Danielle Nierenberg

President, Food Tank

Danielle Nierenberg is a world-renowned researcher, speaker, and advocate on all issues relating to our food system and agriculture. In 2013, Danielle Nierenberg co-founded Food Tank (foodtank.com) with Bernard Pollack, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Food Tank is a global convener, thought leadership organization, and unbiased creator of original research impacting the food system.

Danielle has an M.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and spent two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. Danielle is the recipient of the 2020 Julia Child Award.

Larry Baldwin

Pure Farms, Pure Waters (PFPW) Coordinator, Waterkeeper Alliance

Larry Baldwin serves as Waterkeeper Alliance’s Pure Farms, Pure Waters (PFPW) Coordinator in North Carolina.  He works with the 15 licensed Waterkeeper Alliance groups in North Carolina in their efforts to reform the current polluting practices of the industrial meat producing facilities, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. 

Larry previously served as the Lower Neuse Riverkeeper from 2002 – 2011.  Larry started working for Waterkeeper Alliance in 2011, and after five years in this role, Larry, along with several others, started the Coastal Carolina Riverwatch organization, where he served as both Executive Director and Crystal Coast Waterkeeper.  The opportunity arose for him to return to his role with Waterkeeper Alliance, a role he fills currently. 

Larry grew up in western Maryland and has a direct relationship with the Potomac River and tributaries as well as the Chesapeake Bay.  He also grew up with a great admiration for Jacques Cousteau, from which his connection to water was planted deeply.  The love of water and the value it plays in everyday life is what inspired him to pursue a career in water protection.  This career is now a passion and working with Waterkeeper Alliance has been the best way to work in that arena. 

Before joining the Waterkeeper movement, Larry spent 22 years in manufacturing and warehousing management, far different from his true calling.  But even then, he worked as a volunteer for environmental organizations in and around Maryland. 

Larry lives in New Bern, NC with his wife and enjoys spending time with his three grandsons. 

Katie Garvey

Staff Attorney, Environmental Law and Policy Center

Katie Garvey is a Staff Attorney in ELPC’s Chicago office. She works to keep the Midwest’s waters clean and safe, including from agricultural runoff. During law school, Katie interned for Judge Lawrence M. McKenna for the South District of New York, as well as for Food and Water Watch, and she served as the Membership Editor for the Northwestern University Law Review. Before joining ELPC, Katie was a litigator at the Sidley Austin law firm handling complex cases and enforcement actions in federal and state courts around the country. There, she was awarded the Morsch Award and the Northern District of Illinois’ Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service for her work in prisoners’ and immigration rights. 

Claire Hruby

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Sustainability, Drake University

Claire Hruby was hired as an Assistant Professor at Drake University in the Environmental Science and Sustainability Department in the fall of 2023. She previously worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 20 years where she coordinated the ambient groundwater monitoring program and participated in statewide PFAS assessment in public wells. Her Soil and Water Assessment Team is currently working on multiple research grants across Iowa. 

Lu Liu

Assistant Professor in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department, Iowa State University

Dr. Lu Liu (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on the impact of climate change on water resources and adaptations in the water sector to climate change. Her research group seeks to facilitate sustainable water resource planning via robust decision-making tool development and active science-policy integration. 

Wally Taylor

Attorney, Iowa Sierra Club

Wally Taylor is an attorney in Cedar Rapids. He has been practicing environmental law for 40 years. Wally has been engaged in cases involving the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, land use issues, and energy and public utility issues. Currently, Wally is litigating the permitting of a carbon dioxide pipeline proposed to be constructed in Iowa. He has successfully challenged the nutrient management plan of a large cattle operation in Clayton County near an outstanding trout stream, and two proposed storage facilities for nuclear waste in Texas and New Mexico. In the past, he has challenged the operation of a hog confinement operation in Allamakee County near French Creek, another outstanding trout stream, the permitting of the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline, the construction of the Highway 100 extension in Linn County through a county nature preserve, and the relicensing of the Duane Arnold Energy Center. Wally is also currently addressing the issue of excessive use of Iowa’s groundwater from our aquifers.

Clark Wolf

Professor of Philosophy and Chair, Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University

Clark Wolf is a political philosopher who works on issues in practical policy choice, sustainable food/energy/water infrastructure policy, regulation of biotechnology, ethical practice of scientific research, jurisprudence, and philosophy of economics.