2006 Speakers & Transcripts

H.E. Amadou L. Ba, Senegal
Senegalese Ambassador to the United States

Dr. Ba has served as the Senegalese Ambassador to the United States since 2002. Prior to his appointment, he was a professor of biology at Bunker Hill College and at Ohio State University. An entomologist by training, he is an expert on agricultural technology and policy, agronomic engineering, development strategies and practices in Africa and globally, and international trade.

Ambassador Ba has experience in several countries including France, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Holland, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, and has held positions in several NGOs and governmental agencies, including USAID and the Ministry of Agriculture of Senegal. He has also taught and carried out research at Ohio State University and the University of Vermont. Ambassador Ba received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University and has contributed to two publications: Global Issues in Pesticide Regulations and Integrated Pest Management and International Agriculture Development Policies─ A Case Study of the United Sates and Africa.

Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Senegal
Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute
Senior Research Advisor to NEPAD

Dr. Ousmane Badiane joined IFPRI's Development Strategy and Governance Division on April 1, 2004, as Senior Research Fellow and Senior Research Advisor to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). He is based at the NEPAD Secretariat in Pretoria, South Africa, where he heads IFPRI's collaboration with NEPAD and provides technical support in the areas of food policy research, capacity strengthening, and policy communications. He also assists the Secretariat in coordinating implementation of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program in collaboration with regional economic communities.

Dr. Badiane, a national of Senegal, was formerly Lead Specialist for Food and Agricultural Policy for the Africa Region at the World Bank. He worked at IFPRI from 1989 to 1997, when he led the institute's work on market reforms and development, before joining the World Bank in 1998. He was also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins' School of Advance International Studies from 1993 to 2003. Dr. Badiane received a Masters degree and PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Kiel in Germany.

Hon. Catherine Bertini, United States
Former Chair, United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition
Professor of Public Administration, Syracuse University
2003 World Food Prize Laureate

Ms. Bertini served as the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme from 1992 to 2002, turning the organization into the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency, and was the UN Under-Secretary General for Management from 2003 to 2005. Ms. Bertini’s responsibilities from her position as the Under-Secretary General included controlling the United Nation’s $3 billion biennial budget as well as human resources and security for 9,000 staff members.

For her innovative leadership in assisting hundreds of millions of victims of war and natural disaster throughout the world, Ms. Bertini received the 2003 World Food Prize. She has also been honored by the Republic of Italy with its Order of Merit and by the Association of African Journalists with its Prize of Excellence. In 1996, The Times of London named her one of “The World’s Most Powerful Women.”

Dr. Chen Zhangliang, China
President, Chinese Agricultural University
Director, Chinese National Laboratory of Protein Engineering and Plant Genetic Engineering
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. Chen completed his Ph.D. in biology at Washington University in St. Louis in 1987 and returned to Beijing to establish the National Laboratory of Protein Engineering and Plant Genetic Engineering at Peking University. He founded and serves as president of the Weiming Biotechnology Company, which produces many DNA recombinant drugs, vaccines and some nature products. He is also Vice Chairman of China Biotechnology Association, Vice Chairman for the China National Youth Federation and Vice President of Peking University.

Dr. Chen has published seven books and more than 150 research papers and holds seven patents. He has also been honored with TIME's Global 100 Roster of Young Leaders for the New Millennium, the UNESCO Javed Husain Prize for Young Scientists, as well as the Science and Technology prizes from the Ministry of Education in China.

Sir Gordon Conway, United Kingdom
Chief Scientific Advisor, UK Department for International Development
President (ret.), Rockefeller Foundation
Transcript | PowerPoint

Sir Gordon Conway, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2005, is a world renowned agricultural ecologist. He pioneered integrated pest management in Borneo (Malaysia) in the 1960s, and developed agroecosystems analysis in Thailand. He was one of the first to define the concept of sustainable agriculture. From 1970 to 1986 he was Professor of Environmental Technology at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. He also directed the sustainable agriculture program of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London before becoming a representative of the Ford Foundation in New Delhi from 1988 to 1992.

Sir Gordon was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex and Chair of the Institute for Developmental Studies. Among his publications are: Unwelcome Harvest: Agriculture and Pollution, The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for all in the 21st century and Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All. He was educated at the Universities of Wales (Bangor), Cambridge, Trinidad and California (Davis).

