Bill Brosseau

Brosseau Wines | Wine Grower and Winemaker

Bill Brosseau spent his childhood weekends riding back and forth to his family’s vineyard in Monterey County. He developed a love for seeing the evolution of the vineyard design and the seasons through this process. In addition to his lifetime of winegrowing experience, Bill holds a degree in Enology and Viticulture from the prestigious UC Davis and complemented his studies with Viticulture and Winemaking programs at the University of Dijon and University of Bordeaux. Bill’s track record includes the crafting of more than 2,000, 90+ point scoring wines, earning accolades from the likes of Wine Spectator, The Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and International Wine Review. Most recently, Bill helped secure ‘Winery of the Year’ for Testarossa Winery in 2020 and ‘White Wine of the Year’ in Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine in 2021. Bill’s relentless pursuit of authenticity and essence from vineyards shows in all the wines that he crafts.  This measure could not be achieved without the continued support of his loving family, steadfast friends, vigorous vineyard and winery team members.

Connie Karr

Accredited Certifiers Association | Advisor

Connie Karr is an Advisor to the Accredited Certifiers Association (ACA) where she is the recent past Chair of their Board of Directors, bringing consistency and collaboration across accredited certifying agencies globally while growing the organization's reach, stability, and impact. Connie recently stepped away from a 25-year career at Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) where she was highly regarded as the Certification Director over a decade. She was responsible for all aspects of organic certification and international standards, growth planning, and orchestrating the organization's preparation for SOE implementation. 

Under Connie's leadership, OTCO received numerous accolades from the National Organic Program for high performance in implementation of the Program standards, and she remains deeply engaged in advancing the organic sector through responsible application of certification systems in her current advisory roles. A strong believer in the power of positive thinking and collaboration to impact change, Connie specializes in solving complex certification challenges, holding organic integrity paramount in all aspects of her work. Connie resides in the beautiful Willamette Valley in Oregon where she also helps manage their family farm, keeping her passion for agriculture and generational farming close at hand.

Danny Bernstein

Hawk Tower | Founder

Danny Bernstein is the Founder and Managing Partner of HawkTower, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups focused on maximizing California's natural resource markets. HawkTower believes a new crop of technology startups will achieve exponential commercial scale by developing novel products that safeguard and optimize finite industrial and environmental resources. Danny is also CEO of The Reservoir, a nonprofit organization supporting trailblazing resource startups outside of California's traditional tech hubs. 

Before HawkTower, Danny spent 20 years in Silicon Valley, holding executive roles at Google and Microsoft. In 2012, Danny sold Meebo, a Sequoia Capital-backed startup, to Google. At Google, he ran business development, strategic partnerships, and developer programs for products like Google Search, Google Assistant, Google Research, Chrome/Web Platform, Google Identity and Sign-In, Firebase, and others. At Microsoft, he led critical product lines for Microsoft Teams. Danny is an alum of UC Davis and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He lives in Carmel Valley in Monterey County. 

Dick Peixoto

Lakeside Organic Gardens | Owner

Dick Peixoto is owner/operator at Lakeside Organic Gardens, the largest family owned organic vegetable operation in the United States. Dick is a third generation farmer with 50 years of experience. He started his farming career in eighth grade by hiring neighborhood kids to pick tomatoes on his family farm so he could market them.

In 1996 Dick recognized the advantages of organic farming and began to transition from conventional to organic. Starting with only 55 certified acres, Lakeside has grown its organic operation to farming 3,300 certified acres in California. Lakeside grows over 50 different organic commodities, available year-round, distributing coast-to-coast and into Canada. Dick personally walks his fields daily to guarantee his organic vegetables are held to the highest quality and food safety standards with the help of his trusted teams. When Dick is not bouncing from field to field or at Lakeside’s 52,000 square foot custom cooler, you may find him at his Watsonville, Calif. restaurant, The California Grill—a true farm-to-table experience serving organic veggies delivered daily from Lakeside.

