Sam Kass

CO-EXCLUSIVE
  • Former White House Chef & Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition
  • Author of 'Eat A Little Better'
  • Founder of TROVE
  • Venture Partner, Acre Venture Partners

Nutrition expert, author, and entrepreneur Sam Kass served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition in the Obama administration, Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” Campaign, and the Obama family chef. Following his time at the White House, Kass has continued to innovate in the nutrition and wellness spaces as an entrepreneur. He founded TROVE, a strategy firm focused on working with corporations who are serious about transforming our health, climate, and planet through food, and is a partner in Acre Venture Partners, a capital fund investing in the future of food with a mission to improve human and environmental health in the food system. Kass shares his passion for health, disruptive investing strategies, and overall sustainability in invigorating keynotes and conversations.

Kass is a James Beard Leadership Award Winner, one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People,” and author of Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World. The World Economic Forum named him to its 2017 Class of Young Global Leaders, recognizing people “pushing boundaries and rethinking the world around them.” Kass is a sought-after speaker offering leading insights about health and sustainability.

 


Sam Kass headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Culinary Health Education for Families (CHEF)
  • SHRM, VA Chapter
Rave Reviews About Sam Kass
Sam was great! Our audience loved him and all were really thrilled to get signed copies of his book. He definitely brought in additional attendees to the conference, his talk was very relevant to our program and his delivery was very personable and accessible.

In Conversation - From White House Chef to Obama’s Nutrition Policy Advisor | Harvard School of Public Health [58:10] - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Sam Kass
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Longevity: Eating and Aging

In this presentation, former White House chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition SAM KASS explores the powerful connection between the food we eat and how we age. Highlighting the science behind nutrient-rich foods, and personalized eating habits, Kass ensures audiences walk away with actionabl ...

In this presentation, former White House chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition SAM KASS explores the powerful connection between the food we eat and how we age. Highlighting the science behind nutrient-rich foods, and personalized eating habits, Kass ensures audiences walk away with actionable tips for enhancing both quality of life and longevity through mindful eating

Creating a Culture of Health and Wellness

Making healthy choices is far easier said than done. As the director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, SAM KASS garnered acclaim for his leadership at the forefront of the First Lady’s national, multifaceted initiative to encourage healthy eating and exercise for all Americans—and people a ...

Making healthy choices is far easier said than done. As the director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, SAM KASS garnered acclaim for his leadership at the forefront of the First Lady’s national, multifaceted initiative to encourage healthy eating and exercise for all Americans—and people are listening.

An innovative take on the modern “keynote”, Kass delights and informs audiences, taking them behind the scenes of what it was like to serve as a public face for “Let’s Move!”, and more. From replacing the “food pyramid” to reshaping food labels, Kass is able to address the significance of specific policies he not only helped to shape, but acted persistently on to enact. He is credited for advancing policies through Congress at unprecedented speed. Audiences are captivated by his candor, entertaining narratives, and unique analysis of today’s health climate and food systems. Additionally, Kass can explore the impact that sustainability, wellness and health care policies have in workplace environments; tips and tricks to setting up both home and work environments for success in endeavors towards healthy living; and incentives that organizations can establish for their employees.

The Future of Corporate Health Care

SAM KASS understands that health care remains one of the leading costs corporations face today. Infusing wit and candor to captivate audiences with personal stories from inside the White House, Kass offers unique and informative perspectives on the tools and initiatives organizations can implement t ...

SAM KASS understands that health care remains one of the leading costs corporations face today. Infusing wit and candor to captivate audiences with personal stories from inside the White House, Kass offers unique and informative perspectives on the tools and initiatives organizations can implement today to combat these losses. As the former executive director of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and former senior White House policy advisor for nutrition policy, Kass worked with both Congress and the private sector to shape strategic national policies and launch a global discussion. He firmly believes for corporations to successfully address the related costs of health care, executives must first instill a higher value on both employee and customer health. He addresses wellness issues that directly impact your bottom line and explores opportunities that exist for your organization by way of the latest up-and-coming health care developments. Having been a driving force at the forefront of health policy in the United States and an enduring catalyst for global change, Kass earnestly speaks to the issues that bear most on your audience in this thought-provoking and informative presentation.

Eat A Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World

People strive to eat well and be environmentally conscious, but many of us wonder how one family can actually make a difference. In this keynote, SAM KASS breaks down the impact you can have by choosing the right foods for your health and for the environment. He shares the philosophy and stories of ...

People strive to eat well and be environmentally conscious, but many of us wonder how one family can actually make a difference. In this keynote, SAM KASS breaks down the impact you can have by choosing the right foods for your health and for the environment. He shares the philosophy and stories of helping the Obamas create the right habits in their home (in Chicago and the big white one), with tips for shopping and setting up your kitchen to support healthy, environmentally friendly eating. Sometimes going organic, local, and so forth is not realistic, and that's OK – it's all about choosing and doing a little better, and how those choices add up to big change.

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Climate dinner with Sam Kass and Andrew Zimmern puts sustainability on the plate

Former White House chef SAM KASS and 4x James Beard Award-Winning chef ANDREW ZIMMERN teamed up for The Last Supper, a climate-focused dinner as a part of the Great Northern, a Twin Cities winter festival. According to Civil Eats, “Kass has been hosting these meals-as-educational events since 2015 when he served a meal designed to draw attention to food waste to 40 heads of state at COP 21, the gathering that yielded the Paris Climate Agreement.” Exploring the intersection of food, place, agriculture, and climate, Kass’s events “a regionally inspired menu with wine pairings and dishes crafted from what experts believe to be near-extinct ingredients.”

Watch Sam Kass speak at Northwest University >>

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Biography

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.