Dr. Silvio Crestana, Brazil
Director-General, EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation)
Transcript | PowerPoint

In addition to leading EMBRAPA, one of the world's largest agricultural-research enterprises, Dr. Crestana is also a Research Scientist at the National Center of Research and Development in Agricultural Instrumentation in São Carlos. He is the scientific advisor for the Foundation for Research Support of São Paulo State and for the National Council for Research and Development, Ministry of Science and Technology. From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Crestana was a visiting scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, where he implemented and oversaw the joint Overseas Virtual Embrapa Laboratory (LABEX). He has been a member of several Brazilian and international committees relating to agriculture and biology.

Dr. Crestana received a Master in Basic Physics in 1983 and a PhD in Soils Physics in 1985. His post doctoral studies in Soil Science and Environmental Sciences were performed at the University of California-Davis. He has authored approximately 150 scientific papers and co-authored 6 patents. He has received many awards from Embrapa and has also been honored by the Institute of Advanced Studies- São Carlos, the University of São Paulo and the Brazilian Federal Senate.

Dr. Robert A. Easter, United States
Dean, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Easter has been a faculty member at UIUC since his completion of a doctorate in animal science there in 1976. Dr. Easter served as Head of the Department of Animal Sciences from 1996 to 2001, assumed the role of Interim Dean of ACES in 2001, and was appointed Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) in 2002.

Dr. Easter and his students and colleagues have investigated the amino acid needs of the lactating sow, the impact of post-weaning nutrition on growth composition to market and the use of various agents to alter lean growth in pigs. An internationally renowned expert in the field, Dr. Easter has spoken on swine nutrition to audiences in the U.S. and 27 foreign countries and has also published several articles and texts.

His teaching efforts have been recognized by institutions including the University of Illinois and the American Society of Animal Science. Dr. Easter was appointed to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development in 2006. Dr. Easter earned an undergraduate degree in agricultural education in 1970 and a Master of Science degree in animal nutrition in 1972, both from Texas A&M University.

Robert Forney, United States
President, Global Food Banking Network
Transcript | PowerPoint

Previously, Mr. Forney was President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest-The Nation’s Food Bank Network (A2H), the nation’s largest charitable domestic hunger relief organization. This charitable feeding network provides food assistance to more than 25 million hungry Americans each year. Prior to joining America’s Second Harvest in June 2001, Mr. Forney was President and CEO of the Chicago Stock Exchange Inc. (Exchange) one of the most technologically advanced stock exchanges in the world. Before coming to the Exchange, Mr. Forney served four years as a public (non-industry) Board member of the Exchange. His career includes creating one of the first software companies in the world and being a member of the senior management team for a software company that was one of the first technology firms to be listed on the NYSE.

Mr. Forney has a BS and MBA in accounting and finance from Indiana University. He is also a CPA. His service to the securities industry and to his community has been recognized by Security Traders Association, Securities Industry Association, Wall Street Project and Rainbow PUSH for lifetime service. He has been recognized as 4H Alumni of the Year and has received the Good Scout Award from the Boy Scouts. He is the founding Chairman of the Alliance to End Hunger and is a trustee of the Congressional Hunger Center. He was recently recognized by St. Ignatius College Prep for his service to mankind as the recipient of the Dei Gloriam Award. Mr. Forney served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam as an enlisted man prior to receiving a Direct Commission.

Beatrice Gakuba, Rwanda
CEO, Rwanda Flora

Beatrice Gakuba is the leader of one of Rwanda’s most thriving businesses and has been hailed by international leaders as an example of the potential success of entrepreneurship in economically revitalizing economies in African countries. She was the subject of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz’s address to the United Nations General Assembly at the September 2005 World Summit.

After a 20 year career in poverty alleviation with the United Nations and other development organizations, Ms. Gakuba returned to her native Rwanda in 2003. Unable to find the roses she wanted for her father’s funeral, she purchased Rwanda Flora in early 2004 as it was being liquidated and transformed the small farm into a socially responsible, six hectare operation that currently sells five tons of flowers at auction in Europe each week and employs almost 200 rural women. Rwanda Flora is poised to expand to 15 hectares by 2007. Ms. Gakuba also serves as a consultant throughout Africa on entrepreneurship and post-conflict/post-genocide transition and development.

Dr. Robert Gates, United States
President, Texas A&M University
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Transcript

Dr. Gates was Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIAs history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He joined the Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, serving four presidents of both political parties. He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at The White House from January 1989 until November 1991 for President George H.W. Bush. He also served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999-2001.

