Eric has led the Piedmont Food Processing Center since 2015, transforming it into a nationally recognized hub for food entrepreneurs. He founded NC Foodways and the NC Network of Incubator Kitchens to strengthen local food systems. A former biotech entrepreneur and elected official, he now lives in Hillsborough and enjoys playing jazz trumpet in his free time.

Bio and photo coming soon!

Food Equity Collaborative (FEC) was founded by Dr. Alice Ammerman, the Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill and director of UNC’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her work focuses on food insecurity and the role of sustainable food systems in health, the environment, and economic well-being. Before founding FEC, Dr. Ammerman established Equiti Foods, a for-profit social enterprise that collaborates with FEC to advance shared goals.

Don Rose is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Alexandria, with extensive experience launching and growing life science startups. As Director of UNC’s KickStart program, he helped spin out 80 companies that raised over $500M. He is also a Professor of the Practice at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and author of Research to Revenue: A Practical Guide to University Start-ups. Previously, he held leadership roles at Metabolon, Deerac Fluidics, and DataCentric Automation. He co-founded Phase Bioscience and Cartesian Technologies and was a research scientist at Glaxo Wellcome and Hewlett-Packard. Dr. Rose holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry and a B.S. in Nutrition from UNC.ere

Linden is a food systems planner, practitioner, and activist. She holds a PhD in Nutrition Intervention and Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill, and she relishes the opportunity to work across disciplines, social agendas, and geographies to build programs, policies, research, and connections that promote the health and wellbeing of communities. She has a particular passion for supporting schools’, students’, and families’ efforts to grow school food systems that support community wellbeing from farm to school to child. Linden co-founded Food Insight Group (FIG) and Upstream Works Collaborative (UWC), and has served as school nutrition administrator in several North Carolina school districts. 

Bio and photo coming soon!

Wendy is a newly minted entrepreneur, a recovering researcher and retired corporate affairs professional. In each of these roles she has managed to incorporate her passion for anti-hunger initiatives. Her experiences have spanned the sectors of state government, federal government, and private industry. She holds a PhD in Nutrition with a minor in Public Health Policy, a MPH in Nutrition and a BA from Chemistry all from the University of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill.