Christopher Gardner has a PhD in Nutrition Science and is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford’s School of Medicine. He has been researching the health effects of a plant based diet and its components for 20 years, primarily with federal (NIH) funding. He recently served on the American Heart Association’s Nutrition committee and is currently on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Culinary Institute of America. On the Stanford campus he has taken the lead in organizing the Stanford Food Summits which have now been held annually since 2010.

Greg Drescher is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Industry Leadership at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where he oversees the college’s leadership initiatives for the foodservice industry, including conferences, invitational leadership retreats, digital media, strategic partnerships, and other initiatives.

He is the creator of the college’s influential Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival (now in its 17th year); the annual Worlds of Healthy Flavors and Menus of Change leadership conferences presented in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health—Department of Nutrition; the Healthy Menus R & D Collaborative; as well as numerous other CIA “think tank” initiatives.  

In 2005, Mr. Drescher was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, in 2006 was honored with Food Arts magazine’s Silver Spoon Award, and in 2007 and 2009 shared a second and third James Beard Award for his work in developing the CIA’s “Savoring the Best of World Flavors” web cast series, filmed on location in food cultures around the world.

In 2008, he was appointed by the President of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine to its “Committee on Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake,” whose final report was published in 2010.

Before joining the CIA at Greystone 19 years ago as its Director of Education, he jointly spearheaded a multi-year collaboration of some of the world’s leading health experts and organizations—including the Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization—in researching and authoring the “The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: A Cultural Model for Healthy Eating.”  The cumulative results of this initiative’s research were published in a special edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition(1995), creating a strong platform for much of the academic, public policy, and media interest in the Mediterranean Diet that has followed.

Arlin Wasserman is a principal and the founder of Changing Tastes, a consultancy that finds value and opportunity at the intersection of the five major drivers of change in our food system:  sustainability, public health, information technology, demographics and the changing role of the culinary professional. The firms insights are the basis for the strategy, innovation, sustainability and performance management services it provides to Fortune 100 and growth stage food companies, government sector and private investors, and civil society institutions.

Arlin also is chair of the Sustainable Business Leadership Council forMenus of Change, a joint initiative of the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health and fellow at the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability at the Virginia Polytechnic University.

Arlin previously served as Vice President of Sustainability at Sodexo, the world’s largest institutional foodservice company, and was awarded a fellowship at the Aspen Institute and a Food and Society Fellowship funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, where his work focused on regional cuisine,terroir, and innovative business models that value geographic identity. He also has been an advisor on food and agriculture trade and investment policy to both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the European Union Parliament.

Arlin holds a MS in Natural Resources and a MPH, as well as a BA in Political Economics, all from the University of Michigan.

Chef Chandon has  had an extensive career throughout the restaurant industry -- from fine dining and hotel restaurants to culinary instruction and private catering -- he now serves as Senior Executive Chef of Performance Dining for Stanford University’ Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE).  

Chandon continued his immersion into the culinary world Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Palo Alto, California, then Chef/Owner of Edge Catering and Sports Nutrition providing elaborate eventually evolving the company to become one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most sought-after high-end caterers.  He then served as Executive Chef for the Kimpton Group’s Blue Mermaid, where he lead the restaurant to win the “Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-Off” in Newport Rhode Island as competed on The Food Network with his Dungeness Crab and Corn Chowder recipe. Following this, he was recruited by Susan Feniger as Executive Chef of Border Grill in Santa Monica California before joining Stanford Dining.

Joel Kimmons is a nutrition scientist and epidemiologist in Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He conducts dietary surveillance and chronic disease research and focuses on policy and environmental changes to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. He represents CDC on the National Prevention Council Steering Committee on the Health and Sustainability Guidelines, the Federal Working Group on Dietary Supplements, and the Farmers Market Consortium. Guided by sustainable food system approaches to idealizing dietary patterns, including the influences of agriculture, the environment, and gastronomy, he led the creation of Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations. Joel received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in Nutrition with an emphasis on epidemiology, international nutrition issues, and infant feeding. He grew up on an organic farm and continues to have close ties with farmers and the land.

Joanna Frank is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Active Design, an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to transforming design practice to make health a central priority in future development. Prior to launching the Center, Ms. Frank worked for the City of New York under the Bloomberg Administration, where her positions included Director of Active Design and Director of the NYC FRESH program. Before working for the City, Ms. Frank was a Partner at Bright City Development, LLC where she was responsible for the development of mixed-use residential buildings using sustainable design criteria. Ms. Frank holds an Architecture Degree from the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art.