Dr. Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal and the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received the CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. He serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He is President of the National Eagle Scout Association. Dr. Gates is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War. He received his B.A. from the College of William and Mary, his M.A. in history from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.

Dr. Hans Herren, Switzerland
President, Millennium Institute, Washington, D.C.
Co-Chair, International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
1995 World Food Prize Laureate
Transcript

Hans Herren was the Director-general of the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya from 1994 to 2005 before assuming the presidency of the Millennium Institute. He is the founder and chairman of BioVision , the President of the International Association of the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) and a member of the U.S. board of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR). He is Co-Chair of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) with Dr. Robert Watson.

Dr. Herren holds numerous awards and honors which include the election to the U.S. National Academy of Science and the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World (TWAS), the 1995 Kilby Award, the 2002 Brandenberger Prize, the 2003 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the 1991 Sir and Lady Rank Prize for Nutrition. He earned his Ph.D. at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Hon. Mike Johanns, United States
Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Transcript

Mike Johanns, a native of Iowa, was sworn in as the 28th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 2005. Johanns’ tenure as Secretary of Agriculture has included working to promote global agricultural trade by strengthening ties with U.S. trading partners and encouraging the opening of new markets. He has participated in World Trade Organization negotiations and the successful passage of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Other major priorities include fighting obesity, aiding producers after the devastating hurricane season of 2005, promoting the use and promise of renewable fuels, and expanding USDA's conservation commitment. Secretary Johanns has also worked to educate and prepare the country for the potential onset of avian flu.

Prior to coming to USDA, Johanns served as governor of Nebraska. Secretary Johanns is a graduate of St. Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona. He earned a law degree from Creighton University in Omaha and practiced law in O'Neill and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Hans Jöhr, Switzerland
Assistant Vice President and Corporate Head of Agriculture
Nestle Ltd.
Transcript | PowerPoint

Mr. Jöhr is a Co-Founder of the SAI Platform (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative of the food industry) and is the current President. He is a member of the Board of IPC (Intl. Policy Council on Agriculture Food and Trade) and a member of the Advisory Council of the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (seco). Recently, he became the Director of Board of CATIE Costa Rica (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center). He also serves as the Chairman of SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme). Mr Jöhr is Past President of IAMA (International Food and Agribusiness Management Association) and Past President of the Swiss-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Sâo Paulo, Brazil. Mr Jöhr joined Nestlé in April 2000. Prior to moving to Nestlé, Mr Jöhr served as CEO of AFC Consulting in Brazil engaged in agribusiness & forestry consulting and management.

Mr Jöhr completed with a doctorate degree in economic science and management programmes at INSEAD (l'Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires, Fontainebleau, France) and IMD (International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland). He is the author of more than 30 publications in Brazilian and international news-papers.

Dr. Calestous Juma, Kenya
Director, Harvard University Science, Technology and Globalization Project
Chair, UN Millennium Project Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovation
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. Juma has served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and was a founding Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi, Kenya. He has served on several committees of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on science advice for sustainable development, geographical information sciences, and biotechnology. He has visiting appointments at the United Nations University in Tokyo and the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Dr. Juma’s work on the environment and sustainable development has won him several international awards. He is a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, member of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences, Chancellor of the University of Guyana, and Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in science and technology policy studies and is a lead author of Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development, published in 2005.

Dr. Gurdev Khush, India
Professor, University of California-Davis
1996 World Food Prize Laureate

Dr. Khush is one of the world's authorities on crop breeding and is considered one of the heroes of the Green Revolution in plant breeding. After receiving his education at the Punjab Agricultural University and the University of California-Davis, he joined the International Rice Research Institute in the Phillipines in 1967 where he served as the Head of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biochemistry Division until 2002. Dr. Khush led the institute’s rice breeding program and developed several groundbreaking rice varieties.

Dr. Khush has been honored with numerous awards and honors including the Japan Prize (1987), the Rank Prize (1998), the Wolf Prize (2000), the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award from Government from Government of China (2001) and the Padmashri award from the president of India (2001). He has been elected to the world’s most prestigious academies including US National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of London. He has received Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degrees from nine universities including from Cambridge University in England and Ohio State University.

Dr. Khush has served as a consultant on rice for the breeding programs of 15 countries as well as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy, and Sweden’s International Science Foundation. He is now serving as a member of Scientific Advisory Committee to India’s Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and member of Science Council, an advisory body to Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing. He has written 3 books, more than 80 book chapters and 160 research papers.

