When Samantha Derrick discovered that her grad school program lacked course content on #foodsystems #plantbasednutrition #veganism #nonhumanethics - she went right ahead and wrote a curriculum for it, and launched a course at University of California, Berkeley. Students from around the world wrote in and wanted to participate when the first Plant Futures Conference made its debut.

In this episode, our founder Nivi Jaswal speaks to Samantha and learns all about this plant-based mover and shaker's early childhood, her compassion for animals and her puppy named Oreo and her passion to ensure a plant-forward education and employment opportunities for an entire generation of students!

About Samantha's work: Founded by Samantha Derrick, Plant Futures Initiative (PFI) acts as a bridge to connecting the passionate, plant-forward leaders of tomorrow with companies who are seeking talent and innovation to solve key issues. PFI partner network spans multiple industries and a diverse set of organizations, from CPG companies and venture firms to farming and advocacy organizations.⁠