Helena Bottemiller Evich is the founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix.
Most recently, she led coverage of food and agriculture issues at POLITICO for nearly a decade, winning numerous awards for her work, including a George Polk Award for a series on climate change and two James Beard Awards for features on nutrition and science. In 2022, she was a James Beard Award finalist for a deep dive on diet-related diseases and Covid-19.
Before launching POLITICO’s food policy coverage in 2013, Helena was the Washington correspondent for Food Safety News where she covered deadly foodborne illness outbreaks and the run-up to Congress passing the most significant update to food safety law in a century.
Helena is a sought-after speaker and commentator on food issues, appearing on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, BBC and NPR, among others. Her work is widely cited in the media and has also been published in the Columbia Journalism Review and on NBC News.
Born and raised in Washington state, Helena attended Claremont McKenna College, where she studied government. She now lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, two kids and tabby cat.
Matt Tripodi serves as Sr. Global Territory Director with the Government & Trade division at Euromonitor International, the world's leading independent provider of strategic market research. He has more than 20 years of experience in research and strategy consulting for corporations, government and quasi-government agencies, and prominent industry associations.
Along with numerous of Fortune 500 companies and economic development agencies, he supports more than 130 agricultural trade organizations in developing and expanding business around the world. He is a sought-after speaker and has presented at dozens of conferences and trade events, including PMA’s Fresh Summit, the World Ag Expo, NCA’s Sweet & Snacks Expo, ISM global confectionery conference in Cologne, Germany, and the largest foodservice event in the Americas – the National Restaurant Association’s NRA Show.
Mr. Eriksen has a distinguished career directing efforts in client advisory and development, risk management, consulting, and events. As the founder of Polaris, Mr. Eriksen directs and leads the activities of Polaris. He was formerly a Strategic Advisor in the Industry Executive Advisory group, the head of the S&P Global Commodity Insights Client Advisory and Development group, and Agri Supply Chain where he was a Senior Vice President.
Mr. Eriksen regularly speaks on commodity markets and flows, supply chain, transportation and infrastructure issues and developments, and is an expert witness in transportation, logistics and supply chain matters. Prior to joining S&P Global, Mr. Eriksen worked for USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service as an agricultural statistician. In that capacity, he conducted national surveys and set national estimates in agriculture. Also, while at USDA, he worked for the Agricultural Marketing Service on its transportation and marketing program, conducting research and analysis on domestic and international transportation issues.
