Tuesday, May 21st, 2019

2:50 PM - 3:30 PM

Track II: Food, Fitness, Sports and Wellness, Herscher Hall, Guerin C, Webcast

Food Innovators, Disruptors & Influencers: The Industry Change Agents and Start-Up Pioneers

Elina Fuhrman, founder, CEO + Chef, Soupelina

Sam Polk, Co-Founder & CEO, Everytable, Founder and Feast

Chef Charity Morgan, Plant Based Culinary Innovator

Andreas Wuerfel, Director US Strategic Partnerships, METRO Group

Poull Brien, Partner/Co-founder, Wild Fish Direct

Moderator - David J. Whelan, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Rebel Labs Inc.

Elina Fuhrman is a best-selling author and wellness warrior, Founder, CEO + Chef of Soupelina, and cancer conqueror. While revered among Hollywood elite and luminaries, Elina’s fresh approach to healthy eating has made her a sought-after talent, inspiring mentor and credible wellness expert. Elina is also an award-winning journalist who covered international news and wars for CNN, and traveled to Afghanistan to report from the front lines following the September 11th terrorist attacks. But it is her personal war against breast cancer that has inspired many and led to the creation of Soupelina http://www.soupelina.com/, the company that delivers healing organic plant-based soups and soup

cleanses. On a mission to heal herself and treating cancer as a health opportunity, Elina relied on Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine, to guide her in learning about the power of herbs and plants, and creating her own blends of therapeutic soups that targeted different health issues. She became a voracious student of all things health + wellness, integrating ancient healing traditions to transform a cancer diagnosis into vibrant living. Elina’s mission-driven company not only serves her community but also revolutionizes the way America looks at food with its food-as-medicine philosophy, sustainable and innovative cooking, known for elegant style, texture and layers of flavor. With names like LENTIL ME ENTERTAIN YOU, KALE-IFORNIA DREAMIN’ and I YAM WHO I YAM, Soupelina wants people to have fun while eating healthy. Elina’s invention of the Soup Cleanse and tongue-and-cheek line, Souping Is The New Juicing, have become headlines in publications like The New York Times, Vogue, Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, Harper’s Bazaar, ABC’s Good Morning America and many others. Vogue wrote that “Soupelina has been gaining so much attention that even juice companies” have begun to stock “their own versions of soup cleanses.” ABC News dubbed Soupelina soups “soups with a purpose,” and VegNews reported that Soupelina’s “wellness-inspired” soups have “captured the hearts and taste buds of LA’s discerning diners.” Elina’s debut book, Soupelina’s Soup Cleanse (DaCapo Lifelong, 2016), has resonated with thousands of health seekers and foodies alike. It has been translated into multiple languages published throughout Europe. Elina has become Hollywood’s go-to vegan chef to help her clients find the perfect balance and restore health. Her celebrity fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Alicia Silverstone, Coco Rocha, LeAnn Rimes among others. Part visionary and part teacher. Elina translates her clients desires to eat + live healthy into a stylized culinary experience with genuine passion,authentic vision and knowledge of ingredients. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison, Elina lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters, singer/songwriter Madeline and actress, Isabelle. When she isn’t cooking, writing, or spending time with her daughters or traveling the world, you can find her on the beach meditating or thinking up a new recipe. Her favorite past times include dinners with family + friends, soaking up the California sunshine, and creating (and eating!)delicious food.

Chef Charity Morgan, Plant Based Culinary Innovator: Although Chef Charity has well over 15 years of experience, her calling to become a plant based chef followed as a result of her family’s own transition. That transition paired with her affinity to cook and be creative was the driving force that propelled her into her calling to become a plant based, vegan and transitional chef. As a lover of food, and self proclaimed foodie, her goal is to assist people in making an easy transition from animal products to well balanced plant based meals. She does this by providing nutrient rich and savory easy to follow recipe's along with educating about the benefits an organic, non-gmo, plant based lifestyle has on the body and overall well being. Chef Charity is most certainly more than a chef as many professional athletes will attest. She currently provides vegan meal preparation to several NFL players and has recently been featured by ESPN highlighting her awesome home made meals that have encouraged athletes to educate themselves, improve their athletic performance as well as their overall health. Chef Charity is extremely enthusiastic about sharing her culinary expertise with the world. Her dedication to the plant life, healthy living and commitment to food and nutrition provide her with an unwavering motivation to teach and bring happy and healthy families to the table.

