Jack de Jong is the Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Forever Feed Technologies, a company pioneering automated indoor sprout-grain production for use as a sustainable and highly-nutritious dairy feed ingredient. Jack is also the owner of River Ranch Farms in Hanford, CA, an 1880-acre dairy operation. Jack also farms additional ranches which grow more dairy feed, almonds, and blueberries, totaling over 3,500-acres farmed in all.  Jack was honored as the 2023 Kings County Agriculturist of the year for his outstanding contributions to the agricultural community.

Dr. Frank Mitloehner is a professor and air quality specialist in cooperative extension in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis. As such, he shares his knowledge and research, both domestically and abroad, with students, scientists, farmers and ranchers, policy makers, and the public at large. Frank is also director of the CLEAR Center, which has two cores – research and communications. The CLEAR Center brings clarity to the intersection of animal agriculture and the environment. 

Karen Ross was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom. In re-appointing Secretary Ross, Governor Newsom cited her unmatched leadership experience in agricultural issues nationally, internationally, and here in California, in areas including environmental stewardship, climate change adaption, and trade. Secretary Ross was initially appointed by Governor Edmund. G. Brown Jr. in 2011. 

Daniel Peerless is the Global Sustainable Sourcing Lead for Dairy, Meat, Poultry and Eggs with Nestlé. As part of the ESG Climate and Sustainable Sourcing team, he oversees responsible sourcing standards and reporting within the Nestlé global supply chain and coordinates work to reduce emissions on the farms that produce ingredients for Nestlé products. Before joining Nestlé in 2021, he was a member of the environmental research team at Dairy Management Inc., the national dairy checkoff program.

Darrin Monteiro is the Vice President of Sustainability & Member Relations for California Dairies, Inc. He manages CDI’s sustainability team that develops and maintains key sustainability metrics throughout the supply chain, from the farm to the customer. Additionally, he engages with customers, identifying and securing value-add opportunities on behalf of CDI and our member-owners. Darrin also manages the CDI field team and government relations for the company.