Kari is a 3rd generation Certified Master Butcher and Principle of Range Inc. Underly authored The Art of Beef Cutting which was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award and International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Award in 2012. As a part of the Beef Checkoff, Kari was instrumental in helping to create and implement several popular cuts, including the Flat Iron steak, Denver Cut, Petite Tender, Chuck Eye Country Style Ribs and Sierra Cut. Kari’s favorite role is that of an educator. She travels the country conducting meat training seminars and demonstrations for corporations and meat enthusiasts.
Poppy Davis is a consultant and also a program manager at a non-profit working at the intersection of local government and food and agriculture. She worked eight years at the USDA, most recently as the National Program Leader for Small Farms and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Previously she was a California CPA with an emphasis in agricultural enterprises and non-profits. She holds a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School, a Masters in Journalism from Georgetown, and a BS in Agricultural Economics from the University of California at Davis.
Meredith Leigh is a writer, teacher, chef, and a food and farming specialist. She has also worked as a farmer, butcher, and non-profit executive director. She has developed a farmer co-op, founded and catalyzed non-profit ventures, and was the owner-manager of a retail butcher shop. She is the author of The Ethical Meat Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore.
Currently, Kris is the Director of Operations for modPALEO – a Carolina-based, packaged meal service offering a modern approach to maintaining balance and wellness through the power of real food. She is the co-founder of the Piedmont Culinary Guild and currently serves as its Executive Director. For the past seven years, she served as the Food Coordinator for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. A native of Los Angeles, she received her culinary education in Guadalajara, Mexico, from The New School of Cooking in LA and holds two degrees from Johnson & Wales University. Kris believes that everyone has the right to eat clean, unadulterated food that comes from local gardens and farmers they know.
North Carolina native Elizabeth Karmel, a.k.a. Grill Girl, is a nationally respected authority on grilling, barbecue, and Southern food. Karmel is the founder of the decade-old, gender-breaking girlsatthegrill.com. She is the founding executive chef of The New York Times, two-star-awarded, Hill Country Barbecue Market in NYC, DC and Brooklyn, and NYC and Brooklyn’s Hill Country Chicken. In 2014, she launched carolinacuetogo.com, an “online barbecue shack” specializing in North Carolina whole-hog barbecue. Elizabeth is found on all three network morning shows and as a guest judge on Food Network’s Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay and Iron Chef. She also writes a bi-monthly column, The American Table, for the Associated Press and is the author of three acclaimed cookbooks, including Soaked, Slathered, and Seasoned.
Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel is Dirigo Food Safety’s President and CEO. She is a certified HACCP auditor through ASQ. She serves as the President of the Maine chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, and as the Director of Food Safety for the national Farmer Veteran Coalition. A sought after speaker, Dr. P has taught food safety workshops at the Stone Barns Center, Pigstock, the Wallace Center Food Hub Conference, the New England Meat Conference, and the Empowering Women Veterans in Business and Agriculture Conference.
Marie Williamson co-owns Bluebird Farm with her spouse William Lyons. She farms full time and her greatest pleasure is feeding folks wholesome foods and managing a healthy farm ecosystem. After studying biology, ecology, and sustainable agriculture and gaining experience on farms around the United States and in Europe, Marie returned home to Western North Carolina in 2009 and started Bluebird. Over the years, Bluebird Farm has been working toward greater efficiencies on the production side, while taking records that allow for proper pricing of products and sharing their tactics for building farm economic sustainability.