NYC 2009 – Speakers
Speakers at the NYC Agriculture 2.0™ Conference
“The struggle for ecological sustainability in the 21stcentury will play out against the context of a doubling in urban population and unpredictable changes in climate, food supply, and water stress. To be effective at scale, urban farming systems must produce very high yields, exploit the excess thermal energy available in the built environment, and strictly conserve water. Systems with these characteristics can lighten our collective foodprint while improving the quality of city life.”
Ted Caplow, Ph.D. Senior Partner in BrightFarm Systemswas formerly a clean energy consultant for Capital-E, LLC and worked on energy efficiency and carbon offset credits for a range of clients including the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy. A mechanical and environmental engineer by training, Dr. Caplow’s expertise lies chiefly in the area of integrated system design, with particular specialties in renewable energy, water contaminant dynamics and technology assessment. He has published scholarly articles in the Journal of Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science & Technology, Estuaries, Acta Horticulturae, and other journals. After founding New York Sun Works in 2004, Dr. Caplow developed the master plan for the Science Barge. His recent design work includes the BrightFarm model, as well as the Vertically Integrated Greenhouse, a system for integrating a greenhouse into a façade curtain wall. Ted received a Ph.D. from Columbia (environmental engineering), an M.S. from Princeton (mechanical and aerospace engineering), and a B.A. from Harvard (sociology.)
“For sustainable agriculture to become established on any kind of scale, it has to become profitable beyond high-value niche markets. We have to develop alternatives that meet the need for affordable food by the mainstream, that produce a viable income for farmers and that do not harm our health or the environment. “
Roxanne Christensen is Co-founder of SPIN-Farming LLC, which publishes the SPIN-Farming® online learning series and conducts workshops in partnership with leading farming, gardening, environmental and investment groups. Her working life has been spent helping entrepreneurs position, package and promote their ideas. Since its creation in 2006, the online learning series has been subscribed to by over 2,500 aspiring farmers who are now recasting farming as a small business in cities and towns across the U.S. and Canada. Her company is dedicated to providing farming and gardening how-to that can be learned and practiced across all economic classes and geographical boundaries.
Diana Glassman is a Partner at Environmental Business Group (EBG) Capital, a Credit Suisse spin out based in Zurich. She was previously Head of the Americas for Credit Suisse’s Environmental Business Group. EBG Capital is a boutique that advises institutions and families, and invests in environmental sectors including: sustainable timber and agriculture, renewable energy, carbon, energy/resource efficiency, cleantech, green buildings and water globally. Diana earned her MBA at Harvard Business School and, concurrently, the Master of Public Administration (International Political and Economic Development) at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Biology), magna cum laude and with Distinction in the Major, from Yale University. She is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Grayson Hoberg is the CEO of Dakota Prairie Organic Flour Co. Dakota Prairie manufactures over sixty organic and gluten-free flours and baking mixes. Our products are marketed world-wide with a reputation for high quality. Grayson has previously served as the CFO and VP of Finance and Administration for EarthLink, Manager of Information Systems for Coors Brewing Company and as the Consulting Manager for Price Waterhouse (Denver). Grayson led two successful stock offerings that netted $105 and $226 million, many private equity offerings and various private and government debt transactions. In a little over two years, revenue at EarthLink grew 785% and in five years at Dakota Prairie Organic Flour revenue averaged 350% growth per year with a 174% growth in 2008 during the recession.
James Kalin is CEO of Virtually Green, a San Francisco-based company that focuses on case studies and design advice for mostly LEED green building and sustainable development projects around the USA. James is a LEED Accredited Professional and teaches LEED workshops. He conducts business and technical consulting for sustainable urban commercial agriculture startups in the USA. He is working on development of a new building-integrated sustainable agriculture standard. In the past, James worked as a farm extension agent in California and owned a 37′ ex-gilnetter.
