2025 Maine Food Convergence
Jefferson, Maine
Kieve Wavus Campus
May 29, 2025
More details regarding virtual sessions and registration to come
Consider Being a Sponsor for our 2025 Event! Click the Link Below to Learn More:
email mefoodevents@gmail.com for more information!
The goal of the 2025 Convergence Event is to co-create a space for the Convergence Community to explore how shifts in the food system can advance social and racial equity while also increasing climate resilience. The event will facilitate conversations, most of which will center voices of those who have experienced inequities within our food system. It will help participants connect, deepen relationships, explore collaborations, and celebrate each other while working towards an equitable climate and food future.
Niaz Dorry
Keynote Speaker
May 29th, 2025 Jefferson, Maine
Niaz has been a community organizer for over 35 years working on environmental, social, and economic justice issues. The life-changing moment came in 1994 when she switched from organizing in communities fighting for environmental justice to organizing fishing communities. From the start, she recognized the similarities between family farmers’ fight for a more just and ecologically responsible land-based food system and that of community-based fishermen fighting to fix the broken sea-based food system. She has been serving as the North American Marine Alliance Coordinating Director since 2008. One of the first things NAMA did after Niaz took the helm was to join the National Family Farm Coalition as its first non-farming member. The two organizations entered into an innovative shared-leadership model on May 1, 2018, putting Niaz in the new role of serving the work of both organizations and further cementing the relationship and interdependence between land and sea.
Elena Peters
Marketing Associate, Atlantic Sea Farms
Elena is a recent college graduate and Mainer working to build a better future through food on the women-led team at Atlantic Sea Farms. When she isn't building a market for regeneratively grown kelp, you can find her on the pottery wheel or at her local yoga studio.
Rose Barboza
Black Owned Maine - Chief Executive Officer, Oga Suya - Office Manager and Co-owner, Barboza Consulting - Principal Consultant
Rose Barboza is a racial justice advocate with a focus on disrupting the entrepreneurial ecosystem through a Black-focused lense.Event Planning Committee
Houda Aden
2024 Youth Food Champion Awardee, Good Food Council of Lewiston Auburn
Houda Aden is a junior in Edward little high school, she loves being part of a bigger picture helping the community, she would like to go to law school
Azenaide Pedro
Heather Flor Cron
Farm Programs Manager, Presente! Maine
Flor is a farmer, artist & organizer who works with dirt, food, intuitive movement, printmaking, and public engagement. She lives, works, and stewards land in Maine, which is settled on stolen and occupied territory of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Flor's work plants seeds for futures where Black and Indigenous people are centered .
Khadija Ahmed
Founder and President of Food For All, Good Shepherd Food Bank, Halal School Meals Network
Malia Demers
FoodCorps
Malia is the Student Impact Lead for FoodCorps ME and loves working to ensure that kids in public school experience mastery of food literacy, belonging, and agency of their learning and their school food environment. 
Feedback from the 2023 Convergence Event
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“I followed up with many people who I met and have plans to meet with a number of them. I have also gotten plugged into the comms community and hope to be able to work with the groups represented further!”
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“The storytelling components were by far the most meaningful - this emphasized the value of creating platforms for this purpose, even to an audience who is generally not new to the work.”
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“Wonderful work and big applause to the organizing team, for creating a thoughtful, calm, connected space. The storytelling panel in the morning was the BEST! Really appreciate more opportunities for facilitated network and story sharing. Great work.”
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