Gathering Speakers
Kelly D. Cain, Ph.D.
Director, St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development
Professor, Environmental Science & Management
University of Wisconsin - River Falls
www.uwrf.edu/sustain/
Kelly is a Professor in Environmental Science & Management.
as well as the Sustainability Coordinator for the campus and co-coordinator for the Masters Degree program in
Sustainable Community Development, launched in May of 2006. Kelly is actively involved in community outreach
and consulting in the St. Croix region, nationally and internationally with public, private, and non-profit clients on
green design, entrepreneurial business models, strategic and comprehensive planning, and community development,
as well as permaculture-based lifestyles
Nate Hagens
Nate Hagens speaks internationally on issues pertaining to energy, the economy and sustainability. He recently
completed his PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont where he focused on the relationship of
natural and human capital in replacing financial capital during societal transitions. Previously Nate was a Vice
President at Lehman Brothers and Salomon Brothers in New York. He now lives locally in Bay City and is editor of
the energy discussion portal www.theoildrum.com .
Kenneth A. Meter, MPA, President
Ken Meter is one of the most experienced food system analysts in the United States. His work integrates market
analysis, business development, systems thinking, and social concerns. As president of Crossroads Resource
Center, Meter holds 39 years experience in inner-city and rural community capacity building.
Ken Meter serves as a consultant to the USDA, EPA, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and several
universities. He manages the grant review panel for USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program.
http://www.crcworks.org/?submit=about
Dr. Ed Ward
Dr. Ed Ward is a Doctor of Medicine with combined medicine and pediatrics residency.
He has an interest in complex patients of all ages, with particular interests in travel and wilderness medicine, under
served populations, infectious diseases and social determinants of health. Formerly was Medical Advisor, Rio
Grande County Colorado Department of Public Health.
Combined medicine and pediatrics residency, University of North Carolina Hospitals
Johns Hopkins university school of medicine, Doctor of Medicine
Bs Anthropology, summa cum laude, Kansas State University
Doctors without Borders volunteer in Africa mamba point hospital, Monrovia, Liberia
http://www.fairview.org/ceii/provider/details.asp?provider=2520279&address=7638346
Beth Mercer-Taylor
Institute on the Environment
Beth Mercer-Taylor is the sustainability education coordinator at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She
administers the Sustainability Studies Minor, an interdisciplinary, free-standing program with nearly 200
undergraduates enrolled. Her work involves recruiting and advising students, creating community-building
activities, coordinating the efforts of the curriculum committee that oversees the minor’s academic program, and
leading new initiatives related to sustainability on
campus. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, a master’s from U.C. Berkeley’s Goldman School
of Public Policy, and a law degree from Valparaiso University.
http://environment.umn.edu/about/ione_bios/beth_mercertaylor.html