Doug Currier

Organic Materials Review Institute | Technical Director

Doug joined OMRI in March 2011 and holds a B.A. in Geography from the University of South Florida and a M.Sc. in Organic Farming from Scotland’s Rural College. His past research focused on public sector procurement and the organic sector, specifically identifying and overcoming barriers to the procurement and supply of organic produce in schools. Doug leads policy and standards development, educational outreach, and manages other projects including the creation of Technical Reports for the National Organic Program.

Eric Morgan

Braga Fresh | Vice President Environmental Science & Resources

Prior to this role, Eric was a Pest Control Advisor and manager for Valley Farm Applications. In 2009, Eric founded Soil Health Laboratories, LLC, to help growers reduce fertilizer inputs based on real-time laboratory results and his professional experience. Still in operation today, this soil lab provides same-day analysis of soil and water for nitrate, ammonium, and pH levels for cool-season vegetable growers in the Salinas and Imperial Valleys. The lab's newest offerings include plant sap analysis and qPCR-based analysis. The qPCR-based soil analysis allows for precise detection of soil health indicators. Additionally, the same equipment is used to test for plant and soil based pathogens, ensuring comprehensive management of crop health. The Braga family started farming in the Salinas Valley in 1928. Today, the third generation continues the family values of sustainable farming. Now vertically integrated, Braga Fresh combines innovation with tradition to grow, harvest, and process fresh vegetables and leafy greens under the Josie’s Organics brand. Under Eric’s leadership, Braga Fresh sets aside 10% of farmland for beneficial habitat and has launched regenerative farming trials. In July 2023, Braga Fresh partnered with Whole Foods Market to introduce regeneratively grown sweet baby broccoli into the marketplace under the Josie’s Organics brand.

Gina Colfer

Wilbur Ellis Ag | Sustainable Solutions Manager

Gina Bella Colfer is local to the Central Coast and grew up amongst agriculture. She attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and earned a bachelor’s degree in Crop Science. Gina became a licensed Pest Control and Certified Crop Advisor and has been working in ag production roles for 35 years sticking to the Central Coast and desert regions of CA and working predominantly in specialty vegetables. Gina walked fields and advised in conventional systems for the first 8 years of her career, and then switched gears to focus solely on organics and to advocate for the Whole Systems Approach.  Gina worked as an in house PCA and compliance manager for a large organic leafy green grower and then had to pivot to manage a team in the field of food safety and compliance after the 2006 Spinach E. coli outbreak occurred. Gina then moved on from compliance and went back to her roots and back into organic pest and fertility management. She has been with Wilbur Ellis Ag for 9 years and has helped to bring forth new and novel products within the Wilbur Ellis portfolio and to help drive sustainable solutions within the company. She is the recipient of the 2023 CDPR Lifetime Achievement Award in IPM, sits on many Boards and Advisory Committees and has written articles that have been published in ag publications addressing the Whole Systems Approach to pest and soil fertility management.  Her love for soil and habitat biodiversity is what is driving her passion now.

Jennifer Tucker

National Organic Program | Ag Marketing Service Deputy Administrator

Dr. Jennifer Tucker has been Deputy Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program since June 2018. Before that, she was Associate Deputy Administrator of the NOP for seven years. Before joining USDA, she was a consultant working primarily with scientific and technical government and non-profit organizations. She earned a B.A. in Environmental Science from Wesleyan University, an M.S. in Management from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Virginia Tech.

Jessy Beckett

California Certified Organic Farmers | Chief Program Officer

Jessy oversees the CCOF Foundation and state and federal policy advocacy. She began studying food systems and organic farming in high school alongside her mother and stepfather, conventional produce farmers in the Salinas Valley of California. Mrs. Parr holds a Master of Science in community development from the University of California, Davis, a certificate in ecological horticulture from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. Prior to joining CCOF in 2013, she spent five years producing a global documentary on soil and food systems, Symphony of the Soil. Her work focuses on supporting organic farmers, farmland transition and building resilient community food systems. She currently co-leads the new $100M USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program and is an advisory committee member for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Organic Agriculture Institute and the Grimm Center for Organic Production at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

John Foster

Wolf & Associates | Chief Operating Officer

John Foster is an experienced organic industry professional with a track record of measurable impact in certified organic food & agricultural projects, business, and initiatives. His 30 years in corporate, small-scale, and non-profit enterprise environments has earned him national recognition in organic certification & policy, business strategy, growth management, and strategic planning, all focused developing and growing the organic sector. For over ten years, he managed organic compliance at Earthbound Farm and then as Director of Supply Chain Strategy under White Wave Foods and Danone NA ownership. John has consulted for over a decade in all aspects of the organic sector including certification management, operations, business development, compliance, strategy, and change management. John is experienced in the development, implementation, and monitoring of National Organic Program standards for crop production, livestock, processing, wholesale, distribution, and retail operations. For the last three years with Wolf & Associates John has focused on business growth and finding solutions for their clients, including but not limited to those related to new regulations under the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) initiative. 

John Mckeon

Taylor Farms Retail | Director of Organic Integrity & Compliance

John McKeon oversees organic compliance and regenerative organic practices for farming and processing at Taylor Farms Retail. John also supports field food safety research, agronomic and biodiversity programs and trails, and quality management.  He has worked at Taylor Farms & Earthbound Farm for 15 years, working in field and facility food safety, international organic supply chain compliance and organic agricultural operations. Prior to working there, John spent 10 years working at CCOF, from an intern to certification director, then inspector. John studied horticulture, sustainable agriculture and environmental studies at Cabrillo College and University of California Santa Cruz. He lives with his family on the central coast of California. 

Kim Horton

Taylor Farming | Agronomy Manager

Kim Horton began farming insects in 1998 as a part-time job in college. It was an immediate perfect fit and blossomed into her choice of pursuing a B.S. degree in entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She continued rearing insects and mites for the biological control industry for the next 15 years. In 2015, Kim shifted gears and began working on a large organic vegetable farm in the San Joaquin Valley in California. As Agronomy Manager at Taylor Farming based in the Salinas Valley, she continues to be fascinated by the above ground and below ground associations between plants, insects, diseases, and soil. Her favorite insect is the dung beetle.

Tim Nuss

Nuss Farms | Vice President - Business

Tim is the VP of Business Operations for Nuss Farms. Tim grew up in farming and agriculture, but developed his career away from the family farm business. He worked in agriculture and agtech for 15 years for T&G Global, CH Robinson, and Apeel Sciences before joining Nuss Farms in late 2022. He's the co-host of The Modern Acre podcast with his brother, Tyler, where they discuss the latest in business, investing, technology, and sustainability in agriculture. He also serves as the Vice Chair for GrowingGreat, a non-profit whose mission is to empower children to make healthy food choices through hands-on science and garden education.

Vonnie Estes

International Fresh Produce Association | Vice President Innovation

Vonnie’s role as VP of Innovation at International Fresh Produce Association is to bring technology to the produce industry across the supply chain, bridging the gap between technology innovators and producers to identify and solve pressing needs.    She has held leadership roles with some of the largest multinational organizations (Monsanto, Syngenta, Dupont) along with start-ups in Ag and Clean Tech.  She produces an insightful weekly Podcast “Fresh Takes on Tech” on technology and solutions in the Produce Industry and manages the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator bringing new technologies into the industry.  She chairs the CEA Council for IFPA pulling the industry together on important topics to the sector. She has been on a number board of directors and advisory boards for companies and government committees.  Vonnie earned a bachelor of science degree in horticulture from New Mexico State University and a master of science degree in plant pathology from University of California, Davis The Biotechnology Innovation Organization awarded her with the fourth annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology in 2017, an award recognizing women who make lasting contributions in the field of biotechnology.

La Rhea Pepper

Panelist

Karen Ross

CDFA Secretary | Presenter of the Grower of the Year