Sustainability Summit

11th Annual Louisville Sustainability Summit

3101 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40205

12:00-5:00 PM Friday November 8

Climate, Equity & the Future of Food

Learn

about food insecurity, food waste and the carbon impact of food production.

Explore

ways to enact change and spur action for everyone in our community.

Listen

to on-the-ground experts and gain insight that can improve your life and change how you think about food

A summit dedicated to exploring the vital intersections between our food systems, climate resilience, and social equity. This event will bring together thought leaders, policymakers, activists, and innovators to discuss sustainable food practices that not only mitigate climate impact but also promote social justice. Through engaging speakers, dynamic discussions, and networking opportunities, we aim to inspire action and drive meaningful change towards a resilient and inclusive food future. Let's collaborate to build a more just and sustainable world—one meal at a time.

Get your tickets now; seating is limited!

Keynote Maddie Chera

Maddie Chera convenes partners across the Greater Cincinnati region to collaborate and advocate for healthier and more sustainable communities. Maddie leads the Food Policy Council’s initiatives and leverages data, communications, and funding in order to direct and monitor the program’s collective impact toward a resilient regional food system. She brings over a decade of domestic and international experience as an educator, researcher, and nonprofit team member to her work, along with a PhD in Anthropology from Indiana University Bloomington, with a focus on food, the environment, and culture. Maddie served as the Food Policy Council’s Food Systems Analyst prior to taking on the role of Director in 2022.

Panel 1

Food Waste and GHG Emissions

Kari Armbruster is a purpose-driven leader with more than 10 years of experience developing creative, high-impact solutions to some of the world’s most critical environmental and social issues. Her proven track record of inspiring action and delivering results includes work with organizations of all sizes—from community nonprofits and high-growth startups to Fortune 20 enterprises and beyond. Kari’s strategy, innovation and action helped Kroger make measurable strides toward a brighter and more sustainable future for its customers, associates and communities—an experience that inspired her to help other businesses do the same by founding Armbruster Impact Management in 2022.

Ashton Lange, a proud Appalachian from Somerset, KY, is the eldest daughter in her family and studied public health at the University of Louisville (U of L). Her journey in sustainability and food waste diversion work has been ongoing for years. Lange has been a gardener in both rural and urban settings, and her time at U of L was partly characterized by her work in rerouting food surplus from campus dining and U of L’s community garden to campus food cupboard—addressing hunger while reducing local emissions. Ashton is also a published poet, with her writing centered on the impact of climate change on local food systems.
As Development Director of Change Today, Change Tomorrow, a grassroots nonprofit in Louisville’s West End focused on food justice, public health, she works to support efforts that not only meet a basic need but also mitigate local greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to her work in development within the organization, she also guides the food waste policy research of a U of L capstone student.

Laura Ungar is a reporter on the global health and science team for The Associated Press, covering medicine and science for a worldwide audience. Last year, she co-authored an award-winning project called "The Protein Problem," which explored how to feed the world without starving the planet. Ungar has been a journalist since 1990, previously working for USA Today, KFF Health News, The Courier-Journal and The Hartford Courant. She's written about everything from COVID-19 to maternal mortality to lead in water and has won more than 50 national, regional and local awards from organizations such as the Society for Environmental Journalists, the Association for Health Care Journalists and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She helped run a journalism teaching program connecting students in the U.S. and India for many years and in 2021 co-authored a book on the nation’s largest rural HIV outbreak in Austin, Indiana.

Tony Staubach is the Food Waste Diversion Sr. Specialist with Hamilton County ReSource. He received his MS in Public Policy from Drexel University and his BA in Education from Wilmington College. He previously served as an Extension Educator for OSU Extension and the Project Manager for the “Grow Food Grow Hope” initiative at Wilmington College. Tony currently serves on the steering committee for the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council, as a Global Issues Instructor for Wilmington College, Board Member for Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and Social Center, and received a 40 Under 40 award from Waste360 in 2023.

YahYah Huddleston is a Devoted Mother, Relentless Activist, Revolutionary Thinker, Chef, Artist, Designer, Writer, Poet, Educator, and so much more. Their life has been shaped by surviving homelessness, starvation, domestic abuse, eating disorders, substance abuse, mental health struggles, and the trials of raising two boys as a single parent—all within the confines of an apartheid system. Despite these immense hardships, they have transformed their experiences into a fierce resilience that fuels their fight for justice and equity. As the Mutual Aid Program Coordinator and event coordinator for Change Today, Change Tomorrow, they lead with purpose and compassion, empowering their community while honoring their journey. They are proud to stand with an organization that is dedicated to building a more just and equitable Louisville, not only for others but also as a testament to their own growth and strength.

Panel 2

Food, Social Justice, and Security

Audrey “Appletree” is part of the Fall 2024 YCAP Program and also a Crew Leader.

Connor Giffin is the environmental reporter at The Courier Journal. He writes about the health of Kentucky's land, air and water, energy policy, climate change, biodiversity, agriculture and more. Before joining The Courier Journal in 2022, Connor covered state government, business, public health and the environment in various reporting roles while attending the University of Missouri. He was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has family roots up north in Wisconsin. He can be reached by email at cgiffin@gannett.com.

Gary is a lifelong seafoodie with years of experience in the culinary and farm industries. While selling farms and farmland, he witnessed firsthand many external issues present to local growers and being very familiar with the environmental and social impacts of the imported shrimp and seafood markets Gary founded Inland Shrimp Company. Where he presently serves as its Chief Shrimping Officer and plans on becoming the region’s largest domestic seafood producer. And by using his passion for local food production, focusing on the shrimp and seafood industry with its mystery supply chain, huge carbon foodprint , and by using vertical farming methods, alternative energy, remote sensing and automation, he plans on locating facilities inside of inner-city, designated food desert zones that will help stop urban blight, employ local people and drastically reduce imported seafood’s huge carbon foodprint by locating ISC’s facilities close to the consumer and ensuring increased food security.

Rhona Bowles Kamar is a chef and the executive director of Feed Louisville, a non profit she founded at the beginning of the pandemic to support the unhoused community. She is the former chef and co-owner of Ramsi’s Café on the World. She has previously owned a USDA certified organic farm and is an advocate for local farmers. She currently serves on the Greater Louisville Food Council. She has served on the board of the Organic Association of Kentucky and was a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier. She was the recipient of the 2021 League of Women Voters Presidents Award and the 2019 Today’s Woman Magazine Most Admired Woman. She is currently a member of the World Central Kitchen Corps of Chefs. She is the mother of three children.

Sumedha Rao serves as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. She is committed to catalyzing robust, inclusive, and collaborative solutions for a climate-responsible, climate-resilient, and environmentally just Louisville! For the past decade, Sumedha has worked in the fields of urban sustainability, environmental policy, and green building in the United States and India. In 2022, Sumedha was named a Future Leader by the Aspen Institute, among 100 climate leaders in North America under the age of 30. Sumedha holds a master’s degree in Sustainability Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from St. Joseph’s College in India, and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED AP, accreditation.

“I’ve been involved in this work for over a year and I love the joy it brings people. I love crocheting and I plan to become a personal chef later in life.”