Scott Kilman, United States
Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
PowerPoint

A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Mr. Kilman is one of the most widely-read correspondents regarding food and agricultural trade issues. Mr. Kilman covers these issues in both developed and non developed countries. He has written on topics ranging from genetic engineering to price fixing at Archer Daniels Midland Co.

His reporting along with fellow correspondent Roger Thurow has made important contributions which led them to be awarded with the A.H. Boerma Award from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in October 2005. Mr. Kilman is based in the Chicago beareau where his main focus in agriculture. He is an Iowa native from Cedar Falls.

Dr. Freddie Kwesiga, Uganda
Coordinator of the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme,
Forum for Agricultural Research in Agrica, Accra, Ghana

As the coordinator or the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP), Dr. Kwesiga works to add value and improve the impact of agricultural research in Africa by orienting it towards innovation systems approaches. The SSA CP is focusing on research elements that integrate on-going research on productivity, natural resource management, markets and policies. The Programme has facilitated the teaming together of 80 institutions into 9 innovation taskforces that are responsible for testing and evaluating the comparative impact of innovations systems approaches in the sub Saharan Africa context.

Before his present position at FARA, Dr. Kwesiga was the principal scientist and regional coordinator for the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)’s programmes in southern Africa.

Dr. Kwesiga has authored/co-authored approximately 100 research publications and is a member of the United Nations Millennium Task Force on Hunger. He received his PhD plant physiology from the University of Edinburg.

Dr. Mark McLellan, United States
Dean of Research, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science
Former President, Institute of Food Technologists
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. McLellan has a history of leadership in the food sector including previous senior level positions at Cornell University, Texas A&M University, and the Food Protein Research Development Center. He was recently elected as the President-Elect of the Food Update Foundation Board of Directors.

In February 2006, Dr. McLellan was selected to chair the U.S. Food and Drug Advisory Committee. In 2005, he was a co-primary investigator for the first monetization grant ever awarded by the USDA to a university. He also led the effort to build and create the Texas A&M University Electron Beam Food Research Facility. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Hon. Peter McPherson, United States
President, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
Founding Co-Chair, The Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa
Transcript

Mr. McPherson chairs the Board of the International Food and Agricultural Development. He was President of Michigan State University from 1993-2004. Prior positions include Director of Economic Policy in Iraq under the Coalition Provisional Authority, senior executive positions with the Bank of America, deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury, administrator of the Agency for International Development, chairman of the board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, managing partner of a large Ohio law firm, special assistant to President Gerald Ford, and Peace Corps volunteer in Peru.

He earned a B.A. from Michigan State University, and M.B.A. from Western Michigan University, and a J.D. from American University Law School. He holds honorary doctorates from Virginia State University, Mount St. Mary's College and Michigan State University. Mr. McPherson has been honored with many awards including the 1983 Humanitarian of the Year award from the American Lebanese League, the Department of Treasury's Alexander Hamilton Award, the Secretary of State Distinguished Leadership Award, with the U.S. Presidential Certificate of Outstanding Achievement and the UNICEF award for "outstanding contribution to child survival."

Dr. Shirley Malcom, United States
Head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs, the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Dr. Malcom oversees AAAS programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. She serves on boards for the Howard Heinz Endowment and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. She has also served on the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation, and on the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. In addition, Dr. Malcom has chaired a number of national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy.

Dr. Malcom received her doctorate in ecology from Pennsylvania State University; master's degree in zoology from the University of California, Los Angeles; and bachelor's degree with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. In 2003 Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award given by the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Hodeba Jacob D. Mignouna, Togo
Technical Operations Manager, African Agricultural Technology Foundation

Dr. Mignouna, a molecular biologist/biotechnologist, is currently serving as the Technical Operations Manager for the African Agricultural Technology Foundation where he leads the implementation of AATF's project portfolio.

From 1992-2001, Dr. Mignouna worked as a chemical engineer with Oleofina, Inc. in Brussels, Belgium, as research scientist-biotechnologist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). While at IITA, Dr. Mignouna became the leader of the Biotechnology Unit and developed and implemented a research program on the use of molecular genetic tools to improve food crops and to efficiently manage crop genetic resources with the ultimate aim of harnessing science and technology for development of Africa's agriculture to eradicate poverty and bring about development and prosperity to African communities that depend on agriculture for livelihood. Following his post at IITA, he moved to the Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA as a visiting Frosty Hill Research fellow from 2001 to 2003.