Marissa N. Duswalt, RD, is currently enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she is pursuing a focus in consumer food behavior. She is an expert in nutrition and diet-related disease and was awarded a Truman Scholarship in 2009 to recognize her leadership and scholarship regarding childhood obesity. Most recently, Marissa served in the White House Office of the First Lady as Associate Director for the Let’s Move! initiative. Prior to her work in nutrition policy and programming, she worked in pediatric dietetics, school food service, and nutrition education.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Nutrition with Special Honors and a B.A. with Honors.

Sylvia is a User Experience Director at Razorfish, a full service digital design agency in New York City. She is the lead designer working with a team of technologists and designers to create a personalized digital grocery shopping experience for FreshDirect. FreshDirect is a New York based online grocer promoting local, seasonal and organic produce delivered to the customer’s home. 

William has spent more than 25 years integrating the practices and perspectives of an entrepreneur, venture investor, and educator. He is co-founder and Managing Partner at Physic Ventures, the first venture capital firm that invests in keeping people healthy by providing capital and expertise to science and technology-based, health and sustainability companies. William was founding CEO of The Republic of Tea, and has been involved in growing the health and sustainability sectors through his work as an entrepreneur and investor at Odwalla, Stonyfield Farms, LeapFrog, Brand New Brands, Revolution Foods, GoodGuide, Gazelle, and Yummly.

In 2013, Will was named chairman of the Vitality Institute Commission, a national effort focused on promoting health and well-being and preventing chronic disease. In 2010, he was selected by a committee of Nobel Laureates for the Oslo Business for Peace Award, presented jointly by the Business for Peace Foundation and International Chamber of Commerce in Norway. William has taught MBA courses at the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, for over a decade. He serves as Advisory Board Chair to the Global Social Venture Competition and has been a visiting faculty member at London Business School. William co-authored the bestselling book The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business (Doubleday 1994), which was recently named one of the 100 Best Business Books of all time. In 2014, Will was named on the Purpose Economy 100 list of leaders who are “the first to research, develop, and shape markets that foster community, expression, and impact.”

Chef Busby brings a long and diverse professional background in culinary arts and education to the CIA. After completing his culinary studies in Canada, Adam moved to France where he worked for several years in three top-rated Michelin starred restaurants before returning to Vancouver, Canada. In Vancouver, Adam opened two fine dining restaurants as chef and proprietor; Star Anise and Cascabel, both winning public and critical awards for Vancouver’s best food and service. Adam joined The Culinary Institute of America at their California campus in July of 2000 as a faculty member, and eventually as the Director of Education. Adam is currently tasked with the management, execution and oversight of select culinary projects at each of the CIA’s four campuses.  Chef Busby is one of 67 Certified Master Chefs in the United States, having earned this prestigious designation in February, 2004. 

Debra Dunn is a faculty member at Stanford University's d.school where she co-founded the Food Entrepreneurship, Education and Design (FEED) Collaborative, a joint initiative with the School of Earth Science that aims to spark radical innovation in our local food system through a combination of experiential education, social entrepreneurship, and design thinking.     She also works as an advisor to business start-ups and social ventures around the world.

Previously Debra worked as a business executive at Hewlett Packard. She serves on the Boards of the Skoll Foundation, B Lab, IDEO.org and the Stanford Jazz Workshop.  Her current focus is on food system transformation, social entrepreneurship and sustainable business.

Hannah Mensing is currently a graduate student at Stanford, studying Product Design with a focus on work in the food systems that leverages community stakeholders, and design. She works with the FEED Collaborative as a design fellow doing immersive design research, user experience and teaching in the local food system. Previously she was a STEM educator in experiential learning programs and worked on a handful of farms scattered across the globe. 

Kevin Madrigal is a senior studying Human Biology with a concentration in Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He loves to cook, and wants to share his passion for cooking with others by lowering the barriers to cooking for beginners. This past summer Kevin was a camp counselor at Full Circle Farm where he taught children about farming techniques, illustrated differences between organics and non-organics, and led many fun outdoor activities. He also helped start a monthly series of Family Farm Camps where entire families harvest and cook a meal on the farm with their kids. In his free time Kevin enjoys trying new foods, hip hop dancing, and cooking for friends and family.

Chelsea attended Chabot Community College in Hayward, California where she obtained two Associate’s Degrees in Mathematics and Chemistry. During this time, she worked as a biology, chemistry, and physics tutor for the MESA Program, which provides academic assistance for educationally disadvantaged college students. In addition, she worked as a chemical biology research assistant under Carolyn Bertozzi at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon transferring to Stanford University, she began tutoring middle school children from East Palo Alto through Dream Catchers and working as a Summer Camp Counselor at Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale, California. She is now a co-coordinator of monthly Family Farm Camp events at Full Circle, where parents and children in the area are invited to come to the farm, harvest, cook, and eat together with the farm volunteers and staff. Chelsea is expecting to graduate from Stanford with a B.A. in Human Biology and Concentration in Preventive Health.

