Join us for The Future of Food Conversation Series!
The Future of Food: Just & Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change & Ecological Healing
Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. A just and regenerative food system requires agricultural practices that put more back into the environment than they take out. In this conversation, we’ll learn how farmers, river keepers, and others are changing how we grow food to improve the health and biodiversity of our ecosystems. This conversation will remind us that sometimes, imagining the future means learning about regenerative agricultural practices from the past.
The moderated panel discussion will be followed by open Q&A and an opportunity for community conversation and networking.
This event is free and open to the public.
Meet our panelists!
Marie Campbell
Marie grew up eating tomatoes and okra from her grandpa’s garden on the Coosa River right next to one of Georgia’s “dirtiest” coal-fired power plants, Plant Hammond (now decommissioned). She is the Director of Community Engagement at Harpeth Conservancy, bringing to that role over 15 years of experience mobilizing communities and building organizations that practice economic, racial, and environmental justice. Marie earned a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University where she focused on culture, ecology, and social movements, and has completed coursework toward a Masters of Conservation Biology from Miami University focusing on grassroots conservation, specifically environmental justice issues related to land, water, and food. She served on the board of Brooklyn Heights Community Garden for four years and continues to grow food and build people power.
Caroline Hutchins
Caroline is the Working Lands Division Manager at the Cumberland River Compact, a Nashville-based non-profit advancing clean and abundant water in the Cumberland River basin. In her role, she has the privilege of accompanying farmers on their journeys to become excellent soil and water stewards. Knowing that "how we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used," Caroline works daily to advance the health of land, water, and people through her work with the Compact and board position with Tennessee Local Food.
Prior to her current role with the Compact, Caroline ran Sounding Stone Farm, a mixed vegetable market garden in Joelton, TN. She has shepherded Sounding Stone into its next iteration as a farmstead focused on community connection through food and gardening. With a decade of experience working on farms across the country from Whidbey Island, Washington, to her home in Tennessee, Caroline brings unbridled passion to the movement for a food system that is local, just, and nourishing.
Dr. Eleanor Lopez
Eleanor Lopez was born and raised in Nashville, TN, and went on to study Spanish and Environmental Studies at the University of San Diego. She then returned to Nashville and completed a Master’s degree at Lipscomb University in Sustainable Food Systems. Next, she attended the University of Florida where she earned a Master’s degree in Entomology and Nematology, and a Doctorate in Plant Medicine. She enjoys using her technical writing skills in seeking charitable grants for NAIA, and in raising awareness at local and institutional levels about the many wonderful services and events that NAIA provides for Native Americans in Tennessee.
Kendra Abkowitz (panel moderator)
Senior Director, Sustainability and Resilience for the Nashville Mayor’s Office
Bio coming soon!
This event is in collaboration with:
