FP Summit: Food+ 2022

Thomas J. Vilsack was confirmed as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture on Feb. 23, 2021 by the U.S. Senate. He was nominated by President Joe Biden to return to a role where he served for eight years under President Barack Obama. Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is building back better by restoring the American economy, strengthening rural and historically underserved communities, responding to threats of climate change, creating good-paying jobs for American workers and the next generation of agricultural leaders, and investing in our kids and our families. Secretary Vilsack is spearheading a transformation of the food system by creating more, better, and fairer markets and ensuring that the food system of today and the future is more resilient and more competitive globally. It will also offer consumers affordable, nutritious food grown closer to home. From excessive drought to more extreme fires, our producers, farmers and ranchers are on the frontlines confronting the challenges associated with climate change. USDA is engaging the agriculture and forestry sectors in voluntary, incentive-based climate solutions to improve the resiliency of producers and to build wealth that stays in rural communities. Additionally, USDA is advancing investments in science and research to offer producers a toolbox to adapt to and mitigate climate change. Secretary Vilsack continues to take bold, historic action to reduce barriers to access for historically underserved communities. By working to ensure all aspects of civil rights and equity are integrated, USDA is rooting out generations of systemic racism and building systems and programs inclusive of all USDA employees and customers. Secretary Vilsack is also focused on ensuring Americans have consistent access to safe, healthy, and affordable food. USDA is investing in bold solutions that enhance food safety, improve the various far-reaching and powerful nutrition programs in the Department, and reduce food and nutrition insecurity in America.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She is a seasoned diplomat, having served as ambassador to Liberia and in several other diplomatic postings around the globe. Thomas-Greenfield retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2017 after a 35-year career, and then she returned to serve in her current role in U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. She served as the assistant secretary of state for African affairs under the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.

Ambassador Cindy Hensley McCain was sworn in by the Biden Administration to serve as the United States Permanent Representative to the UN Agencies in Rome on November 5, 2021. She has dedicated her life to improving the lives of those less fortunate both in the United States and around the world. She is the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University, where she oversaw the organization’s focus on advancing character-driven global leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity as well as chairing the Institute’s Human Trafficking Advisory Council. In addition to her work at the McCain Institute, she served on the Board of Directors of Project C.U.R.E, CARE, Operation Smile, HaloTrust and the Advisory Boards of Too Small To Fail and Warriors and Quiet Waters. McCain holds an undergraduate degree in Education and a Master’s in Special Education from the University of Southern California. She was the Chairman of her family’s business, Hensley Beverage Company, which is one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the nation. Ambassador McCain is the wife of the late U.S. Senator John McCain. Together, they have four children.

Carlos Alvarado Quesada served as the 48th President of the Republic of Costa Rica from May 2018 to May 2022, when his constitutionally limited term ended. Under President Alvarado's leadership, Costa Rica contributed to global efforts to combat climate change and defended human rights, democracy, and multilateralism.   Currently he is a Professor of Practice in Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.  He is also the Chair and Founder of the Institute for Climate, Democracy and Inclusion (CDI Institute), whose mission is to promote action against climate change, as well as freer, more prosperous and inclusive democracies, for this and future generations.   President Alvarado is a recipient of the 2022 Planetary Leadership Award by the National Geographic Society for his outstanding commitment and action toward protecting the ocean and in September 2019 he received on behalf of his country the Champion on the Earth Award for policy leadership, presented by the United Nations Environment Program. In November 2019, he was named one of TIME’s 100 Next emerging leaders around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.   In February 2019, President Alvarado launched Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan, the first of its kind since the Paris Agreement of 2015 which established the road map to decarbonize the country’s economy by 2050; and created with France and the United Kingdom the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People. He was also responsible for Costa Rica’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), marking the fourth Latin American country and the first in Central America to do so.   President Alvarado's prior government leadership service includes a tenure as Minister of Labor and Social Security (2016-2018) and as Minister of Human Development and Social Inclusion (2014 – 2016) and Executive President of the Joint Social Welfare Institute, responsible for implementing social protection and promoting poverty alleviation programs. Before entering politics, he worked for Procter and Gamble, Latin America.   He received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Costa Rica in 2001 from which he also received a master’s degree in political science in 2006. He went on in 2009 to receive a master’s degree in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex University, United Kingdom.   

