Woody Tasch is president of the newly formed NGO Slow Money and Chairman Emeritus of Investors’ Circle, a nonprofit network of angel investors, venture capitalists, foundations, and family offices that, since 1992, has facilitated the flow of $130 million to 200 early-stage companies and venture funds dedicated to sustainability. He lives in northern New Mexico.

For information about Slow Money please visit www.slowmoneyalliance.org.

A relocalization advocate and organizer since mid-2005, Michael Brownlee is co-founder of Transition Colorado (www.TransitionColorado.org), the first officially-recognized Transition Initiative in North America. His organization has helped catalyze more than 20 local Transition Initiatives throughout the state, all working towards the resilience and self-reliance of their communities. He is editor and publisher of Transition Times (www.Transition-Times.com) and Boulder County’s EAT LOCAL! Resource Guide & Directory (www.EatLocalGuide.com), and an at-large member of the Boulder County Food & Agriculture Policy Council.

Anna Lappé is a national bestselling author, sustainable food advocate, and mom. The founding principal of the Small Planet Institute and Small Planet Fund, her latest book is Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It (Bloomsbury 2010). Anna is also the co-author of Hope’s Edge, with her mother Frances Moore Lappé, and Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen with Bryant Terry. She can be seen as the host for MSN’s Practical Guide to Healthier Living and as a featured expert on Sundance Channel’s Ideas for a Small Planet. An active board member of Rainforest Action Network, Anna has been named one of Time’s “Eco” Who’s Who has been featured in The New York Times, Gourmet, O-The Oprah Magazine, Food & Wine, and Vibe, among many other outlets. Learn more and see where Anna is speaking next at www.takeabite.cc.

Born in San Diego, California and raised in Virginia, Eric Skokan studied history at the University of Virginia. While moonlighting at the award-winning Silver Thatch Inn in the Virginia Countryside, he quickly realized that he preferred the cookbook to the textbook. After graduation he moved around the country working in some of the best restaurant kitchens, until 2006 when he opened Black Cat Farm Table Bistro in Boulder. Eric lives in Boulder with his wife Jill and their four children, and enjoys farming, eating and fixing his tractor, Buttercup.

Matthew grew up in Boulder and earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado. While attending school and participating as a member of the National Ski Team, Matthew was consistently a part of Boulder’s burgeoning dining scene.

In the early nineties, during his tenure at Laudisio, Matthew earned his sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers of London, England. In 1996, he left Boulder to experience a sample of the best restaurants across the country. Shortly after his departure, Matthew found a position as sommelier and captain at the highly acclaimed Valentino restaurant in Santa Monica, California. With one of the most extensive wine lists in the world and the country’s top-rated Italian cuisine, he was able to refine his skills and gain invaluable insight into the world of fine dining. After a year in Santa Monica, he moved to San Francisco, where he found an immediate position as general manager and sommelier with Next Century Restaurant Group, whose portfolio of restaurants includes Aqua, Aqua at the Bellagio [Las Vegas], Charles Nob Hill, Nob Hill [Las Vegas], Pisces, Strip Steak, and Restaurant Michael Mina.

Continuing his work with the Next Century Group, Matthew went on to hold leading roles at well-known local establishments such as Aqua, Aqua Bellagio, and Charles Nob Hill in San Francisco and Las Vegas, as well as two new restaurant openings in 2000 at Pisces and Restaurant Michael Mina. In 2001, Matthew opened Mateo to both local and national acclaim. He also owns Radda, an Italian Trattoria, in North Boulder.

