Bean Champions

Advocates who champion bean messaging and goals within and beyond their significant spheres of influence.
Dr. Agnes Kalibata

President

AGRA
Dr. Agnes Kalibata

President

AGRA

Dr. Kalibata joined AGRA as its President in September 2014. She leads the organization’s efforts with public and private partners to ensure a food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid, inclusive, sustainable agricultural growth, improving the productivity and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in Africa.

Under Dr. Kalibata’s leadership, AGRA is working to increase the incomes and improve food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021 through targeted investments to strengthen 3 core areas: State capability and policies; input delivery systems in agriculture: and partnerships for inclusive agricultural growth

Prior to joining AGRA, Dr. Kalibata was Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) from 2008 to 2014, where she drove programs that moved her country to food security helping to lift more than a million Rwandans out of poverty.

Dr. Kalibata sits on various boards, councils and commissions including the Global Commission on Adaptation, the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum, the Malabo-Montpellier Panel, the Food and Land Use (FOLU) Coalition, the Architecture for REDD + Transactions (ART), the International Fertilizer Development Corporation (IFDC), Bioversity International, and Africa Risk Capacity, among others.

She has a distinguished record of accomplishment as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader. She served as the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, accelerating action to transform food systems around the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. She was also awarded the Yara Prize, now the Africa Food Prize, in 2012, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Liège in 2018, and the National Academy of Sciences’ Public Welfare Medal in 2019 for her work to drive Africa’s agricultural transformation through modern sciences and effective policy thereby improving livelihoods of stallholder farmers. She holds a doctorate in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Chef Sam Kass

Founder of TROVE, Political Advisor, nutrition expert, chef, TV personality

TROVE
Chef Sam Kass

Founder of TROVE, Political Advisor, nutrition expert, chef, TV personality

TROVE

Nutrition expert, author, and entrepreneur Sam Kass served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition in the Obama administration, Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” Campaign, and the Obama family chef. Following his time at the White House, Kass has continued to innovate in the nutrition and wellness spaces as an entrepreneur. He founded TROVE, a strategy firm focused on working with corporations who are serious about transforming our health, climate, and planet through food, and is a partner in Acre Venture Partners, a capital fund investing in the future of food with a mission to improve human and environmental health in the food system. Kass shares his passion for health, disruptive investing strategies, and overall sustainability in invigorating keynotes and conversations.

Kass is a James Beard Leadership Award Winner, one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People,” and author of Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World. The World Economic Forum named him to its 2017 Class of Young Global Leaders, recognizing people “pushing boundaries and rethinking the world around them.” Kass is a sought-after speaker offering leading insights about health and sustainability.

 

Bean Science & Innovation Advisory Council

A trans-disciplinary council of experts that ensure the campaign’s communications and advocacy strategy sits firmly on a trusted evidence base.

Dr. Andy Jarvis (Co-Chair)

Director of the Future of Food

Bezos Earth Fund
Dr. Andy Jarvis (Co-Chair)

Director of the Future of Food

Bezos Earth Fund

Andy Jarvis is the Director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund. He has worked for over 20 years in research and development to support the delivery of food security and environmental sustainability in the food system.

His research has focused on data-driven policy analysis on various topics, from agrobiodiversity conservation to climate impacts and adaptation. Andy holds a Ph.D. in Geography from King’s College London and is based in Cali, Colombia.

Jean Claude Rubyogo (Co-Chair)

Global Bean Program Leader and Pan‑Africa Bean Alliance (PABRA) Director

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT& Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)
Jean Claude Rubyogo (Co-Chair)

Global Bean Program Leader and Pan‑Africa Bean Alliance (PABRA) Director

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT& Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)

Jean Claude Rubyogo is the Leader of the Bean Programme and Director of PABRA at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (The Alliance).

For more than 30 years, he has focused on impactful seed systems research and development, seed delivery systems, and inclusive agricultural enterprise development.

He has led multi-country public-private partnership initiatives and multi-disciplinary teams developing and deploying sustainable and impact-oriented bean and other legume seed systems in member countries of the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (see http://www.pabra-africa.org).

He has co/-authored more than 80 publications on bean research and development.

Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball

Founder

Conscious Impact
Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball

Founder

Conscious Impact

Alyson is an executive with over twenty-five years’experience in public health spanning healthcare, academic, non-ex, commercial and as a global nutrition lead within the food industry.