Sam Polk is the co-founder and CEO of Everytable, a social enterprise restaurant concept making healthy food affordable for all, and founder of Feast, a Los Angeles non-profit that advances wellness in underserved communities through the power of healthy food and human connection. In a prior life, Sam was a senior trader at one of the largest hedge funds in the world. He is the author of the memoir For The Love of Money (Scribner, 2016) and the viral front-page New York Times OpEd of the same title. His writing has been published in The Los Angeles Times, The Orange County Register, The Huffington Post and CNBC.com. He serves on the Leadership Board of The Los Angeles Food Policy Council, the Advisory Board of Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles, and the Advisory Board of the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA. He is a graduate of Columbia University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Andreas Wuerfel, Director US Strategic Partnerships, METRO Group: An active intrapreneur and evangelist, Andreas Wuerfel is METRO Group Director US Strategic Partnering, with focus on international corporate innovation and business development.  He also serves as CEO of HOSPITALITY.digital Inc., the US business practice of METRO Group’s international digital hospitality and retail solutions team. Prior, Andreas held various corporate and business development positions inside Deutsche Telekom USA, the North America offices of Germany-based Deutsche Telekom AG. Previously, Andreas held several music industry management and marketing posts, including General Manager Billboard TalentNet (a Billboard Magazine partnership), General Manager at Intuition Records (building and running North American business success), as well as International A&R Manager at MCA Music Publishing (now Universal Music Publishing). He served on the CONNECTIONS™ Europe advisory board (a CES / Parks Assoc. partnership), the 7BillionActions Task Force at the United Nations Population Fund and was a jury member of the Advanced Media Technology Emmys (National Academy of Television Arts & Science). Andreas lives with his husband in Brooklyn, New York.

Poull Brien is an entrepreneur and media creator whose passion for storytelling matches his drive to launch successful brands. Poull is co-owner of Wild Fish Direct, the first and only sustainable seafood company dedicated to the fastest growing sector of the restaurant industry, healthy fast casual brands. Wild Fish Direct grew from Poull’s experience as show runner and creator of Catching Hell, an 11 hour broadcast television series about commercial spear fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as his development work on Dish Out of Water, a series concept with James Beard Award-winning chef Kerry Heffernan and National Geographic. Both projects were heavily influenced by Poull’s childhood fascination with fishing and the production background Poull acquired during his time in the Radio, TV and Film program at Northwestern University.  Starting when he was ten-years old Poull spent every free moment on the water and all the moments in between dreaming about it. In his teens Poull ran a part time guide service, wrote for fishing magazines and hosted an outdoors show. His obsession with the water gradually gave way to his interest in creating compelling films. After graduating college, Poull eventually moved to New York City, where he worked in development and production in the film industry. After several shorts, he directed Charles Bradley: Soul of America, an award-winning documentary on the late, critically-acclaimed soul singer. Looking to move into television, Poull returned to the ocean for inspiration and launched his seafood company as a companion project. Poull realized that in Wild Fish Direct he could best utilize his diverse interests. He focused his efforts and built a list of clients including multi-unit brands Pokeworks, The Little Beet and Dig Inn. Today, Poull travels the country and the world sourcing for some of the biggest health focused brands in the business. He continues to shoot creative media to educate customers and help clients build loyalty and make healthier sourcing choices. In addition to his work with Wild Fish Direct, Poull is currently consulting on a documentary on red tide in Florida and is a partner in Jacto, an upcycled jewelry brand made from discarded fish skin and bone. When he’s not working, he enjoys throwing spontaneous sashimi parties in the photo studio he manages in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.