Before joining the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Dr. Mignouna served as Research Associate Professor of Biotechnology and co-Director of USAID Farmer to Farmer program in East Africa at Virginia State University. He also worked as Biosafety Consultant for the USAID Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), International Food Policy Research Institute. He recieved an MSc degree in chemical engineering and a doctoral degree in molecular biology and genetics, both from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

James Morris, United States
Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme
Transcript

James T. Morris was appointed the tenth Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme at the beginning of April 2002. In July 2002, Mr. Morris became the Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In 2003, he was able to carry out the largest humanitarian operation in history which successfully fed 26 million Iraqis.

For more than 36 years, Mr. Morris has developed a career that involves business, philanthropic, humanitarian leadership and public service aspects. Mr. Morris worked in city government in Indianapolis for six years which for the majority of the time was as Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard Lugar. He then moved to the Lilly Endowment, Inc in 1973. He started as director of community development for the endowment and was able to move up to President which he served as for six years until 1989. Mr. Morris then became chairman and chief executive officer of IWC Resources Corporation and Indianapolis Water Company.

Mr. Morris has also been affiliated with the United States Olympic Committee both as treasurer and as chairman of the audit and ethics committee. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross, and is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Indiana University. Mr. Morris earned his B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from Butler University. He has received 11 honorary degrees including the most recent from the University of Notre Dame (US) in May of 2005.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, United States
Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota
Associate Director, National Center for Food Protection and Defense, University of Minnesota

Dr. Osterholm is a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, Department of Health and Human Services. His previous positions held include posts at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Secretary of Health and Human Services, ican, INC, Minnesota Department of Health, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. He has held many faculty appointments within various departments in the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.

He is past president of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and has served on the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors. He currently serves on the IOM Forum on Emerging Infections and has been on various committees within the IOM. Dr. Osterholm serves on the Public and Scientific Affairs Board, the Task Force on Biological Weapons, and the Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance. He is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). He earned his B.A. and his Doctorate of Science from Luther College, and his M.S., M.P.H. and his Ph.D. from The University of Minnesota.

Dr. Amit H. Roy, United States
President and Chief Executive Officer, International Fertilizer Development Center

As a chemical engineer and IFDC project team leader, Dr. Roy has assessed, rationalized and helped to commercialize indigenous phosphate deposits of more than twelve countries. He has led the establishment of functioning fertilizer and transitional economies in several countries including Albania, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan. Dr. Roy’s present focus is to help countries in sub-Saharan Africa improve their agricultural productivity.

Dr. Roy graduated in 1970 with a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He joined IFDC in 1978 as a chemical engineer and through the years, he has progressively assumed positions of increasing responsibilities culminating in his appointment as CEO in 1992. Dr. Roy has published extensively, and delivered invited papers and keynote addresses in several international events and meetings.

John Ruff, United Kingdom/United States
Senior Vice President, Global Quality, Scientific Affairs and Nutrition
Kraft Foods, Inc.

John Ruff was named to his current position in January 2004. He oversees quality on a worldwide basis, coordinates Kraft’s global health & wellness policies and is responsible for nutrition, scientific relations, regulatory issues, microbiology and auditing.

Ruff joined the former General Foods Company in England in 1972 as a Food Technologist. In October 1996, he was named Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Quality for Kraft Foods North America, responsible for Kraft’s technology functions including analytical chemistry; basic research; microbiology; nutrition; product, package and process development; quality assurance and scientific relations. Prior to joining Kraft, Ruff was a Technical Brand Manager for Procter & Gamble in England.

Ruff serves as a director on the boards the Joffrey Ballet and the International Life Sciences Institute. He is past Chair of the Food Processors Association, chairman of the board of the Institute of Food Technologists Foundation, and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science & Technology in the United Kingdom. Ruff received an M.A. in Biochemistry and a B.A. in Natural Science from Cambridge University.

