DIG’s Cultivating Conversations Virtual Global Summit

Thursday | 10.24.24 | 8:00PM ET | 5:00PM PT
Join DIG for an interactive virtual experience at our First Annual Global Summit!
This FREE event will bring our community of supporters together with DIG’s Country Program Leaders and a dynamic panel of subject matter experts working in the field of food and food systems.
Register Today

Cultivating Conversations: Virtual Global Summit 

It’s clearer than ever that our local and global food systems are inextricably linked, forming a complex web that demands our collective attention and effort. The work DIG is doing is a vital part of this broader conversation, but true progress hinges on all of us collaborating, both near and far.

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, join DIG for an interactive virtual experience where we explore the theme:

“A Better World Is Rooted In Food: uniting local and global efforts to realign our food systems for a sustainable and nourishing future.” 

Hear from local and global experts working in agriculture and food systems, meet and learn from DIG’s country team leaders, and engage with the inspired community of supporters DIG has cultivated around the world.

To Get Involved

Register to join us here and consider a donation towards our $200k Goal to grow DIG’s work and to extend our reach by establishing independent DIG branches in Kenya and Uganda. Donate Here 

Tickets are FREE. Please register for the interactive experience.

Register To Join Us

DIG’s Country Program Leaders

Olivia Nyaidho

Director of Global Mission & DIG Kenya Executive Director

Olivia started with DIG in 2013 with a vision for adapting and expanding our programs in Western Kenya. Her expertise is in sustainable agriculture, environmental management, community based agribusiness, gender equity, and monitoring and evaluation. She is a governing board member of PELUM Kenya, a network of organizations promoting agro-ecological solutions for small holder farmers. Olivia has brought immeasurable benefits to both the organization and our farmers in the region. She has a Bachelor of science in agriculture and a Masters in project planning and management. She is married and the mother of 2 exceptional boys who are proud to see their mother leading other women towards improved health and empowerment through nutrition sensitive agriculture.

Gloria Mushabe

DIG Uganda Executive Director

Gloria is the Program Director for the Uganda DIG program. After graduating with a diploma in business from the Uganda College of Commerce in December 2017, she joined the DIG team as a facilitator the next month. Using lessons her mother taught her from childhood, Gloria’s skill and knowledge of organic agriculture made her a great teacher. Her ability to engage communities personally, commitment to high quality work, and strong leadership at staff meetings made her a standout choice for coordinator. She has seen 20 groups through farmer field schools and she is motivated to continue expanding the reach of the program to more communities

Seckou Badji

Senegal Program Director

Seckou was trained in DIG’s Farmer Field School Program in 2019 and joined in 2020. Prior to joining DIG, Seckou was living and working in Senegal's capital, Dakar. Through his work, he started to become interested in community development and wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Coming back to his birthplace, Ziguinchor, Seckou was eager to get involved in the community and joined DIG’s Farmer Field School. From farmer to facilitator, Today, Seckou is DIG’s Program Manager and leads our program in Senegal.

Subject Matter Experts Joining Us

shane bernardo

Co-founder of Food As Healing | Grower | Facilitator

shane bernardo is a co-founder of Food As Healing, a social movement based on ancestral, Earth-based traditions that are critical for maintaining our identities, sense of belonging, health and wholeness. shane is also a grower, anti-oppression facilitator, storyteller and cultural organizer based in Detroit, Michigan that uses food and the stories embedded within them as mediums for healing and decolonizing.

