Steering Committee
Andre Leu, International Director of RI
Andre Leu was named international director of Regeneration International in 2017. Prior to then, he was president of IFOAM—Organics International, the international umbrella organization for the organic sector. IFOAM, which has about 850 member organisations in 127 countries, was a founding member of RI. During his tenure as president of IFOAM, Andre served on the RI steering committee.
During 40-plus years of visiting and working in more than 100 countries, Andre acquired an extensive knowledge of farming and environmental systems across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia. He and his wife, Julia, run an organic tropical fruit farm in Daintree, Australia.
Andre is an international lecturer who has spoken at the United Nations and at conferences, seminars, universities and workshops. He advises governments, industry, farmers, consumers and NGOs on the multi-functional benefits of regenerative organic agriculture.
He is the author of “Poisoning our Children” and the “Myths of Safe Pesticides.” He has contributed articles to magazines, newspapers, journals, conference proceedings, newsletters and websites.
Vandana Shiva, Navdanya
Scientist, philosopher, feminist, author, environmentalist, activist, Dr. Vandana Shiva is a one-woman movement for peace, sustainability and social justice. In 1991, Dr. Shiva founded Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources. Among Vandana Shiva's many honours is the Right Livelihood Award for her work in placing women and ecology at the center of the international development agenda. She is the author of more than 300 papers in leading scientific and technical journals, and her book-length publications.
Hans Herren, Millennium Institute
Hans Herren is a Swiss entomologist, farmer and development specialist. He was the first Swiss to receive the 1995 World Food Prize and the 2013 Right Livelihood Award for leading a major biological pest management campaign in Africa, successfully fighting the Cassava mealybug and averting averting Africa’s worst-ever food crisis. Herren is the president and CEO of the Washington-based Millennium Institute and co-founder and president of the Swiss foundation Biovision.
Ronnie Cummins, OCA
Ronnie Cummins is co-founder and International Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and its Mexico affiliate Via Organica. Ronnie has been active as a writer and activist since the 1960s, with extensive experience in public education, grassroots mobilization and marketplace pressure campaigns. Over the past two decades he has served as director of US and international campaigns dealing with sustainable agriculture issues including food safety, genetic engineering, factory farming, and global warming.
Precious Phiri, Earth Wisdom
Precious is a training and development specialist in regenerative environmental issues and community organizing. She recently founded an organization called EarthWisdom a network, which she formed immediately after her full time nine-year career with Savory hub in Zimbabwe. Her vast experience in education and mobilizing communal populations and implementing institutions in Zimbabwe and Africa in restorative farming programs using Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) is the force behind her network. Her work currently focuses on training rural communities and collaborating with networks in Africa to reduce poverty, rebuild soils, and restore food and water security for people, livestock and wildlife.
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Main Street Project
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is the principal architect of the poultry-centered regenerative agriculture model promoted by the Main Street Project, of which he is chief strategy officer. A native of Guatemala, Reginaldo earned his agronomy degree from the Central National School of Agriculture in Guatemala, and degrees in international business administration and communications from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Twin Cities International Citizens of the Year (1996), and the Northfield, Minnesota, Service to Mankind Award (SERTOMA), 2008. He serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Conservation Core of Minnesota and Iowa. He is a founding member of Regeneration International and Regeneration Guatemala.
Renate Künast, Chairwoman in Bundestag (German Parliament)
Renate Künast is a German politician of Alliance '90/The Greens. She was the Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture from 2001 to 2005, and now serves as chairwoman of her party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Always taking a firm stand, she has put herself fully behind the Save Our Soils campaign. "Healthy soil is the key to global food security. Compost is the new gold."
Ercilia Sahores
Ercilia is a founding member of Regeneration International and Latin American Director for Regeneration International. A beekeeper and Political Scientist from Argentina, specialized in International Relations, adult education and community development, Ercilia has worked as Executive Director for several grassroots organizations in Latin America and has over 15 years of experience campaigning and organizing in lower income communities and rural areas. She serves on several nonprofit boards, including Caminos de Agua in Guanajuato, México.
John D. Liu, EEMP
John D. Liu is director of the Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP), ecosystem ambassador for the Commonland Foundation and a visiting research fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1997, John founded the Environmental Education Media Project to help educate the public about environmental and ecological issues first in China and then worldwide, producing, directing, writing, filming and presenting many ecological films broadcast worldwide.
Steve Rye, Mercola.com
Steve A. Rye, is CEO of Mercola Health Resources, a source of health articles, optimal wellness products, medical news, and natural e-newsletter from natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola. Together Steve and Dr. Mercola have grown Mercola.com to the #1 most visited natural health website in the world. Mercola Health is dedicated to giving back to the community and partnering with key organizations who educate the public on important health, food safety, and informed consent issues.