After graduating from Georgetown University, Ayan found himself in the restaurant business as he attempted to make a life as an artist. One thing led to another and he became partner of Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York City as well as Blue Ribbon Bakery and Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn. He acquired cooking skills and techniques through the environment of the restaurant kitchen and talented chefs. He also opened Forbidden City Restaurant in 2001, the same year he entered Acupuncture school. (He is also a licensed acupuncturist in the state of New York and Colorado.) He has since traded the demanding time commitments of the restaurant business for the sheer pleasure of being a retired stay-at-home dad. He now spends his time creating art and inspired food. Having missed the creative and social aspect of building a restaurant but unwilling to give up time with his family, he recently founded the Boulder Kitchen Club along with his partner Liza Pascal. The Boulder Kitchen Club is a growing network of friends who enjoy five to seven course meals from Ayan’s kitchen whenever inspiration strikes.

Fred Kirschenmann is president of Kirschenmann Family Farms, a 3,500-acre certified organic farm in Windsor, North Dakota, where he also was president (1990-1999) of Farm Verified Organic, a private organic certification agency.

He is a leader of the organic/sustainable agriculture movement, and has served on many boards and advisory committees of such organizations. He has completed a five-year term on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board, and has chaired the administrative council for the USDA’s North Central Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. He recently completed work for the North Dakota Commission on the Future of Agriculture, and was a charter member of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society in 1979.

He has been a member of the board of directors for the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture since 1994, and was president in 1997.

He earned degrees from Yankton College in South Dakota, Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago, where he earned numerous awards including a Rockefeller Fellowship. He was the first chair of the Department of Religion at Yankton College, and was Dean of the College at Curry College in Boston. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters dealing with ethics and agriculture.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Deborah Koons Garcia has called Northern California home for over thirty years. Her most recent film, The Future of Food (2004), examines alarming issues surrounding the rapidly increasing corporate domination of our food supply. It is the first major film to cover the history and technology of genetic engineering and the complex implications of untested genetically engineered crops on the environment and unlabelled foods on consumers. Garcia’s other film credits include All About Babies, Poco Loco and Grateful Dawg, a documentary featuring her late husband, Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead.

Fred Kirschenmann is president of Kirschenmann Family Farms, a 3,500-acre certified organic farm in Windsor, North Dakota, where he also was president (1990-1999) of Farm Verified Organic, a private organic certification agency.

He is a leader of the organic/sustainable agriculture movement, and has served on many boards and advisory committees of such organizations. He has completed a five-year term on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board, and has chaired the administrative council for the USDA’s North Central Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. He recently completed work for the North Dakota Commission on the Future of Agriculture, and was a charter member of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society in 1979.

He has been a member of the board of directors for the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture since 1994, and was president in 1997.

He earned degrees from Yankton College in South Dakota, Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago, where he earned numerous awards including a Rockefeller Fellowship. He was the first chair of the Department of Religion at Yankton College, and was Dean of the College at Curry College in Boston. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters dealing with ethics and agriculture.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Deborah Koons Garcia has called Northern California home for over thirty years. Her most recent film, The Future of Food (2004), examines alarming issues surrounding the rapidly increasing corporate domination of our food supply. It is the first major film to cover the history and technology of genetic engineering and the complex implications of untested genetically engineered crops on the environment and unlabelled foods on consumers. Garcia’s other film credits include All About Babies, Poco Loco and Grateful Dawg, a documentary featuring her late husband, Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead.

Fred Kirschenmann is president of Kirschenmann Family Farms, a 3,500-acre certified organic farm in Windsor, North Dakota, where he also was president (1990-1999) of Farm Verified Organic, a private organic certification agency.

He is a leader of the organic/sustainable agriculture movement, and has served on many boards and advisory committees of such organizations. He has completed a five-year term on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board, and has chaired the administrative council for the USDA’s North Central Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. He recently completed work for the North Dakota Commission on the Future of Agriculture, and was a charter member of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society in 1979.

He has been a member of the board of directors for the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture since 1994, and was president in 1997.

He earned degrees from Yankton College in South Dakota, Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago, where he earned numerous awards including a Rockefeller Fellowship. He was the first chair of the Department of Religion at Yankton College, and was Dean of the College at Curry College in Boston. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters dealing with ethics and agriculture.