Janusz Wojciechowski is the European commissioner for agriculture and one of the seven members of the Commissioners’ Group on the European Green Deal since 2019. His portfolio includes ensuring a modern and sustainable EU agriculture sector that adapts to changes in climate, demographics and technologies.

 Jim Costa represents California’s 16th Congressional District. He has served the San Joaquin Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2005. Raised on a dairy farm in Fresno’s Kearney Park area, Congressman Costa is a third-generation family farmer. As a Member of Congress, Costa has applied his farming background to fighting for Valley water, agriculture, and the economy. A lifelong resident of the Valley, Costa’s committee assignments allow him to effectively advocate for the district. Costa uses his position on the Natural Resources Committee to fight for the Valley’s fair share of water. This includes securing funding for dams, working to overturn unfair federal water regulations, and increasing Valley water allocations. On the Agriculture Committee, Costa has worked to increase federal support for Valley agriculture through the Farm Bill and other programs. When a milk price crisis devastated the region’s dairy industry, Costa introduced legislation to protect Valley dairy families and local jobs. In addition to his committee assignments, Costa is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and has worked with his colleagues to support more responsible budgeting practices. Costa’s work to improve the Valley stretches across the district. During his first term in office, Costa put together a broad-based bipartisan coalition aimed at developing a Regional Water Plan for Central California.  He also led the negotiations between the City of Fresno and the State of California that secured the final funding necessary to complete the new Amtrak station in Fresno.  During the 109th Congress, Costa played a leading role in the bipartisan effort to secure Highway 99 funding in the infrastructure bonds approved by California voters in 2006.  Costa was also a principal in the successful effort to secure Congressional approval of plans to keep Fresno's 144th Air National Guard Fighter Wing viable well into the future.  As the primary author of state legislation to create the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Costa continues to work with local and state officials to clean up the Valley's air. Costa’s efforts to strengthen Valley agriculture and the economy have been recognized by organizations like The American Farm Bureau Federation which named him a recipient of its "Friend of the Farm Bureau" award. Costa has also received the "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Costa’s work to crack down on violent crime and advocate for victims’ rights was recognized by the National Organization for Victim Assistance, which named him the recipient of the Donald E. Santarelli Public Policy Award for demonstrating outstanding public policy leadership. A product of Fresno County schools, Costa is a graduate of San Joaquin Memorial High School and has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from California State University, Fresno. Before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Costa served for 24 years in the California State Legislature.

Dusty Johnson brings an energetic and optimistic style to Washington as South Dakota’s lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. A “policy guy,” he works hard to be a knowledgeable and value-added member on issues related to his two primary committee assignments: Agriculture, Transportation & Infrastructure. Committee on Agriculture – A recognized leader in issues related to rural America, agriculture, livestock, and welfare reform, Dusty was grateful to be named Ranking Member of the Livestock & Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. Johnson is the first Northern Plains congressman to be selected as top Republican of this subcommittee in nearly 40 years. Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure – Dusty was appointed to this committee in his second term in advance of this year's reauthorization of the five-year highway bill. The surface transportation bill will be among the most important pieces of legislation Congress will tackle in the 117th. T&I also has jurisdiction over other issues important to South Dakota, including railroads, aviation, pipelines, FEMA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dusty serves on the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, as well as the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.  Prior to being elected to Congress, Dusty served as vice president for Vantage Point Solutions, a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm specializing in rural telecommunications.  Vantage Point has more than 200 employees and helps rural providers design, build, and operate broadband systems in 40 states.  Dusty is an expert in state and national telecommunications policy, especially Federal Communications Commission reform efforts and the transformation of the Universal Service Fund. In 2004, Dusty was elected statewide to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.  He worked with his colleagues to maintain a fair and reasonable regulatory environment, facilitating the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars into rural energy and telecommunications infrastructure.  In 2010, Governor Dennis Daugaard asked Dusty to serve as chief of staff, the chief operating officer for much of state government.  In that role, Dusty oversaw many of the Governor’s top projects and initiatives, especially those related to infrastructure and public safety. Dusty grew up in a large working-class family in central South Dakota.  He has degrees from the University of South Dakota and the University of Kansas.  Dusty has been an active community volunteer, having served as a Sunday School teacher, adjunct faculty member at Dakota Wesleyan University, and president and board member of Abbott House, an agency serving abused and neglected children. He lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons.  As a family, they enjoy hiking, camping, hunting, and reading.

