Byron Merritt joined Delta Air Lines as Vice President – Brand Experience Design in December 2019. In this new role, Byron brings to Delta a design-oriented mindset that touches and shapes all that we do. He is developing and executing on a brand identity system – one that evokes emotion, conveys “premium,” and supports human connection – to further differentiate Delta. 

Prior to joining Delta, Byron spent 13 years at Nike, ultimately serving as Vice President of Retail Innovation. Byron led award-winning design experiences across consumer interactions, from digital products and events to retail concepts that brought digital and physical experiences together. He has established himself as a global thought leader on design and innovation. Earlier in his career, Byron held a leadership position at the design and innovation firm IDEO.

Jeni Britton Bauer is an American ice cream explorer, pioneer of the artisan ice cream movement, and founder and chief brand officer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. She's won a coveted James Beard Award, been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business today, and is a 2017 Henry Crown Fellow.

Winner of the 2018 James Beard Awards “Best Chef: South” and one of Food & Wine magazine’s "Best New Chefs 2017", Nina Compton is Chef/Owner of award-winning restaurant Compère Lapin in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. Her second restaurant venture, Bywater American Bistro (BABs), is located in New Orleans’ “Sliver by the River” Bywater neighborhood.

Born and raised in St. Lucia, Nina grew up with the flavors and beauty of the Caribbean. Upon completion of secondary school in England, she returned home where she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. Her wary but supportive parents arranged an internship with a friend’s hotel in Jamaica where she fell in love with the creativity and camaraderie of the kitchen. Leaving the cozy, warm winters of the Caribbean, Nina chose to move to chilly Hyde Park, NY to study at The Culinary Institute of America.

Graduating in 2001 from America’s finest culinary school, Nina began her professional journey at Daniel in New York City, working and continuing her culinary education alongside world renowned chef/restaurateur Daniel Boulud and his team.

After moving to Miami, she continued to work with the best, joining the crews of Norman Van Aken at the original/iconic Norman’s then Philippe Ruiz at Palme d’Or at the historic Biltmore Hotel. Eventually Nina moved to Casa Casuarina, a private club and boutique hotel in Miami Beach where she rose from Sous Chef to Executive Chef of the small yet highly acclaimed property.

With the excitement of the 2008 reopening of the refurbished Fontainebleau Miami Beach, combined with the chance to work with Scott Conant at Scarpetta, Nina leapt at the chance to join the pre-opening team as Sous Chef and went on to be appointed Chef de Cuisine, where she earned raves and accolades. During a star turn on BRAVO’s acclaimed cooking competition show, Top Chef New Orleans, on which she was a finalist and fan favorite, Nina fell in love with the Crescent City. An opportunity with Provenance Hotels lured Nina to New Orleans where she opened her first solo restaurant, Compère Lapin, at the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in the Warehouse District. 

Since opening in June 2015, Compère Lapin has received critical acclaim including Eater National's "Best Restaurants in America 2017"; a rave review in The New York Times, and Top 10 Winner of Playboy's Best New Bars in America 2016. At Compère Lapin, the talented toque creates robust dishes that meld the flavors of her Caribbean upbringing and love for French and Italian cuisine, while highlighting the Gulf and Louisiana’s beautiful indigenous ingredients.

Compton’s highly anticipated Bywater American Bistro – which opened in March 2018 – features contemporary American fare, showcasing the chef’s culinary craftmanship while focusing on seasonal ingredient-driven cuisine in a casual, convivial setting.

A woman of many hats, Nina Compton also serves as the Culinary Ambassador of St. Lucia.

Sam Kass is the former Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition in the Obama administration, Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign and the Obama family chef. He is a Partner in Acre Venture Partners.

 After cooking for the Obamas in Chicago for two years, Sam joined the White House kitchen staff in 2009. During his White House tenure, he took on several additional roles including Executive Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition. Sam is the first person in the history of the White House to have a position in the Executive Office of the President and the Residence. As one of the First Lady’s longest-serving advisors, he helped the First Lady create the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden. 

