2021 Summit

Rob Larew

Food System Equity

Rob was elected National Farmers Union’s 15th president during the organization’s 118th anniversary convention in 2020. He previously served as NFU’s Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Communications, and prior to his employment with NFU, served over 22 years in Congress and USDA. Larew was raised on a dairy farm in Greenville, West Virginia. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science and completed graduate work in Agronomy at Pennsylvania State University.

Sommer Sibilly-Brown

Feeding the Future
with Farm to School

Sommer is an advocate for food equity and justice, whose passion led her to founding the Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, Inc, a place-based organization that works toward security, sovereignty, and sustainability for all. She has worked with farmers, chefs, teachers, and local and State Agencies, multiple national Universities and testified at congress. She is also the creator of Food Learn, a program that exposes youth in the US Virgin Islands to food system conversations.

Jess Halliday

Climate Resilient
Agricultural Practices

Jess is a consultant, researcher and journalist specialising in food policy. As an associate of the RUAF Global Partnership, she works with a number of cities, NGOs and universities around the world on policies and programmes for sustainable, resilient urban and city region food systems.

She holds a PhD in Food Policy from City, University of London. She is now based near the city of Montpellier in southern France.