Saturday Sept. 15th, 2007
10 AM - 6 PM
Unity Center
1600 W. Broadway, Columbia
10 AM - 6 PM
Unity Center
1600 W. Broadway, Columbia
The current state of our food system and the future directions we choose have huge environmental and economic implications as well as dramatic impacts on international trade, political structures and social equity. In short, food touches nearly every aspect of sustainability you can think of.
Drawing on sixteen years in the field of sustainable agriculture and food security, Kathy will share inspiration and insights gleaned from her experiences apprenticing on an organic farm, lobbying governments at the United Nations, and working at every level in between. While emphasizing the contributions that more localized local food systems make in the pursuit of sustainability, Kathy will weave in connections to broader arenas of civic engagement and the indispensable role of citizen advocacy in the essential work of establishing and practicing representative democracy.
Now an independent consultant, Kathy Lawrence, has had a varied career in sustainable food systems and other fields. In May 2005, Kathy stepped down from a five-year tenure as Executive Director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, a network of diverse groups whose mission is to shape national policies to foster a sustainable food and agricultural system that is economically viable, environmentally sound, socially just and humane (www.sustainableagriculture.net).
Prior to joining the National Campaign, Kathy directed Just Food, a New York City-based non-profit that she founded in 1995 (www.justfood.org). Her achievements at Just Food include initiating the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in NYC program and The City Farms urban agriculture and food access program. While developing the foundation for Just Food, Kathy coordinated public information, outreach and education for both the New York and Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Groups (www.nesawg.org) and gained experience in collaborative citizen advocacy at the United Nations on sustainable agriculture and food security issues.
In this phase of her professional life, Kathy is pursuing a number of interests, including food and agriculture systems advocacy training, non-profit management, providing leadership to the Pine Bush Farmers' Market, serving on the founding board of a local opera company (www.OperaCompanyoftheHighlands), exploring a Chinese language tutoring business, and indulging her passion for perennial gardening and design and vocal and piano performance.
Kathy’s first career was in trade with the People’s Republic of China. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Kansas, and a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, where she majored in Economic and Political Development.