The 2024 MBArk2Boulder Sustainability & Food Leadership Conference featured 2 full days and 2 half-days of scintillating activity. Registration and all events were at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, 995 Regent Drive in Boulder, except as otherwise noted.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
- Travel day for those coming from out of town; plan to arrive at University of Colorado for check-in:
- Noon to 3:00pm at Olson Atrium of Rustandy Hall, behind Koelbel Hall at 995 Regent Drive in Boulder – Northeast entry door
- After 3:30pm at CASE Auditorium, 1725 Euclid Avenue in Boulder – 4th floor
- Dinner at CASE Auditorium at 6:00pm (arrive at 5) followed by opening keynote by Elizabeth Horvath, North American VP of Marketing for Kerry Foods: One Global Company’s Ambition to Deliver Sustainable Nutrition to Billions
Thursday, January 4, 2024
- Fields trips leave from Koelbel Hall at 8:30am – please note that as of 12/20 the field trips are all full, but we have started a waiting list since it is entirely possible that seats will open up.
- Route A
- Bobo’s Oat Bar Bakery: state-of-the-art 125,000 square foot facility with a great ESG story to tell (Loveland, CO)
Bobo’s Bakery - Full Metal Canning: USDA Organic canning facility that does in-line carbonation and nitrogen dosing; Bon Bee Honey production facility (Longmont, CO)
- stop at Whole Foods in Boulder to pick out your own lunch
- Bobo’s Oat Bar Bakery: state-of-the-art 125,000 square foot facility with a great ESG story to tell (Loveland, CO)
- Route B
- CSU Spur: $500 million facility featuring controlled environment horticulture; soil, water and plant testing lab; Terra kitchen; veterinary surgery center with viewing area; hydro exhibits and more (Denver, CO)
- Pick-your-own lunch at CU Tower Garden Greenhouse
- Rudi’s Bakery: tour plus custom grilled cheese sandwiches (Boulder, CO)
harvest your lunch at CU Tower Garden Greenhouse
- Route C
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory: personalized tour (Golden, CO)
- CSU Spur: see above (Denver, CO)
- stop at Rosetta Food Hall to pick out your own lunch
- Route A
- 2:00-2:55pm:
- Climate Change and Climate Change Solutions at the Land Surface with David Lawrence (National Center for Atmospheric Research) ROOM R352
- Sustainability Employment Outlook, Tips and Tricks with Brandon Rowold (KeHE Distributors) and Miguel Oliveira (Danone) ROOM ECCS 201
- 3:00-3:55pm:
- In the Wake of COP 28: AI, Methane, and the Renewable Energy-Food Axis with Sara Axelrod (Crusoe Energy, formerly with Ball Corporation and Land O’ Lakes) ROOM R352
- Marketing in the World of Sustainable Food with Christina Ra (Meati Foods), Clint Mickel (Vital Proteins), and Shelby Layne (formerly Bolthouse Farms) ROOM ECCS 201
- 4:00-4:55pm:
- Loving Life After Whole Foods: The Promise of Integrated Health and Wellness with Betsy Foster (Love.Life!) ROOM ECCS 201
- 5:00-5:55pm:
- Rising to the Leadership Challenge: The Big Turnaround at Rudi’s with Jane Miller and Lauren Start (Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery) ROOM ECCS 201
- 6:45pm: optional small group dinners at restaurants around Boulder, hosted by CEOs
Friday, January 5, 2024
- 8:30-9:00am:
- Tour of a KeHE delivery truck – in Koelbel Hall loading dock
- 9:00-9:55am:
- Networking breakfast
- 10:00-11:25am:
- A Look Back at Organic Certification, a Look Ahead to Regenerative Organic Certification with Kathleen Merrigan (Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems and former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture), Mark Retzloff (Natural Habitats Group and organic pioneer) and Jen Berliner (Patagonia Provisions) ROOM ECCS 201
- 11:30am-12:25pm:
- Looping into the World of Circularity and Upcycling with Tom Szaky (TerraCycle and Loop)* ROOM R352
- The Seven Deadly Mistakes of New Product Development with Denis Ring (OCHO Candy and BODE) ROOM ECCS 201
- 12:30-1:25pm:
- Lunch
- 1:30-2:25pm:
- Growing Together Through Community Gardens with Linda Appel Lipsius (Denver Urban Gardens) ROOM R352
- Backbone of the Food Industry: The Strategy Behind the Supply Chain with Amy Kirtland (KeHE Distributors) ROOM ECCS 201
- 2:30-3:25pm:
- Undercover Crops: The Promise of Agrivoltaics with Jordan Macknick (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) ROOM ECCS 201
- 3:30-4:25pm:
- Technology Meets Regenerative Ag with Dr. Eugene Kelly (Colorado State University) ROOM R352
- 4:30-5:25pm:
- The High Ceiling for Mycelium: Innovations at Meati with Morrad Fadel (Meati Foods) ROOM R352
- Food Entrepreneurship Panel with David Neuman (formerly Dave’s Gourmet, Lucini, and Nature’s Path); Christine Dahm (formerly Noosa, Power Bar and Nestle); Dr. Tom Dean (Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprise at Colorado State University; and Dr. Jeffrey York (Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives at University of Colorado Boulder) ROOM ECCS 201
- 5:30-6:25pm
- Growing Crops and Kids: Green Bronx Machine with Stephen Ritz (Green Bronx Machine) ROOM ECCS 201
- Dinner: on your own, but optional ice skating and free ice cream
Saturday, January 6, 2024
- 9:30-10:25am:
- Pink Sauce and Other Hard-to-Believe Stories from a Career in Natural and Gourmet Foods with David Neuman (formerly Dave’s Gourmet, Lucini, and Nature’s Path) ROOM R352
- 10:30-11:25am:
- 2024 Food Industry Trends and Outlook with Doug Radi (Sweet Loren’s) ROOM R352
- 11:30am-11:55am: Wrap-up ROOM R352
Here are the full agendas from MBArk2Boulder 2023, 2020 and 2019.