2020 Borlaug Dialogue Speakers

José Andrés

Founder, World Central Kitchen

Twice named to Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list and recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, New York Times best-selling author, educator, humanitarian, and chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the award-winning collective of nearly thirty restaurants throughout the country and beyond. In... [ View ]

Shawn Baker

Chief Nutritionist, USAID

Shawn K. Baker is the Chief Nutritionist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In this position, he chairs the Agency’s Nutrition Leadership Council, oversees the vision and strategy of the Agency’s Center for Nutrition in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, and coordinates related efforts across USAID.... [ View ]

Dr. Jim Barnhart

Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, USAID

Dr. Jim Barnhart is the Assistant to the Administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, as well as the Deputy Coordinator for Development for Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. In this dual role, Dr. Barnhart... [ View ]

Hilary Barry

Founder & Secretary General, LadyAgri Impact Investment Hub

Hilary Barry is founder and Secretary General of the LadyAgri Impact Investment Hub. She is Irish. Since her first experience in Ghana in 1993, she has dedicated her career to the design and implementation of social impact programs across Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states (public health, agriculture, water, social development,... [ View ]

Beth Bechdol

Deputy Director-General, UN FAO

Beth Bechdol is Deputy Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In this role, she continues her service to food and agriculture – now on a global scale. Ms Bechdol is responsible for FAO’s Partnership and Outreach work, including Partnerships and UN Collaboration, Resource Mobilization... [ View ]

Catherine Bertini

Distinguished Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Catherine Bertini is a distinguished fellow of global food and agriculture at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. For ten years, she was executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, the world’s largest international humanitarian agency. She was the third woman and first American woman to lead a... [ View ]

Ana Bilik

President, Tanager

Ana Bilik is the president of Tanager, a nonprofit that brings people together at the table, on the ground, and across supply chains to co-create economic and social opportunities that change lives. She cultivates partnerships with leading foundations, government ministries, consumer goods brands, and communities to bring about market system... [ View ]

Howard W. Buffett

Professor, Columbia University

Howard W. Buffett is a professor and research scholar at Columbia University. His award-winning research, Social Value Investing: A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships, introduces Impact Rate of Return—an innovative way to measure social and environmental impact. Previously, he was executive director of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which strengthens... [ View ]

Gabriel Carballal

Farmer, Uruguay, Global Farmer Network

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in December 12, 1973. In 1974 we moved to a farm near Mercedes and lived there until 1990. Living in Tacuarembó (North Uruguay) actually. Remarried with Macarena Izmendi who is a Vet. Father of Ines (19) and Andres (17). 3rd generation Farmer, agricultural technician, work in... [ View ]

Stefan Caspari

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Grain & Protein, AGCO

Stefan Caspari is Vice President and General Manager, Grain and Protein for AGCO. In his current position, Mr. Caspari leads the global operations, product management, engineering and commercial activities of AGCO’s Grain and Protein division. His priorities include establishing leadership in innovative, smart and reliable grain and protein solutions supporting... [ View ]

James C. Collins Jr.

Chief Executive Officer, Corteva Agriscience

James C. Collins, Jr. is Chief Executive Officer of Corteva Agriscience™. He was previously Chief Operating Officer for the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. Prior to the DowDuPont merger, he was an Executive Vice President for DuPont responsible for the Agriculture segments, which included DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer. Mr. Collins... [ View ]

Liam Condon

Member of the Board and President Crop Science Division, Bayer AG

Liam Condon serves as a member of the Bayer AG Board of Management and as President of the Crop Science division of Bayer. Based in Monheim, Germany, Condon drives the vision for Crop Science and leads the business to shape agriculture responsibly, bringing innovation and sustainability to the forefront. Condon... [ View ]

Hon. Ertharin Cousin

Distinguished Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Ertharin Cousin a global agriculture, food security and nutrition thought leader and advocate currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University, Center on Food Security and Environment and as the CEO and Founder of Food Systems for the... [ View ]

Sara Eckhouse

Executive Director, FoodShot Global

Sara Eckhouse is Executive Director of FoodShot Global, an integrated, collaborative investment platform that includes the $500,000+ GroundBreaker Prize and up to $10 million in equity investment to accelerate the transformation to a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system. Previously, Sara worked as a consultant with S2G Ventures, where she... [ View ]