Brandon Ahmasuk was born and raised in rural Alaska in the subsistence lifestyle, fishing, hunting and camping.  Ahmasuk is the Vice President of Natural Resources for Kawerak, Inc. an organization based in Nome, Alaska.  He first started as the Subsistence Director in 2012 and has held the position of VP of Natural Resources since December 2019.    Kawerak contracts with the state and federal government to provide services to residents of the Bering Strait Region, 75% of whom are Alaska Native Inupiat, Yup’ik, and St. Lawrence Island Yupik peoples. Kawerak’s organizational goal is to assist Alaska Native people and their governing bodies to take control of their future. With programs ranging from education to transportation, and natural resource management to economic development, Kawerak seeks to improve the Region’s social, economic, educational, cultural and political conditions.  Kawerak is governed by a Board of Directors composed of the president (or designee) of the IRA or Traditional Councils, two Elder representatives and a representative from the regional health care provider.

Rob Bertram is the Chief Scientist in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, where he serves as a key adviser on a range of technical and program issues to advance global food security and nutrition. In this role, he leads USAID’s evidence-based efforts to advance research, technology and implementation in support of the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future. He previously served as Director of the Office of Agricultural Research and Policy in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, which leads implementation of the Feed the Future research strategy and related efforts to scale innovations in global food security efforts, working with a range of partners. Prior to that, he guided USAID investments in agriculture and natural resources research for many years. Dr. Bertram’s academic background in plant breeding and genetics includes degrees from University of California, Davis, the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland. He also studied international affairs at Georgetown University and was a visiting scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. He has been especially active in plant genetic resources policy as it relates to research for development, including applications of biotechnology in food security-related research. Before coming to USAID, he served with USDA's international programs as well as overseas with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system.

Tetyana Dudka is the senior vice president of Chemonics’ Europe and Eurasia regional business unit. She joined Chemonics in 2009 and brings more than 20 years of experience leading and supporting development programs in Europe and Eurasia, with a technical focus on market systems development, competitiveness enhancement, institutional reforms, public-private partnerships, investment and trade promotion, enterprise integration, and trade association development. Tetyana served as a chief of party and deputy chief of party for Chemonics’ Local Investment and National Competitiveness project and as a senior project management advisor on Chemonics’ Strengthening Tuberculosis Control, both in Ukraine. Her success in these field office roles brought her to the home office to serve as a project management director in late 2013, and later as the operations director for the Europe and Eurasia region. Prior to joining Chemonics, she served in a variety of roles on economic growth projects in Ukraine including as vice president for International Project Development at the Regional Business Assistance Center. Tetyana has a M.S. in computer systems for data processing and management from Kharkiv State Technical University of Radioelectronics in Ukraine.

