Bio

I'm bringing more creativity and collaboration into the food and agriculture industry. As an entrepreneurially-minded leader and community builder, I am known for injecting energy and diverse perspectives into how we solve our world’s most important challenges - starting with how to feed 10 billion on a hotter planet. As Founder and CEO of Thought For Food (TFF), I support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere in the world to develop the mindset, connections, and investments they need to build diverse, locally-relevant solutions which can be scaled for global impact. Featured in BBC, Forbes, National Geographic, MIT Tech Review, and WIRED, and working in partnership with major corporations and donors, TFF represents an ever-growing community of 30,000 talents in 183 countries. Our innovation programs have inspired thousands of new business ideas and we have accelerated and launched more than 80 impact-focused startups on all continents and across all parts of the value chain which have gone on to raise millions in investments and create hundreds of jobs. Through my work, I have come to deeply understand how Millennial and GenZ leaders innovate in exciting new ways we can all learn from - this is the topic of my book The Change-makers Guide to Feeding the Planet (2021). In my previous role at Syngenta, I established and led the ''Next-Gen Innovation'' function which delivered value to bizdev, ventures, and sustainability teams. I helped to buid a trailblazing approach to electronically-license and open-source our patented native traits and enabling technologies (dubbed the ''itunes of plant breeding''), resulting in business value creation, enhanced reputation, and, most importantly, the sharing and use of beneficial innovation by more players in seed breeding. Previously, I led Corporate Affairs for our two largest business units (corn and cereals). I have an MPA with a concentration in Science & Technology Policy from Columbia University, and have lived, worked and travelled all around the world. I was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the UN Food Systems Summit, sit on the Boards of reNature Foundation, YPARD (Young Professionals in Ag Development) and the Association for Vertical Farming, and was selected as a Founding Member of the Ashoka League of Intrapreneurs. I love architecture, science, dancing and I'm learning to DJ electronic music. 👩‍🎤