The World Food Prize Foundation

Speakers

Ismahane Elouafi

Executive Managing Director, CGIAR

Ismahane Elouafi is the Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, effective December 1, 2023. She previously held the position of Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Prior to that, she was the Director General at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) based in the... [ View ]

Cary Fowler

2024 World Food Prize Laureate and Special Envoy for Global Food Security, U.S. Department of State

Dr. Cary Fowler is perhaps best known as the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described as an “inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity.” This facility provides ultimate security for more than 1 million unique crop varieties, the... [ View ]

Mashal Husain

Chief Operating Officer, World Food Prize Foundation

Effective February 1, 2025, Mashal Husain will be President of the World Food Prize Foundation, leading the organization’s mission to elevate global food security and agricultural innovations. Her appointment to this role underscores her extensive leadership experience and deep commitment to advancing the Foundation’s legacy. Since joining the Foundation in... [ View ]

Alzbeta Klein

CEO and Director General, International Fertilizer Association

Alzbeta Klein is the CEO/Director General of the International Fertilizer Association. In her role, she is leading the global fertilizer industry toward creating and supporting productive and sustainable agriculture systems that contribute to a world free of hunger and malnutrition. In her previous roles, Ms. Klein led IFC/World Bank Group’s Climate... [ View ]

Anna Nelson

Deputy Special Envoy for Global Food Security, U.S. Department of State

Anna Nelson is Deputy Special Envoy for Global Food Security at the Department of State. Previously, she served as senior advisor to the Director of Foreign Assistance, working to align resource decisions with the Administration’s climate and food security strategies. Before that, she was a Vice President at The Cohen... [ View ]

Deputy Minister Osama Faqeeha

Deputy Minister for Environment, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Osama Faqeeha has been the Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs at MEWA since 2017, and he is a member in the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage in Saudi Arabia. He occupied several roles in both the government and the private sector including... [ View ]

Brian P. Schmidt

Nobel Prize Laureate and 12th Vice-Chancellor, Australian National University

Brian P. Schmidt is an astronomer who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of dark energy, a repulsive force that is the dominant component (73 percent) of the universe. He shared the prize with American physicist Saul Perlmutter and astronomer Adam Riess. Schmidt holds dual... [ View ]

Roy Steiner

Senior Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation

Roy Steiner, PhD, is the Senior Vice President for the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, where he leads a team focused on creating access to nourishing food for millions of people in the U.S. and around the world, and supporting scientific advances in dietary quality and regenerative food systems. Roy... [ View ]

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