 Currently Sam is a Partner at Acre Venture Partners. Acre is a venture capital fund investing in the future of food with a mission to improve human and environmental health in the food system. The fund focuses on early stage, highly disruptive impactful companies in the food system focused on agriculture, supply chain and consumer. 

 In 2011, Fast Company included Sam in their list of 100 Most Creative People, and in 2012, he helped create the American Chef Corps, which is dedicated to promoting diplomacy through culinary initiatives. He is an MIT Media Lab fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

 Sam is the author of Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World, which was published by Clarkson Potter on April 17, 2018. 

Growing up, Ellen Bennett, the founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett, the leading Los Angeles based culinary workwear brand, found herself spending summers in her native Mexico learning to cook with her abuelita. Soon after graduating high school, Ellen found herself back in Mexico City attending culinary school where she would rekindle the joys of her summer cooking adventures while learning the skills needed to tackle the hustle of the professional kitchen. Back in L.A. she put her training to work cooking in two Michelin Star restaurants, Providence and Baco Mercat. It was during this time working on the line that she experienced a “uniform” that was not aligned with the creativity and confidence found in the kitchen. This led to the vision for Hedley & Bennett; make the best aprons in the world by marrying the needs of professional chefs with the design trends for today's discerning consumers.

Today, Hedley & Bennett make more than aprons, but culinary workwear and gear that outfits over 6,000 restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, resorts and hundreds of thousands of home cooks all over the world. This evolution has also led to creative, out-of-the-box collaborations with brands such as Vans, Madewell, Parachute Home, Rifle Paper Co., Product (RED) and more. Most recently, she pivoted the resources of her company during the global COVID-19 pandemic to make masks to meet the needs of both professionals and consumers while donating over 200k masks to front line workers. Ellen and the Hedley & Bennett story has been featured in the New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart, the Today Show and more. Ellen lives in Echo Park with her husband Casey, their pet pig Oliver, and six chickens.

JJ Johnson is a James Beard Award-winning chef best known for his barrier-breaking cuisine connecting the foodways of West Africa and Asia to the Americas. Chef JJ’s signature style of combining culturally relevant ingredients with his classically trained cooking and global point of view was inspired by the Caribbean tastes he grew up  with, combined with inspiration from his travels.  

Recognized by Eater as one of the New Guard of Power in NYC Dining, JJ’s brand of creating cultural connections through food is a hallmark of his hospitality group  Ingrained Hospitality Concepts, LLC, a collaboration of industry professionals  dedicated to creating great restaurants while sharing international cuisine with amazing  hospitality. 

The restaurant group opened FIELDTRIP, a quick-casual rice bowl shop located in  Harlem that highlights rice traditions from around the world with globally-inspired  flavors and techniques. JJ is a Chef on Buzzfeed’s Tasty platform, a Mastercard  Ambassador and a television host on Just Eats with Chef JJ airing for its second season  on TV One’s network Cleo TV. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30, Eater Young Gun and has  been featured on NBC TODAY, GMA, Food and Wine, Esquire magazine, and the New  York Times chose Fieldtrip as a Critic's Pick for the Hungry City Column. 

Chef JJ published his award-winning first cookbook in spring 2018, “Between Harlem  and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day” (Flatiron Books). He serves on the James Beard Impact Programs Advisory Committee  and sits on the junior board of Food Bank for New York City, taking action to end  hunger.

Jenny is a professional chef, author and speaker specializing in interdisciplinary storytelling fusing food with social good. She leads a nonprofit named Studio ATAO and runs her own culinary consulting business. Her food and work has been featured in outlets such as Food Network, Oxygen TV, Eater, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, among others. Her full biography, food portfolio and bylines can be found at http://jennydorsey.co.

Martha Hoover owns a successful collection of restaurants in Indianapolis, Indiana —Cafés Patachou, Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar, Napolese Pizzeria, Public Greens, Apocalypse Burger and Bar One Fourteen. Founded in 1989, Hoover used premium ingredients, prepared from scratch, and partnered with local vendors and farmers — years before the phrase “farm to table” was first uttered.

