CONFIRMED KEYNOTES

Jessica Fanzo

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Jessica Fanzo, Ph.D. is a leading global expert in food policy, nutrition, and climate, and the James Anderson Professor of Food Policy and Climate at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. Her career spans senior academic and leadership roles at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, as well as influential positions with the United Nations, CGIAR institutions, and major global initiatives shaping food systems and nutrition. She serves on multiple international boards, co-chairs the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement’s Executive Committee, and leads flagship efforts such as the Food Systems Dashboard and the Food Systems Countdown to 2030. A prolific scholar and author of two books on sustainable diets and global food systems, she has contributed to major global commissions and reports, including the EAT-Lancet Commissions and the Global Nutrition Report. Dr. Fanzo holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition, is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and is the inaugural recipient of the Carasso Prize for Sustainable Diets.

Juan Echanove

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)—The Rigth to Food

Juan Echanove is an international expert with 27 years of experience in food security, agriculture, rural development, and climate change adaptation, having worked across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. His career spans leadership roles with major institutions including the European Union, CARE, Oxfam, FAO, UNDP, and bilateral development agencies, where he has led large-scale agricultural and food security programs, supported national policy reforms, and built partnerships impacting tens of millions of smallholder farmers worldwide. He has overseen multi-country portfolios worth hundreds of millions of dollars, contributed to global initiatives such as the UN Food Systems Summit, authored books and policy articles, and received Georgia’s Order of the Golden Fleece for his contributions to agricultural development. Since May 2024, he has served as FAO’s Right to Food Coordinator, promoting human rights within agrifood systems at the global level.