Steve is a committed conservationist and entrepreneur who is continually searching for new ways to offer effective, innovative and affordable "green" products. He credits a hike through the San Juan Mountains of Colorado when he was twelve for inspiring his commitment to protect our public lands.

Steve has been a thought leader for over 30 years in finding ways to disrupt the status quo and increase awareness around the relationship between environmentalism and natural products.

Steve started his first business endeavor, Eco-Products, in 1990. By 2008, Eco-Products was the nation’s leading compostable foodservice products company in the USA. Eco-Products won numerous environmental awards, including the State of Colorado Gold Leadership award and The Small Business Association’s National Green Leader award. From 2008 to 2011, Eco-Products was on INC Magazine’s list of fastest growing businesses and in 2009 was The Colorado Company to Watch by Colorado Biz magazine. Eco-Products also won the Association for Corporate Growth Emerging Company Award in 2010 before they sold the business to Waddington North America (WNA) in 2012.

Personally, Steve has received prestigious awards such as Natural Foods Merchandiser’s 40 Under 40 Award, Thorne Ecological Institute’s “Champion of the Environment”, Boulder County Business Report Eco-Hero, Boulder Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year and a finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Steve is originally from Boulder, Colorado and received a Bachelor’s of Economics from Kansas University.

CEO Director Ingham’s Enterprises Sydney Australia. Member of the Board of Directors Aryzta, Dublin Ireland/Zurich Switzerland and 1908 Brands, Boulder CO. Former board member Boulder Brands, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, Atlantic General Hospital, Former COO, Interim CEO Boulder Brands. President Perdue Foods. SVP Operations and Supply Chain ConAgra Foods. SVP Operations and Supply Chain Hain Celestial Group. SVP Operations and Supply Chain Celestial Seasonings. Plant Manager Nabisco. Senior Manager Contract Manufacturing Nabisco Entrepreneur Founder and CEO National Health Management Author Getting FIT -Unleashing the Power of Fully Integrated Teams. Public speaker and Professor Leadership and Organizational Behavior Chairman and majority owner The Helm a Fully Integrated FITness app supporting a Fully Integrated approach to life

Founder of the Get FIT Movement - Redefining FITness across the multiple dimensions of individual and organizational lives. Author of award winning book: "Getting FIT - Unleasing the Power of Fully Integrated Teams"

After beginning my career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, I realized my true passion was building food and nutrition businesses. Following an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, I shifted into general management, marketing, operations, and sales roles for large and small companies in the conventional CPG and natural foods space.

I started my food career at General Mills, where I led a team to transition Chex Cereal to Gluten Free, the first national gluten-free product from a multinational CPG. From there, I held several roles that required building and turning around brands/businesses through consumer insights, execution speed, and entrepreneurial thinking, including WhiteWave Foods, Famous Brands, Abbott Nutrition, and leading multiple Natural Foods companies.

As a leader at WhiteWave (Danone), I turned Horizon Organic from a commodity milk brand into the leading milk brand in the world. At Famous Brands, I introduced strategic licensing, leading to the two most successful launches in company history, including the first nationwide plant-based vegan frozen yogurt. While a General Manager at Abbott, I drove the first growth in ZonePerfect in its history while also launching the first new Abbott brand in over 17 years, and in doing so, redesigned the innovation and go-to-market process for the entire Nutrition Division, driving $60mm to the bottom line.

In parallel with these roles, I founded MacGray, LLC, providing leadership, strategy, marketing, financial, and valuation services to businesses primarily in the food space and Private Equity groups looking to invest in the Food Space. In this role, MacGray leadership has served as interim CEO & CMO, advisor, and board member to numerous natural foods companies for well recognized natural foods companies across the country. I also mentor multiple entrepreneurs in the community as they move across crucial tipping points in business development. Driven by this track record, The University of Colorado, Boulder, recruited me to teach business classes to its undergrad and graduate populations.

I take great pride in being a community service leader and participant, a competitor in multiple sporting events, an avid cross-fitter, and a true foodie.

