Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Food Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Control Sector

Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Control sector at Abu Dhabi Food Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) in 2017, she was the Executive Director of the Policy and Regulation sector for 8 years (2008 -2016). As a decision maker, she has led the establishment of the policy and regulatory platform pertaining to the agriculture and food safety domains within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and has strong engagement in setting the strategic plan for the Authority as well as capacity building. Dr Mariam is a board member of the Zoo and Aquarium Public Institution in Al Ain in UAE since 2017. Dr. Mariam has previously occupied the post of the Assistant Director General of the Food Safety Sector during 2006-2007; prior to this, in 2002, she worked in the United Arab Emirates University as Assistant Professor in the College of Science, Department of Chemistry. In 2004 she worked as Director of Research in Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine. Dr.Mariam received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry/Physics, University of the United Arab Emirates in 1989; and Master of Science in Environmental Sciences, UAE University in 1995; and her PhD in Chemistry of Medicinal Plants from the University of Portsmouth, UK, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, in 2002; and received her second Master’s degree in Security and Strategic Studies, from the National Defense college in UAE in 2016.

Chairperson, Committee on World Food Security

Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University

Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health (Emerita) at New York University. She chaired the department from 1988-2003 before officially retiring in September 2017.  She is also a Visiting Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. 

Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department, FAO

Dr. Máximo Torero Cullen is the Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department (ES) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) since January 2019. Prior to joining FAO, he was the World Bank Group Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay since November 2016 and before the Bank Dr. Torero led the Division of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). His major research work lies mostly in analyzing poverty, inequality, importance of geography and assets (private or public) in explaining poverty, and in policies oriented towards poverty alleviation based on the role played by infrastructure, institutions, and on how technological breakthroughs (or discontinuities) can improve the welfare of households and small farmers. His experience encompasses Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

Co-Chair of the Multistakeholder Advisory Committee of the One Planet (10YFP) Sustainable Food Systems Programme, Switzerland

Patrick Mink is a Senior Policy Officer at the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), in the International Affairs and Food Security Unit, which he joined in 2013. In this position he was closely involved in the process for defining the Sustainable Development Goals. He has been playing an active role in the development and implementation of the One Planet (10YFP) Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme, ensuring its management and coordination as part of Switzerland’s role as Co-Lead of that Programme. Before joining FOAG he held positions in the UN system as well as with civil society organizations, working on areas including agro-biodiversity and rural development. He has a Master degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

Alexander McFarlane Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

Patrick Webb is engaged in research and policy guidance around the globe as Director for USAID’s Feed the Future Nutrition Innovation Lab (studies ongoing in Nepal, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Mozambique), and leads the US Government’s Food Aid Quality Review (cost-effectiveness trials in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Malawi).  In the early 2000s, he worked for the United Nations World Food Programme as Chief of Nutrition.

Subject Matter Expert in Research, Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar

Dr Paul Amuna is a physician scientist and consultant in international nutrition and public health. A graduate of the University of Ghana medical school with postgraduate training from the University of Sheffield, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, honorary Principal Lecturer/Associate Professor at the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom (UK) and Adjunct Professor of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.

Secretary General of CIHEAM

Plácido Plaza is an Agricultural Engineer with an extensive experience in applied agronomy both in Latin America and in the Mediterranean. He has a long experience in coordinating research networks with universities, research bodies and institutions on Mediterranean Agricultural and Natural Resources-related issues. He has also managed EU-CIHEAM cooperation programs and coordinates educational and research activities in CIHEAM General Secretariat.

Swedish National Food Agency

Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering and Computer Science & Engineering, University of California, San Diego

Rob Knight is the founding Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation and is a Professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering, and Computer Science & Engineering at UC San Diego. He is the author of “Follow Your Gut: The Enormous Impact of Tiny Microbes” (Simon & Schuster, 2015), and coauthor of “Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System (St. Martin’s Press, 2017).