar, retail requests came in and the business took off from there. Nuts for Cheese is currently available nationwide across Canada.
Margaret has strived to not only bring a fresh, certified organic, product to the food processing industry but also a positive approach to doing business that is grounded by values for sustainability and animal welfare. Nuts for Cheese stands proud as the largest and fastest-growing Ontario vegan cheese producer and with new flavours and other exciting releases on the horizon, 2019 represents an even more impressive chapter in the company’s story.
--------------------------
Day 2 9:45-10:30AM | The G&M Centre - CEO Panel: Capitalizing on Plant-Powered Menus with the Transformers
--------------------------
@nutsforcheese
.jpg)
Mark Kadonoff, co-CEO & Vice President of Sweets from the Earth
An experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record for negotiating sophisticated transactions and maximizing shareholder value, Marc has been involved in numerous businesses and industries. Marc is currently an equity investor and strategic advisor to several fast growing companies in the Health food, Marketing and High tech sectors. As Co-CEO and Vice President of Sweets from the Earth, Marc advises on all aspects of strategy, finance, marketing and operations. Sweets from the Earth was founded in 2002 with a passion for and a dedication to creating all-natural vegan baked goods. As a small family-owned bakery, our products are crafted in small batches using only the finest 100% plant based ingredients in either our DAIRY, EGG, SESAME, PEANUT & NUT FREE OR DAIRY, EGG, WHEAT & GLUTEN FREE bakeries. We offer a sinfully delicious assortment of cakes, cookies, bars, squares, breads and muffins available at natural food stores, grocery stores, cafes, schools and restaurants across Canada. All created without the use of refined sugars or artificial flavours / colours. Sweets from the Earth has been ranked one of Canada's fastest growing companies the last 7 years by Profit Magazine and is in the process of rolling out the Treats from the Earth brand across the US. Sweet. Natural. Sinfully delicious, ethical baked goods. www.sweetsfromtheearth.com Marc holds a B.Comm from McGill University, and an M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University.
--------------------------
Day 2 9:45-10:30AM | The G&M Centre - CEO Panel: Capitalizing on Plant-Powered Menus with the Transformers
--------------------------
@SFTEbakery
.jpg)
Susur Lee, Top Chef & Founder of Susur Lee Restaurant Group
Praised as one of the “Ten Chefs of the Millennium” by Food & Wine magazine, Susur Lee is still at the top of his game. Between helming four restaurants in Toronto—Lee, Kid Lee & Lee Kitchen—and overseeing his prestigious TungLok Heen in Singapore, Chef Lee makes numerous television appearances (Iron Chef America, Chopped Canada, Top Chef Masters, MasterChefAsia & Iron Chef Canada) and travels the globe as guest chef and consultant. He was recently named an ambassador to Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Canada’s 100 Best. In 2019 Chef Lee was named the first foreign chef to be granted The Red Chef’s Hat Award in Qing Dao. Balancing the epicurean traditions of China with the classical techniques of French cuisines, Chef Lee improvises a daring and original culinary aesthetic.
--------------------------
Day 2 9:45-10:30AM | The G&M Centre - CEO Panel: Capitalizing on Plant-Powered Menus with the Transformers
--------------------------
@susurlee
.jpg)
Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co.
Paul Shapiro is the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a B2B ingredients company that specializes in plant protein formulas, which it sells to major traditional meat companies for them to blend into their ground meats to enhance taste, nutrition, and sustainability. The Better Meat Co.'s plant protein ingredients are in meat products on 7,100 U.S. grocery store shelves. Paul is also author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, a four-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast.
--------------------------
Day 2 9:45-10:30AM | The G&M Centre - CEO Panel: Capitalizing on Plant-Powered Menus with the Transformers
--------------------------
@PaulHShapiro
.jpg)
@SharonPalmerRD
Sharon Palmer, RD, Brand Ambassador & Author - The Plant-Powered Dietitian
Sharon has created an award-winning career based on combining her two great loves: nutrition and writing. Sharon is an accomplished writer, editor, blogger, author, speaker, and media expert. In particular, her expertise is in plant-based nutrition, cooking, and sustainability.
