Be Better. Do Better. The Podcast.

Ashley Rouse is the Founder & CEO Of Trade St. Jam Co - a minority & woman owned company making the most delicious, low in sugar, high in flavor, vegan jam out there! Ashley, had a background in food service, marketing, and social media, but her passion for culinary creativity led her down another road. Ashley was a chef for almost 15 years, so naturally, she started her company in 2008 while living in an apartment on Trade Street in North Carolina. Now, years later, Ashley and her Brooklyn-based company create fruit forward and clean tasting vegan jams! On this episode of the Be Better. Do Better. Podcast Kristy chats with Ashley Rouse, Founder & CEO of Trade St. Jam. Kristy & Ashley discuss the crazy journey of launching a food company, while also being a full time mom. Tune into Spotify + youtube to listen to the full episode

Denise Woodard is the Founder and CEO of Partake, a line of nationally distributed allergy-friendly snacks inspired by her daughter’s experience with food allergies. Launched in 2017, Partake’s first product — 10 flavor varieties of delicious, nutritious, allergy-friendly cookies — can now be found in more than 6,000 retailers including Target, Sprouts, and Whole Foods Market. In December 2020, the company closed a Series A round of funding led by investors including Rihanna, CircleUp Growth Partners, FF2032 and Marcy Venture Partners. Of the $7.5 Million Denise has raised, more than 50% has come from Black investors. In January 2021, Partake released a 5-in-1 Baking Mix followed by a Brownie Mix in February—both are available on partakefoods.com. Prior to launching Partake, Denise spent a decade in consumer packaged goods at various Fortune 100 companies and is the first Black woman to raise more than $1 Million publicly for a CPG food startup.

Robyn is a globally recognized voice in the food industry. She has been called “food’s Erin Brockovich” by The New York Times and Bloomberg, and in 2020, Forbes recognized her on its Impact 50 List for her work in agriculture. Her TEDx talk (based on her book, The Unhealthy Truth, Random House) exposes the shortcomings in the food system. It has been watched by millions, translated into dozens of languages, and influenced policy, legislation, and product formulation in the food industry. Prior to founding rePlant Capital, Robyn advised CEOs and executives at multinational CPG companies, startups, and farm organizations and worked on a team that managed $20 billion in assets

Bayard Winthrop is on a mission is to craft high quality apparel, ethically and responsibly, right here in the United States. His company, American Giant, seriously makes THE best hoodies and sweatpants, pandemic tested and approved! Bayard is on a quest to take on the globalization of the apparel industry, starting where the cotton is grown and manufactured on one of two US based production facilities. Bayard and American Giant aren't stopping there, their Delta Project highlights the work of activists, entrepreneurs, authors, and artists who are driving change and seeks to bring diverse perspectives together and remind us of all that we have in common.

Kristy chats with Phil Taylor, the Founder and Executive Director of Mad Agriculture, which works alongside farmers to advance regenerative agriculture through farm planning, financing through their recently launched Perennial Fund, and crop + carbon markets. In a lively and introspective conversation on a sunny afternoon in Chautauqua Park in Boulder, CO, Kristy and Phil discuss race, social issues, humanity, morning rituals, and a big vision for a better future through farming and beyond.

Twenty years ago, Steve Tucker inherited his grandfather's farm in Western Nebraska. Since then, he was worked endlessly to learn and improve how he farms. Today, we're at that very farm talking to Steve about how we're working together to plant 85 acres of sorghum, aka milo, using regenerative ag practices. Steve and I have a lot in common, we're each hopelessly optimistic or some might say, just a little crazy. We both have a passion for dramatic film scores and we love Interstellar, particularly the corn chase scene.

Today, we're chatting with regenerative organic farmer and all around super hero, Dave Vetter. Dave is a real legend in regenerative agriculture, these farming practices can actually reverse global warming by improving the health of the soil. Dave and I have known eachother for 9 years, he supplies the organic corn in our popcorn, and honestly Quinn might not exist without his belief in our vision. If you'd like to support the future of farming and the Dave's non-profit, The Grain Place Foundation, click here. Also, since we've all finished Netflix, add Dreaming of a Vetter World to your must watch list.