Entertainment » Speakers
Speaker/Cooking Tent Schedule
| 1:15 | - | 2:00 | Stephanie McBurnett, RDN - "5 Tips & Reasons to Quit Meat" | |
| 2:15 | - | 2:45 | Will Lowrey - "Farmed Animals and The Law" | |
| 3:15 | - | 4:00 | Frances Kerley, RDN - Cooking Demo: "Black Bean Chili & Guacamole" | |
| 4:30 | - | 5:30 | Lauren Vincelli - Cooking Demo: "Making Memorable Sandwiches" |
Mike Goldberg
Master of Ceremonies
Meteorologist and musician Mike Goldberg will be emceeing the Richmond VegFest for the 20th year! Mike is an Emmy-winning meteorologist for CBS 6 and the afternoon classical music host at VPM Music, where he also serves as the station's Coordinator of Classical Music Initiatives.
Mike is always out in the community, promoting music and science education in the schools and presenting talks to various groups of all ages. He has served as a judge for the Virginia Science and Engineering Fair and the Metro Richmond Science Fair, and has also been the Master of Ceremonies for various events including the Richmond Vegetarian Society, Richmond SPCA, and the Richmond Animal League. An avid animal lover, Mike is dedicated to helping local animal adoption and welfare groups, and hosts the Paws for Pets segments on CBS 6 every weekend morning. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Henrico Humane Society and has received a Guardian Angel Award from Save Our Shelters for outstanding contribution to animal welfare in Virginia.
Mike remains active as a musician and is both the founder and Artistic Director for Crescendo, a professional chamber music ensemble. Passionate about music education, he serves as Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet at Randolph-Macon College, while maintaining a private clarinet studio of younger students. Also an accomplished conductor, he is co-founder and Music Director of the Central Virginia Wind Symphony, a group of the most talented high school musicians in the region.
You can catch Mike on CBS 6 Saturday and Sunday evenings. You can hear him on VPM Music (93.1 and 107.3FM) hosting "Classical Music with Mike Goldberg" each weekday afternoon and "Breakfast Classics" each weekend morning from 8AM-10AM.
Stephanie McBurnett, RDN
PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) Nutrition Educator
5 Tips & Reasons to Quit Meat
Stephanie is the nutrition educator for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting preventive medicine through plant-based nutrition and higher standards in research. She is a registered dietitian and has a previous career as a U.S. Naval Officer. Stephanie graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent more than five years as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. After her service, she decided to follow her passion for nutrition and wellness and become a registered dietitian nutritionist. While receiving her nutrition degree at the University of Alabama, her daughter was diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD), requiring open heart surgery. This event inspired Stephanie to research heart-healthy diets and what we can eat to optimize heart function. The evidence was very clear that the more whole food, plant-based foods you consume, the better your heart can function. Stephanie is married with two young daughters and, as a family, are committed to following a plant-based diet. Her dedication and passion for promoting and spreading the benefits of preventive lifestyle medicine through nutrition led her to join the Physicians Committee team.
Will Lowrey
Founder & Legal Counsel for Animal Partisan
Farmed Animals and The Law
Will is the founder and Legal Counsel for Animal Partisan, a new legal advocacy organization focused on challenging unlawful conduct in animal agriculture and research. Prior to his current role, Will served as Legal Counsel for Animal Outlook, a national nonprofit farmed animal protection organization, where he divided his time between civil litigation and undercover investigations. Will has substantial experience using creative procedural avenues to enforce criminal animal protection laws, has used public records law to expose animal cruelty, and has engaged in numerous lawsuits against the government and industrial agriculture, including cases involving administrative challenges, false advertising, public nuisance, and constitutional issues. Prior to joining Animal Outlook, Will clerked in the Superior Court of New Jersey, and interned with the Virginia Attorney General's Animal Law Unit and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Will taught the first Animal Law course at the University of St.Thomas School of Law. He spends considerable time mentoring law students interested in the field. Before law school, Will worked a lengthy corporate career and in his free time, helped run several non-profits focused on a variety of animal issues. Will resides in central Virginia where he writes animal-related fiction books and serves as one of the resident caretakers for a small nonprofit sanctuary for formerly farmed animals.
Frances Kerley, RDN
Food for Life Instructor & Vegan Action Advisory Committee
Cooking Demo: Black Bean Chili & Guacamole
After attending an international health conference, Frances Kerley, found her passion in plant-based nutrition. This led her to pursue a certification as a Food for Life Instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Frances has been a Registered Dietitian for nine years,working with the geriatric and veteran population, as well as the Richmond community. Frances serves on the Vegan Action Advisory Committee and is excited to help the local community better understand how healthy eating habits and plant-based lifestyle choices can make you feel better physically, and also improve your overall quality of life. Frances earned a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Dietetics from James Madison University and completed her dietetic internship at Virginia Tech. She hopes to see you in one of her classes soon!
Lauren Vincelli
Local Vegan Chef
Cooking Demo: Making Memorable Sandwiches
Richmond chef, Lauren Vincelli, will share tips and tricks for making unforgettable sandwiches you will want in your regular rotation. Lauren is stacking them high with colorful, flavorful and easy to find plant-based ingredients. She'll be building and passing out samples of a tasty "Dogwood Dell Dagwood" plus a few sandwich surprises and more. Lauren Vincelli is an award winning vegan cook, event planner and community organizer with over a decade of culinary experience in the Richmond area. She is a founder of the Richmond Moon Market and host of the annual local fungi festival, "Mushroom Mania." Her culinary career has taken her to kitchens at local legendary veg-friendly favorites like Cobra Cabana, Strange Matter, Nota Bene, Fresca, and Secco more; honing her pizza, sandwich, grilling and wood-fired oven skills all the way.