Sharon has authored over 950 articles in a variety of publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, Prevention and LA Times. Her book The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Optimal Health, Beginning Today (The Experiment, July 2012) was a critical success, which was followed by her second book Plant-Powered for Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health with 52 Simple Steps & 125 Delicious Recipes in July 2014. In addition, she has contributed to several book chapters on nutrition and sustainability. Sharon serves as the nutrition editor for Today’s Dietitian and judge for the James Beard Journalism Awards, provides her expertise to many publications and organizations on an advisory basis, and speaks widely at conferences and in the media, including print, online, radio, podcasts, television, and film. And she still has time to blog every day for her popular online community (170K members strong and growing) at The Plant-Powered Dietitian.
Sharon recently completed her master’s degree in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College in Vermont, where she currently works as an advisor. Living in the chaparral hills overlooking Los Angeles with her husband and two sons, Sharon enjoys tending to her own organic garden, visiting the local farmers market every week, and cooking for friends and family.
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Menu Optimization: Insights & Consult with the Plant-Based Gurus
------------------------
.jpg)
@kaj_torok
Kaj Török, Chief Responsibility Officer & Chief Sustainability Officer at Max Burgers
Kaj Török is CRO (Chief Reputation Officer) and CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer) at MAX Burgers since 2016. After ten years as an external advisor to MAX he is now an integral part of the companies top management team. MAX Burgers is Sweden’s oldest burger chain. It is owned by the family Bergfors. MAX is number 2 in size among burger chains in Sweden but nr 1 in customer satisfaction in their industry 18 years in a row. MAX also has operations in Norway, Denmark, Poland and Egypt.
In 2019 MAX was awarded by the UN the world’s first climate positive menu. Fast company listed MAX as one of the most innovative companies in the world in 2019 and “Climate Positive” as one of the World Changing Ideas in 2019.
Kaj has repeatedly been named as one of Sweden's 100 top influential people within sustainability. He is a popular and frequent international keynote speaker. Kaj has worked with communications and sustainability since 1996 - always aiming to inspire a sustainable world where people and companies are worthy of trust.
Kaj has double training backgrounds; a science master's degree in Systems Ecology from Stockholm University where he also conducted research and in strategic communications from Bergh School of Communication and IHM (Master in business communication).
Kaj is 52 years old and lives in Stockholm with his wife and two sons.
---------------------------
Day 2 11:45AM-12:00PM | The G&M Centre - Keynote: The Max Burgers' Journey (via video from Stockholm)
---------------------------
.jpg)
@DanaMcCauley
Dana McCauley, New Venture Creation at the University of Guelph
Dana McCauley has a nose for the new and throughout her career she has combined an interest in food and insights on global food trends to bring profitable concepts that fulfill unmet consumer needs to market. As Director of New Venture Creation with the University of Guelph Dana’s mandate is to enable Canada's smartest agri-food researchers to transform their insights into commercial value. Dana was recognized as a Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner in 2017, an honour celebrating female leaders who inspire others.
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Emerging Ideas: The Future Plant-Powered Products & Menus
------------------------
.jpg)
Dave Bender, Global Vice President Research & Development at Griffith Foods
Dave Bender is the Global Vice President of Research & Development at Griffith Foods. Dave currently manages over 340 Research & Development Associates globally and oversees the strategic direction and implementation of the company’s innovation and research and development initiatives.
Prior to assuming this position, he served as Griffith Foods Canada’s Vice President of Research & Development and co-led the creation of Griffith Foods’ Global Innovation Council.
Dave joined the organization in 1997 and has held various roles in the commercial organization, including Vice President of Sales before managing research and development activities.
Dave’s previous experiences include progressive management roles at DuPont Canada, Morrison Lamothe Fine Foods and at Cuddy Food Products. Dave graduated with a MSc. in Marketing Management from the University of Guelph and holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Food Science.
