Explore Keynote Sessions from leading experts in agricultural and beyond!
The general public has a complex relationship with agriculture, blaming the industry for global warming one day and hailing farmers as heroes the next. How can we tell our story
David McWilliams knows how to make economics accessible with a bit of humor and historical context. As the global economy reacts to the disruption caused by COVID-19, how can we
The agricultural landscape was rapidly changing even before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the global food supply chain. The way we produce, distribute and consume food will soon look very different.
There is no denying that consumer trends have an impact on the way we produce and sell food. Does the consumer who would normally purchase a premium product continue to
Cady Coleman spent a total of 180 days on the International Space Station, taking “working remotely” to another frontier. A chemist with a doctorate in polymer science and engineering, Coleman
Based on Alltech’s belief that agriculture has the greatest potential to positively impact the earth, Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, launched the company’s Planet of Plenty™ vision in
Retired NASA Astronaut | STEM Advocate
Cady Coleman, a former NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions and a six-month expedition on the International Space Station (ISS). A chemist with a doctorate in polymer science and engineering, Coleman is a pioneer in the research of materials science, biotechnology, combustion science and fluid physics.
Coleman received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from MIT in 1983 and a doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1991. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, she was selected as an astronaut in 1992 and flew her first mission in 1995.
As a speaker, Coleman draws from her time at NASA and her missions on the ISS to discuss team building, leadership and innovation. She delivers a captivating account of life in space, as well as the importance of diversity, inclusion and collaboration. A consultant for space-related work, including micro-gravity research, Coleman is a vocal advocate for STEM and STEAM. She is passionate about sharing her experiences aboard the ISS, from which she delivered the introductory talk for TED 2011 and a commencement address for University of Massachusetts Amherst.
During her 180 days in space over the course of three missions, Coleman acted as the lead robotics and science officer aboard the ISS, performing the second-ever robotic capture of a supply ship from the station. In her spare time, she coached actress Sandra Bullock from the ISS in preparation for Bullock’s role as an astronaut in the movie "Gravity."
On the ground at NASA, Coleman served in a variety of roles, including chief of robotics, lead for tile repair efforts after the Columbia accident and lead astronaut for the integration of supply ships from NASA’s commercial partners, SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman. As a volunteer test subject for the centrifuge program at the Armstrong Aeromedical Lab, Coleman set several human endurance records while performing physiological and new equipment studies. Coleman's work paved the way for the commercial spaceflight collaborations that are now commonplace. Before retiring from NASA, she led open-innovation and public-private partnership efforts for the office of the chief technologist at NASA headquarters.
A research affiliate at the MIT Media Lab and the global explorer in residence at Arizona State University, Coleman is an adviser to Earthrise Media, a company utilizing photographs of Earth from space to provide educational tools as well as context and perspective for environmental and social justice issues. She serves on the boards of several institutions, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Greenfield Community College, Dent the Future and Skycatch, an innovative artificial intelligence company that uses drones to provide decision-making data.
Economist and Professor, Trinity College Dublin
David McWilliams is an economist, author, journalist, documentary-maker and broadcaster. He is also an adjunct professor of global economics at the Trinity School of Business at Trinity College Dublin. He has been ranked among the top 10 most influential economists in the world and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum at Davos.
McWilliams has devoted his entire professional life to the objective of making economics as widely available and easily understandable on as many platforms and to as many people as possible. He co-founded the world’s only economics and stand-up comedy festival, Kilkenomics, described by the Financial Times as “simply the best economics conference in the world.” He also founded Ireland’s leading literary and ideas event, the Dalkey Book Festival.
As well as writing a weekly economics column in the Irish Times, McWilliams is active on social media and was named Ireland’s “most influential Twitter user” in 2016. He strives to identify new ways to explain economics, including through a new venture with the Financial Times, "Punk FT," which creates cartoons that help make economics more understandable for the general populace.
McWilliams has written four bestsellers, including "The Pope’s Children," the best-selling nonfiction book ever published in Ireland. Previously, McWilliams worked extensively in the public and private sectors. He has served as an economist in the international relations department of the Irish Central Bank; as the chief European economist at UBS, Europe’s largest bank; and as the head of emerging markets research at Banque Nationale de Paris.
Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Mars Wrigley
Jessica Adelman is vice president of corporate affairs at Mars, where she oversees all external communications worldwide for Mars Wrigley, as well as corporate affairs in North America, and also sits on the Mars Wrigley Foundation board of directors as vice chair. Additionally, she teaches a course in sustainable branding at Northwestern University and was recently named to the board of directors for the National Endowment for Democracy.
Previously, Adelman served as vice president of corporate affairs for Kroger, a major U.S. retailer, where she directed communications, corporate affairs, sustainability and both of the Kroger foundations. She was part of the team that created Kroger's Zero Hunger Zero Waste plan, which led to Kroger being included in Fortune magazine's list of top ten companies changing the world.
Prior to her service at Kroger, Adelman held management roles at Syngenta, Monsanto and Cargill. She has been included on numerous notable lists, such as the top women in PR and the most powerful women in America. She graduated from Dartmouth College as a Russian studies major and subsequently lived in the former Soviet Union for several years. She later received her MBA from the Wharton School and a master's degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
CEO, Futurity
Jack Bobo is the author of the forthcoming book, "Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices," and the CEO of Futurity, a food foresight company that works with food and agriculture businesses and organizations to help them better understand emerging food trends and consumer attitudes and behaviors so they can position themselves to thrive in an ever-more complex world. He has delivered more than 400 speeches in 50 countries on the future of food and how to build consumer trust. In 2015, Scientific American named him one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology.
Bobo previously served as the chief communications officer and senior vice president for global policy and government affairs at Intrexon Corporation. He worked at the U.S. Department of State for 13 years as a senior advisor on global food policy. He also previously served as an attorney at Crowell & Moring LLP.
Bobo received bachelor's degrees in biology, psychology and chemistry, a master's degree in environmental science and a doctoral degree in jurisprudence from Indiana University.
Professor and Air Quality Specialist, Cooperative Extension in Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis
Dr. Frank Mitloehner is a professor and air quality specialist in the Cooperative Extension in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis. He received his master's degree in animal science and agricultural engineering from Leipzig University in Germany and his Ph.D. in animal science from Texas Tech University.
Mitloehner is an expert in agricultural air quality, livestock housing and husbandry. Overall, he conducts research that is directly relevant to understanding and mitigating air emissions from livestock operations as well as the implications of these emissions for the health and safety of farm workers and neighboring communities.
He has served as chairman of a global partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on a project to benchmark the environmental footprint of livestock production. He served as a workgroup member on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and as a member on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee on “A Framework for Assessing the Health, Environmental, and Social Effects of the Food System."
President and CEO, Alltech
Dr. Mark Lyons grew up in the Alltech business, having traveled with his father and Alltech’s founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, from a young age to visit customers. With experience working in all regions and nearly all departments — from palletizing bags in production to researching in the lab — he has a deep and uniquely personal knowledge of the company.
He has spearheaded many critical projects, including simultaneously managing a biorefinery project in Kentucky, the establishment of a plant in Serbia and the creation of Alltech’s flagship yeast production facility in São Pedro, Brazil. He also spent nearly four years in Mexico rebuilding the company’s solid state fermentation plant in Serdan, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
In 2012, Dr. Lyons relocated to China, the world’s largest feed market, as part of Alltech’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Living in Beijing and traveling throughout the country, he led the Alltech China office and focused on building bridges between China and the wider industry through research, education and strategic initiatives.
Under his leadership as director of North America from 2009 to 2011, Alltech expanded its presence with the opening of new offices and a growing involvement in all agricultural sectors. Today, Dr. Lyons is based at Alltech’s headquarters in Kentucky.
He has served as a board member of the American Feed Industry Association and is active in many industry groups, such as the International Poultry Council, the National Turkey Federation, the National Chicken Council and the National Pork Producers Council. He is also vice president of the Soil and Fertilizer Alliance of China and is a committee member of the China Toxicology Association. He is proud to be the only foreign member welcomed to China’s Feed Industry Golf Group, which represents more feed tonnage than all of Brazil.
Dr. Lyons has published papers and patents in areas ranging from enzyme production to global economics and is interested in the assurance of food safety and quality throughout the entire food chain. Recently, he was named as one of "The top 50 Irish business men and women in the BRIC countries" and “40 Under 40” leaders in agriculture by Vance Publishing Corporation. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental science in 1999 from the University of Chicago.
He received his master’s degree in brewing and distilling in 2001, followed by a Ph.D. in the area of solid state fermentation, at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Dr. Lyons is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, and he has a working knowledge of Mandarin.