Dr. Jessica Fanzo

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Jessica Fanzo, PhD is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food Policy and Ethics at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University in the USA. She also serves as the Director of... [ View ]

Prof. Louise O. Fresco

President, Wageningen University and Research

Louise O. Fresco is the President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands. Louise combines a long academic career as a professor at Wageningen and other institutions with an extensive involvement in policy and development, with many programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America and... [ View ]

Erik Fyrwald

Chief Executive Officer, Syngenta Group

J. Erik Fyrwald joined the Syngenta Group, one of the world’s leading agriculture companies, in June 2016 as Chief Executive Officer. Erik Fyrwald served as chief executive officer of Univar, a leading distributor of chemistry and related services, from May 2012 until May 2016. In 2008, following a 27-year career... [ View ]

Hon. Al Gore

Former Vice President of the United States

Former Vice President Al Gore is the co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, and the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis. He is also a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and a member of Apple Inc.’s... [ View ]

Elwyn Grainger-Jones

Managing Director, CGIAR Institutional Strategy and Systems; Executive Director, CGIAR System

Elwyn Grainger-Jones is Managing Director, CGIAR Institutional Strategy and Systems, and Executive Director of the CGIAR System Organization, where he has worked with partners to help initiate the creation of One CGIAR. Prior to joining CGIAR, he spent over 20 years working in government institutions and development banks, where he... [ View ]

Dr. Neal Gutterson

Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Corteva Agriscience

Neal Gutterson, Ph.D., SVP and Chief Technology Officer for Corteva Agriscience, is responsiblefor leading the organization in finding bold, innovative solutions that enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume. In his role, Neal and his leadership team oversee a single, unified R&D organization focused on seeds... [ View ]

Dr. Lawrence Haddad

Executive Director, GAIN

Dr. Lawrence Haddad became GAIN’s Executive Director in October 2016. Prior to joining, he was the founding co-chair and lead author of the Global Nutrition Report (GNR). From 2004-2014 Lawrence was the Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the world’s leading development studies institute, and prior to that,... [ View ]

Marie Haga

Associate Vice-President of the External Relations and Governance Department, IFAD

Marie Haga is Associate Vice-President of the External Relations and Governance Department at IFAD. She is responsible for communications, global engagement, partnerships, and resource mobilization, as well as overseeing the relations with IFAD’s 177 Member States. Haga has extensive experience in conservation, food security, foreign affairs and politics. Prior to... [ View ]

Prof. Mario Herrero

Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO

Professor Mario Herrero is Chief Research Scientist of Agriculture and Food at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia. His research focuses on increasing the sustainability of food systems for the benefit of humans and ecosystems. He works in the areas of sustainable intensification of agriculture, climate... [ View ]

H.E. Gilbert Houngbo

President, IFAD

Gilbert F. Houngbo is the sixth President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Houngbo has spent more than 30 years working to improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, with extensive experience in political affairs, international development, diplomacy and financial management. Prior to his... [ View ]

His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein

Kingdom of Jordan

Born in Amman in 1962, His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan attended Oxford University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, received his military education at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and pursued a distinguished military career. In February 1999, he ascended to the Throne, devoting... [ View ]

Pam Johnson

Farmer, Iowa Corn, Maizall

Pam Johnson grew up on a farm where she developed a deep love of agriculture. She is a sixth- generation farmer who works with her husband, their two sons, and their young families to produce corn and soybeans in northern Iowa. Johnson currently serves as a Director of MAIZALL, the... [ View ]

H.E. Agnes Kalibata

Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General the 2021 Food Systems Summit

As the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Dr. Kalibata works with the United Nations system and key partners to provide leadership, guidance, and strategic direction towards the 2021 Food Systems Summit. She is responsible for outreach and cooperation with key leaders, including governments, to ensure the Summit serves as a catalytic... [ View ]

Dr. Rattan Lal

2020 World Food Prize Laureate; Distinguished Professor of Soil Science, The Ohio State University

Rattan Lal, Ph.D, is Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University. His professional research interests include soil carbon sequestration for food and climate security and sustainable management of world soil resources. He has authored almost 1,000 journal... [ View ]

Dr. Alexa Lamm

2020 Borlaug CAST Communications Award Recipient; Associate Professor, University of Georgia

Dr. Alexa Lamm is an Associate Professor of Science Communication at the University of Georgia in their Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. The strength Dr. Lamm brings to her science is a unique way of approaching the social issues that impact decision-making. She is a leader in the... [ View ]

