Marni is pleased to lead the CEA Food Safety Coalition in its mission to develop credible, strong, and appropriate food safety standards; educate consumers and regulators on controlled environment growing; and communicate the value of controlled environment agriculture.

Marni's passion lies in creating a healthier, more sustainable food system. She brings nearly two decades of expertise in federal policymaking, advocacy, and corporate law – and also outside-the-box thinking, creativity, an adventurous spirit, a passion for food and cooking, and the courage and willingness to take big leaps to create change.

Before joining the Coalition, Marni was the head of government affairs and general counsel for the Organic Trade Association, counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a corporate antitrust attorney. She is also principal at Karlin Strategic Consulting, offering policy, communication, advocacy, and management solutions to stakeholders dedicated to creating a healthier, more sustainable food system.

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Marni graduated from The George Washington University with a degree with high honors in International Economics, and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School. Besides her professional skills she has a passion for cooking delicious food, and earned a Culinary Arts diploma from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.

Paul Lightfoot, BrightFarms’ President & Founder, leads the company on its mission to provide consumers with the freshest, tastiest and most responsibly grown produce.

Through his vision, BrightFarms is creating the first national brand of locally grown produce. In 2017, BrightFarms was named 235th on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies, ranking 10th among all food companies and the only produce company featured on the list. Lightfoot has been recognized by Chain Store Age magazine as a "Rising Star in Retail" and was featured by Fast Company on its list of “1,000 Most Creative People in Business.”

A healthy and sustainable food zealot, Lightfoot has delivered keynote speeches at a myriad of conferences, such as Forbes AgTech, Groceryshop and the Partnership for a Healthier America Summit, and has been featured multiple times in national publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Paul currently sits on the FDA Romaine Advisory Task Force and was recently nominated to the board of United Fresh, the nation’s leading association for fresh produce.

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of AeroFarms, a leading clean-technology company that builds and operates responsible, state-of-the-art indoor vertical farms around the world, enabling local production and transforming agriculture. A Certified B Corporation, AeroFarms has been recognized by Fast Company two years in a row as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in the Food & Data Science categories, and by Inc. as one of the Top 25 Disruptive Companies.

An award-winning marketer with an extensive background in retail, branding, and media, Marc is also passionate about increasing access to healthy food and has led the marketing for major food retailers. Marc has been recognized by Eating Well magazine as one of the 2018 American Food Heroes. With his B.A. from Columbia College and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, Marc is also Board Co-Chair of Chefs Collaborative, a 25 year old non-profit improving our sustainable food systems, and a member of the United Fresh Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council and FDA Romaine Advisory Task Force.

Paul Sellew is the Founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms a state-of-the-art greenhouse producer of baby greens that are grown and packaged at its Devens, MA location and sold into grocers and fine dining establishments throughout the Northeast. Prior to this he founded and was the CEO of Harvest Power. He also founded and was the CEO of Backyard Farms a year-round greenhouse producer of tomatoes on the east coast and oversaw the development of its 42-acre tomato greenhouse. Paul has also been an executive with Synagro, Inc. and was the Founder and CEO of Earthgro, Inc., a large-scale producer of compost-based lawn and garden products in North America prior to selling to the Scotts Company.

Paul is a graduate of Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). Paul has served on Cornell’s University Council, CALS Dean’s Advisory Council, the Board of the US Composting Council and currently serves on the Board of Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.

Chris Livingston is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Bowery Farming, the modern farming company growing food for a better future by revolutionizing agriculture. Prior to joining Bowery, Chris worked in senior legal positions at Blue Apron and OnDeck Capital where he helped each of those companies complete IPOs. Prior to working at VC-back companies, Chris began his career as an M&A lawyer at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Chris holds a B.A. degree in economics and corporate strategy from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.