Alyson is a board member for numerous private and public sector organisations, a former Business Fellow at the University of Oxford and Vice-Chair of the British Nutrition Foundation.

Andrew Rzepa

Partner

Gallup
Andrew Rzepa

Partner

Gallup

Andrew leads Gallup’s public sector divisions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is responsible for Gallup’s global research programmes in the regions, partnering with charities and governments.

In addition to this role Andrew is Executive Director of Gallup’s UN partnerships leading collaborations on an array of topics including global food insecurity, curbing the rise of NCDs and diet quality.

Betty Kibaara

Director

The Rockefeller Foundation
Betty Kibaara

Director

The Rockefeller Foundation

Betty Kibaara is a Director, Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation and supports advancement of more nutritious foods for institutional procurement including high iron and zinc beans for school feeding programs in Africa.

Betty brings in over 23 years of experience in agriculture, policy and philanthropy to promote the wellbeing of humanity in collaboration with public and private stakeholders.

 

Dr. Carol Henry

Professor of Nutrition, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition

University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Carol Henry

Professor of Nutrition, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition

University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Carol Henry is a Professor of Nutrition, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, where she teaches and advises in nutrition and dietetics at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

She is an internationally recognized leader in Global Food Security and Nutrition with 25 years of global experience, who has led multiple large scale, multifaceted, cross disciplinary research projects aimed at improving food security, economic livelihood, and well-being of populations in the Global South and North. She is an advocate for pulses (bean, peas, chickpeas) for human and environmental wellbeing. She takes a community-based, participatory approach to research. This approach allows her to collaborate respectfully with community partners in finding solutions for problems that impedes wellbeing and livelihood. To that end has led a multi-disciplinary, multisectoral partnership administered by the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, by the International Development research Centre and Global Affairs Canada.

The Pluses of Pulse initiative – built on a more than 20-year partnership between the University of Saskatchewan and Hawassa University, Ethiopia — combined proven and replicable exemplars in the cultivation of pulses crops on the vibrant experience of rural small holder farmers, especially women farmers, in Southern Ethiopia. Its immense impact has been in improved food security and nutrition among farmers and their households, better agriculture resilience, affordable, nutritious, pulse food products, nutrition education, more sustainable livelihood in the face climate adversity, and women’s empowerment in household decision making.

Her research work in Northern communities (Indigenous/non Indigenous) in Canada, is aimed at applying advanced technologies in promoting production/consumption of safe, nutritious, and healthy food while ensuring environmental sustainability.

Dr. Henry continue to address key knowledge gaps in pulse-based product nutrition education in seeking to address food security and nutritional deficiencies in mothers, children and youth in diverse situations. In 2017 she received the University of Saskatchewan’s prestigious W. George Ivany Internationalization Award, for her outstanding contributions to global health research in food, food systems innovation and health promotion.

Dr. Caspar Chater

Research Leader in Crops and Global Change

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dr. Caspar Chater

Research Leader in Crops and Global Change

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Caspar Chater is a Research Leader in Crops and Global Change at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.

He works to improve bean and other legume crop climate resilience, and has interests in using bean Crop Wild Relatives to enhance crop abiotic stress responses.

Dr. Christine Negra

Senior Advisor

United Nations Foundation
Dr. Christine Negra

Senior Advisor

United Nations Foundation

Dr. Christine Negra collaborates with development, research, and finance organizations to address climate and agri-food system challenges.

As an Extension agent, a soil chemist, a program leader, and a strategic advisor, she has over 25 years of experience linking science to agriculture, policy, and markets.

Eve Turow-Paul

Executive Director

Food for Climate League
Eve Turow-Paul

Executive Director

Food for Climate League
With expertise in narrative change and behavioral science, help make preparing and eating beans accessible, enticing, and culturally relevant to the masses. By connecting the dots between beans and people’s unique needs, values, and cultures, we can shift the perception of beans and drive engagement. Created tested narratives will serve a diverse ecosystem of organizations that promote and market beans, including nutrition professionals.
Ellen Cecilie Wright

Senior Science Officer

EAT
Ellen Cecilie Wright

Senior Science Officer

EAT

Ellen Cecilie Wright is Senior Science Officer at EAT, where she plays a key role in in the EAT-Lancet Commission 2.0 as well as other science projects at EAT. Ellen has a background in nutrition and a passionate commitment to promote sustainable diets for people and planet. Prior to joining EAT in 2023 she has more then 10 years’ work experience from UN agencies and international organizations. While her early work was related to nutrition and food security in emergency contexts, she has increasingly engaged more in the transformations towards healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Ellen holds a master’s degree in nutrition and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Oslo, focusing on sustainable diets.