Lazarus Lynch

Writer, Artist, Activist, Son of A Southern Chef

Lazarus Lynch is an entrepreneur, chef, musician, author and multi-media host. He is a two-time Chopped champion, Food Network Digital Host and author of the cookbook, Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul. Born and raised in New York City, Lazarus learned to cook at an early age under... [ View ]

Dr. Ed Mabaya

Senior Research Associate, Cornell University

Dr. Ed Mabaya is a scholar and a development practitioner with more than two decades of experience working on agricultural development, seed systems, agribusiness value chains and food security issues with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Global Development at... [ View ]

Tamara Marcus

Sustainability Manager, Linn County, Iowa

Tamara is the Linn County Sustainability Manager and a Ph.D. candidate in the Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences program at the University of New Hampshire. Her research interests include using bioinformatic techniques to understand the impact of warming on microbial mediation of carbon emissions from Arctic lakes. Additionally, she... [ View ]

Ruramiso Mashumba

Chief Executive Officer, Mnandi Africa

Ruramiso Mashumba is a young woman farmer growing snap peas, maize, whole brown rice, sorghum, millet, gum tress and raises pigs in Marondera, Zimbabwe. She holds a BA Degree in Agriculture Business Management from the University of West England (UWE). Ruramiso is a member of the Global Farmer Network, an... [ View ]

Hon. Ted McKinney

Under Secretary, Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Ted McKinney serves as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Under Secretary McKinney leads the development and implementation of the Department’s trade policy, oversees and facilitates foreign market access, and promotes opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government... [ View ]

Dr. Purvi Mehta

Head of Asia for Agriculture, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Dr. Purvi Mehta is the Head of Asia for Agriculture at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has her formal education, upto PhD, from M.S. University, India, Tokyo University, Japan and North Carolina State University- USA. Dr. Mehta has worked with the CGIAR, as head of Asia for the... [ View ]

Dr. Renata Micha

Chair of the Independent Expert Group (IEG), Global Nutrition Report

Dr Renata Micha is Research Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Dr Micha is a registered clinical dietician, public health nutritionist and epidemiologist whose research focuses on the effects of diet on health, and on population strategies to improve diet. Dr Micha... [ View ]

Xavier Morgan

Territory Manager & Co-Chair, Inspired Giving Campaign, Hormel Foods Corporation

Xavier Morgan, Chicago, Illinois, believes in the future of agriculture. Morgan studied Agriculture Communications Advertising - Food & Environmental Systems at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While promoting the importance of altruism, diversity, and food security in agriculture, he served in various roles including National Student Advisory Team member for... [ View ]

Dr. David Nabarro

Strategic Director, 4SD

From March 2020, David Naborro serves as Special Envoy of WHO Director General on COVID-19. David is currently Co-Director (since mid-2019) and Chair of Global Health at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College, London. He is Strategic Director of the Swiss-based social enterprise 4SD (Skills Systems and Synergies... [ View ]

Ndidi Nwuneli

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition

Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is the founder of LEAP Africa & Nourishing Africa and Co-founder of Sahel Consulting and AACE Foods. Through her work in the African private, public, and nonprofit sectors, she has led the design and execution of high-impact initiatives focused on policy, strategy, and ecosystem solutions. Ndidi... [ View ]

Dr. Raj S Paroda

Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS)

Dr. Raj S. Paroda, former Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Secretary DARE, Govt. of India has made significant contributions in the field of agriculture. He modernized Indian national agricultural research system and created more than 30 new institutions including the National Gene Bank. He was President of... [ View ]

Adam Roberts

Midwest Correspondent, The Economist

Adam Roberts is the Midwest Correspondent for The Economist and has lived in Chicago since September 2018. He has worked for The Economist since 1998. He was previously European business correspondent based in Paris, South Asia bureau chief in Delhi, online news editor in London, Africa correspondent in Johannesburg and... [ View ]

Dr. Sally Rockey

Executive Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Dr. Sally Rockey is the inaugural Executive Director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. Prior to this role, Dr. Rockey was a leader in federal research, overseeing the operations of the extramural research programs in both agriculture and biomedicine. She spent almost twenty years with the U.S. Department... [ View ]

