Global Food Security Symposium 2020
Discover how innovation is changing the way consumers, in the United States and abroad, think about the food system and how new breakthroughs can support a secure, healthy, and prosperous planet.
Mar
26
Our food system is changing—can we change with it? Investing in innovation has the power to disrupt and shape our future.
This event has been canceled. Registered attendees received event-specific notifications regarding cancellation and event refund information via email.
About the Speakers
Sewit Ahderom
Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer, Gro Intelligence
Prior to her work at Gro Intelligence, Sewit Ahderom was a vice president at Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused private investment fund with more than $4 billion in capital under management. Ahderom joined Helios after working with IPS, an investment arm of the Aga Khan Development Network focused on food and agro-processing as well as infrastructure development.
Oluwafemi Ajayi
Nutrition and Food Systems Specialist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Oluwafemi Ajayi is a nutrition and food systems specialist with special focus on nutrition-sensitive integrated agriculture-aquaculture food systems at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In his role, he assists in the design, monitoring and supporting activities on the contribution of integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems for better food security and nutrition outcomes.
Allison Aubrey
Food & Health Correspondent, NPR News
Food & Health Correspondent, NPR News
Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture
Catherine Bertini served as executive director of the UN World Food Program, the world’s largest international humanitarian agency, from 1992 to 2002 prior to joining the Council. She was named the World Food Prize laureate in 2003 for her groundbreaking leadership there.
Hattie Brown
MS/MIB Candidate; ESG Researcher, MSCI
Hattie Brown is a dual-degree Masters of Science and Masters of International Business candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where her studies focus on economic development through impact and ESG factor investment, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Louisa Burwood-Taylor
Head of Media and Research, AgFunder
Louisa Burwood-Taylor is Head of Media and Research for AgFunder and chief editor of its news site AFN. She has covered a range of financial products and markets during her career, including launching two publications: an institutional investment intelligence service for the Financial Times and the first-ever title focused on agriculture investment, Agri Investor.
Ranveer Chandra
Chief Scientist, Microsoft Azure Global
Ranveer Chandra's research has shipped in multiple Microsoft products, including Windows, Visual Studio, XBOX, and Azure. Chandra is leading the FarmBeats, battery research, and TV white space research projects. His work on FarmBeats was featured by Bill Gates on GatesNotes, and he has been invited to present his research to the Secretary of Agriculture the FCC Chairman.
Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture
Prior to joining the Council, Ertharin Cousin served as executive director of the UN World Food Programme where she led the world’s largest humanitarian organization from 2012 to 2017. She also previously served as US ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. Cousin is founder and CEO of Food Systems for the Future.
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture
Dan Glickman is a distinguished fellow in the Center on Global Food and Agriculture, having co-chaired the Center for nearly a decade. Currently, he's a senior counselor and chair of the International Advisory Board at APCO Worldwide; senior advisor to the US Global Leadership Coalition; and lead director of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group).
Elliott Grant
General Manager of Mineral at X, The Moonshot Factory
At X - Alphabet’s 'Moonshot Factory', Dr. Elliott Grant works on the development of breakthrough tools to catalyze global sustainable agriculture. He was the founder and CEO of HarvestMark, the pioneer in food traceability, and CEO of ShopWell, a personalized nutrition company. He is the author of 32 US patents on topics such as cryptography, traceability, satellite imaging, and plant phenotyping.
Tanya Harrison
Manager of Science Programs, Planet Labs
Dr. Tanya Harrison is the Manager of Science Programs at the federal arm of Planet Labs. Her background is in geomorphology, specializing in remote sensing data analysis. She has worked in mission operations for cameras aboard various NASA Mars missions over the past decade.
Katelyn Jones
Nonresident Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture
Katelyn Jones is a nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and her research concerns gender politics in international organizations, and is especially focused on gender mainstreaming in policy formation and implementation.
Mark Keenum
President, Mississippi State University
Mark E. Keenum is an agricultural economist and president of Mississippi State University. Previously, he served as the US Department of Agriculture Under Secretary (2006-2008) and oversaw the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, and Foreign Agricultural Service. He also served as Legislative Assistant and Chief of Staff for US Senator Thad Cochran.