Dr. Pedro Sanchez, Cuba/United States
Director, Tropical Agriculture, Earth Institute at Columbia University
Co-Chair, UN Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger
2002 World Food Prize Laureate
Transcript | PowerPoint

From 1991-2001, Dr. Sanchez was the Director General of the World Agro forestry Center located in Kenya. At North Carolina State University he is also Professor Emeritus of Soil Science and Forestry, and was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also worked for the International Rice Research Institute, the Peruvian National Research Institute and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

Dr. Sanchez received his education from Cornell University which includes a B.S., M.S. and a Ph.D. He is a Fellow of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, and has received the International Service in Agronomy Award the International Soil Science Award and the Crop Science Society of America Presidential Award. He serves on the Board of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Academy of Sciences and the Board of Directors of Millennium Promise. Dr. Sanchez has received honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium and the University of Guelph, Canada. He has received decorations from the governments of Colombia and Peru, and was anointed Luo Elder with the name of Odera Akang’o by the Luo community of Western Kenya. Dr. Sanchez is a 2004 MacArthur Fellow. He authored the book Properties and Management of Soils of the Tropics and co-authored the book Halving Hunger: It Can Be Done as well as authored over 250 scientific publications.

Dr. G. Edward Schuh, United States
Regents Professor, University of Minnesota
Orville and Jane Freeman Professor, International Trade and Investment Policy and Freeman Center for International Economic Policy
Transcript

Dr. Schuh has contributed internationally in the areas of economic development, international trade, exchange rate policy, and food and agricultural policy. His work has an emphasis on Latin America, especially Brazil, and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has chaired the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), co-chaired the U. S. Food Security Advisory Committee (FSAC), and served two terms on the Board of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Dr. Schuh has held many upper level positions at the Ford Foundation in Brazil, International Affairs and Commodity Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the World Bank in Washington, DC.

He is the author or co-author of six books, has edited an additional six books, and has over 150 technical and scientific papers to his credit. He has received numerous awards from such universities and associations as the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil) and the American Academy of Arts. In a ceremony presided over by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2005, and the president of the Brazilian Academy of Science, Dr. Schuh was honored for lifetime contributions to Brazil and its agricultural institutions. Dr. Schuh holds a B.A. in Agricultural Education from Purdue University, an M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Egypt
Director, Library of Alexandria
Former Chairman, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. Serageldin has held various positions at the World Bank ranging from an economist in education and human resources to Vice-President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development. Prior to joining the World Bank, worked as a consultant in city and regional planning, and taught at Cairo University and Harvard University. Dr. Serageldin is also a distinguished Professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts such as the Youth Employment Summit (YES) Campaign, the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the World Commission for Water in the 21st Century, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). In addition, he was active in promoting NGO-Bank relations, and served as Co-Chairman of the NGO-Bank Committee (1997-99).

Dr. Serageldin is a member of the Supreme Council for Culture of Egypt, the Egyptian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India, the Bangladesh Academy of Science of Dhaka, and the Third World Academy of Sciences of Italy. He has published over 50 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and Masters' degree and a PhD from Harvard University and has received 18 honorary doctorates.

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, United States
Director for Financial Services & Agriculture, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. Shah manages the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s global programs to improve agricultural productivity, and also oversees the organization's financial services program. He has recently served as Director of Strategic Opportunities, participating in the Gates Foundation’s launch of a Global Development Program, in addition to serving as the Gates Foundation’s Senior Economist. In that role, Dr. Shah helped develop the Foundation’s global health strategy and manage the $1.5 billion Vaccine Fund – an effort referred to by Bill and Melinda Gates as their best investment. He proposed and helped launch the International Finance Facility for Immunization, which will issue immunization bonds, backed by donor governments, to raise an additional $4 billion for vaccinating poor children throughout the world.

Dr. Shah currently serves on the board of the Global Development Network. He earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and M.Sc. in Health Economics at the Wharton School of Business. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the London School of Economics and has published articles on health policy and global development.

Hon. Josette Sheeran, United States
Under Secretary, Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Transcript

In her current position, Ambassador Josette Sheeran is responsible for spearheading the Administration’s economic diplomacy efforts and advancing the interests of American businesses, farmers and workers at home and abroad through global policies spanning trade, investment, finance, development, energy, telecommunications and transportation. She represents the United States at a wide variety of high-level bilateral and multilateral meetings including serving as Alternative Governor for the World Bank; the Inter-American Development Bank; the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Congress also confirms her as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Prior to her appointment, Under Secretary Sheeran served as Deputy United States Trade Representative in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). One of her legacy projects was fighting global counterfeiting, creating STOP – Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy’ and the protection of Intellectual Property. Before joining USTR, Under Secretary Sheeran was managing director of Starpoint Solutions, a leading Wall Street technology firm that works with Fortune 500 clients. During her tenure at Starpoint she led major strategic projects with corporate leaders such as Bank of America, Citibank and the Associated Press. Under Secretary Sheeran also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Empower America, where she developed its agenda of trade policy, technology policy, education reform and tax reform. In 1997, Washingtonian magazine named Ms. Sheeran as one of Washington's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, India
Chair, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
Co-Chair, UN Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger
1987 World Food Prize Laureate
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan has been acclaimed by TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century and is widely known as the scientific leader of the Green Revolution movement in India. He is also a world leader in the field of sustainable food security. Dr. Swaminathan is an Honorary Advisor to the U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative.