Dr. Jeffrey Ehlers

Senior Program Officer

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Jeffrey Ehlers

Senior Program Officer

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Jeff develops and manages crop improvement, capacity development, legume and dryland seed systems investments as a Senior Program Officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The crop improvement grants are focused on increasing the genetic gain of CGIAR and African national programs breeding programs, including the application of modern breeding program best practices, and the integration of molecular markers and associated tools to enable greater genetic gains. This work includes project design, implementation support and technical and financial oversight (with specific grant examples noted below).

Prior to coming to BMGF 11 years ago, Jeff was a public plant breeder and research scientist at the University of California, Riverside developing legume varieties for growers in the state and also, with the support of USAID funding, was worked with 5 African National programs to support the performance of their programs.

Prior to that, he worked for three years at a small private sector company working to improve wild rice in California and before that spent three years in Kenya working for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Jeff received his PhD in Genetics in 1984 from the University of California, Davis and MSc in Vegetable Crops in 1979 also from UC Davis.

Professor Jaqueline McGlade

Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Downforce Technologies

Downforce Technologies
Professor Jaqueline McGlade

Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Downforce Technologies

Downforce Technologies

Jacqueline McGlade FLS, FRSA is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Downforce Technologies and Professor of Public Policy and Natural Prosperity at University College London UK and Strathmore University in Kenya. Previously she was the UN Environment Program’s Chief Scientist and former Executive Director of the European Environment Agency.

Her expertise is in nature-based solutions to food security and climate adaptation and mitigation, marine plastics and oceans health, the circular bioeconomy, natural capital modelling, and intergenerational prosperity. She is an advisor to the European and UK Space Agencies and has designed geospatial, fuzzy logic and AI applications such as Flood Ranger and SimCoast for decision-making under high degrees of uncertainty.

Dr. Michael Clark

Senior Research

University of Oxford
Dr. Michael Clark

Senior Research

University of Oxford

Dr. Michael Clark is a Senior Researcher of Sustainable Food Solutions at the University of Oxford, with a joint appointment at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and the Department of Biology.

His research focuses on identifying the links between food and the triple challenge of biodiversity, climate change, and human wellbeing. In this work, he is interested in identifying pathways to restructure food and food systems in ways that can mitigate human impacts on climate and biodiversity whilst supporting human wellbeing.

Before joining the University of Oxford in 2018, MIke completed a PhD in Natural Sciences and Resource Management at the University of Minnesota.

Professor Kadambot Siddique

Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair and Director

The UWA Institute of Agriculture
Professor Kadambot Siddique

Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair and Director

The UWA Institute of Agriculture

Over 30 years’ experience in agricultural research, teaching and management in both Australia and overseas. He has developed a national and international reputation in agricultural science especially in the fields of crop physiology, production agronomy, farming systems, genetic resources, breeding research in cereal, grain and pasture legumes and oilseed crops. Professor Siddique has conducted research on adaptation of crops to dryland environments and the phenological, morphological, physiological, biochemical and genetic traits that enable crops to cope with various abiotic stresses.

He has published more than 680 scientific papers and book chapters /books. Professor Siddique is the Highly Cited Researcher (Hi Ci) in 2021 in two categories: (i) Agricultural Sciences (ii) Plant and Animal Science (Thomson Reuters/ Clarivate Analytics). Professor Siddique’s Google Scholar h-index: 95 and citations: 34,526 (dated 24 July 2022).

Professor Siddique the recipient of national and international awards including: Urrbrae Memorial Award, Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 2014 Western Australian Year of the Award (CitWA), the Dunhunag Award by China’s Gansu Provincial Government. He received the Friendship Award from the Chinese Central Government (the highest award for a foreign expert) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to agricultural science and education in China over the years. Professor Siddique was the Western Australian Indian of the Year 2021.Professor Siddique is one of the three finalists for the Western Australian Scientist of the Year 2022 Award (the winner will be announced on 29th August)

Professor Siddique has also trained numerous Honours, MSc and PhD students. He has developed an extensive network of scientists within Australia and has also established a diverse range of overseas (China, India, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Malaysia, East Timor, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Europe, Canada, USA) collaborative research and educational projects. He holds a number of national and international committee positions.