Jenna Kim is passionate about prevention and education. She has a B.S. in Nutritional Science and Dietetics from UC Berkeley and a professional certificate from Stanford's Health 4 All, a program focusing on community health and the science of prevention. Her research focused on the assessing the impact of the Dining Ambassadors Program on Stanford undergraduate students. Her time is split up between continuing her research and advising Stanford faculty and staff as a BeWell Advisor. She has experience as a nutrition coach and educator. Her goals are to find an innovation solution to providing healthy food on a systems level and empower individuals to create lasting changes. In her free time, she enjoys salsa dancing and power lifting.

Jessica has a passion for sharing healthy eating from the ground up through her work in school gardens.  She recently completed the Health 4 All fellowship at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, which allowed her to partner with the Palo Alto Unified School District to evaluate and support their school gardens.  Preventive medicine and nutrition, in particular, have been priorities in Jessica’s life.  She has two children in the public school system and years of teaching within the nutrition community, so bringing the message and experience of healthy eating is a natural fit.   Jessica enjoys getting to work at the various levels that a school garden incorporates: from leading an elementary school class, to bringing more local farms to campuses, to connecting key players in the edible education scene, to supporting healthy lunch initiatives and researching the national movement.

Marika Sitz is a senior majoring in Human Biology with a concentration in Food and Agriculture Systems. She has been a member of The Stanford Food Project since her freshman year. In addition to promoting food systems awareness on campus through the Food Project, Marika has also been involved with the Stanford Community Farm and with Stanford Pre-Orientation Trips (SPOT). Over the past three summers, she has tried her hand at small-scale sustainable farming, worked in a medical clinic, and gained exposure to the policy process at the Department of State. Marika is interested in the path food takes from ground up, including issues surrounding sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and food security. She hopes to foster interest and enthusiasm about food issues with a wider audience through The Stanford Food Project. 

Cecily Foote is a junior majoring in Product Design. She became interested in food issues during high school and worked on a sustainable farm in Austin, Texas before coming to Stanford and promptly joining the Stanford Food Project, which she is now leading as Co-President.  She worked as a Sustainability Intern for Stanford Dining last year and is currently working on growing and promoting the new Food Helix, an interdisciplinary food program for undergraduates. She’s most interested in designing sustainable environments that guide behavior change and optimize the default lifestyle, specifically through healthy cooking and eating.

Eric Montell is the Executive Director of Stanford Dining, a division of Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) at Stanford University. During his 16 years tenure at R&DE, Eric has presided over new University business ventures from proposal, operational design and facility construction; and introduced dynamic new initiatives and partnerships to help maintain R&DE’s commitment to excellence. He oversees the residential dining program feeding 4000 undergrad and 5000 graduate students, which supports residential education in the dining halls, an executive dining program for the Graduate School of Business, Training Table for the student athletes and an extensive summer conference dining program.

Eric has lived in and traveled extensively throughout North America, Asia and the Middle East, which has given him an appreciation for diversity and a passion for cuisines from different cultures. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York, and studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of Hawaii. Prior to joining Stanford University, he worked for Marriott Management Services as the Director of Operations at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Preceding his work in healthcare, Eric had extensive experience in opening new properties in the hotel and restaurant industry

Shirley Everett is the Senior Associate Vice Provost for Residential & Dining Enterprises. Shirley’s shared vision is to create a Culture of Excellence by aligning strategic goals and performance with that vision. R&DE employs an organizational model that is dedicated to student advocacy, exceptional customer service, staff wellness, sustainable practices and fiscal stewardship.

Shirley is the steward for a $1.7 billion asset portfolio and oversees the overall direction and performance of Housing, Dining, Auxiliaries, and Conference Services. R&DE partners across campus to complement Stanford’s premier academic programs with a robust residential living and learning environment and an award-winning dining program. Shirley leads an 800+ employee organization that houses 12,000 students while serving 18,000 meals each day.

Shirley serves on the Stanford University President’s Full Cabinet that shape Stanford’s direction, policy, and planning.  Shirley has achieved the prestigious Ivy Award winner for culinary excellence and the coveted IFMA Silver Plate Award for Outstanding Leadership in university food services.

Shirley recently earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Saint Mary’s College in CA.