Polly Ruhland

Chief Executive Officer, United Soybean Board

As the Chief Executive Officer of United Soybean Board, Polly Ruhland works on behalf of U.S. farmer investors to advance agriculture’s sustainability through research, education and promotion programs. Prior to joining USB, Ruhland served as Chief Executive Officer at the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. She served as a... [ View ]

Dr. Claudia Sadoff

Managing Director, Research Delivery and Impact, Executive Management Team Convener, CGIAR

Claudia Sadoff is Managing Director, Research Delivery and Impact, and Executive Management Team Convener, CGIAR System Organization. She previously served as Director General of IWMI, a CGIAR Center working globally to find water solutions for sustainable, climate-resilient development. She also served as a member of the CGIAR System Management Board,... [ View ]

Dr. Pedro Sanchez

Research Professor, University of Florida

Pedro A. Sánchez is Research Professor of Tropical Soils at the University of Florida Soil & Water Sciences Dept and core faculty of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems . He was Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Senior Research Fellow at Columbia University. He was... [ View ]

Dr. Ismail Serageldin

Emeritus Librarian, Library of Alexandria

Ismail Serageldin is the Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria, and was the Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria (2001-2017) in Egypt. Before that he was the Vice-President for Sustainable Development and Special Programs at the World Bank (1993-2000), and Chairman of the CGIAR, CGAP, and GWP.... [ View ]

Tony Siantonas

Director, Scaling Positive Agriculture, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

Tony works at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) where he leads sustainable agricultural initiatives to address farmer resilience, healthy soils, land restoration, finance mobilization and digital innovation. Based in Norway on his family’s organic dairy farm, Tony is passionate that agriculture and farming are used and scaled... [ View ]

Janie Simms-Hipp

Chief Executive Officer, Native American Agriculture Fund

Janie Simms Hipp is a Citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and currently serves as CEO of the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF), a private charitable trust focusing on providing support for the continued success of Native American farmers and ranchers. The trust was the outgrowth of decades-long litigation involving discriminatory... [ View ]

Hon. Debbie Stabenow

Senator, Michigan, United States Senate

Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, where she is leading the effort for improving sustainability in food and agriculture. In the 2018 Farm Bill, she authored the most advanced bipartisan climate-smart agriculture policies to date. As a cosponsor of... [ View ]

Achim Steiner

Administrator, UNDP (UN Development Programme)

Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. The United Nations General Assembly confirmed his nomination on 19 April 2017, following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres. Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which... [ View ]

Dr. Roy Steiner

Senior Vice President, Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation

Roy Steiner, PhD, is the Senior Vice President for the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, where he leads a team focused on creating access to nourishing food for millions of people in the U.S. and around the world, supporting scientific advances in human nutrition and sustainable food production, and... [ View ]

Barbara Stinson

President, World Food Prize Foundation

Barbara Stinson assumed leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation on January 4, 2020, building on a career of championing policy, research and project innovations through collaborative solutions. She became the second president of the Foundation since it was established in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. Ms. Stinson previously... [ View ]

Dr. Salma Sultana

Founder and Chairman, Model Livestock Advancement Foundation

Dr. Salma Sultana is a Veterinarian; first female entrepreneur in the veterinary sector in Bangladesh at the age 25. She dreams a poverty free and self-reliant Bangladesh. She founded a vocational training institute in 2015. Along with the capacity-building program, she has established a veterinary hospital with laboratory diagnostic facilities... [ View ]

Dr. Madhura Swaminathan

Chairperson, MSSRF

Madhura Swaminathan is Professor and Head of the Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, and Chairperson of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. She has a doctorate in Economics from the University of Oxford and has worked on issues of food security, agriculture and rural development for over... [ View ]

Hon. Kip Tom

Ambassador, U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome

Kip Tom is the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, with the rank of Ambassador. He is an agribusiness leader who transformed a seventh-generation farm into one of the largest commodity businesses in the Midwestern United States, launching international operations and... [ View ]

Priscilla Trịnh

Undergraduate, University of Minnesota, College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources

Priscilla Trịnh (she/hers) is a third-year undergraduate at the University of Minnesota studying Sustainable Systems Management, particularly Food Systems. Her Borlaug-Ruan International Internship brought her to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines in 2019 to work with indigenous farmers, and she continues to do hydroponics research at school.... [ View ]