Andrey Matveev is a former professional tennis player who transitioned into real estate development after his sports career. Over time, he developed a strong interest in biotechnology, which eventually led him to explore sustainable farming practices. His passion for aquaculture inspired him to join the Kidemis project, an innovative initiative focused on creating clean, eco-friendly solutions for aquaculture. Kidemis aims to utilize agriculture sidestreams as input to cultivate mycelium protein, which is then transformed into a sustainable and clean source of nutrition for farmed fish. This project reflects Andrey’s commitment to both biotechnology and environmental sustainability.

Patricia Bubner is a PhD scientist and engineer focused on commercializing cultivated beef. She is the co-founder and CEO of Orbillion Bio, Inc. Patricia holds an MSc in Technical Chemistry, a PhD in Biotechnology from Graz University of Technology in Austria and she conducted her postdoctoral research at the Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley. During that time, she pursued her conviction of a more sustainable food system as co-founder of the agriculture and food systems initiative, The Millet Project. Prior to Orbillion, Patricia advised several technology companies and led the Analytics and QC teams at biopharma startups. During her time with the Bioprocess Science team at Boehringer Ingelheim, she built and led a team dedicated to scaling bioprocess development for mammalian cells — the very systems required to commercialize cultivated meat.

Alice Fauconnet was born in the South of France and studied Social Anthropology in Paris. Having always been passionate about human rights and social justice, she became a vegan for animal rights in 2012. In 2016, she co-founded New Roots, a vegan cheese company, in the heart of the Swiss Alps. New Roots’ mission is to provide an ethical and sustainable alternative to animal-based cheese. To achieve this, they craft cheese from organic, homemade plant-based milk, using ancestral techniques of fermentation and ripening. Their range includes alternatives to camembert, ricotta, cream cheese, as well as Swiss classics such as fondue and raclette. Today, Alice is a public speaker and a social media manager at New Roots.

Henry Obispo is a Social-Entrepreneur, Environmentalist and “Eco-Gastronomer” from The Bronx, the Founder and steward of ReBORN FARMS: the first in kind, giving life to a new eco-forward reality, by implementing hyper-local food systems. Henry’s mission is to create access, foster community empowerment and economic development through the implementation of a new green reality. Motivated by his sense of social responsibility, Henry’s mission is to revolutionize and decentralize food systems to serve populations long ignored and disinvested, to bring forth access and a future of food sovereignty. Using food as a tool for renewal, Henry rethinks how cities best serve their populations, developing equitable green infrastructure that centers them. Henry is also the founder of Born Juice, an ecological plant-based social enterprise, with a zero-waste model.  Born Juice’s mission is carbon neutrality, by focusing on circularity, for the betterment of the planet and humanity.  Through his community engagement, as an advocate and food-justicer, Henry has developed some of the most impactful food justice programs and initiatives in The Bronx and NYC.  As president of the Restaurant Cooperative, Henry is an advocate of immigrant/BIPOC restaurant and food entrepreneurs, focusing on sustainable ways the hospitality industry can engage in support of new value chains through closed-loop models and ecological best practices.

Dr. John de la Parra is an ethnobotanist and Director of the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. He leads efforts to advance a more nourishing, regenerative, and just food system, including the creation of The Periodic Table of Food Initiative. His work focuses on how food crops and medicinal plants affect human health, culture, and the environment. He is passionate about working with frontline and indigenous communities to address major global challenges, emphasizing capacity strengthening through the equitable exchange of knowledge and technology. He has held previous positions as a research scientist and lecturer at Harvard University, the MIT Media Lab, Tufts University, and Northeastern University, as well as President of the Society for Ethnobotany.

With over two decades of experience, Annette Nielsen serves as an advisor and marketing consultant to academic institutions working in the global, national, and regional food space. Until recently, she held the role of Executive Director of the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center. There, she served as editor of the weekly NYC Food Policy Watch newsletter, produced panels and summits on topics ranging from agriculture and climate to food systems and nutrition insecurity, as well as the annual 40 Under 40 Food Policy Awards, and launched a Smart Pantry pilot where vending machines were retrofitted as food pantries. Before assuming the ED role at the Food Policy Center, she led the New York City office for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Her role representing the Department provided a touchpoint for the agricultural and food industries in the greater metropolitan area, while supporting efforts across the state to build food systems and resiliency. Beyond working to extend access to healthful, farm-sourced food for all New Yorkers, her portfolio included facilitating the Commissioner’s statewide Community Gardens Task Force and the Procurement Advisory Group. After an earlier career path with leadership posts in Washington, DC serving on the staffs of US Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Edward M. Kennedy, Ms. Nielsen put her skillset to work in the food world. Whether policy or programming, she has engaged in the full spectrum of the food system from production to consumption: launching an incubator kitchen, collaborating on an 8,000 square-foot community garden, facilitating farm to institution initiatives, serving on the inaugural health and wellness committee as an elected member of a NYS board of education, as well as significant work in agritourism, precepting nutrition students and teaching culinary nutrition and food systems to medical residents. Annette’s work as an award-winning food writer has appeared in national publications such as Adirondack Life, Eating Well, Edible, The Hill Rag, The Washington Post, and the Saratogian. She’s  served as an advisory board member for the NYS Food as Medicine Coalition, New York City Nutrition Education Network,  and Sidewalk Samaritan, is a member of the Food-Ed Steering Committee and the Policy Committee for the Food Ed Coalition at the Tisch Center for Food, Education; Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. She was appointed to NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Transition Team for Food Policy, received the 2022 Food-Ed Coalition Outstanding Coalition Member Award, and the 2024 NYS Assembly Woman of Distinction Award. Annette earned her BA, Fine Arts from Colgate University, MA, Writing from Johns Hopkins, and completed her certification in Nutrition from Cornell University. She grew up in the Adirondacks and now calls Capitol Hill home.

Milagros de Hoz is the Deputy Director at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. She is responsible for advancing the office’s work at the intersection of food, environment, climate, health, and equity. She works with local, state, and regional leaders to advance sustainable and equitable food initiatives and represents NYC in national and international coalitions. Previously, Milagros worked as a social scientist at the Office of Research and Policy Innovation at the NYC Department of Social Services. She’s also a Biologist and worked in environmental justice organizations in the US.

Henry Obispo is a Social-Entrepreneur, Environmentalist and “Eco-Gastronomer” from The Bronx, the Founder and steward of ReBORN FARMS: the first in kind, giving life to a new eco-forward reality, by implementing hyper-local food systems. Henry’s mission is to create access, foster community empowerment and economic development through the implementation of a new green reality. Motivated by his sense of social responsibility, Henry’s mission is to revolutionize and decentralize food systems to serve populations long ignored and disinvested, to bring forth access and a future of food sovereignty. Using food as a tool for renewal, Henry rethinks how cities best serve their populations, developing equitable green infrastructure that centers them. Henry is also the founder of Born Juice, an ecological plant-based social enterprise, with a zero-waste model.  Born Juice’s mission is carbon neutrality, by focusing on circularity, for the betterment of the planet and humanity.  Through his community engagement, as an advocate and food-justicer, Henry has developed some of the most impactful food justice programs and initiatives in The Bronx and NYC.  As president of the Restaurant Cooperative, Henry is an advocate of immigrant/BIPOC restaurant and food entrepreneurs, focusing on sustainable ways the hospitality industry can engage in support of new value chains through closed-loop models and ecological best practices.