Moderator | Co-founder & Board Chairman, The Plantrician Project

Dr. Scott Stoll

Dr. Stoll is the co-founder of the Plantrician Project, the International Plant Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference, the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, and the Regenerative Health Institute, a unique collaborative project with the Rodale Institute that integrates health with agricultural and environmental regeneration. He is a member of the Google FoodLab think tank, serves on the advisory board at Whole Foods for their healthcare clinics and served as a member of the Whole Foods Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. Dr.Stoll is the Chairman of the Board for the Plantrician Project and Chief Medical Director for the Rouxbe Cooking School.

Every year Dr. Stoll hosts the very popular one week health immersion, Dr. Stoll’s Immersion in Naples, Florida and helps attendees recover lost health, overcome addictions, and restore emotional balance. In addition to authoring several books and scientific articles, hosting his own daily TV and radio programs, Dr. Stoll has appeared on numerous national shows including the Dr. Oz Show, hosting a 2018 PBS special Food As Medicine, and numerous documentaries including Eating You Alive, Wait Till It’s Free, and The Game Changers. As well as being a published author and member of the 1994 Olympic Bobsled Team, he is a highly sought-after international speaker. Dr. Stoll and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee.

Executive Chef, Adventist Health

Chef Nina Curtis

Nina Curtis began her plant-based journey while training as a competitive bodybuilder. She attributes her athletic success to listening to her body refuse animal protein and crave plant-based energy. This experience led her to deep dive into nutrition studies with a specific focus on the plant-based diet. In tandem with her self-exploration as a strict vegan, she studied her daily training capacities and recovery time with significantly positive results and has never looked back.

Beyond a Pepperdine University MBA, Curtis holds certificates in Nutrition Studies from the renowned T. Colin Campbell Center at Cornell University and attended a wide range of culinary arts and health institutes. Her chef training brought her to the Marriott Group and Hilton Hotels as well as to the origins of the American vegan foodie scene of Plant Food & Wine in NYC and the Springs Restaurant and Wine Bar in LA, as well as to the luxury wellness retreat and spa The Ranch in Malibu.

She is currently the Director and Executive Chef of Adventist Health and responsible for the largest single plant-based food service in the United States. Her work is centered at the core of America’s ‘Blue Zone’ of healthy centenarians, the majority being Adventists who follow a plant-based diet. This faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system has 80 plus communities in the Western United States and Hawaii and allows Curtis to make a very significant and positive impact on human health and climate change while creating nutritious and flavorful meal offerings.

Curtis is the founder of the non-profit organization, The Nile Institute, and consults for numerous beauty and wellness brands.

Best Selling Author & Vegan Advocate

Kathy Freston

Kathy Freston is a wellness activist and writer with a focus on healthy eating and conscious living. She is a New York Times bestselling author four times over; her works include Clean Protein, The Lean, Veganist, VeganISH, and Quantum Wellness. A media favorite, Kathy has appeared frequently on national television, including Ellen, Dr. Oz, Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, The Talk, Martha Stewart, Extra and Oprah. Kathy’s work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Self, W, and Fitness. She also regularly contributes to The Huffington Post. Her latest book, 72 Reasons to Be Vegan, is the book that tells you why you should be a vegan and emphasizes the aspects of a vegan lifestyle that will benefit you in a positive way.

Kathy supports animal welfare causes and is a prolific communicator of the vegan lifestyle and it’s positive impact on health, the animals, and the planet.

Moderator | Founder & Chairman, Vegan Capital

Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, PNT’23

Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni is an entrepreneur, investor, activist, and advisor to businesses, governments, and nonprofits around the world. For many years, he has been a successful investor in a wide range of fields, from bioscience to food, from agriculture to technology. Sebastiano has been actively focusing on investments aimed at removing animals from the food chain and all other industries for well over a decade. Directly or through his partnerships, Sebastiano is an investor in over 60 companies in this space alone. Among his activities in this field, he is: the Chair and a Director of Natural Order Acquisition Corp., a SPAC focusing on the plant-based sector; the founder and chairman of Vegan Capital, an early-stage investor in vegan ventures; co-managing partners of Planthesis, a fund which focuses on VC and PE investments aiming to remove animals from the food chain; a partner in the Blue Horizon Group; and an early investor, among others, in Beyond Meat (2012).

Sebastiano is the chairman and CEO of NKGB, a strategic advisory firm specializing in Asian and European ventures as well as global M&A. In 2017, Sebastiano joined New Reality Solutions (NRS) as a Senior Advisor and an investor.

NRS is a convergent innovation platform leveraging bioscience and data science to address some of the most pressing threats to global public health.

He is the owner and honorary chairman of Querciabella, a Tuscan organic, biodynamic, and vegan winery that has garnered international acclaim and won numerous awards, including “Best Wine of Italy.” He recently launched the gluten-free pasta brand Bontasana and a revolutionary baby food company, both bound to disrupt the existing landscape.

