Nationally recognized game changer in the landscape of food waste, hunger and disruptive innovations available for keynote speeches and panel discussions.
Gary Oppenheimer is a nationally recognized thought leader on hunger, food waste, and innovative social change. A CNN Hero, World Food Prize nominee, and Points of Light honoree, he is a sought-after lecturer and keynote speaker whose appearances include two TEDx talks and a Google Tech Talk. His leadership and impact have earned national recognition from HuffPost, the James Beard Foundation, the Russell Berrie Foundation, Glynwood, Elfenworks, Purpose Prize, and Echoing Green.
Read more about Gary
A special offer
When a company books Gary Oppenheimer for a corporate talk, he also donates a complimentary colloquium at a nearby college or university. Your organization receives a high-impact speaker for your event, students gain practical inspiration on turning their ideas for a better world into reality, and your company gains the added public relations value of helping make that second engagement possible. One booking can create two meaningful audiences.
Sample Talks
Testimonials
Topics
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The Power of One — How an aging geek changed America's food safety net
An inspirational look at how people with ideas and passion can make changes that ripple across the world. Key takeaway: You can do the impossible if you first believe it isn’t.
Audience: Universities, corporate events, general public -
Innovative Solutions, Innovative Metrics
How innovative changes call for a new way of measuring success — or failure. And a look at (sometimes) the irrelevance of metrics
Audience: corporate events, think tanks, universities -
Having Faith In Food Waste
A look at Faith Fights food Waste – how a small non-profit empowers clergy of all faiths to learn about and then give sermons on food waste – each from their own faith perspective.
Faith Fights Food Waste
Audience: Faith community -
Pivoting Solutions To Meet Realities On Native American Reservations
An exploration of how AmpleHarvest.org adapted its model and technology to meet the needs and challenges of Native American Reservations nationwide.
AmpleHarvest.org in Indian Country
Audience: Native Americans, think tanks, general public -
Food Waste Costing More Than You Thought
Half of the produce in America (including 11 billion pounds of locally grown fresh food) is never consumed. Learn the costs of food waste and some of the simple sustainable solutions to the problem.
Audience: General public, gardeners -
AmpleHarvest.org – No Food Left Behind
Challenges encountered by great ideas and innovations in the non-profit realm and why we should welcome risking success.
Audience: Philanthropic groups, investors, government -
America’s Food Safety Net – How We Fight Hunger With One Hand Tied Behind Our Back
While 62 million Americans grow more food in their garden than they can use, preserve or give to friends, 50 million Americans nationwide are food insecure. An award winning disruptive solution enables people to reach into their backyard instead of their back pocket to help end hunger.
Audience: Gardeners, farmers, general public -
Healthier People Make For A Healthier Planet
This keynote explores the powerful connection between healthier food, healthier people, and a healthier planet. It shows how improving what reaches our tables can strengthen both community wellbeing and environmental health.
Audience: Local and state health officials, environmental health professionals, hunger relief and food policy leaders, funders interested in health, food systems, or sustainability, and community leaders looking for practical, scalable solutions -
Running A Nonprofit: Lessons I Learned from Dancing and Biking
This keynote shares playful, hard-won insights about leadership, including that only half the hills are up, you can do the impossible if you first believe it isn't. and when you stumble, make it part of the dance. Blending humor with perspective, the talk reflects on resilience, momentum, and learning to move with challenges instead of resisting them.
Audience: Anyone who runs or is thinking of running a nonprofit - or any enterprise for that matter.
Watch Gary Oppenheimer present at TEDxManhattan