Employees are eligible for health insurance that is augmented with 24-hour/357 days a year access to emergency and free legal, emotional or financial counseling and have opportunities for upward career paths. The proper and respectful use of gender pronouns is part of extensive mandatory inherent bias training. The Patachou Employee Emergency Relief Fund (PEER Fund) was established in 2014 to help staff and their families with basic necessities during times of financial hardship due to circumstances beyond their control. The PEER Fund distributed nearly $120,000 in grants to furloughed staff in need at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As part of its sustainability initiatives, Patachou Inc. restaurants compost, recycle and upcycle. Plastic water bottles have been banned for eight years and straws have been banned for three years. Two organic microfarms are in operation year-round for the restaurants, as well as for use for programming and education for The Patachou Foundation.

In 2013, Hoover created The Patachou Foundation to feed healthy meals to food insecure children in Indianapolis. To date, more than 200,000 healthy, nutritious meals have been served by The Patachou Foundation to children in its community who live with pervasive food insecurity.

In 2020, Hoover was nominated for Restaurateur of the Year by the James Beard Foundation for the sixth time; Food and Wine named her “One of The Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink”, Eater named her “Empire Builder of the Year”, Vogue Magazine profiled her and the company for their sustainability practices, and InStyle Magazine named her to their list of “50 Badass Women”. Additionally, Bar One Fourteen was named one of the Best Bars in the US by Esquire Magazine, Café Patachou was named one of Restaurant Hospitality’s Top 25 Coolest Concepts, and Patachou Inc. was named among “19 great restaurants in the US to work for” by Food and Wine.

Nick Tran is the Head of Global Marketing for TikTok. In his role as TikTok's first head of global marketing, he is responsible for all aspects of TikTok's global marketing efforts, including brand strategy, media and advertising, social media, and brand partnerships, campaigns and activations across all regions. 

Before joining TikTok, Nick was VP, Head of Brand and Culture Marketing at Hulu. During his time at Hulu, he reinvented the brand and worked on memorable campaigns like "Better Ruins Everything," "Hulu Has Live Sports" (including the Tom Brady Super Bowl ad), and the "World Record Egg." 

Prior to Hulu he helped build the brand at Samsung Electronics, Stance, and Taco Bell in various roles including brand and culture, influencer and experiential marketing, social media and digital marketing. 

In 2020, Tran was included in Fortune's 40 under 40 as well as AdAge's 40 under 40 list. 

He holds an MBA from The Paul Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and psychology from the University of California, San Diego.

Since its inception in 2009, Stang has been the architect of The Infatuation’s editorial voice, creative vision, and marketing strategy. Today his role still encompasses all of those things, but also includes pushing the company forward into new arenas, including the creation and launch of Text Rex, EEEEEATSCON, The Infatuation’s food festival, and the company’s recent acquisition of Zagat. He was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2015 for Underfinger, a review of a restaurant that doesn’t exist, and he still writes from time to time about real restaurants. Prior to taking on The Infatuation full time, Stang was the VP of Marketing at Atlantic Records, working closely with many of the label’s biggest acts including Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Skrillex, Gnarls Barkley, and Panic! At The Disco.

Angie Baez is the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Infatuation and Zagat. Prior to joining The Infatuation Group, Angie led Diversity and Inclusion for Hudson’s Bay Company, where she was responsible for creating and delivering a global D&I strategy with localized implementation for each of HBC’s Business Units: Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5th, and Hudson’s Bay. Prior to Saks, Angie was the first person in a DEI role at Squarespace where she launched their global ERG program, led the company’s viral Pride moments in 2017 and 2018, and led a revamp of Squarespace’s diversity recruiting strategy and Learning & Development DEI offerings. Angie is Dominican, from The Bronx, First Generation American, and her pronouns are she/her.

