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Join Me at Chicago Innovation's June 18 Sustainability Panel

  • Writer: Bob Benenson
    Bob Benenson
  • 6 days ago
  • 2 min read

I'm Moderating an Panel of Amazing Experts


Chicago Innovation — a non-profit organization that hosts events, programs and initiatives to foster innovation in the Chicago region — is holding its annual Climate Summit on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 18 at downtown's Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Hotel (301 E. North Water St.).


And I am honored to be invited to moderate the panel on Sustainable Food & Agriculture Innovation. The panel takes place for 1:35 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. on the 18th.


Highlighting our region's dynamic community of people seeking a better, healthier, more sustainable food system is at the core of my independent work at Local Food Forum and my contract work with Naturally Chicago. And the panel is composed of three shining stars from that community.



  • Erika Allen, co-founder and CEO of the Urban Growers Collective non-profit, has been a forceful advocate for urban agriculture, food justice, and sustainability for more than 20 years. Green Era, a project of the Urban Growers Collective, utilizes an anaerobic digester on Chicago's South Side to upcycle millions of pounds of food waste into compost (a vital natural soil supplement) and natural gas that provides renewable energy through a partnership with a local utility.


  • Mark Shepard is at the forefront of the rising interest in regenerative agriculture at his New Forest Farm in Viola, Wisconsin. An author on the topic, Mark converted a conventional corn farm with degraded soils into a 106-acre commercial-scale perennial agriculture farm.


  • Cristina Rohr is managing director for food and agriculture at Chicago's S2G Investments, with provides capital for market-based solutions across the food system and other sustainability areas. I have met Cristina through my work with Naturally Chicago, which partners with S2G.


Chicago Innovation is hosting this year's Climate Summit in partnership with SRI (Sustainability Research + Innovation) Congress, a global conference on sustainability research and innovation that takes place June 16-19 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Hotel. SRI chose Chicago as host of its first-ever Congress held in North America.


To learn more about (and buy tickets for) the Chicago Innovation Climate Summit, click the button below.



To attend the full SRI Congress, click the next button.



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