Our Board of Directors
Gareth Asten
Gareth is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Acre Venture Partners, a Santa Monica based venture fund focused on disruptive food companies creating better outcomes in both human and environmental health. Prior to founding Acre, Gareth was a key executive team member in multiple leveraged buyouts, including Bolthouse Farms. Early in his career Gareth worked in private equity and investment banking at Willis Stein & Partners and Lazard, respectively. Gareth holds a BS from DePaul University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Christopher Bonbright
Principal at Avison Young, honors graduate of Stanford University, Bonbright holds leadership positions with numerous civic organizations, including Board Chair of the West Hollywood Library Fund, Vice-Chair of the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau, director and former President of the Hollywood Property Owners Association and Business Improvement District, and former Chair of the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission.
Pedro Diniz
Founder Fazenda Da Toca and Instituto Toca. An agroforester, businessman, and former Formula 1 racing driver. Transformed his family farm into Fazenda da Toca, a large-scale organic farm in Brazil’s São Paulo state, and one of the country’s leading producers of organic eggs, dairy, and fruit. Pedro established the Instituto Toca, a non-profit school and research initiative that aims to “educate to transform.” Pedro serves as a Board Member and Shareholder for Peninsula Participações and as a Board Member for Grupo Pão de Açúcar. He is the founder of PPD Holding, an investment company focused on conscious investments.
Mollie Engelhart
Executive chef and owner of Sage Plant Based Bistro, a growing group of plant-based organic comfort food restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area. She operates a 17-acre organic farm, Sow a Heart, focused on regenerative agriculture that doubles as an animal rescue including an aviary for rescued parrots. She is also Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary film, "May I Be Frank."
Ryland Engelhart
Ryland Engelhart is a Co-Founder, President of the Board and Executive Director of Kiss The Ground. Board Member/Co-Owner Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre. Also a co-creator of the award-winning, transformational documentary film, “May I Be Frank.” An entrepreneur and activist, using his restaurants as a platform to inspire more "gratitude" into our culture. He speaks on sacred commerce, tools for building community, and regeneration.
Michael Gargano
Managing Director, Argent Ventures LLC. Advisor to the NYS Empire State Development Corp. and the Shubert Organization. He is a member of the Board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Hollywood Property Owners Alliance. Mr. Gargano earned a J.D. from Boston University.
Christopher Lindstrom
An investor and a funder of systemic change, regenerative community, agriculture, and the evolution of consciousness. A strategist and funder in the new economy movement since 2003, when he was a volunteer for the E. F. Schumacher Society. Served on the boards of the David Rockefeller Fund and Slow Money, and currently on the board of Solar CITIES and the Foundation for Agricultural Integrity. Co-founder of CyclEffect Regenerative Ventures, a multi-stakeholder venture cooperative that invests in regenerative startups.
Tim Nett
Partner; Streamland Media. A serial entrepreneur who has spent the majority of his career in the areas of entertainment and advertising. Founder of Trailer Park Inc, which became the largest entertainment marketing company in the world. Board member of Absaroka Energy – a renewable energy company making wind and solar power more efficient and viable.
Elizabeth "Mimi" Riley
Founder, Creative Director and CEO of Phills & Riley, a creative agency. Phills & Riley provides a broad range of creative services, including production, campaign development and execution, website, app, and online platform design and branding. Also Executive Producer, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, of www.wondersofthesea3d.com - a 3D underwater odyssey that features Jean-Michel Cousteau and his children as they embark on a voyage to discover the ocean and learn about the threats that put our oceans at risk.
Katy Saeger
CEO of Harmonica, an integrated agency where PR, social, influencers and media work together seamlessly. From Madison Avenue to Silicon Valley to Mt. Everest, Katy has followed her heart, building and scaling Fortune 10 companies and garage start-ups alike. From PepsiCo to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Wanderlust Festival to MakerFaire, Capitol Records to Caulipower, Jamba Juice to Liverpool Jeans -- Harmonica clients are icons of wellness, lifestyle, technology and culture.
Lauren Tucker
Director of Product Development at White Buffalo Land Trust. Co- Founder and Past E.D. of Kiss the Ground. An entrepreneur and community organizer with extensive experience in the nonprofit sector. Her lifelong pursuit is working with people to regenerate ecosystems, grow healthier food, and balance our carbon cycle. B.A. in international studies and psychology from American University and has extensively studied permaculture design and regenerative agriculture. Co-Founder of Orbit Homes.us.
Matthew Wiggins
Remedy Partners is the largest contractor for the federal government in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)'s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative - which is the most bipartisan initiative inside the Affordable Care Act.