An exciting panel discussion about innovations for the future of urban agriculture.
Moderated by Tinia Pina, Re-Nuble
Featuring:
Alina Zolotareva, RDN, AeroFarms
Henry Gordon Smith, Blue Planet Consulting
Jason Green, Edenworks
Annalyn Lavey, Square Roots
Andrew Carter, smallhold
Bradley Ferrara, Cloud Farms
Thursday, April 27th
6:30pm Reception with Fresh Veggie Bites
7:30pm Panel discussion with Q&A
PRE-SALES SOLD OUT
Our current agricultural paradigm is broken, and with macro trends such as population booms, mass urbanization and climate change continuing to rise, new sustainable solutions for feeding our planet are imperative for the well-being of the global collective. The NYC Metro area has become a fertile hub for revolutionary high-tech urban farming organizations spearheading disruptive technologies for growing local food at a fraction of the environmental and social cost.
Join us to meet a selection of NYC’s leading high-tech farming organizations, from Brooklyn mushroom containers to soil-free aeroponic vertical farms, and learn how they are consciously disrupting the agriculture industry in a major way.
Delicious hyper-local produce and other snacks will be served!
$20 advance
$25 on the door
CEO and Founder, Re-Nuble
Tinia Pina received her B.S. in Business Information Technology from Virginia Tech and studied briefly at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. She has six years of experience in the financial services industry and five years as a business development professional in the sustainability industry. Her experiences related to food waste, food systems and sustainability have fueled her passion to increase our communities’ resilience, prosperity, and knowledge to help us live more conscious lives. Tinia’s pioneering business model has earned her a Huffington Post Millennial Impact Grant, the American Express Emerging Innovator award and a MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur grant, among other honors.
Re-Nuble uses a capital light, patent pending process to transform vegetative/food waste into non-toxic, liquid hydroponic nutrients that help boost hydroponic yields at a fraction of the cost of chemically based alternatives. Our proprietary process enabled by technology allows us to convert food waste into a cheaper, highly sterile and stable, organic-based liquid fertilizer for the indoor agriculture industry. We are focused on the commercialization of formulas and technologies to turn food waste streams into biobased materials for indoor growing systems. In doing so, we aim to create completely sustainable, closed loop food and plant production systems.
Consultant, Blue Planet Consulting http://www.blueplanet.consulting/
Henry Gordon-Smith is a sustainability strategist focused on urban agriculture, water issues, and emerging technologies. Henry was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, Spain, Austria, and the United States. Henry earned his BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, a certificate in Food Security and Urban Agriculture from Ryerson University in Toronto, and an MSc in Sustainability Management from Columbia University. Henry is Founder of the popular blog Agritecture.com and a board member at the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF). Two years ago, Henry launched his company Blue Planet Consulting, a boutique urban agriculture advising firm where he helps entrepreneurs with vertical farming feasibility studies, recruiting, and systems design.
Founded in 2014, Blue Planet Consulting provides advisory services to public and private institutions in the design, planning, implementation and operation of urban agriculture projects. We offer our clients the tools, data, ideas, network and expertise needed to ensure their success. We consult globally and are based in Brooklyn, NYC.
Blue Planet’s expertise is in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), a rapidly developing technology and industry that is rapidly gaining traction and predicted to be valued at $9 billion. Our project experience includes hydroponic greenhouses, vertical farms, and sustainability learning labs.
Marketing Manager, + Product Champion
AeroFarms, aerofarms.com
Dream Greens, dreamgreens.com
Alina Zolotareva, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) leverages her background in nutrition science and public health to translate nutrition science to consumers, playing a key role in AeroFarms’ mission to combat food deserts and bring fresh, local, nutritious leafy greens to all communities.
Before AeroFarms, Alina worked for a culinary nutrition foodservice consulting company based in NYC focused on improving health through great tasting and sustainable food. Alina is a graduate of Cornell University and Presidential Research Scholar with a B.S. with Honors in Nutrition Sciences and Dietetics.
AeroFarms is on a Mission Transform agriculture by building and operating environmentally responsible farms throughout the world to enable local production at scale and nourish our communities with safe, nutritious, and delicious food.
We recently began growing at our ninth farm — the world’s largest indoor vertical farm and our new global headquarters in Newark, NJ (pictured). There has been tremendous demand for our locally grown, delicious, produce, and we have farms in development in multiple US states and on four continents.
Founder and CEO
Cloud Farms, cloud-farms.com
Bradley Ferrada earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Design, Innovation and Society at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2008 and a Master of Industrial Design degree from Pratt Institute in 2014. Bradley has worked professionally as a product engineer and industrial designer in the lighting manufacturing industry and has worked independently on client projects through his studio. Studio projects combine innovative thinking with industrial design and product engineering. In 2016, Bradley launched the brand Cloud Farms through his studio to design and manufacture consumer products in indoor gardening, specifically utilizing hydroponic technology.
At Cloud Farms, we believe that everyone should have access to clean, fresh, healthy food, and that we should all have the ability to grow some of our own. We craft tools for growing that are simple, beautiful, and enjoyable. Tools that enable even those without time, growing experience or access to outdoor space. We make personal farm systems.
Co-Founder & CEO
smallhold, http://www.smallhold.com
Andrew Carter has years of experience in commercial hydroponics, greenhouse production, and urban agriculture. He received his BSc in Environmental Sciences and Ecological Design from University of Vermont, with a focus on bioremediation systems. He has collaborated with with many of the urban agriculture projects in NY at multiple levels, and has always been up to the challenge of growing produce in untraditional spaces. His specialties are in systems design, horticulture, and mushroom production. Over a year ago he started Smallhold with Adam DeMartino, developing a new way of distributing produce in the urban landscape.
Smallhold brings the farm on-site, so businesses such as restaurants, cafeterias, and grocery stores can grow the freshest, tastiest produce for their customers. Smallhold pre-grows produce and delivers it to on-site “mini farms” so the customer has consistent, fresh produce, without any effort. Customers currently can subscribe to a variety of exotic mushrooms, but leafy greens and herbs are on the way.
Co-Founder & CEO
Edenworks, edenworks.com
Jason Green is CEO + Cofounder at Edenworks, a Brooklyn-based indoor agriculture company. Jason has spent his career at the nexus of hardware, software, and biology. Prior to Edenworks, Jason developed virtual reality-based neurorehabilitation technologies and served as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellow. Jason is a tinkerer. Recently, he’s been on a fermentation kick. He bakes a mean sourdough loaf.
GM, Founding Member
Square Roots, squarerootsgrow.com
Annalyn is an impact driven businesswoman, primarily focused in the intersection of food and technology. Most recently, she joined up with The Kitchen, an impact organization working to build thriving “real food” communities across America. This fall, Annalyn is launching Square Roots, an urban farming accelerator—empowering entrepreneurs to create forward-thinking,
responsible businesses owners that strengthen their communities through real food.