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress
Raja Krishnamoorthi represents the 8th District of Illinois, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs. He is the Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party and is also a member of the Emerging Leaders Class of 2010.
Rachel Lambert
Senior Livelihoods Adviser, UK Department for International Development Agriculture Research (DFID)
Rachel Lambert's organization, DFID, commissions and funds agricultural research to develop new agriculture technologies and gain a deeper understanding of the success of investments in agriculture development. Lambert leads research work linking agriculture, food systems, and nutrition and health outcomes as well as several initiatives on agriculture technology and innovation.
Ruramiso Mashumba
CEO, Mnandi Africa; Chairperson, Zimbabwe Farmers Union Youth
Philip Miller
Senior Vice President, Agricultural Global Government Relations, Regulatory Policy, Bayer Crop Science
Formerly, Philip Miller served as vice president of Global Corporate Affairs for Monsanto, where he was responsible for public affairs, industry affairs, sustainability, and partnerships. Currently, Miller serves on the Boards of Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Crop Life International. He is the inventor on over 20 patents and an author on 17 scientific papers and book chapters.
Rebekah Moses
Head of Impact Strategy, Impossible Foods
Rebekah Moses leads impact strategy at Impossible Foods, a company addressing climate change and sustainable food futures through plant-based meat. Her work focuses on how product innovation and consumer behavior can maximize environmental outcomes through business growth. She works with Impossible Foods teams to integrate environmental and social mission into core strategy.
Danielle Nierenberg
President, Food Tank: The Food Think Tank
Femi Oke
International Journalist and Moderator, NABJ
Femi Oke is an international journalist, broadcaster, and moderator. Since the 1980s, she has worked for BBC television and radio, Sky TV, all UK terrestrial television networks, CNN, and US public radio. Oke’s reporting has been recognized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Communications Agency, and InterAction.
Zitouni Ould-Dada
Deputy Director, Climate and Environment Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Before joining FAO, Zitouni Ould-Dada worked as head of technology unit at UNEP in Paris for five years. Prior to that, he worked for the British government for 15 years holding several senior positions at Department of Energy and Climate Change; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Food Standards Agency; Environment Agency; and Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.
Jim Perdue
Chairman, Perdue Farms
Jim Perdue has been the Chairman and advertising spokesman of Perdue Farms since 1991. He is a third generation leader of the company founded by his grandfather in 1920. As the Chairman, Perdue is responsible for ensuring that the company continues to build on its strong corporate responsibility programs, especially continued leadership in elevating animal care and strengthening farmer relationships.
Sally Rockey
Former Executive Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
Sally Rockey was the inaugural Executive Director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) from 2015 to 2022. Prior to this role, Dr. Rockey was an award-winning leader in Federal research, overseeing the operations of the extramural programs in both agriculture and biomedicine.
Cynthia E. Rosenzweig
Senior Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig is a senior research scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, where she heads the Climate Impacts Group. She is also a senior research scientist at Columbia University's Center for Climate Systems Research, cofounder of the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, cochair of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, and codirector of the Urban Climate Change Research Network.
Paul E. Schickler, III
Former President, DuPont Pioneer
Paul E. Schickler was President from 2007 to 2017 of DuPont Pioneer, the advanced seed genetics business of DuPont. In this role he continued to expand Pioneer’s global business by remaining focused on innovation that improves local productivity and profitability of farmers in more than 90 countries.
Barbara Stinson
President, The World Food Prize Foundation
Barbara Stinson assumed leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation in January 2020, having previously served as a cofounder and Senior Partner of the Meridian Institute. Stinson has led programs focused on innovative approaches to agricultural development, alternative energy development, ecosystem restoration, air quality management, natural resource management, and low-level radioactive waste disposal.
Roger Thurow
Former Senior Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture
Roger Thurow spent three decades at The Wall Street Journal as a foreign correspondent based in Europe and Africa prior to joining the Council in 2010. His coverage spanned the fall of the Berlin Wall, the release of Nelson Mandela, the end of apartheid, and humanitarian crises. He is the author of three books.
Sunny George Verghese
Cofounder, Group Managing Director & CEO, Olam International Limited
Cofounder, Group Managing Director & CEO, Olam International Limited