SPEAKERS

Christine is a global leader in agri-food-tech innovation, an energizing community-builder & an activator of breakthrough ideas that create lasting change in food and agriculture.

As the Founder & CEO of Thought For Food, she has galvanized a community of 30,000+ Millennial & GenZ entrepreneurs in 180+ countries who are dedicated to transforming food systems, for good. The programs she has developed have generated 8000+ breakthrough business ideas and helped to launch 70+ startups, who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars, formed partnerships with industry leaders, improved the lives of 500,000+ smallholder farmers & created 500+ new jobs.

In her previous roles, Christine has led external affairs, public policy, & corporate affairs functions for leading multinationals, fast-growing startups, think tanks & industry associations. She helped to establish the world’s first open-licensing platform for patented vegetable traits while working in a large agribusiness, which eventually led to a shift across the whole industry.

In 2021, she was appointed by the UN Deputy Secretary-General to serve on the Advisory Committee for the UN Food Systems Summit. Her work has been featured in MIT Tech Review, Forbes, BBC & The Economist.

Christine is the author of "The Change-makers Guide to Feeding the Planet,” the producer of 2 docu-films about next-gen agri-food-tech solutions, and has spearheaded global events in Berlin, Lisbon, Zurich, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, and Rome.

Ricardo Carvajal works with manufacturers and marketers of food and dietary supplements, OTC drugs, and cosmetics on a range of FDA, USDA, and FTC regulatory issues. Mr. Carvajal advises clients ranging from start-ups to multinational companies at all points in the supply chain, including bulk ingredient manufacturers, distributors of packaged goods, and retailers. He counsels clients on the regulatory status of ingredients and finished products, and provides advice on compliance with labeling and advertising requirements. He helps clients interpret and comment on the implementation of new requirements, such as those arising from the Food Safety Modernization Act, and those applicable to the production and marketing of hemp and its derivatives. He also has expertise in FDA’s regulation of bioengineered plants and animals.

In enforcement matters, Mr. Carvajal counsels clients on managing inspections, responding to warning letters and other enforcement actions by federal and state regulators, and resolving import detentions. He also helps clients navigate product recalls and related corrective actions. Mr. Carvajal applies his subject matter expertise to corporate transactions, issuing opinions and conducting due diligence for acquisitions and IPOs.

Mr. Carvajal’s approach to counseling clients draws on insights gained in his former role as an Associate Chief Counsel at FDA, where he counseled the agency on a variety of rulemaking and enforcement activities and policy initiatives. Mr. Carvajal has served on the Food and Dietary Supplements Committee and the Global Committee of the Food and Drug Law Institute, and as Chair of the Public Policy Outreach and Implementation Task Force of the Institute of Food Technologists. He is also a member of the American Bar Association.

Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC is Professor in the Department of Food and Hospitality Management in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. He is the Founding Program Director of Drexel’s Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs. He is the Vice President of the Upcycled Food Foundation and previously was the inaugural James Beard Foundation Impact Fellow, leading a national curriculum effort on food waste reduction for chefs and culinary educators. He was named a Food Waste Warrior by Foodtank. Before moving to Drexel, Deutsch built the culinary arts program at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) and the Ph.D. concentration in food studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and School of Public Health. At Drexel, he directs the Drexel Food Lab, a culinary innovation and food product research and development lab focused on solving real world food system problems in the areas of sustainability, health promotion, and inclusive dining. He is the co-author or -editor of eight books including Barbecue: A Global History (with Megan Elias), Culinary Improvisation, and The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook, and numerous articles in journals of food studies, public health and hospitality education. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Studies and Food Management from New York University (2004), his culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America (AOS, Culinary Arts, 1997), and is an alumnus of Drexel University (BS, Hospitality Management, 1999). A classically trained chef, Deutsch worked in a variety of settings including product development, small luxury inns and restaurants. When not in the kitchen, he can be found behind his tuba.

Dr. Michael C. Qian is a full professor of flavor chemistry at Oregon State University. He received his PhD from University of Minnesota under the supervision of Dr. Gary Reineccius. Before joining Oregon State University, he worked in industry for ten years at various positions.

Professor Qian’s research at Oregon State University involves both basic understanding and practical application of flavor chemistry. Over the course of his tenure at Oregon State University, he has received numerous research grants/awards/contracts from federal and state agencies, commodity groups, and private industries to support his exceptional flavor chemistry research program. Dr. Qian has co-edited flavor chemistry books, and authored and coauthored numerous book chapters and refereed journal articles. He is often sought out to present invited lectures at international flavor conferences and symposia. Though his research and scholarship, Dr. Qian’s has made important and significant contributions to the understanding of the flavor chemistry of many types of foods, especially in dairy products, berry fruits, wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages.

Dr. Qian has provided noteworthy and impactful service to the food industry and the flavor science community. He has devoted much of his research program to helping industry innovate and/or solve flavor related challenges. Dr. Qian has been actively to promote the field of flavor science through the development and organizing of both domestic and international flavor symposia and conferences and though his many other professional activities. He is the initiator and the Chair of the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd International Flavor and Fragrance Conference (IFFC). He has held various officer positions in the Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, including the Chair position of the division in 2014. Dr. Qian organized many scientific symposia at American Chemical Society’s national meetings as well as Pacifichem conferences. Dr. Qian was elected as the Fellow of American Chemical Society, fellow of American Chemical Society-Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division. He is also a recipient of IFT Distinguished Lipid and Flavor Science Award.

Morgan's mission (and career) revolves around driving adoption of climate-friendly F&B technologies that create unparalleled value to consumers' health (and taste buds) while promoting a decarbonized global future. He is Founder / CEO of Sprouted Ventures, a consulting firm that helps early-stage food-tech companies commercialize, secure financing, and catalyze strategic partnerships. Morgan's current and former clients / employers include synthetic biology startup Ginkgo Bioworks (and $345M venture-backed spin-out, Motif FoodWorks), Impossible Foods (he delivered key elements of their original go-to-market strategy in 2015), Whole Foods Market, Plantible Foods, and countless other firms across the plant-based foods, precision fermentation, and cell culture domains. He holds a MBA focused on Marketing and Social Impact from UCLA Anderson School of Management, dual Hospitality/Business B.S. from the College of Charleston, and several board/advisory and mentorship positions with sustainability accelerator programs TechStars Sustainability, Carbon180 and The Biomimicry Institute.