Frustrated with the lack of tools for people to more conveniently reduce food waste in the landfill, Aiyer teamed up with her co-founders, to create Compost Connect.

Aside from Executive Director role, Alvarez is also a member of the leadership team for numerous state and local food system groups.

Aside from being part owner of MOR, Kevin is currently working on The FRED Project which stands for Food Residual Environmental Diversion.

Becker works to support USDA food assistance programs through outreach, public relations, and partnership development, and he is an active member of Food-1-1.

Beling is currently a member of the Assistance and Pollution Prevention Unit in the Office of Environmental Stewardship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

At Illinois State University, Bierma has taught and conducted research for over 30 years on waste minimization and recycling.

Boney is responsible for safety, health, environmental management programs, environmental compliance and sustainability programs corporate wide.

Briggs works primarily in the private sector on issues of waste such as packaging and organics, and frequently helps brands in the design and implementation of recovery strategies.

Chris has been named a Hunger Hero by the State of Wisconsin, received a Public Health Award from Madison-Dane County Public Health, and been named one of 35 people making a difference in local food systems in Southern Wisconsin.

Patrick Bultema is an experienced venture-backed executive, widely recognized as a company and industry maker.

Burleson's business focuses on using seconds and overstock produce from local farmers and producers to create tasty breakfast dishes in the Ugly Apple Food Cart.

Cakir's research interests cover a wide range of economic problems in the field of food and agricultural economics, including industrial organization, consumer behavior, and policy issues.

Cather works with students and fellows to expand the breadth and capacity of the Food Recovery Network.

Misty Cavanaugh is currently the Division Safety Manager for the Dillon Grocery Store Division in Hutchinson, KS, but her most recent role prior was Division Shrink Manager.

Codner works with 12 Iowa counties along the I-35 corridor as an Area Resource Specialist among many other writing, editing, and association involvements.

In 2014, DeYoung created La Soupe – a restaurant formed to bridge the gap between perishable food waste and the food insecure community.

Ebert manages the daily operations of the WRA’s Industrial Pretreatment Program; the Fats, Oils, & Grease Program; as well as the Industrial Hauled Waste Program.

Nicole Edmonds is a registered dietitian, graduate student, and director of the Student Food Bank at Michigan State University.

Jason works directly with the public to educate people on proper waste management, resource recovery, composting, and environmental science.

Fedders oversees a wide range of activities that include engineering, water treatment and distribution, wastewater treatment and collection, field services, fleet, and solid waste.

Along with being Environmental Services Manager, Frost is also Executive Kitchen Manager at UnityPoint Health Des Moines.

Barb has worked with numerous programs assisting industry, institutions, and communities with environmental compliance and identifying source reduction opportunities.

In recent years, Central Community students have designed, implemented and improved a district wide, student run composting and recycling system for our k-12 cafeteria.

Hammitt has 30 years of wastewater treatment experience, most recently as the Manager of Operations and Maintenance at the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

Hogan is Director of the Quad Cities Food Hub, a nonprofit organization focused on creating a sustainable local food system.

Johnson has developed gleaning networks that now engage thousands of volunteers each year in hands-on food recovery work.

Jen is a certified compost operator; she has worked with commercial partners in Johnson County to divert food waste to the commercial compost facility at the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center.

Kahn is responsible for operations, maintenance, custodial, recycling, composting and other sustainability programs.

She builds multi-faceted sustainability programs for businesses, municipalities, facilities and events, raising the bar for responsible operations and public engagement.

Keleman oversees research projects to help understand and communicate impacts of food waste disposers on wastewater treatment infrastructure and works with municipalities promoting diversion of organics from landfills.

Koch has over 17 years of experience operating and managing water, wastewater and industrial wastewater treatment plants in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Iowa.

Koepke, is the Education Director of Grow Johnson County, a 5-acre hunger relief farm in Iowa City that produces vegetables & fruit for several local food pantries, and provides free classes in gardening, soil science and life skills.

Kroymann led the house-wide food sustainability initiative at UIHC including food waste avoidance, food waste reduction, food donations, and organic composting.

Leavens' responsibilities include coordinating composting, recycling, school gardens, stormwater and landscape management, healthy transportation alternatives, connections to project-based learning and community partnerships.

McCrann oversees Blue Terra's National Project Planning and Consulting Division, which includes a geographically and industry diverse team of planners who design projects which are multi-stage and systems-focused.

Christina McDonough is the Community Transformation Consultant at the Scott County Health Department and has been involved with the Food Rescue Partnership since its onset in 2013.

As a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America McFarlen has spent the last 30+ years honing my passion for Food and Beverage management as an Executive Chef and Vice President of Food and Beverage.

Morgan founded SingleSpeed Brewing Co in 2012 and now has two breweries, one in Cedar Falls, IA and one in Waterloo, IA.

Rachel Morier is the Director of Sustainability at PAC Packaging Consortium and leads the PAC Food initiative to investigate causes of food waste, identify packaging opportunities, and inform and educate the community.

Peterson is currently working to advance biomass conversion opportunities through Iowa.

Aleks Poldma is a project engineer at Enviro-Stewards and has led multiple resource conservation projects at Canadian Food and Beverage manufacturers.

Christina provides legal and policy guidance to community advocacy groups, state agencies and non-profits who are working to improve the food system.

Brian Roe is the Van Buren Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at The Ohio State University.

Schnitzer manages development of the interactive EPA Wasted Food Opportunities Map which supports nationwide diversion of excess and wasted food from landfill.

Bill Schroer spent 15 years in brand management, profitably managing multiple brands at Stokely-Van Camp and Jeno’s.

Segal supports the farm to school programs and regional food systems in the Great Lakes Region.

Sievers' is an enthusiastic environmental steward of the land and on using all available resources for their highest and best use.

Sullivan is co-founder of KinoSol SBC, a product solution startup focused on decreasing post-harvest loss, globally.

Bruce is a professional engineer with 27 years of experience in the fields of water conservation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, Toxics Use Reduction, and treatment process design.

Melissa Terry is a graduate student researching food system policy at the University of Arkansas and co-author of the "Guide to Conducting Student Food Waste Audits: A Resource for K12 Schools".

Trent has been heavily involved in implementing and coordinating multiple food waste reduction efforts for the IWRC since 2012.

VanScoy supervises the department that provides over 600 patient meals at Des Moines Methodist Hospital each day.

Aside from being Director, Dr. Wildcat's roles include professor, speaker, author and editor, as well as establishing working groups and events focused on climate change.

Through the MEANS Database, Allie has become an advocate for food security and the prevention of food waste.

Craig Wood works with citizens and businesses in Johnson County, Kansas to manage waste efficiently and ensure proper capacity and infrastructure for Johnson County’s future.

Wright leads a team of environmental professionals in the implementation and management of financial and technical assistance programs that benefit a multitude of Iowa businesses, industry, local governments, and citizens.

Ultra Compost turns food waste, tree and yard waste into a reusable product and it looking into other organic soil amendments and organic fertilizers.