Zach Goldstein is Founder and CEO of Thanx, a leading CRM, loyalty, and digital customer engagement solution for restaurants and retailers. His research on the impact of third-party delivery on the restaurant industry (Four Horsemen of the Restaurant Apocalypse?) earned him recognition as a member of the 2020 Nation's Restaurant News Power List. Zach is a frequent speaker on the topics of customer lifetime value, customer retention and satisfaction (including Net Promoter Score), and growth strategy. He previously worked as a Consultant at Bain & Company where he partnered with national restaurant/retail chains and leading technology companies. Zach received a BA from Dartmouth and MBA from Stanford. More importantly, he is a dedicated, lifelong Sacramento Kings fan.

Born and raised in Mexico City – David always had a passion for traveling and hotels. From a very early age while traveling he was fascinated with the notion of a hotel and its operation. He completed successful tenures with Four Seasons where he became the youngest salesperson worldwide at age 27, and at Virtuoso where he built life-long relationships with travel advisors, suppliers and industry icons. Most recently, David held the position of Director of Global Sales for EDITION Hotels, leading the sales efforts for that luxury-lifestyle brand. David is currently the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing in The Americas for Kerzner International, which has the One&Only Resorts portfolio as its flagship.

Klancy Miller Is the founder of For the Culture: A Magazine Celebrating Black Women in Food and Wine. She is also author of Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking For Yourself. Klancy earned her diplôme de pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She has appeared in The New York Times Food section, on Food Network’s Recipe for Success and the Cooking Channel’s Unique Sweets. She has written for The New York Times, Vogue, The Washington Post, Food and Wine, Cherry Bombe, Bon Appétit, and Food 52. Klancy lives in Brooklyn.

Find her on Instagram @klancycooks or  klancymiller.com and For the Culture on @fortheculturefoodmag.

Krystle Mobayeni is the Co-Founder and CEO of BentoBox, a hospitality platform that empowers restaurants to own their online presence, profits and relationships. Over 6,000 restaurants worldwide rely on BentoBox to drive high-margin revenue through their websites, including those of José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.

Krystle founded BentoBox in 2013 after working with restaurants as a web designer, where she observed that existing technology drove a wedge between restaurants and their guests. She built BentoBox to provide technology that puts restaurants first. Under Krystle’s leadership, BentoBox grew revenue by 1,130% over three years and has maintained a 98% customer retention rate.

Hillary Reinsberg is the Editor In Chief of The Infatuation and Zagat. The Infatuation’s first hire, Hillary has overseen the editorial expansion of the restaurant review platform and its signature voice into cities across the U.S and U.K. With The Infatuation’s 2018 acquisition of the legendary restaurant guide Zagat from Google, Hillary is now also working on developing that brand and platform, including the 2019 best-selling 40th Anniversary Edition of the Zagat New York City Restaurants guidebook and the brand’s newest storytelling platform, Zagat Stories. Previously, Hillary was an early member of BuzzFeed’s news team. In 2019, she was recognized on the Media section of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

Iconoclastic sommelier André Hueston Mack was the first African-American to be  named Best Young Sommelier in America by Chaine des Rotisseurs. He was a sommelier at Thomas Keller’s renowned French Laundry before opening Chef Keller’s three Michelin-starred Per Se. As one of the top professionals in the wine industry he has worked with the likes of Amazon, Cadillac, Ebay, National Rental Car, Microsoft and has appeared on Anthony Bourdain's “The Taste” and NBC’s “Uncorked”.  

In 2007, he founded Maison Noir Wines which incorporated his trademark attitude and personal perspective on wine subculture. The wines are unique and distinctive garage wines (micro-négociant) which source the best fruit possible in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon to produce wines showing the individuality of their respective sites and  terroirs.  

A self-taught graphic designer, Mack designs all of his labels as well as a t-shirt line for Maison Noir Wines. Additionally, he authored and illustrated Small Thyme Cooks, the world’s first culinary coloring and activity book. Most recently, Mack wrote his part memoir and part wine guide 99 Bottles: A Black Sheep’s Guide to Life-Changing Wines  which was released on October 22nd, 2019 through Abrams Books.

Lila King leads global lifestyle and publisher partnerships for Instagram. She and her team work with lifestyle creators and publishers of all kinds – from food to wellness to memes -- to help them build businesses and bring new ideas to life on the platform. Before joining Instagram in 2016, King had a long tenure at CNN.

