Sam Fiorello currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center as well as President of the newly created Bio-Research and Development Growth Park (BRDG Park).  The Danforth Center is the world’s largest independent research institute focused on plant science. The BRDG Park helps life sciences companies bridge research, resources and relationships to achieve commercial success.  
Sam’s work with the Danforth Center began in 1997 when he worked as Chief of Staff in Monsanto Company’s Office of the President.  While at Monsanto, he helped put together the Danforth Center’s business plan and initial pool of funding.

Prior to his work at Monsanto, Sam was a senior trade and investment policy analyst with Walker/Free Associates in Washington, DC. While at Walker/Free, he was actively engaged in the NAFTA legislative campaign, as a liaison between the business community, the US Congress, and the government of Mexico.

Sam received a graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Texas, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Paul Ha is the Director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (the Contemporary).  Under his leadership, the Contemporary has become a vibrant center for contemporary art and a prominent venue for international, national, and local artists and curators.  Prior to the Contemporary, Ha was the Deputy Director of Programs and External Affairs at Yale University Art Gallery, and previously was the Executive Director of White Columns, New York’s oldest not-for-profit visual art space.

Ha has lectured widely on contemporary art, the emerging art scene, and the importance of not-for profits.  He has served extensively on panels, and has been a visiting critic, lecturer, and consultant at many institutions, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions, Pew Fellowships in the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and Yale University, and has served as a consultant for exhibitions and institutions. 

Patrick Horine is a third generation grocery store owner. He founded the Tower Grove Farmers' Market in 2006, opened Local Harvest Grocery in 2007, and then opened Local Harvest Cafe in 2008. In 2010, he is starting the Downtown Farmers' Market, a mid-week farmers' market that will serve downtown residents and workers. Prior to entering the food business, he was a creative director at Maritz, Inc. and ran his own design firm, Barnstorm Designs. He studied Romance Languages and English Literature at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

For the last 13 years, Gwenne has served as the executive director of Gateway Greening, the non-profit community gardening organization in St. Louis. During her tenure, the organization developed from a small non-profit serving a few hundred people working in 30 community gardens into one serving over 2,800 people working in more than 170 community gardens, neighborhood greening projects, and citizen-managed open spaces.    She is a Master Gardener who founded the Great Perennial Divide in 1998.  She serves on the advisory board of the Horticulture Department, St. Louis Community College at Meramec and was Board Secretary of the American Community Gardening Association. Among her awards are two national recognitions, The American Horticulture Society’s Urban Beautification Award and the National Garden Club’s Award of Excellence.

Quote: “Gardening is the longest of the performing arts.” Mark Twain

Lisa Richter is the Outreach Coordinator for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s Earthworks Urban Farm.  In that role, she coordinates volunteers, community engagement, and educational events to work towards a just, beautiful food system for all.   Believing that all people should have access to good, safe food and strong communities, she has successfully worked towards having soup kitchen clients involved in and leading food justice activities, such as running a fresh produce mobile market project and community cooking events.  She played a lead role in founding a local community association, in developing a volunteer outreach team, and in inspiring dialogue and action for dismantling racism in Detroit’s food system.  

A Michigan native, Lisa graduated from the University of Michigan with an Environmental Studies degree and has enjoyed the challenges and beauty of life in Detroit since. She enjoys spending her free time at the local farmer’s market and with her neighbors in the Shipherd Greens Community Garden.