Brad BuchananBrad Buchanan

Rancher | CEO of the National Western Center Authority

Brad Buchanan is the CEO of the National Western Center Authority. Appointed in 2018, he is responsible for crafting the 250-acre National Western Center campus into a year-round, global destination for culture, entertainment, education and agribusiness innovation. Brad has extensive experience in planning, development, agriculture, community building, entrepreneurship and organizational leadership. An architect by trade, he served as Denver’s planning director from 2014- 2018 after working in design and construction in Denver for more than 25 years. He and his family own and operate Flying B Bar Ranch in Strasburg, Colorado, where they raise grass-fed cattle.

nayomi cawthorne

Food Systems | Health Equity | Community Development

nayomi cawthorne is an organizer and grower based in Detroit, Michigan. She has volunteered on and managed farms in Detroit, West Virginia, India, Palestine, and Guatemala and led community development efforts in health equity and environmental justice in Detroit. She studies Sustainability and Development at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, focusing on food sovereignty, environmental justice, and international development.

Sarah Koch

Executive Director of DIG

In 2006, while serving in the US Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, Sarah co-founded DIG. Her Peace Corps experience emphasized community-centered development which conflicted with more traditional Western development models she saw being implemented. Both offered important perspectives and fueled her determination to establish a different approach as a global development organization. Prioritizing trust and collaboration, Sarah's passion lies in empowering communities to lead their own solutions, while striving to connect our local and global stories and understand our collaborative role in generating positive change.

Nichole Lupo

School Farm Specialist

Nichole Lupe works to connect students to the land through hands-on garden classrooms. Her work in Farm to School programs is building a generation of students who are not only passionate about sustainability but actively engaged in growing a healthier future. Prior to being a teacher at ANCS she worked at the Wylde Center as the Farm to School Manager, where she taught students in City Schools of Decatur in their garden classrooms, implemented two district-wide taste tests each year, and managed high school summer interns at farms, restaurants, and farmers markets around Decatur and Atlanta.

Asata Reid

Chef | Activist | Farm to Early Care Educator

Chef Asata believes that successful intervention and prevention strategies begin with tailoring the education to the recipient's needs. A longtime community advocate, she has worked across the demographic spectrum to deliver practical and useful health education that encourages sustainable behavioral change toward better health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Chef Asata was co-host on WABE's podcast, "Savory Stories," which explores Atlanta's people, cuisine, and food history.

DIG’s 2024 Global Summit Signature Cocktails

No DIG gathering is complete without something to inspire our tastebuds. We invite you to prep your bar and mix one or both of our 2024 Global Summit signature cocktail with us. Let’s toast to a better world rooted in food.

The New Age

  • 2 oz of Tepache*
  • 2 oz of Rye Whisky
  • 3/4 oz of Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz of Agave

Mix & serve on the rocks with a lemon twist

Cocktail Inspiration

Tepache is a fermented beverage made from pineapple scraps. It’s bright and flavorful, weaving the story of Mexican American food culture with an invitation to reconsider our food waste. Consuming fermented foods also promotes a healthy gut biome, we can happily toast to that!

*Make your own tepache or pick some up from your local Mexican grocery.

DIG’s 2024 Global Summit Signature Cocktails

No DIG gathering is complete without something to inspire our tastebuds. We invite you to prep your bar and mix one or both of our 2024 Global Summit signature cocktail with us. Let’s toast to a better world rooted in food.

Replenish

1 1/2 oz Vodka

1 oz Filtered Gazpacho

1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice

Mix & serve chilled in a martini glass

Cocktail Inspiration

Inspired by Spain’s garden forward chilled soup, this cocktail is a lot like a bloody mary. It’s hearty, nutritious, and a nod to summer, a season we are effectively lengthening as climate change impacts our planet. Packed full of nutrient rich produce, Gazpacho reminds us to eat and appreciate more vegetables in our meals…and drinks!

Together, We Can Set A Bigger Table.

As DIG prepares to celebrate our 20th anniversary in 2026, we are raising money to launch independent DIG branches in Kenya and Uganda and ensure our ability to expand our reach.

Help us reach our $200k Goal with a 100% tax deductible donation today.

Donate Today

The 2024 DIG Salon Series

The DIG Salon Series 

DIG’s Cultivating Conversations Virtual Global Summit 

Cultivating Conversations Global Summit