Alice Waters is a chef, author, food activist, and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California. She has been a champion of local sustainable agriculture for over four decades. In 1995 she founded the Edible Schoolyard Project, which advocates for a free school lunch for all children and a sustainable food curriculum in every public school. She has been Vice President of Slow Food International since 2002. She conceived and helped create the Yale Sustainable Food Project in 2003, and the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome in 2007. Her honors include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007; the Harvard Medical School’s Global Environmental Citizen Award, which she shared with Kofi Annan in 2008; induction into the French Legion of Honor in 2010; and induction into the National Woman’s hall of Fame in 2017. In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama, proving that eating is a political act, and that the table is a powerful means to social justice and positive change. Alice was most recently awarded the honor of “Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana” in 2019. Alice is the author of fifteen books, including New York Times bestsellers The Art of Simple Food I & II, The Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea, and, a memoir, Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook.
Allison Hess is the Vice President of Health Services at Geisinger. She has been part of the Geisinger family for 12 years and is responsible for the oversight and implementation of health and wellness programs for Geisinger patients and insured members, employees and community members. She started her career in community health education/corporate wellness and has continued to expand to include community-based population health initiatives driven by data analysis and clinical outcome measurements.
Ms. Hess earned her bachelor of science in Health Education with a concentration in Psychology from Bloomsburg University. She is currently pursuing her MBA and has been recognized for her leadership within the organization. She has been the recipient of several awards focused in various areas of health including health equity, worksite wellness and supply chain. She has also been recognized nationally for her work with the Fresh Food Farmacy program.
Ms. Hess has 20 years of experience in the health and wellness field. Her most recent work involves community based strategies impacting food insecurity and other social determinants of health. She is deeply committed to the health and wellbeing our patients, members and communities.