Ann Kim is the Chef/Owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza and Young Joni, all located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A Korean immigrant, she credits her culinary palate and love of cooking to helping her mother and grandmother make traditional staples such as fermented bean paste and kimchi. 

In 2010 she opened her first restaurant, Pizzeria Lola, a Minneapolis staple that has been lauded both locally and nationally. Her second restaurant, Hello Pizza, is an East Coast-inspired slice shop that frequently tops ‘Best Of’ lists. Young Joni opened in 2016 and serves an eclectic genre-bending menu featuring her signature pizzas and other wood-fired dishes. It is the recipient of several awards including Minneapolis Star Tribune's Restaurant of the Year and GQ's Best New Restaurants in America. 

In 2019, Ann became the first woman and first person of color from Minneapolis to receive the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Midwest." She has been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and CBS Saturday’s “The Dish.” Her highly-anticipated fourth restaurant, Sooki & Mimi, also located in Minneapolis, is slated to open in late-2020.

David Prior is the Co-Founder and CEO of PRIOR, a community for curious travelers that creates a global calendar of cultural celebrations and designs tailor-made travel. David was formerly Contributing International Editor of Condé Nast Traveler and Contributing Editor at Vogue Living. David was named by Bloomberg Businessweek as “One to Watch” in 2018 as part of the publication’s prestigious Global 50: the people who defined business in 2017. David was born and raised in Brisbane and resides in New York.

Rachel Karten is a leader within social media who has experience both growing brands from the ground up and managing accounts with millions of followers. She was most recently the Associate Director of Social Media at Bon Appétit and Epicurious where she won social Webby’s three years in a row and received a coveted National Magazine Award for best social at a magazine. There she built the social media presence for verticals Healthyish and Basically—two of Condé Nast’s most successful sub-brand launches. Before Bon Appétit she was at meal kit delivery startup Plated. She now consults with brands, helping them create value-driven social strategies that delight.

Brandon Jew is the executive chef and owner of Mister Jiu’s, a contemporary Chinese American restaurant in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown. Mister Jiu’s combines the local, seasonal and organic bounty of the Bay Area together with classic Chinese techniques and flavors. The restaurant celebrates its place in the historic neighborhood working to evolve and define Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area. Brandon’s training spans from Bologna, Italy to Shanghai, China and many restaurants within the Bay Area. He considers Judy Rodgers (Zuni Café), Michael Tusk (Quince) and his grandma, Ying Ying, to be his most influential mentors. 

Brandon has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Mind of a Chef, Ugly Delicious, Taste the Nation, and Vice Munchies. His honors at Mister Jiu’s include one Michelin star (for every year Mister Jiu’s has been operating), Bon Appetit #3 Restaurant on Hot 10 2017, SF Magazine Chef of the Year 2017 and James Beard nomination for Best Chef West 2018 and Best Chef California 2020.

Lindsay Tusk and her husband, Michael, are the owners of three of San Francisco’s most critically-acclaimed and beloved restaurants: Quince, Cotogna and Verjus. Lindsay is managing partner and the driving force behind the success of the restaurants. 

The Tusks’ shared vision for creating distinct Italian-influenced dining experiences is a reflection of Lindsay’s refined aesthetic and penchant for flawless service, cultivated from working for iconic, chef-driven Bay Area restaurants including Chez Panisse, Oliveto and Boulevard.  

Originally from Maine, Lindsay holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in political economy, also from the University of California, Berkeley. Lindsay is on the leadership committee of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and founder of Feed the Future.

Alex is a restaurant industry innovator, in-demand speaker, and passionate advocate for restaurant operators and workers. He was raised in the kitchen of the world-famous Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, where he and his team invented Ordermark. 

A fourth-generation restaurateur, the restaurant business has been in Alex’s blood for over 85 years. In addition to being the visionary and leader of Ordermark, Alex is active with the Techstars network and enjoys mentoring other restaurant technology entrepreneurs and occasional angel investing. He is a 2019 recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fast Casual Executive's Top 25. Alex previously led several technology ventures.