Dr Ada Ignaciuk, Senior Economist / Policy Analyst (Climate Chance and Agriculture) at the OECD, previously held a similar role at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). At the FAO, she led the CSA-EPIC team and focused on the economics of climate change and sustainable food production.

Dr Ignaciuk earned her PhD from Wageningen University, analysing the bioenergy market. With experience at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, she specialises in quantitative assessment of environmental policies.

At the OECD, she provided scientific, technical and policy guidance on climate-friendly agricultural policies.

Dr. Katarzyna Zawalinska is the Research Director at the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development (IRWiR PAN) at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She holds a habilitation and a PhD in Economics from the University of Warsaw and an MPhil in Development from Cambridge University (Corpus Christi College). 

From 2010 to 2013, Dr. Zawalinska served as an Assistant Professor at the Centre for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG) at the University of Warsaw and continues to collaborate with EUROREG on projects, including "Regional Input-Output Tables as a Research Tool for Analyses of Smart Growth." Her primary research interests include regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling, the evaluation of regional and rural policies, agricultural policy, development economics, and productivity analysis.

Dr. Zawalinska has an extensive publication record in many reputable journals. She has led and participated in numerous research and evaluation projects at both national and international levels, including collaborations with ESPON, the World Bank, and the European Commission. Additionally, she served as a member of the Advisory Board on Rural and Agricultural Development to the President of Poland and was a member of the European Science Foundation's Social Sciences Committee.

Alison has a unique suite of experiences and education which combine to create her passion for community resilience through growing food within planetary boundaries. 

After spending her developing years in family agriculture and horticulture, supported by the family vege garden, her choice to study landscape design was a move away from monoculture.  Alison's first real immersion in ecosystems was during her 10 years in the scuba diving industry, which was followed by more study in environmental resource management. This led to a true understanding of the importance and scope of biodiversity, which drove her motivation to dig deeply into soil ecosystems in the food growing context.

As a small scale regenerative farmer Alison lives with the ethic of "respect for planet and communities" and is at the cutting edge of the challenges faced by small scale growers in New Zealand. Participating in two Rural Leaders programmes in the last two years took her knowledge to the next level.

Having managed the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's hazelnut field trial for their low nitrogen land use programme, Alison is now in a transition role off-farm while seeking her next position combining foodscapes in communities. She simultaneously runs Tikitere Farm which continues to be a trial platform, currently for syntropic growing systems and landshare arrangements.

Dr. Zawalinska has an extensive publication record in many reputable journals. She has led and participated in numerous research and evaluation projects at both national and international levels, including collaborations with ESPON, the World Bank, and the European Commission. Additionally, she served as a member of the Advisory Board on Rural and Agricultural Development to the President of Poland and was a member of the European Science Foundation's Social Sciences Committee.

Angela’s life-long mission has been to reconnect people to the land and the ocean, through food.

She is the CEO of Eat New Zealand, Aotearoa’s not for profit food movement. Their constituency includes many food businesses; farmers & fishers, community organisations, small & medium food producers, hospitality & tourism operators, chefs and eaters.

Their activations include a national hui on the food system in Aotearoa, and a cohort of over 100 next generation food leaders called the Kaitaki. They run Feast Matariki, a celebration of our indigenous food ways and stories . They also work with local, regional, and national government on local food, food tourism, food security and food systems in general.

Angela is a 2024 semi-finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Environmental Hero award. She has been considered as one of the Top 50 Most Influential & Inspiring Women in Food & Drink in NZ by Cuisine Magazine for the last two years in a row.

She is also a NZ Food Waste Champion, a coalition determined to halve food waste by 2030 in Aotearoa, recognising the impact it has on climate change. She has a national profile in local food systems and was Aotearoa’s Arable Food Champion in 2022, an award given in recognition of her work towards a local grain economy. She was part of a leadership group considering a values-based framework, or national food strategy for Aotearoa, and continues to call on the government for a strategically designed and fair food system.

She has developed a model for a mana-centered food system that seeks regeneration beyond the farm gate, moving out into the rest of the supply chain, supporting everyone from farmers to all eaters.

Angela owns The Food Farm in North Canterbury, a Permaculture property where she grows food with her family, and they teach others to do the same.

Mark is a sustainability, biodiversity and environmental leader with nearly 20 years' experience, specialising in the nature sector, and a proven track record in delivering strategic initiatives across private and public sectors.  His career started in marine science primary research, moving into environmental impact assessment for mining, coal seam gas, deepwater oil and gas, fisheries and farming. His leadership roles included the development and growth of Ravensdown's environmental consulting arm before moving to DOC where he held multiple senior manager and director roles in biodiversity science and partnerships.

Mark's passion is supporting the mobilisation and collaboration of effort, along with appropriate investment of sustainable funding into climate and nature related programs of work. His role at the Circle is focussed on the implementation of our work programs.

Cerasela works with private sector and government organisations on sustainability solutions and integration of natural capital and ecosystem services in policy and business decisions, including performance measurement and disclosure. She is focused on investment for impact as a viable concept for landscape level solutions in New Zealand and working with interested partied on supporting actions at the nexus between water, food and carbon.