Frances Moore Lappé is the author or coauthor of nineteen books, including the three-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. Her latest work is Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want, coauthored with Adam Eichen, focusing on the roots of the U.S. democracy crisis and how Americans are creatively responding to the challenge. Frances is co-founder of Oakland-based Food First and the Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute, which she leads with her daughter Anna Lappé. The recipient of nineteen honorary degrees, Frances has been a visiting scholar at MIT and U.C. Berkeley and in 1987 received the Right Livelihood Award, often called the “Alternative Nobel.”

With nearly two decades of experience editing magazines and books, Sherri Dugger now puts her media and public relations experience to work in the agriculture field. Dugger serves as executive director of both Women, Food and Agriculture Network and Indiana Farmers Union and as a policy and communications consultant for American Grassfed Association. She has served as a Midwest outreach consultant for Earthjustice and a rural affairs consultant for The Humane Society of the United States. She is a co-chair of the national Farmers and Ranchers for a Green New Deal coalition. An advocate for local and regional food systems, environmental sustainability, humane animal agriculture, and diversified family farming, she also frequently lobbies at the Indiana Statehouse and on Capitol Hill. Dugger is a member of the National Agricultural Advisory Council for The Humane Society of the United States, and she re-established the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group in early 2019. Dugger resides on a small farm in Morristown, Indiana, with her husband, Randy, and their dogs, cats, donkeys, goats, alpacas, chickens, and honeybees.

Francis Thicke, with his wife Susan, is the owner and operator of an organic dairy and crop farm near Fairfield, Iowa. They process their milk on the farm and market organic dairy products through local grocery stores and restaurants. They are also experimenting with regenerative grazing and cropping practices on their farm. Francis has a Ph.D. in agronomy/soil fertility and has in the past served as the National Program Leader for Soil Science for the USDA-Extension Service.

Finian Makepeace is the co-founder of Kiss the Ground and a renowned presenter, media creator, and thought leader in the field of regenerative agriculture and soil health. His dedication to Kiss the Ground’s mission of “inspiring participation in global regeneration, starting with soil”, has motivated him to develop training programs, workshops, and talks designed to empower people around the world to become confident advocates for this growing movement.

John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in private industry for a time and spent thirty years in various professorial positions at four different state universities before retiring in early 2000. Since retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on agriculture and economics. He is the author of six books, which can be located through his websites: http://faculty.missouri.edu/ikerdj/ or http://johnikerd.com.