Robert B. Anderson

Founder, Sustainable Strategies: Advisors in Food and Agriculture

Bob Anderson has more than 35 years of hands-on experience in all facets of organic agriculture, organic food production, processing, marketing and retailing, as well as leadership experience in the development of national organic policy, standards and organic certification. He serves the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture as an advisor for organic agriculture and international trade, and he served as the chairman of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Anderson is a former director and past president of the Organic Trade Association. During the comment periods for the proposed national organic rules, he was the primary spokesperson for the NOSB and the organic industry. Anderson is currently a strategic advisor to organic agricultural initiatives and organic industry projects, as well as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service and U.S. Department of State. Until 2000, he was president of Walnut Acres Organic Farms, one of the most respected founding organic foods businesses in the United States.

Joan Levin

J.D, University of Chicago, 1972
M.P.H, Johns Hopkins, 1978

Joan raised her family on organic food decades before it entered the mainstream and much of her work as a lawyer was involved with health and environmental issues. Today she considers food quality not only a matter of personal choice, but an important determinant of public health and environmental quality that the private sector must address.

La Donna Redmond

Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Fellow and Chairman of the Good Food Foundation

Ms. Redmond is a community activist for health and nutrition, with special emphasis on promoting the development of supermarkets in underserved communities.

Bill Wolf

Founder and president of Wolf & Associates, Inc., and Thorvin Inc.

Since 1995, Wolf & Associates, Inc. has provided strategic advisory services, product development, marketing support and regulatory plans for companies involved in the organic products industry. In 1981, Wolf founded Thorvin, Inc., the leader in sustainable, certified organic marine algae kelps for use in the feed, fertilizer, nutraceutical and personal care industries. He was the founding president of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), the non-profit educational foundation responsible for evaluating and harmonizing what inputs are allowed for organic farming and processing. From 1978 to 1995, Wolf was founder and president of the Necessary Trading Company, a national leader in organic growing supplies. He is past president of the Organic Trade Association and has served on OTA’s Board of Directors for a decade. In 2001, he was honored with the “Outstanding Individual Achievement Award” given annually by the Organic Trade Association for his contributions in the advancement of the organic industry. Wolf lectures nationwide and has published books on organic growing methods.