Bean Board

The governance mechanism to shape the strategic direction, communications, identity and key priorities for the campaign.
Dr. Andy Jarvis

Bean Science & Innovation Advisory Council Co-Chair | Director of the Future of Food

Bezos Earth Fund
Dr. Andy Jarvis

Bean Science & Innovation Advisory Council Co-Chair | Director of the Future of Food

Bezos Earth Fund
Andy Jarvis is the Director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund. He has worked for over 20 years in research and development to support the delivery of food security and environmental sustainability in the food system. His research has focused on data-driven policy analysis on various topics, from agrobiodiversity conservation to climate impacts and adaptation. Andy holds a Ph.D. in Geography from King’s College London and is based in Cali, Colombia.
Emeline Fellus

Director, Food and Agriculture

World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Emeline Fellus

Director, Food and Agriculture

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Emeline Fellus is Director of Food Reform for Sustainability and Health (FReSH) – a project of the Food and Agriculture Pathway of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), aiming to deliver healthy and sustainable diets to all, produced responsibly and within planetary boundaries. She helped launch and was recently Interim Director of One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B), another WBCSD project aiming to scale up regenerative agriculture to protect biodiversity. She is also a member of WBCSD’s Extended Leadership Group.

Prior to joining WBCSD, Mrs Fellus worked with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform for 14 years. She helped build the organization, which grew from 3 founding companies to nearly 100 members. In SAI Platform, Mrs Fellus endorsed several roles including Head of Learning and Implementation, and Deputy General Manager. Before joining SAI Platform, Mrs Fellus worked for two years as Associate Economic Affairs Officer at the Economics and Trade Branch (ETB) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Emeline Fellus is an agronomist, with specialisation in natural resources’ economics and politics. She is Co-Chair of the Demand Generation Alliance (DGA).

Irina Rodina

Chief Marketing Officer and Commercial Director, Northern Europe

Kraft Heinz Company
Irina Rodina

Chief Marketing Officer and Commercial Director, Northern Europe

Kraft Heinz Company

Irina is Chief Marketing Officer & Commercial Director, Northern Europe at Kraft Heinz, she was appointed in April 2022.

She has over 20 years of marketing experience with stints at Unilever and Barilla. Most recently at Barilla, she was Global Vice President Marketing – New Business Model Innovations. Here she helped future proof the business through new business models and digital transformation.

Prior to this, she held various marketing roles at Unilever with increasing responsibility across Personal Care, Foods, and Ice cream divisions, driving global brands like Wall’s as well as the disruptive innovation agenda.

Irina is excited about the current challenge of nurturing the love for Heinz, a quintessentially British icon, which can be found in 9 out of 10 UK households. She is passionate about growing Kraft Heinz’s portfolio of iconic products, community initiatives like ‘Ask For Henry’, Heinz’s charity partnership with Magic Breakfast, and the ESG agenda across products, packaging and the supply chain.

Irina is a fellow at the Marketing Academy and was included in Campaign’s 2022 Power 100 Marketers ranking list.

Jean Claude Rubyogo

Bean Science & Innovation Advisory Council Co-Chair | Global Bean Program Leader and Pan-Africa Bean Alliance (PABRA) Director

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT& Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)
Jean Claude Rubyogo

Bean Science & Innovation Advisory Council Co-Chair | Global Bean Program Leader and Pan-Africa Bean Alliance (PABRA) Director

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT& Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)
Jean Claude Rubyogo is the Leader of the Bean Programme and Director of PABRA at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (The Alliance). For more than 30 years, he has focused on impactful seed systems research and development, seed delivery systems, and inclusive agricultural enterprise development. He has led multi-country public-private partnership initiatives and multi-disciplinary teams developing and deploying sustainable and impact-oriented bean and other legume seed systems in member countries of the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (see http://www.pabra-africa.org). He has co/-authored more than 80 publications on bean research and development.
Chavanne B. Hanson, MPH, RD

