Keynote Speaker
Colin Beavan - Author of "No Impact Man".
"No Impact Man is a deeply honest and riveting account of the year in which Colin Beavan and his wife attempted to do what most of us would consider impossible. What might seem inconvenient to the point of absurdity instead teaches lessons that all of us need to learn. We as individuals can take action to address important social problems. One person can make a difference."
—Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat
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Wendell Berry
photo by Guy Mendes
Wendell Berry, author of many books of essays, poetry, and fiction, is a champion of the environment who has written about the importance of supporting local agriculture throughout his long and illustrious career.
Scott Dye
Scott Dye is the national director of the Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels program. Founded in 2001, the Water Sentinels work to protect, improve and restore America’s waters by fostering alliances to promote water quality monitoring, public education, and citizen action.
Dye served as Sierra Club’s national Factory Farms Organizer from 1998-2001. His family owns a 125-year old family farm in northern Missouri.
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Dr. David Andrews
Dave Andrews is Senior Representative for Food & Water Watch and has over 30 years of experience working on sustainable development, food and water issues both on the national and international level. He was the Executive Director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference for 13 years and has served on many Boards of Directors including the Organization for Competitive Markets, Heifer International, the Community Food Security Coalition, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. He has attended World Trade Organization meetings, World Food Summits and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kyle Kramer
Kyle T. Kramer was educated at Indiana University, the University of Hamburg and Emory University. He founded and lives with his wife Cyndi and their three young children (Eva, Clare, and Elijah) on Genesis Organic Farm, in his native southern Indiana, in a solar- and wind-powered home he designed and built himself. Kyle is also the director of graduate lay degree programs and spiritual formation for Saint Meinrad, a Benedictine monastery and school of theology. Kyle's writing, retreats and talks mainly concern the intersection of simple living, ecology and Catholic spirituality.
Dr. Mark Williams
Dr. Mark Williams is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Kentucky and teaches many classes in the curriculum. Dr. Williams was the founder of the Organic Farming Research and Education Unit at the Horticulture Research Farm and has a wide array of research interests. His research is currently focused on developing effective disease management strategies for organic cucurbit production, and studying the interactions between plants and microbes in organic farming systems.
Julie Shaffer
Since August 2008, Julie has been the Sustainable Food Service Education Coordinator at Emory. Julie first heard about Slow Food while vacationing in Italy in 1999. When she returned home, she called the newly established U.S. chapter to find out about getting involved. When the phone call ended, she had agreed to start a Slow Food chapter in Atlanta. She did, and now Julie is the volunteer regional governor of Southeast Slow Food.
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