Bruce Kahn, Ph.D., DB Climate Change Advisors (DBCCA), Deutsche Asset Management(DeAM) advises portfolio managers and product developers on the thematic trends of climate change in both traditional and alternative investments. Bruce joined the company in 2008 with 20 years of experience in environmental research, most recently as it relates to investments. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he managed assets for high net-worth and institutional investors at CitiSmith Barney’s Private Wealth Management group. Previous experience includes investment and market research for IC Value Inc. (previously Center for Sustainable Systems Studies, Miami University of Ohio), management consulting and corporate sustainability strategist for Cameron-Cole LLC and environmental research positions for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Ecological Society of America and Auburn University, and service in the US Peace Corps as an agricultural agent and provincial representative. He has a B.A. from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. in Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture from Auburn University, a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was the recipient of both a J. William Fulbright Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Fellowship in ecological economics.
Arrun Kapoor is Senior Associate with SJF Ventures’ New York City office. He is a co-lead for the NY Chapter of the Renewable Energy Business Network (REBN) and is an Advisory Board Member of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Green Business Accelerator. Kapoor was most recently with Bain & Company in London and Delhi where he launched the firm’s internal green practice initiatives. He worked with Bain’s Private Equity Practice and gained experience in a range of cleantech-related industries. Prior to Bain, he was with a successful consulting start-up in New York and London. He holds a Master’s in International Political Economics from the London School of Economics and completed a BA from New York University with an economics and business focus.
Darlene Knipe is a specialist with the University of Illinois Extension in marketing and business development. She is the chief architect of the web based food and agricultural marketing tool known as MarketMakerand leads the National Food Industry MarketMaker Partnership that currently includes 15 land grant universities and 30 food and agriculturally related organizations. Her areas of focus include entrepreneurship and agricultural enterprise development. She has presented local, regional and national workshops and seminars on a variety of topics including target marketing, entrepreneurship and brand marketing for agricultural products. She has worked internationally, providing technical support for entrepreneurship development programs targeted to developing countries. She has served as Principal Investigator of numerous projects involving the development of quality driven food supply chains that give producers of value-added agricultural products better market access. Knipe has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Connecticut with an emphasis in Finance and Accounting.
Carol Kramer-LeBlanc is Director for Sustainable Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She’s located in the Office of the Chief Economist there and provides leadership and coordination within the US Department of Agriculture related to issues of sustainability in agriculture and the food system. Kramer-LeBlanc represents the Department in interagency and international meetings related to sustainability. She also speaks frequently about USDA policies, programs and projects and works with a variety of partners around the country and the world. Kramer-LeBlanc has extensive experience–both U.S. and international–related to agriculture and the food system, food consumption and nutrition, agricultural and natural resource policy, and international science and technology. In addition to her work at the USDA, she has served at Treasury, and State/USAID. Earlier in her career, Kramer-LeBlanc served on the faculty at Cornell and Kansas State Universities.
Janine Yorio is the founder of NewSeed Advisors, a financial advisory firm which advises alternative and sustainable agriculture companies on capital raising and strategic partnerships. Prior to founding NewSeed, Janine worked in private equity at NorthStar Capital and HypoVereinsbank. She began her career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers. She is a graduate of Yale University.
“We’re spending 75 cents of every dollar that we spend on food and beverage within 70 miles of the restaurant within this watershed, within the Vermont community. It’s really from the farm to us. Chez Panisse out in San Francisco and a lot of those really high-end restaurants have been buying local for two, almost three decades now and really set the bar. But the farmers that supply those restaurants can’t afford to be regular customers.”
Tod Murphy is the owner, founder and visionary behind the Farmer’s Diner, a restaurant concept with two outposts in Queechee and Middlebury, Vermont. Harper’s Bazaar, USA Today, GQ and The New York Times Magazine have all profiled him and his restaurant. But the central Vermont restaurant gets its five stars not because of its matchless cuisine but because Murphy and his partners are determined to serve affordable food raised right in the neighborhood—within seventy miles. Tod Murphy started the Farmers Diner in Quechee Gorge, Vermont. Murphy himself a farmer, had two goals in mind: Support local growers and bring “fresh” to a classic American restaurant tradition. Tod has extensive experience in the restaurant franchise business, having worked as the Director of Retail Operations for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and founding “The Coffee Station”, a 25-unit national coffee shop chain. He also started, owns and operates a sheep dairy.