A longtime animal rights activist, Sebastiano supports several global nonprofits working to end the exploitation of animals. He serves on the boards of Animal Outlook and the Culture & Animals Foundation as well as on the advisory boards of Animal Equality, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, Project Coyote, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sebastiano is also the founder of the Plant-Based Empowerment Foundation (PBEF), a nonprofit operating in rural Senegal that is dedicated to providing children and women access to education, healthcare, and nourishing plant-based food. Sebastiano served as advisor to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi from 2014 to 2016. Originally from Milan, he divides his time among Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Paul Watson

Captain Paul Watson is a well decorated marine conservationist who’s stalwart dedication to defending wildlife and protecting oceans has earned him the well deserved accolade of One of The Top 20 Environmental Heroes of The 20th Century by Time Magazine. After co-founding Green Peace in the late 1960s, he established a more strategic organization, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in 1977. Under Paul’s leadership, Sea Shepherd now mobilizes a substantial global naval fleet with hundreds of volunteers in nearly thirty countries. Paul and his team are directly responsible for saving species from extinction, and are close to shutting down whaling on a global scale. For decades now, Paul has amplified the message that “if oceans die, we die”, as marine ecosystems are paramount to oxygen production, climate stability and carbon capture. He is a prolific author and poet, and can be seen in action on Animal Planet’s Whale Wars and in the newly released Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. He is a proponent of shifting the human mindset from an anthropocentric world view to a biocentric one for our survival. Paul is a warrior who has put his life and freedom on the line to help ensure the continuum of our biodiverse ecological system and our life support — the oceans.

Founder, Ecotricity

Dale Vince

If you are wondering why 33% of Britain’s energy needs come from renewables, you can look to Dale Vince for being the first to disrupt this industry with practical green solutions. In 1995, he launched his wind and solar energy company, Ecotricity, and inspired the big energy players to follow suit. In 2008, when Dale still couldn’t buy a commercial electric car to make use of his clean energy, he built one. This car is the the sporty Nemesis EV which broke, and currently holds, Britains land speed record. By 2011, when EVs were still just beginning to hit the market, the perfect segue to these ventures was to build a charging network. Nearly every service station on Britain’s motorways now has Ecotricity rapid charger bays, all soon to be upgraded (triple standard, contactless, high powered state-of-the-art). This same year, his all vegan Forest Green Rovers football (soccer) team with a sustainable and renewable powered stadium was recognized by the UN as the first carbon-neutral football club. FGR in turn supports the efforts of Sea Shepherd UK as marine conservation is one of Dale’s missions. His most recent business, Sky Diamond, is an innovative company that captures CO2 from rainwater to make diamonds while taking destructive mining, greenhouse gases, and bloody human conflict out of the process. Dale is a longtime supporter of the Fully Charged Show highlighting EVs and renewable energy. Dale’s podcast, Zerocarbonista, and his book, Manifesto, both shed light on how nonconformity and purpose can give rise to positive change.

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Rebellyous Foods

Christine Lagally

Christie Lagally is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat price-competitive with traditional chicken products. Ms. Lagally is a mechanical engineer and holder of multiple patents in manufacturing technology. She spent much of her career in the aerospace industry working on commercial airplanes and spacecraft in testing, design, and manufacturing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Previously, Ms. Lagally served as a Senior Scientist for the Good Food Institute uncovering the technical barriers in the development of plant-based meat and clean meat (i.e. cultured meat). Ms. Lagally holds Bachelor’s degrees in Organizational Psychology and Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She is also an active member of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, a co-founder of the Humane Voters of Washington (a political action committee) and serves as a Washington State Council Member for the Humane Society of the United States.

Co-founder & Chair, Gathered Foods Corp (Good Catch) | Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management

Chris Kerr

Chris has over thirty years of leadership experience with start-ups and venture capital investing. He has spent the last decade focused on impact investing with a concentration on food markets and the plant-based foods sector. As CIO of UNIVOS Venture Capital, Chris manages portfolio strategy, leads the co-investor coalition building efforts, and serves as a strategic advisor to most portfolio companies. Chris is co-founder and Chair of Gathered Foods Corp (Good Catch), director of Cultivated Food Labs, co-founder and director of Wicked Foods, and serves as an independent director of The Livekindly Company.

Co-founder & Social Impact Director, PLNT Burger

Julie Farkas

Moderator | Founder & Chairman, Vegan Capital

Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, PNT’23

Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni is an entrepreneur, investor, activist, and advisor to businesses, governments, and nonprofits around the world. For many years, he has been a successful investor in a wide range of fields, from bioscience to food, from agriculture to technology. Sebastiano has been actively focusing on investments aimed at removing animals from the food chain and all other industries for well over a decade. Directly or through his partnerships, Sebastiano is an investor in over 60 companies in this space alone. Among his activities in this field, he is: the Chair and a Director of Natural Order Acquisition Corp., a SPAC focusing on the plant-based sector; the founder and chairman of Vegan Capital, an early-stage investor in vegan ventures; co-managing partners of Planthesis, a fund which focuses on VC and PE investments aiming to remove animals from the food chain; a partner in the Blue Horizon Group; and an early investor, among others, in Beyond Meat (2012).

Sebastiano is the chairman and CEO of NKGB, a strategic advisory firm specializing in Asian and European ventures as well as global M&A. In 2017, Sebastiano joined New Reality Solutions (NRS) as a Senior Advisor and an investor.

NRS is a convergent innovation platform leveraging bioscience and data science to address some of the most pressing threats to global public health.

He is the owner and honorary chairman of Querciabella, a Tuscan organic, biodynamic, and vegan winery that has garnered international acclaim and won numerous awards, including “Best Wine of Italy.” He recently launched the gluten-free pasta brand Bontasana and a revolutionary baby food company, both bound to disrupt the existing landscape.

A longtime animal rights activist, Sebastiano supports several global nonprofits working to end the exploitation of animals. He serves on the boards of Animal Outlook and the Culture & Animals Foundation as well as on the advisory boards of Animal Equality, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, Project Coyote, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sebastiano is also the founder of the Plant-Based Empowerment Foundation (PBEF), a nonprofit operating in rural Senegal that is dedicated to providing children and women access to education, healthcare, and nourishing plant-based food. Sebastiano served as advisor to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi from 2014 to 2016. Originally from Milan, he divides his time among Europe, Asia, and the United States.