Former Ambassador and UN Official Ertharin Cousin To Keynote gener8tor’s OnRamp Agriculture Conference
Cousin will headline an agenda that will focus on sustainable agriculture and agriculture technology trends
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – gener8tor — a venture capital fund and startup accelerator network — today announced that Ertharin Cousin, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Agencies for Food and Agriculture and Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, will headline and deliver the keynote at the OnRamp Agriculture Conference on July 25 and 26 at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.
The OnRamp Agriculture Conference brings together leading corporations, investors and startups across key industries. This year's conference will discuss AgTech funding, scaling sustainable agriculture, industry trends and so much more. OnRamp Agriculture is made possible due to support from the University of Illinois Research Park, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, Cooperative Ventures and Serra Ventures.
“Cousin’s rich experience influencing global agriculture policy and using agriculture as a force for good throughout the world will inspire the investors, startups, and thought leaders gathered in Champaign to chart how the private sector can positively and meaningfully contribute to the future of agriculture,” said gener8tor Partner Maggie Brickerman.
After serving as Ambassador and Head of the UN World Food Programme, Cousin founded and today guides the Food Systems for the Future team as President and CEO. As a global nutrition and food systems thought leader and advocate, Cousin also serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University Center on Food Security and Environment.
Prior to her global hunger work, Cousin helped lead the U.S. domestic fight to end hunger including service as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of America’s Second Harvest - now Feeding America. Cousin’s previous private sector experience includes working for Albertsons as the Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs.
Cousin’s keynote will be the signature moment of a conference featuring private-sector experts and thought leaders from diverse agriculture sectors, including Andrew Selck from EY, Marisa Bocci from K&L Gates, Teresa Garcia-Moore from The Sustainability Consortium and Rob Shultz from Serra Ventures.
To learn more about the OnRamp Agriculture Conference, keynote and other speakers, and how to register, visit https://onrampagricultureconference.com.
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About gener8tor
gener8tor is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator. Ranked one of the top-15 accelerators in the United States, gener8tor operates programs and conferences for startups, musicians, artists, investors, and workers and prioritizes investing across race, place, and gender. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2020 and one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021.