Martin P. Schreibman, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology at the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College, has perfected a model for sustainable urban aquaculture using the newest technology, re-circulating aquaculture systems (RAS), to breed and quickly grow fish species in controlled environments, using fish food derived from soy and controlled lighting and water temperatures to ensure maximum growth. Professor Schreibman directs Brooklyn College’s Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center (AREAC), a research facility devoted to the study of aquatic organisms— how they grow, adapt, reproduce, and live in all temperatures and environments. Its multidisciplinary team of researchers seeks to answer questions about medicine, nutrition, pollution, aquaculture, fisheries, and marine ecology. AREAC’s projects include bivalve and fish aquaculture, captive breeding of horseshoe crabs, educational outreach, and product commercialization.
Melina Shannon-DiPietro is the director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project. She came to Yale in 2003 to help the University create the project. She oversees dining services in its transition to a sustainable, seasonal menu, aids in directing the Yale Farm, and works to build a meaningful food culture on campus and in New Haven. Before coming to Yale, Shannon-DiPietro taught at the Maine Coast Semester, and worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company and the Bridgespan Group. Shannon-DiPietro has farmed in Sicily and in Maine. She graduated from Harvard University in 2000 with a degree in Social Studies.
“The global catch of seafood has been flat or declining for decades, with three-quarters of fish stocks at or beyond the limits of sustainable fishing. However, both world population and per capita seafood consumption continue to increase. The developed world sees health benefits to eating fish while the developing world’s growing middle class demands more animal protein, especially seafood. Farming seafood is the only answer.”
David Tze is Managing Director of Aquacopia Capital Management, LLC. Tze applies pioneering strategies and technology to developing sectors within established industries. He co-founded Aquacopia. Previously, he was VP of strategy of the venture-funded NetworkOil equipment marketplace for the oil and gas industry, spearheaded web consultancy Concrete, and co-founded Cache Networks, a novel digital television platform.David serves on the boards of Snapperfarm, Oberon, Ocean Farm Technologies, Open Blue, Litchfield Farms, and The Ocean Stewards Institute. He has an A.B. in economics from Princeton.
“There are growing opportunities for investors to profit from environmental conservation and regulation, these sectors include terrestrial and marine ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture, fisheries management, water quality, water supply, and the farming industry is a key catalyst.”
Michael Van Patten is the CEO and Founder of Nexii Inc. NeXii “The Nexus for Impact Investing”is an electronic transactions and communications platform for the social and environmental capital markets. NeXii provides social and environmental enterprises seeking capital and investors seeking mission aligned returns a centralized marketplace in which to source opportunities, access relevant market data, monitor current social investments and complete transactions. Michael has over 20 years of experience on Wall Street and has been integrally involved in the design and implementation of private placement and illiquid security transactions platforms for several companies including co-founding the highly successful NYPPEX. Prior to NeXii Michael founded Mission Markets Inc. an environmental and social capital marketplace that merged to become Nexii.
Andy Ziolkowski is a partner in MidPoint Food & Ag Fund, a pure play agriculture venture capital fund. He has a 25-year career devoted to venture capital investing and merchant banking across a broad range of industries. Among his successful investments, he includes DexCom, Biomimetic Pharmaceuticals, FutureHealth, Tessera, i-STAT, and The Liposome Company. Andy has been afrequent speaker and panelist at venture capital forums and international conferences such as BIO. Prior to joining MidPoint, Andy was a Managing Director of SAE Ventures and Forest Street Capital LLC, where he spent fourteen years as an investor and advisor to early stage healthcare and technology companies. Previously, he was Director, Venture Capital at CS First Boston Merchant Bank. Andy began his venture capital career at Whitehead Associates, a family investment fund. He was also an electrical engineer and plasma physicist at the Grumman Aerospace Corporation and Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratory. Andy holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and Finance and a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Grumman Scholar. He also attended Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Department and the University of Pennsylvania ’s Department of Energy Management and Power, where he did graduate work.