Chef Tal Ronnen: "The Conscious Cook" Cooking Demonstration

Chef Tal Ronnen is one of the most celebrated vegan chefs working today. In the spring of 2008, he became known nationwide as the chef who prepared vegan meals for Oprah Winfrey's 21-day vegan cleanse. He has since catapulted to fame, catering Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi's vegan wedding, Arianna Huffington's party at the Democratic National Convention, and the first vegan dinner at the U.S. Senate.

In 2009, Chef Tal released his New York Times bestselling cookbook, The Conscious Cook. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, Chef Tal has worked at the top vegan restaurants in the United States, including Sublime in Fort Lauderdale, Madeleine Bistro in Los Angeles, and Candle 79 in New York City. Our own Mimi Clark, Veggie Gourmet, who presented a demo at last year's VegFest, will be assisting Tal in what promises to be a fun, interactive demo.

   

Miss District of Columbia Mackenzie Green

Native Washingtonian MacKenzie Ann Green is the newly-crowned Miss District Of Columbia USA 2010—and she’s vegan! After exploring a plant-based diet as a way to improve her health in preparation for the Miss DC pageant, she attributes her win in part to the vibrancy she felt from her new compassionate diet and decided to stick with it.

As Miss DC, MacKenzie is creating an incredible legacy of service through her passion for helping others. She has chosen to champion health and fitness for less fortunate families, and is a strong advocate for increasing the availability of organic fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food options in all communities She aims to empower others by sharing her personal experiences.

Chef Lauren Von Der Pool: "Ecolicious" Cooking Demonstration

Vegan and Raw Food Cuisine Expert Lauren Von Der Pool is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Los Angeles and Paris and is a DC native. She is a private chef, celebrity caterer. Von Der Pool was instrumental in the opening of Cafe Green, DC's first full-service, sit-down, organic, vegan restaurant with a bar. Her career has included catering the Oscars, Grammys, AMA’s and countless A-List celebrity events as an apprentice to Wolfgang Puck.

Von Der Pool raises green awareness through her non-profit, Von Der Pool Gourmet and Healthy Living Services. The organization teaches children how to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into their diets and the importance of recycling and composting. Last year she joined forces with U. S. Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Jared Polis to lobby for healthy school lunches.                                                                       

Robert Cheeke: "Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness"

Robert Cheeke is a vegan bodybuilder and motivational speaker. In 2006, he was named one of VegNews Magazine’s 15 most influential vegan athletes. That same year, he released a documentary film he produced called Vegan Fitness Built Naturally. Robert is also the author of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness—The Complete Guide to Building Your Body on a Plant-Based Diet (2009).

Robert is the Founder and President of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, a company dedicating to promoting the vegan fitness lifestyle, empowering vegan athletes, and living by the words “healthy food defines you.” Online at www.veganbodybuilding.com. Robert also works full-time for Sequel Naturals as a national representative for Vega, a line of vegan whole-food products.

    

Milton Mills, M.D.: Better Health & Greater Longevity through Plant-Based Diets

Milton R. Mills, M.D., serves as associate director of preventive medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). He practices outpatient, clinic-based medicine in Northern Virginia and works as a critical care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va. Dr. Mills graduated in 1991 from Stanford University School of Medicine and performed his residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington.

As an African-American physician focusing on preventive medicine, Dr. Mills has delved into some of the environmental and societal influences affecting the health of African-Americans and other racial minorities. Dr. Mills’ papers on race and diet have appeared in the Journal of the National Medical Association.

Tracye McQuirter, M.P.H.: "By Any Greens Necessary"

A speaker, author, and 20-year vegan, Tracye McQuirter, M.P.H., is passionate about helping people achieve extraordinary health through better food choices.  Tracye recently released By Any Greens Necessary, her long-awaited first book. With inspiration, attitude, and expertise, Tracye shows readers how to be healthy, hippy, and happy by eating plenty of delicious and nutritious plant-based foods.
 
She directed the Vegetarian Society of DC's Eat Smart Program, the first federally-funded vegan nutrition program, and was a policy advisor for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where she worked to improve federal nutrition policy. Tracye is a graduate of Sidwell Friends School, Amherst College, and New York University, where she received her master's of public health nutrition.  She lives in Washington, DC.

Colman McCarthy: "Living Peacefully with Animals--All Animals"

Colman McCarthy is an ethical vegetarian, a devoted pacifist, and a journalist, writer and teacher. He wrote a syndicated column on a range of topics for  The Washington Post for nearly thirty years.

In addition, Mr. McCarthy has taught high school and college courses on peace and nonviolence since 1982; in 1985, he founded the Center for Teaching Peace. Mr. McCarthy is the author of several books, including At Rest with the Animals (2008), a collection of his essays from the last forty years about human-animal relationships.

Wendy Rieger

Master of Ceremonies

Wendy Rieger is a lifelong animal lover who became a vegetarian three years ago this August thanks to the influence of Erica Meier of Compassion Over Killing and DJ Kim of Java Green. Wendy has been covering news in Washington for almost 30 years. She spent the last 21 years at NBC-4 where she is now anchoring the 5 o'clock news. Four years ago she created the Going Green segment that shows how easy it is to make simple changes in your life to help combat global warming and the everyday mess humans are making on the planet. Because animal agriculture is a major cause of global warming she has been weaving vegetarian stories into her Going Green reports.

She lives with her two cats, Buddy and Rudy, rescued from the streets of Baltimore. She also has a vegan West Africa Peanut soup recipe that will make you weep.

Check out last year's list of speakers.