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Emerging Ideas: The Future Plant-Powered Products & Menus
------------------------
.jpeg)
Dr. Amy Proulx, Culinary Innovation Professor at Niagara College
Dr. Amy Proulx is Professor and Academic Program Coordinator for the Culinary Innovation and Food Technology Programs at Niagara College. She has spent the past 8 years building up a culture of innovation in teaching and business practices for young workers joining the food manufacturing sector. She teaches food product commercialization, food safety management and entrepreneurship.
Amy is also the scientific leader which created the Canadian Food and Wine Institute Innovation Centre at Niagara College back in 2012. This is a Canadian Gov't funded Technology Access Centre for food and beverage innovation. She was highly involved in the strategic planning for the Centre, focusing on entrepreneurship, business development and technology access, along with student engagement and training. She has worked with hundreds of businesses around the world to help them make safe, high quality food.
Amy is the President-Elect for the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, a member of the National Board for Food Processing Skills Canada, and is on the International Union of Food Science and Technology's Education Committee. Building a community of intelligent and innovative young food scientists has been her joy, and she loves seeing young people take on successful technical careers.
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Emerging Ideas: The Future Plant-Powered Products & Menus
------------------------
@AmyProulx1
.jpg)
Kiki Adami, Founder of Veganizer
Kiki Adami is Founder of Veganizer, which started in 2015 in NYC, and has expanded to Boston and Portland. Collectively Veganizer has worked with nearly 100 restaurants, namely helping omnivore restaurants re-engineer their menus either partially or permanently. She continues to work with restaurants on a daily basis with the Veganizer Restaurant Guide - a virtual training course that gives a step-by-step guide on how to transition a restaurant to plant-based without losing its identity or customer base. Recently, she joined the Matthew Kenney Brand as the Director or Events and Catering Partnerships. Previously, Kiki worked in the Hotel and Cruising Industries as Director or Events and Programming for Holland America, and as a Corporate Event Planner for The Plaza Hotel.
--------------------------
Day 2 1 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Menu Optimization Insights & Consult with Plant-Based Gurus
--------------------------
Day 2 1 3:35-4:25PM | The G&M Centre - Decode & Amplify: How to Market your Plant-Powered Menu Offerings
--------------------------
@KikiAdami
.jpg)
Zak Weston, Foodservice Analyst at The Good Food Institute
Zak works at The Good Food Institute (GFI), an international nonprofit focused on creating a healthy, just, and sustainable foodsystem through plant-based protein innovation and cellular agriculture. He consults with leading foodservice operators, restaurant chains, investors, and suppliers to help increase the quality and quantity of their plant-based offerings and meet the growing consumer demand for plant-based foods. An active member of the Effective Altruism community, Zak holds a B.A. in Business Management from Cedarville University, and joined GFI after several years of experience in sales and working with startups.
----------------------------
Day Two 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Menu Optimization: Insights & Consult with the Plant-Based Gurus
----------------------------
@zakweston
.jpg)
Kathy Hunter, Director, Guest Experience at Envision Group - Compass Group Canada
Kathy Hunter is a creator and passionate foodie with an appetite for strategy that comes second only to her love of human beings. With more than 15 years in the food & beverage industry, her focus has been on developing and marketing powerhouse brands to a variety of audiences. Never compromising on quality and flavour - thriving from innovation and change.
Her professional experience spans operations, training, digital marketing, brand development, recipe development and facilitation. Kathy has successfully managed brands at all levels of business maturity, from well-known Canadian restaurant stalwarts with more than 40 years of operations, to building awareness and notoriety for fledgling new concepts. She combines her diverse brand experience with a creative, energetic spirit and insight that encourages a high-level of collaboration, execution and excitement!
Kathy earned a honours degree in Marketing from York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is a certified facilitator with Sashbear, where she has the privilege of delivering mental health copings skills to families across Canada, and she is a member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum.
She believes that laughter is truly “the brightest where food is” and her passion for people and food brings an overflow of joy in her life…
------------------------
Day Two 3:35-4:25PM | The G&M Centre - Decode & Amplify: How to Market your Plant-Powered Menu Offerings
------------------------
.png)
Gino Cantalini, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Giants & Gentlemen Advertising Inc.
