Rita Hindin is an educator, researcher and advocate for reclaiming food’s centrality for human and ecosystem well-being. She received her MPH and PhD (Social Epidemiology) from Columbia University in New York City and has worked in and published articles related to various domains of public health. In 2014 she moved to WI where she was inspired to galvanize a broadly multi-disciplinary network to grow rye’s agroecosystem, nutritional and cultural benefits in the Upper Midwest and beyond.

Gary Zimmer is the co-owner of Otter Creek Organic Farm in south-central Wisconsin, and founder of Midwestern BioAg, a fertilizer company focused on biological and organic farming methods, which he ran for over 30 years. Zimmer is an expert in organic farming methods who writes and speaks on organic farming around the world. He is the author of three books on biological farming and numerous articles on livestock and soil health. Zimmer is currently installing a small rye processing and milling facility on his 1,500 acre farm that he hopes can be a model for other rye farmers looking to develop value-added grains. He has attended every ACRES conference for the past 40 years, presenting in each of the last 30 years!

Avery Robinson is a culinary historian, educator, and researcher. He is a former professional baker who side hustles as a home-baker educator. Avery shares his love of the natural world as a wilderness camping trip guide, where he is in his element—baking and cooking over an open fire. He manages a 100% rye sourdough bread company (Black Rooster Food). Outside of rye, he works as a philanthropic program officer.

June Russell is the Director of Regional Food Programs at the Glynwood Institute. She worked for GrowNYC’s Greenmarket for the previous 17 years as a manager of strategic development and producer compliance. While there, she spearheaded GrowNYC Grains and their Baker’s Rules, implemented in 2009. She is also working on the needs assessment of the grain economy in the northeastern US as part of the Northeast Grainshed Alliance’s USDA Regional Food System Partnerships Grant.

Sandy Syburg is a farmer and co-owner of White Oak Farm, an organic farm in southeastern Wisconsin that never transitioned to agrichemical farming. Growing up on this farm, Sandy grew an appreciation for “feeding the soil.” He founded Purple Cow Organics, a compost and soil amendment company, which he ran for over 30 years. He serves on the Grower Executive Committee of CROPP, the nation’s largest and most successful organic farmer cooperative, now known as Organic Valley. An award-winning farmer educator, Syburg has advised many community and school garden projects in WI, MI and IL and consulted with growers throughout the Americas and Europe, advocating that the quality of the food we eat is directly related to the quality of the soils it’s grown on.

Henry Blair is a food systems practitioner who has played multiple roles in supporting the regional grain value chain in the Northeast. He was a professional cook and baker before studying food systems as both an undergraduate and graduate student. He managed operations and sales strategy for GrowNYC Grains during a growth phase from pilot project to fully established market development program. He subsequently worked as a research specialist for the University of Vermont Extension coordinating field trials and lab analysis on grains for human consumption. This is where he connected strongly with rye and shortly thereafter began working with Rye Revival to promote rye as a valuable crop for its flavor, health, and environmental benefits.