Tim Barklage has long been driven by purpose, passion, and a great desire to break through the status quo. In 2008, Tim co-founded BETTER LIFE (www.cleanhappens.com), a company that was an early pioneer in plant derived household cleaning and personal care products. While bootstrapping the fledgling company, he drove its marketing approach of unmatched safety, unbeatable performance, and truly environmentally friendly ingredients. Under Tim’s leadership, as CEO, the company was recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. for four consecutive years. While steering the strategy of the organization, he also led the company’s sales efforts and successfully transitioned from a 98% brick-and mortal retail presence to a 30%+ direct-to-consumer business. Subsequently, Tim led BETTER LIFE through a successful transaction event with BISSELL Homecare, and remained a full time employee and also served on the board of directors for three years after the transaction.

Tim’s approach to entrepreneurship is rooted in the belief that if authenticity is created and maintained throughout every aspect, the organization will be able to organically meet the challenges it faces. He appeared and the company received a winning bid on ABC’s Shark Tank.

Tim recently founded Greenlights, a company which focuses on helping high growth companies develop and achieve strategic objectives. He also is passionate about coaching & mentoring early stage entrepreneurs and volunteers within his community. He loves the outdoors and traveling where he can pursue his interests of trail running, skiing, mountain biking, wilderness hiking, river rafting, camping, and pretty much anything else that keeps him moving.

Stephanie Carter is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist and visionary. In 1999, Carter became one of the early pioneers of the sun protection apparel movement when she launched Boulder, Colorado based Wallaroo Hat Company. Since Wallaroo's debut, Carter has grown the company into a leading global brand, certified B Corporation, and a FedEx Small Business Grant recipient. Carter has partnered with various US organizations, such as the Skin Cancer Foundation, to provide skin cancer education, research, prevention, and screenings to communities around the country. In 2019 Carter was awarded the "Women Who Light the Community" award by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. This prestigious award recognizes women in the community who've worked to achieve outstanding things both in their own communities and around the globe. In 2020, Carter was named as a Titan100, which is an award that recognizes a premier group of 100 CEO's and C-level executives in the Colorado metropolitan area. The Titan 100 recipients demonstrate exceptional leadership, vision, passion, and influence in their field. In 2019 Carter also Co-founded PridePads Africa (pridedpads.org) in Boulder and Cameroon, Africa. PridePads provides biodegradable sanitary pads to girls and women in Cameroon, which keeps girls in school to help ensure they can complete their education. As a leader and CEO, Carter believes that it is important to value your employees and create a strong culture, which in turn creates a thriving business model.

Kerry is a serial entrepreneur with experience founding companies and building brands in such diverse fields as wind energy, software, and consumer products. Most recently, Kerry launched Love, Plants Inc., an organic ‘fancy fertilizer' business. Prior to this new business, she founded, ran, and sold Bamboobies, a business focused on eco-friendly breastfeeding support products for new mothers. A native Coloradan with a compass directing her toward businesses with environmental benefits, Kerry finds opportunities for leadership and innovation in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. She began her career at The Nature Conservancy and worked in environmentally focused venture capital and then went on to co-found or found five businesses. She now sits on the board of Street Business School, Resource Central and is an angel investor and mentor to natural products start-ups in the Boulder area. She received her BS in International Marketing from Georgetown University and MBA from the University of Virginia.

Asa is an entrepreneur that thinks outside the box in order to help companies transform from good to great.

As Director of Impact and Community, he helped EarthShare, a 35-year-old nonprofit, to rebrand and support its 500 Nonprofit Partners. This included developing a robust, high-impact investment platform to deliver financial benefits to people and the planet while expanding a network of strategic programs, campaigns, and initiatives.

Before his time at EarthShare, Asa founded Khala & Co., inventing and developing replacements for single-use plastic for food storage. Asa and Khala won multiple awards and international recognition for product innovation, exemplar non-profit partnerships, and environmental action.

During his time with Khala, Asa also served as chair of the Colorado Front Range steering committee for 1% for the Planet, helping increase brand awareness within the network and providing education on environmental incentives.

As an avid outdoorsman and former professional skier, Asa spends his time camping, skiing, and getting lost in nature with his family. He calls Broomfield, Colorado, home and is always ready for another wild adventure.

