Symposium Agenda

Friday, February 15

Friday’s programming can be found on the Workshops page.

Saturday, February 16

Kroon Hall, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven.

8:00 – 9:00 am — Registration & breakfast*

9:00 – 9:15 am — Welcoming remarks, Burke Auditorium

Organizers of the Yale Food Systems Symposium

9:20 – 10:40 am — Panel Session I

Sustainable Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities, Burke Auditorium 

Panelists:

  • Dr. Gerald Berkowitz, University of Connecticut
  • Mary Concklin, University of Connecticut
  • Spencer Curry, Trifecta Ecosystems
  • Owen Taylor, Truelove Seeds
  • Steven Munno, Massaro Farm
  • Moderator: Bonnie Ann Averbuch, Yale Sustainable Food Program

Urban Agriculture in New Haven: Limitations and Possibilities, Room 319

Panelists:

  • Jamilah Rasheed, N.I.C.E.
  • Kim Acosta, CTCORE-Organize Now!
  • Raven Blake, LoveFed New Haven Initiative
  • Stacy Spell, Little Red Hen Community Garden

Knowledge Equity: Re-Valuing Lived Experience in Activism, Organizing, and Policy, Room 321

Panelists:

  • ALife Allah, Hood Health Handbook
  • Z Bell, Common Ground High School
  • Members of Witnesses to Hunger
  • Dr. Victoria Zigmont, Southern Connecticut State University
  • Moderator: Baljeet Sandhu, Knowledge Equity Initiative, Tsai CITY

10:40 am-10:50 am — Break: networking & relationship-building

We encourage participants to meet each other, have a snack, and stretch.

10:50 am-12:00 pm — Panel Session II

The Role of Chefs and Restaurants in Sustainability, Burke Auditorium 

Panelists:

  • Dan Giusti, Brigaid
  • Raquel Rivera Pablo, A Pinch of Salt
  • Sara Brito, Good Food Media
  • Jenna Martin, ConnCAT
  • Moderator: Dan Moccia-Field, Yale University

Agroforestry: Policy and Practice, Room 319

Panelists:

  • Jeff Jourdain, Forester and Silvopasture Practitioner
  • Kate McFarland, USDA Agroforestry
  • Dr. Oghenekome Onokpise, Florida A&M
  • Tracey Testo, Cornell Agroforestry Center
  • Moderator: Dr. Joe Orefice, Yale University

12:00 – 12:45 pm — Keynote address, Burke Auditorium 

Centering Food Justice: An Organizer’s Journey to Land and Food
Isa Mujahid, Founding Director, CTCORE-Organize Now! 
 

12:45 – 2:00 pm — Lunch (Sanctuary Kitchen)*

2:00 – 3:10 pm — Panel Session III

Food Policy and the Politics of Nutrition, Burke Auditorium 

Panelists:

  • Maureen Nuzzo, past President of School Nutrition Association of CT, current Director of Food Services for Old Saybrook Public Schools
  • Suzanne Adely, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Good Food Purchasing Program
  • Chelsea Gazillo, Working Lands Alliance

  • Sarana Beik, Grow Hartford

  • Moderator: Latha Swamy, Food Systems Policy Division, City of New Haven

Indigenous Food Sovereignty & Allyship: Establishing Effective Partnerships with Long-Term Success, Room 319

Panelists:

  • Kamuela Plunkett, Native Hawaiian (Kanaka Māoli), Hawai’i County Planning Department 
  • Rachel Sayet, Mohegan Tribe, Food Sovereignty Coordinator
  • Kapi`olani Laronal, Native Hawaiian (Kanaka Māoli, Haida and Tsimsian), Yale Native American Cultural Center
  • Moderator: Catherine Webb, Yale College

3:10 – 3:30 pm — Break: networking & relationship-building

We encourage participants to meet each other, have a snack, and stretch.

3:30 – 4:40 pm — Panel Session IV

Environmental Impacts of Agriculture, Burke Auditorium 

Panelists:

  • Ed Harwood, Aerofarms
  • Kip Kolesinskas, Consulting Conservation Scientist 
  • Lori Martin, Haven’s Harvest
  • Sarah Sax, freelance journalist
  • Moderator: Max Elder, IFTF Food Futures Lab

Sustainable Supply Chains, Room 319

Panelists:

  • Anthony Allen, A Tipping Point
  • Suzette Carty, Brown Forman
  • Rafi Taherian, Yale Hospitality 
  • Moderator: Morgan Pierce, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Food Labor Activism in New Haven, Room 321

Panelists:

  • James Bhandary-Alexander, New Haven Legal Assistance Association
  • Vanesa Suarez, Unidad Latina en Acción
  • Miembros de Unidad Latina en Acción
  • Moderator: M. C. Whelan, Yale College

5:00 pm — Keynote address, Burke Auditorium 

Being in Community with the Global Struggle for Food Sovereignty
Smita Narula, Haub Distinguished Professor of International Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Pace University

5:45 pm — Reflective Q&A with Mark Bomford, Director, Yale Sustainable Food Program

6:15 pm — Dinner & reception, the Knob (Kroon Third Floor)

A bazaar of New Haven eats and drinks. 

*Attendees are welcome to bring their own cutlery, cups, and a container to eat with to help reduce paper/plastic waste.