Dr. Swaminathan is currently the President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, the UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology for the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers for the Government of India. Previously, he was the Chairman of the UN Science Advisory Committee, served as Independent Chairman of the FAO Council and President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

He has received 50 honorary doctorate degrees and is a fellow of many of the top scientific academies around the world. He has been honored with the International award by the International Association of Women, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership and the Albert Einstein World Science Award.

Hon. A. Ellen Terpstra, United States
Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
Co-chair, U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative

Deputy Under Secretary Terpstra has extensive experience in international food and trade. In her current capacity, she oversees agencies responsible for American agricultural policy and international agricultural development and trade, and also is the American co-chair of the $100 million U.S-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative. From 2002-2006, Ms. Terpstra served as administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service. There, she had a strong leadership role in expanding and maintaining international export opportunities for U.S. agriculture and supporting international economic development and trade capacity building.

She has served as trade negotiator and policy coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and an agricultural policy analyst with the Congressional Research Service. She also has been a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy.

Before her appointment to USDA, Ms. Terpstra served as president and chief executive officer of the USA Rice Federation, and as president of the U.S. Apple Association. Ms. Terpstra received her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Roger Thurow
Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Transcript | PowerPoint

Roger Thurow, a long-time Journal foreign correspondent, writes about humanitarian and social development issues. In his 27-years with the Journal, he has reported from more than 60 countries. He has written on a number of subjects ranging from the culture and business of sports to race relations in the U.S. to hunger and food security in Africa.

Mr. Thurow is currently based in Europe as a senior writer which entails writing features for the paper. His career at the Wall Street Journal first began in the Atlanta bureau as an intern in 1979. Since then, he has remained at the Wall Street Journal in both local and overseas aspects which include positions in Dallas, Houston, Bonn, Johannesburg, and Vienna.

Mr. Thurow received a B.A. from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication and Department of Political Science at the University of Iowa in 1979. In October 2005, He along with Scott Kilman was honored with the A.H. Boerma Award from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 1997, Mr. Thurow received the bronze prize for print media in the Olympic Media Awards for a series of 13 stories covering the 1996 Summer Olympics. Also in 1997, he was a finalist in the best feature-reporting category of the Deadline Club of New York's awards. He received a second place prize in the feature writing category of the 1999 National Headliner Awards for his series of 1998, page-one stories dealing with racial issues.

Dr. Surinder K. Vasal, India
Researcher, CIMMYT
2000 World Food Prize Laureate

Dr. Vasal is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Socity of America and India’s National Academy of Sciences. He has been honored with many accolades from institutions in or governments of Honduras, India, Panama, and Peru. He has also received the 1996 International Service in Crop Science Award and the 1999 International Agronomy Award.

He earned his Ph.D. in genetics and plant breeding from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. Throughout his career, Dr. Vasal has worked for the Department of Agriculture in Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Agricultural College, the Rockefeller Foundation, and CIMMYT in Mexico.

It was at CIMMYT that Dr. Vasal worked with Dr. Evangelina Villegas in developing high-quality protein maize, an achievement that earned them the 2000 World Food Prize.

Dr. Robert Watson, United Kingdom
Chief Scientist and Senior Advisor, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) at the World Bank
Director, International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development
Transcript | PowerPoint

Dr. Watson was a member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2000-2005) and currently co-chairs the International Scientific Assessment of Stratospheric Ozone. Prior to his position at the World Bank, he was Associate Director for Environment in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President in the White House. He has also served as Director of the Science Division and Chief Scientist for the Office of Mission to Planet Earth at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Dr. Watson has been Chair or Co-Chair of various international associations including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the GEF’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, the IPCC Working Group II, the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization (UNEP-WMO), and UNEP’s Global Biodiversity Assessment. His contributions in science have earned Dr. Watson a number of international awards including the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility and the insignia of Honorary Companion of St. Michael and St. George from the British Government. Dr. Watson earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from London University.

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