Food Choice Architect and Nutrition Manager, Global FoodTeam

Google
Chavanne B. Hanson, MPH, RD

Food Choice Architect and Nutrition Manager, Global FoodTeam

Google
Chavanne is Google’s Food Choice Architect and Nutrition Manager on the Global FoodTeam. She joined Google in December 2018. The Google Food Team is responsible forcreating food experiences that promote collaboration and engage and energizeGooglers each and every day. With cafes, teaching kitchens and events that servethousands of meals each day, the team works with a variety of partners and suppliers todeliver delicious, nutritious food and innovative experiences to fuel Google’s culture andfuture. Chavanne is working to creatively leverage nutrition sciences programming,food choice architecture, behavioral sciences and the development of well-beingapproaches in order to create meaningful user experiences for Googlers. Before joiningGoogle, Chavanne was the assistant vice president and senior public affairs manager ofNutrition, Health & Wellness at Nestlé SA located in Vevey, Switzerland.Prior to joining Nestlé, Chavanne enjoyed a varied career. She got her start in thenutrition field helping to develop and implement a preventive cardiology program forUniversity Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. She went on to become the Associate Producerfor the Gathering Place television series and nutrition communications consultant toGraham Kerr, one of the first television chefs who is recognized as the “GallopingGourmet”. Chavanne received her B.S. in dietetics from Baylor University and her M.P.H.in human nutrition from the University of Michigan.
Paul Newnham

Executive Director

SDG2 Advocacy Hub
Paul Newnham

Executive Director

SDG2 Advocacy Hub

Paul Newnham is the Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub, a secretariat catalysing, convening, and connecting NGOs, advocacy groups, civil society, the private sector and UN agencies to coordinate global campaigning and advocacy to achieve food systems transformation.

Paul is a strategic innovator and executive leader with twenty five [25]+ years of expertise managing complex stakeholder relationships, designing campaign strategies. He possesses strong business acumen, exceptional advocacy skills, and the ability to build deeply engaging relationships to influence decision makers. With an extensive knowledge of the not-for-profit sector, he is able to improve practices, drive change, and deliver impactful solutions to complex problems alongside communities around the world. Paul starts movements that make global impact and drives change in sustainability and food systems with his ability to design narratives that entice people to get onboard.

Stephen Palacios

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Innovation

Bush Brothers & Company
Stephen Palacios

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Innovation

Bush Brothers & Company

Stephen Palacios is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at Bush Brothers & Company. In that capacity, he is an officer of the company and member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Previously, he was a partner and principal at Ahzul, a marketing strategy agency focused on using research and insights to better understand culture. Palacios directed strategy on client engagements relating to new market assessment, product innovation, and communication strategy. Palacios has 20 years of business development and consulting experience and has led CEO/CMO engagements in Retail, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceutical, Media, and Financial Services sectors. Clients include Pepsi, Wells Fargo, Samsung Global, Target, Liz Claiborne Inc, Time Warner Inc., and AstraZeneca. His passion lies in finding where companies can create new opportunities and derive new revenue streams by creating or expanding their brand. He is a leading expert in the U.S. Hispanic market, having helped guide strategy for organizations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield (various regions), Meredith Corporation, and the National Council of La Raza.

Palacios holds a B.A. from Saint Joseph’s University (PA), where he was Valedictorian, and an M.A. from American University, where he was awarded a Fellowship. He frequently spoke at industry conferences and has been quoted in publications including the Los Angeles Times, NY Times, Financial Times, and AdAge; he has been featured on ABC’s Nightline and PBS’s Latino market documentary, Brown is the New Green. Palacios has written for the Harvard Business Review, AdAge, and the Huffington Post. He has been a keynote corporate speaker for Starbucks, Smucker’s, Johnson & Johnson, Church and Dwight, Kellogg’s, Wells Fargo, to highlight a few.

Wawira Njiru

Founder

Food for Education
Wawira Njiru

Founder

Food for Education

Wawira is the founder of Food for Education, a social enterprise that is creating the blueprint for school feeding in Africa. Led by African women, they leverage payment technology and smart supply chains to source nutritious ingredients from local smallholder farmers, simplify distribution, and bring high-quality daily school meals to children. They have provided over 25 million meals since their first central kitchen opened in 2016 and their scalable, efficient model is creating a sustainable path to solve the child nutrition crisis for over 200 million African children.

Wawira is the winner of the 2022 Global Icon Award by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a 2021 Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum, 2020 Ford Foundation Global Fellow, a 2018 Rainer Arnhold Fellow, a recipient of the Builders of Africa Award 2018, one of 2018’s Top 40 under 40 women in Kenya, and the youngest recipient of the University of South Australia’s alumni award in 2017. She is also the inaugural recipient of the Global Citizen Youth Leadership Prize 2018 presented by Cisco and the 2021 United Nations Kenya Person of the Year.