Emily McMahon is an HR Executive with experience across a diversified industry portfolio including CPG, nonprofit, post-IPO, B Corp, manufacturing, tech, consulting, and construction. She is a deep generalist by trade who specializes in building the HR function within startups, establishing programs and processes for scale and sustainability. Emily's approach and love for HR is rooted in affirming and championing HR as a strategic voice, changemaker, and business partner.

Emily founded and runs CPG HR Collective, a membership community of People Leaders from category-defining brands across F&B, Retail, DTC, and Beauty. The group is focused on redefining impact on the Talent, People Operations, and Culture landscape within the CPG industry. Members include Spindrift, Liquid Death Mountain Water, Chomps, Magic Spoon, Purely Elizabeth, Banza, Art of Tea, Once Upon A Farm, and more.

Emily holds a Masters in Strategic Human Resources Management from the University of Denver alongside HR-focused certifications including People Analytics, Crucial Conversations Trainer, and Certified Coach for Psychological Safety. She is the host of HR Doesn't Like You, a podcast delivering stories and shifting perspectives of what it truly means to be an HR Leader in the modern workplace.

Outside of her HR brain, Emily loves her two golden retrievers, strikes a healthy-ish balance of couch/gym activity, and treasures her time playing in the dirt on her land in Paradise Valley, MT.

Matt Cutter is an entrepreneur, and Founder and President of Upslope Brewing Company. In 2008, Matt set in motion to start a brewery sparked from a love of homebrewing and a strong desire to be an integral part of the craft beer revolution. Moving to Boulder from Ohio in 1991 with a plan to ski days and work nights, Matt discovered craft beer in Colorado, pursued a career in project management in the high-tech industry, and just couldn't shake the idea of starting a craft brewery from a business plan that he first wrote in 1996. Upon meeting Dany Page and Henry Wood in 2008, Upslope Brewing Company became a reality and is now the 5th largest craft brewery in Colorado and in the top 2% in the United States. Since starting the business, Upslope Brewing has achieved multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup for its premium ales and lagers.

Having always had a desire to create a company that was focused on more than the bottom line, Upslope Brewing became a Certified B Corp in 2018. B Corps businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Matt served on the board of the Colorado Brewers Guild 2017-2019 and was the Board Chair in 2019. Matt is currently on the PR and Marketing Committee of the Brewers Association.

In 2021, Matt was named a member of the Colorado Titan 100 Award, which recognizes CEO’s and C-level executives who demonstrate exceptional leadership, vision, and passion in their fields.

Don Martin, President of Bloomin Promotions was recently named as recipient of the 2023 Colorado Titan 100 award. The Titan 100 program recognizes Colorado’s Top 100 CEO’s & C-level executives. They are the area’s most accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision, and passion. Collectively the 2023 Colorado Titan 100 and their companies employ upwards of 50,000 individuals and generate over $37 billion dollars in annual revenues.

After receiving his MBA from the University of Colorado in 1992, Martin went on to start his own successful greeting card and promotional products company, Bloomin Promotions.

As a certified B-Corp, based in Boulder Colorado, Don and Bloomin Promotions have helped bring about real change within the promotional products industry.

In 2020 Martin and his partner acquired the property and founded a foodhall/pourwall in Golden CO, called The Golden Mill.

Don also owns and manages several other commercial and multifamily residential properties. He has served on numerous boards including a long tenure as President of the Board at Employment Link, a company that helps place disabled individuals into meaningful integrated employment across Colorado.

Don enjoys fine art painting, golf, tennis, and skiing.

Matt Oscamou is the Co-Founder of Weller, the top performing CBD beverage company in the US. Prior to starting Weller with his partner John Simmons, Matt founded and built the Frontier Snacks brand from the ground up; initially bootstrapping the brand and then scaling the business to over 2,500 retail locations nationwide, with success in retailers like Publix, Safeway, Wholefoods and others. With both Weller and Frontier, Matt's focus has been to drive efficiencies in business operations and production, while developing outstanding products that deliver for a wide range of consumers.

Prior to Matt's time in the CPG space he spent a decade as a Civil Engineer, managing and designing complex building projects across Colorado and California. Matt’s entrepreneurial focus, coupled with an engineering background help navigate the challenges found in any stage of growth.