Gino, together with his partners Natalie and Alanna, co-founded Giants & Gentlemen, a full-service, independent brand strategy, creative and design agency that does brave work that makes its clients stand out like giants, while always doing it with integrity, as gents.
For Gino (and G&G) “perspective is everything”. Exceptional solutions often require looking at a situation through many lenses, including exploring other industries for insight, ideas and learnings. Perspective is the core of what Gino brings to every challenge.
Gino’s perspective comes from leading marketing teams at places like Nestle, Campbell’s Soup Co, Labatt and TELUS. His efforts were recognized locally as a Marketing Magazine “Marketer that Matters” and globally with two Cannes Lions.
Gino has gained further perspective with a Master’s Certificate in Communications and by moving to the agency side of the boardroom table. As COO of G&G, Gino has provided strategic guidance to companies from RBC to SIR Corp, to Mucho Burrito and Dr. Oetker.
----------------------------
Day Two 3:35-4:25PM | The G&M Centre - Decode & Amplify: How to Market your Plant-Powered Menu Offerings
----------------------------
Global Supply Chain & Industry Experts - ag & food systems in a changing world
.jpg)
Shanna Munro, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada
Shanna Munro is president and CEO of Restaurants Canada whose advocacy efforts provide a platform for the voices of restaurant owners and foodservice operators to be heard.
With a career in the foodservice industry that spans more than 25 years, Shanna has earned a reputation as a dynamic visionary and a strong advocate for women in the workplace. She won’t hesitate to agitate the status quo to bring the strategic transformations required to gain competitive advantage and secure long-term sustainable growth. She excels at providing financial and strategic guidance to diverse business concerns, engineering economic models, and orchestrating brand plans that impart energy and focus throughout the organization. Dead set on the target, she delivers with passion and resolve.
Shanna is an advocate for advancing the industry through the lens of the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. In a rapidly changing consumer driven market, her goal is to influence foodservice operators to build businesses that can withstand industry ebbs and flows and in turn, leave the world in a better place for the next generation.
Through Restaurants Canada, Shanna is focused on uniting the supply chain for an industry that generates more than $89 billion a year in economic activity, employs 1.2 million Canadians, and serves more than 22 million customers every day. One of Restaurants Canada’s most value-added annual initiatives is the RC Show, a state-of-the-art forum where foodservice operators explore innovative equipment and products, menu ideations, and leading-edge trends: an industry must!
---------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre - The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
------------------------
@ShannaMunro
.jpg)
@ISUmacd
Dr. Ruth MacDonald, Professor and Chair, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, at Iowa State University, and Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Dr. MacDonald holds a PhD in Nutrition, minor in Food Science, and Masters in Nutrition, minor in Physiology from the University of Minnesota, and is a Registered Dietitian. She was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Joslin Diabetes Center for 2 years. Dr. MacDonald was on the faculty at the University of Missouri for 17 years, rising through the ranks from Assistant to Full Professor, prior to relocating to ISU in 2004.
Her research interests include the role of dietary factors in cancer progression, specifically breast, colon and prostate cancer.
While at the University of Missouri, she taught courses in nutritional biochemistry, sports nutrition and food science. At ISU she teaches a graduate course in nutritional oncology and an undergraduate course in food systems. With funding from the USDA she leads the Cyclone Scholars program that provides tuition scholarships to underrepresented minority students.
Dr. MacDonald gives public presentations on the science and safety of biotechnology in food and is a scientific expert for GMO Answers and Best Food Facts. Dr. MacDonald has traveled extensively, including as a faculty leader for the Dean’s Leadership Program in Rome that engages ISU students with researchers at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. She co-authored a textbook, Understanding Food Systems: Agriculture, Food Science and Nutrition in the United States (Elsevier, 2017).
---------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre -The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
------------------------
.jpg)
@brentloken
Dr. Brent Loken, Director of Science Translation at EAT
Brent is Director of Science Translation at EAT and was one of the lead authors on the EAT-Lancet Commission report. His current work focuses on translating the global scientific targets of the EAT-Lancet report into actionable targets. This includes working with businesses, cities, and nations to set science-based targets for the food systems; something which to date has not been done. For the September 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, Brent authored two important reports; one that assesses the national dietary guidelines of G20 countries and their potential for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and a second that provides specific solutions for reducing emissions from food, land-use, and food production. Brent has published numerous articles on health, sustainability, the environment, and endangered species conservation. In the past, Brent has been involved in building schools, saving rainforests, protecting endangered species, and working with indigenous peoples.
---------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre - The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Cool Food: How to Pledge, Plan & Profit
-------------------------
.jpg)
Richard Waite, Research Associate at World Resources Institute, Food Program
Richard Waite is a Research Associate in World Resources Institute’s Food Program. He works on two consumption-focused initiatives (Better Buying Lab and Cool Food Pledge) that bring together food providers and experts in marketing and behavior change to enable restaurant chains to promote more environmentally sustainable menus of food and drink. Recently he led the development of the method to help Cool Food Pledge signatories and other food providers estimate their food-related greenhouse gas emissions, set emissions reduction targets, and track progress over time. He is also an author of the World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future, which focuses on solutions to feed 10 billion people by 2050, and also authored installments on shifting diets and aquaculture.
Prior to joining WRI in 2007, Rich lived in Cameroon for four years, where he served as an agroforestry extension agent with the U.S. Peace Corps and then as Assistant Coordinator for the U.S. Embassy’s international development programs.
Rich holds an M.A. in International Development Studies, with concentrations in Environment and Food Security, from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and a B.A. from Hamilton College.
-----------------------------
Day Two 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Cool Food: How to Pledge, Plan & Profit
-----------------------------
@waiterich
.jpg)
Gordon Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada and Canadian Special Crops Association
Gordon Bacon is CEO for Pulse Canada and is also CEO of the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA), an organization that represents processors, exporters and brokers of all pulses, and special crops such as mustard, and sunflower. Before joining Pulse Canada over 20 years ago, Gordon was Director of Market Development at the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). He has also served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of State, Grains and Oilseeds in Ottawa; and in various roles with federal and provincial departments of agriculture.
---------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre -The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
-------------------------
.jpg)
Monica Hadarits, Executive Director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Monica is the Executive Director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB). In this role, Monica leads the strategic direction and management of CRSB, as well as overseeing funding opportunities and stakeholder relations.
Monica began with the CRSB in 2015 as the Community Engagement Manager, and in 2017, took on the role of Certification and Programs Manager, where she oversaw the development of the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework. She was appointed Executive Director in December 2018.
Monica received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Guelph and has focused her career and research on sustainable natural resource use and climate variability in agriculture. Monica has family farm roots in Saskatchewan, experience working with rural communities across Canada, and international agriculture research experience in South America.
---------------------
Day 1 4:30-6:30PM | Scotiabank Theatre -The Shift: Understanding The Roots & Future of Plant-Powered Menus
------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Cool Food: How to Pledge, Plan & Profit
------------------------
@MonicaHadarits
.jpg)
Denis Trémorin, Director of Sustainability at Pulse Canada
Denis is Director of Sustainability at Pulse Canada and is a Professional Agrologist with 12 years of experience. Denis received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agroecology and Soil Science from the University of Manitoba. Denis works within a team at Pulse Canada which focuses on gaining recognition of pulses as healthy, nutritious and sustainable foods. Denis’ role explores the role that pulses can have in improving the environmental sustainability of the food system. Denis has also worked on environmental metrics that apply to Canadian cropping systems, and is exploring how these metrics and the use of local and farm-based data can help to assess the sustainability of foods.
--------------------------------
Day 2 11:45AM-12:05PM | The G&M Centre - Redefining Farm-to-Table Innovations
--------------------------------
Day 2 1:00-2:45PM | The G&M Centre - Cool Food: How to Pledge, Plan & Profit
--------------------------------
@DenisPulse