Dr. Cary Fowler is perhaps best known as the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described as an “inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity.” This facility provides ultimate security for more than 1 million unique crop varieties, the biological foundation of agriculture and the raw material for all future plant breeding and crop improvement efforts.   Dr. Fowler is the former Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, an international organization cosponsored by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Prior to leading the Crop Trust, he was a Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and a senior staff member of Bioversity International. Earlier, he oversaw the UN’s first global assessment of the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources. He was responsible for drafting and negotiating the first FAO Global Plan of Action on the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources, formally adopted by 150 countries in 1996. Following this, Dr. Fowler twice served as Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the World Food Summit and represented the CGIAR in the multi-year negotiations on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources.  In 2015, Dr. Fowler was appointed to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development by President Obama. He is a former board member of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and former chair of the Livestock Conservancy.  Dr. Fowler has been recognized with several honorary doctorates and many awards including the Thomas Jefferson Award for Citizen Leadership, the Heinz Award, the Meyer Medal from the Crop Science Society of America, the Wm. Brown Award from the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Proctor Medal from the Garden Clubs of America. He has been profiled by The New Yorker, on CBS 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning and other media, and is the subject of the documentary film, Seeds of Life.  Born and raised in Tennessee, Cary Fowler served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Rhodes College in Memphis. He earned a B.A. with honors from Simon Fraser University in Canada, and his Ph.D. from Uppsala University in Sweden.    

Teresa manages Walton Family Foundation’s supply chain strategy for sustainable seafood within the Oceans Initiative. Before joining the foundation, Teresa was the seafood project manager for the Corporate Partnerships Program at Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked with leading seafood buyers to develop and implement sustainable seafood purchasing policies. During her tenure at EDF, she played an instrumental role in merging the organization’s seafood buyer work and its extensive experience in the fishery policy arena. Prior to joining the Environmental Defense Fund, she co-founded FishWise and served as its director of science. Teresa has an M.Sc. in marine science and a B.A. in environmental studies and biology from University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Certificate in business strategies for environmental sustainability from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Kalibata joined AGRA as its President in September 2014. She leads the organization’s efforts with public and private partners to ensure a food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid, inclusive, sustainable agricultural growth, improving the productivity and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa. Under Dr. Kalibata’s leadership, AGRA is working to increase the incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021 through targeted investments to strengthen 3 core areas: State capability and policies; input delivery systems in agriculture: and partnerships for inclusive agricultural growth Prior to joining AGRA, Dr. Kalibata was Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) from 2008 to 2014, where she drove programs that moved her country to food security helping to lift more than a million Rwandans out of poverty. Dr. Kalibata sits on various boards, councils and commissions including the Global Commission on Adaptation, the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, the Food and Land Use (FOLU) Coalition, the Architecture for REDD + Transactions (ART), the International Fertilizer Development Corporation (IFDC), Bioversity International, and Africa Risk Capacity, among others. She has a distinguished record of accomplishment as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader.  She served as the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, accelerating action to transform food systems around the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. She was also awarded the Yara Prize, now the Africa Food Prize, in 2012, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Liège in 2018, and the National Academy of Sciences’ Public Welfare Medal in 2019 for her work to drive Africa’s agricultural transformation through modern sciences and effective policy thereby improving livelihoods of stallholder farmers. She holds a doctorate in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Maggie Lake is a veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering business, technology, politics, and international affairs. She started her career at Reuters, where she worked in both the New York and London bureaus covering economics and global finance. In 2001, she joined CNN International, where she served as a correspondent and anchor for the network’s flagship business shows. Over the course of her career, she has interviewed the world’s top CEOs, celebrities, and politicians and has been a consistent champion of economic inclusion and sustainable development. She has served as a weekly contributor for NPR and moderated events for the United Nations, World Bank, Council on Foreign Relations, and Global Citizen. She now runs the communications consultancy Maggie Lake Media and is a founding board member of the newly created Rutgers University Center for Women in Business.

Mark Malloch-Brown is President of the Open Society Foundations, the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. At the United Nations, Malloch-Brown spearheaded the global promotion of the UN Millennium Development Goals as head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from 1999 to 2005, under the then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. At the UNDP, and previously as head of external affairs at the World Bank, Malloch-Brown led reform efforts that were widely seen as increasing the impact of both organizations. He later served as Kofi Annan’s chief of staff, and then as UN Deputy Secretary General, before joining the British government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as minister responsible for Africa and Asia from 2007 to 2009.

Reena is a television journalist who has worked as a White House correspondent, foreign reporter, and news anchor for ABC, CBS, and Fox News. She has reported around the world from India to Israel, Libya to Lebanon. She was the anchor, most recently, of the CBS evening news on Saturday nights. She is the founder of Good Trouble Productions, a media company focused on creating content with purpose.

Dr. Tom Pickerell is a marine biologist with nearly 20 years’ experience in seafood sustainability, including wild fisheries and shellfish aquaculture, certification schemes and consumer guides, and social responsibility in seafood. Before becoming the Executive Director of the Global Tuna Alliance, he was the Global Tuna Director for the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and led SFP’s fresh & frozen and canned tuna programs. Previous to that, he worked for Seafish, the UK Seafood Industry Authority, where he was Technical Director. Tom was also the Senior Science Manager for the Seafood Watch program at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and earlier worked at WWF UK, where he was the Fisheries Policy Officer; and for the UK government, where he held a variety of different policy and strategy roles in fisheries and aquaculture. Tom is the founder of Tomolamola Consulting Ltd., a sustainable seafood advisory service for businesses.

Caitlin Welsh is the director of the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she analyzes the economic, political, social, and environmental drivers and consequences of food insecurity in the United States and around the world. Her specific areas of focus include the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security, the relationship of food security to climate change and water security, food insecurity in the U.S. military, and malnutrition in all its forms. Prior to joining CSIS, Ms. Welsh had over a decade of experience in the U.S. government, including the National Security Council and National Economic Council, where she served as director for global economic engagement with responsibility for the G7 and G20, and the Department of State’s Office of Global Food Security, where she served as acting director. Ms. Welsh served as a presidential management fellow at the U.S. African Development Foundation and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. She has testified before Congress on global food security on multiple occasions, and her analysis has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, PBS, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Financial Times, Foreign Policy, BBC, Newsweek, and other outlets. Ms. Welsh received her BA from the University of Virginia and MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and hails from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, a role he assumed in November 2020 after two years as the magazine’s managing editor. Before joining FP, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. Agrawal has shared a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations for his work as a TV producer, and his writing for FP was part of a series nominated for a 2020 National Magazine Award for columns and commentary. Agrawal is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy. He is a graduate of Harvard University. Agrawal hosts FP’s Global Reboot podcast and is a frequent commentator on world affairs on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and the BBC.

Allison Carlson is the managing director of FP Analytics, Foreign Policy’s independent research and advisory division, and FP Events. She oversees FPA’s cross-cutting research at the intersection of policy, technology, and global markets as well as Foreign Policy’s global dialogues and convenings. Prior to these roles, Carlson led FP Analytics’ energy and technology team for more than a decade, evaluating evolving climate and emissions policies and identifying opportunities for advanced technology deployment internationally. Before joining FP, she led the Latin America program for a boutique consulting firm assisting European companies on investing in emerging markets’ energy and financial sectors. Carlson has presented her work at a variety of international conferences and before the U.S. Senate. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where she received a master’s degree in international relations and international economics.

Susan Sadigova is the vice president of strategic development at Foreign Policy. She has over a decade of experience in business, partnership, and multi-stakeholder coalition development; lead generation and sales; communications; marketing and content development; analytics; and global policy analysis. She is currently serving FP’s partners and stakeholders by developing and leading high-level convenings, podcasts, and analytics projects. Prior to joining FP, Sadigova led a nonprofit in Washington with a special focus on U.S. exports to Eurasia. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and is fluent in four languages.

Andrew Sollinger is the publisher and CEO of Foreign Policy, which he joined in 2018. Previously, he was executive vice president at Business Insider, executive director of Capital New York (now Politico NY) and managing director of the Financial Times Americas. Sollinger was part of the executive team that built Money-Media, a digital news startup focused on the fund management industry, and sold it to the FT. A former reporter and editor for Institutional Investor magazine's newsletter division, Andrew has lived in London, Hong Kong and New York. He is a graduate of Clark University, where he was executive editor of The Scarlet.