A business leader with a social impact lens, Brook was responsible for implementing all business strategies for building a national brand with over 18 sku’s including: new customer acquisition, marketing, product development, operations, P&L management, facility development and zero-waste manufacturing, finance, social media, sustainable sourcing, charitable contributions, innovation, raising capital, B Corporation, Fair Trade, and NonGMO certifications, public relations, copy writing, investor relations, grassroots organizing, positioning, and corporate growth. Brook then founded Gita Giving, or GIVE, INSPIRE, TAKE ACTION - a social change platform aimed to turn Bhakti’s charitable giving into more an interactive site encouraging other to support social entrepreneurs.

Brook Eddy is also a writer, copy copywriter, and had her business memoir STEEPED: Adventures Of A Tea Entrepreneur in August 2023. She has a graduate degree in Social Policy and Non-Profit Management from the University of Michigan. She has spent her career working for social change through nonprofits, businesses, and NGOs. She is the mother of nineteen-year-old twins; practices yoga and chess, is a travel, soccer, and spicy food enthusiast, and lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Brook Eddy and Bhakti Chai have received numerous awards:

Entrepreneur Magazine – Top 5 Finalist for Entrepreneur of The Year, 2015

Ernst & Young – Top 10 Finalist for Entrepreneur of The Year, 2016

New Hope Media – Best New Product, 2013

Naturally Boulder - Best Young Business Award, 2011

North American Tea Champion – First Place (Best Iced Tea)

Sofi Gold Award Winner - Best Hot Beverage, 2012

San Francisco Chronicle - Best Chai Tea, 2013

North American Tea Champion – Silver Medal, 2015

Delicious Living Award – Best New Product, 2014

Colorado Business Magazine - Top Woman Owned Companies

Natural Products Expo – Best in Show Award, 2013

Beverage World - Bev Star Award, 2013

Colorado Business Magazine – Companies To Watch Award, 2012

BCBR - Fastest Growing Company Award

Best of Boulder – Best Chai (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)

Boulder County Business Report - Forty Under Forty Entrepreneur Award

Delicious Living – Best New Beverage, Sparkling Tea, 2015

Vegan Times – Best New Product, 2015

For more information:

www.brookeddy.com

http://www.bhaktichai.com

http://www.GitaGiving.org

With a foundation spanning over two decades in the software domain, Richard Solner has woven technical experience with entrepreneurial drive. His journey includes roles at industry titans like IBM and ventures like Seed Labs, where, with a dedicated team, he developed the official mobile applications for events such as the ESPN X Games and Lollapalooza. This trajectory led to the company's acquisition by a public entity. Richard then founded a company alongside the development of a data science platform that transformed physical spaces into digital footprints, harnessing insights from behavioral analytics and operationalized through digital twins. This innovation set the stage for LTAnalytics, enhancing data-driven operations across diverse sectors, from healthcare to entertainment. However, Richard's passion for community and connection is not limited to the digital realm. In Costa Rica, he founded Blue Zone Brewery as more than just a place for beer—it's a community hub. Beyond the brews, the venue offers elevated food and drinks, setting the stage for community interactions, shared memories, and meaningful connections. Educated at Auburn University and further refined with certifications from institutions including MIT Sloan, Richard is dedicated to making impactful strides. Through championing efficiency, he inherently supports sustainable solutions, whether in the world of software, data analysis, or community building. His endeavors underscore the belief that sustainability and efficiency are two sides of the same coin, driving the modern world forward.

Meet Chris George, a dynamic recent graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder, holding a dual degree in Marketing and Business Management, complemented by a specialized certificate in Business of Sports. Armed with a comprehensive foundation in sports industry insights, consulting expertise, coaching acumen, and business processes, Chris embodies a unique blend of skills. Driven by a passion for making a positive difference, Chris couples creative thinking and an insatiable appetite for learning, all aimed at leaving a profound impact on the ever-evolving business landscape.

Jillian Torres is a seasoned Brand Manager with a strong background in overseeing marketing efforts for multiple brands, managing finances, leading warehouse operations, and overseeing all customer support operations. She excels in streamlining processes, ensuring timely order fulfillment, maintaining positive customer relationships, and driving business growth through effective leadership and customer-centric strategies.