Meet our Speakers
Thank you to the wonderful speakers who joined us at the 2024 New England VegFest! See other festival activities.
Jackie Akerberg - Jackfruitful Kitchen
Jackie Akerberg is the recipe creator, food lover, and photographer behind the popular plant-based food blog Jackfruitful Kitchen and the Instagram account @jackfruitfulkitchen. What started as a creative outlet and passion project after going vegan in 2019 has turned into a much bigger part of Jackie’s life, with a rapidly growing Internet presence and now, her first cookbook, The Clean Vegan Cookbook. Jackie specializes in creating original, delicious, easy-to-follow vegan and gluten-free recipes to simplify healthy cooking and meal planning while utilizing whole foods and organic ingredients that are good for you and good for the planet. Jackie has been featured in The Complete Guide to Plant-Based Food and dsm magazine, Good Old Vegan, and Vegan Bowls™.
When Jackie is not creating new recipes, photographing food and writing content, she is busy managing the daily operations and systems of the entrepreneurial world she shares with her husband, Clinton. This includes their wealth-management firm, their co-working space, and a portfolio of real estate and Airbnb properties. Being self-employed enables Jackie and Clinton to travel often, which they love to do. Some of their favorite destinations are Paris, the South of France (where they were married), Colorado, and the Caribbean. They love to enjoy new vegan food experiences, good wine, hiking, cycling, sailing, diving, and skiing. Jackie lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where she grew up, and she enjoys hosting dinners and parties for friends and family in her and Clinton’s historic 100-year-old home. While she loves to travel, she also enjoys spending time in her rapidly growing hometown, where new restaurants are frequently opening with more and more offering healthy plant-based options.
Sara Tercero - BetterFoodGuru
Sara Tercero is the Chef and creative force behind the popular vegan food blog and Instagram sensation @Betterfoodguru. She was a restaurant chef for almost three decades before bringing her passion and creativity to the internet. As a lifelong salad lover, her penchant for creating vibrant and balanced meal salads has earned her the moniker “The Salad Queen.” Sara’s video style and unique voiceovers (replete with a “wicked” Massachusetts accent) have amassed over 1 million followers online.
Sara’s mission is to present vegan food in a way that is appealing to everyone. Her recipes are approachable and full of healthy whole foods and bold global flavors. Since going vegan in 2019, she has been sharing vegan recipes on social media and at Betterfoodguru.com. People love her recipes because they are easy to make and taste delicious. Plus, her “soft” approach to veganism and non-judgmental space is friendly to vegans and non-vegans alike. She wants to change the world one plate at a time by helping people enjoy eating their vegetables.
Sara’s debut cookbook, Plant-Based Diet in 30 Days, is an essential guide for anyone trying out or transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle. Her book includes easy and creative recipes organized into a 30-day meal plan, with shopping lists and extras to make the transition simple. The lifestyle is explained in easy-to-understand language, and the recipes are imaginative and simple to execute.
Sara is a Massachusetts native who attended UMass Amherst. She spent years cooking in iconic fast casual restaurants like Tortilla Sams of Worcester and Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe in the California Bay Area, among many others. She was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2011, her recipes and food photos have appeared in THRIVE Magazine, and she even has her own meal planning app. Nowadays, Sara and her rowdy young family are enjoying the Massachusetts scenery, culture, and food. And you will always find her “smashing salad” in her face.
Joint Presentation & Demo - Debunking Common Myths about Plant-Based Eating
Think vegan food is too expensive? Hard to cook? Boring? Not filling enough? Or lacking in protein and essential nutrients? Vegan food experts Jackie Akerberg and Sara Tercero are here to set the record straight as they debunk these common myths about plant-based eating.
Through entertaining demos and thoughtful advice, Jackie and Sara will show you how to:
- cut costs by opting for whole foods such as beans, rice, and unprocessed fruits and veggies
- use a sheet pan, one pot, or blender to cook quick and easy whole foods meals
- balance your meals so they are filling and not just carb heavy
- boost protein in vegan meals
- explore the wonderful variety of color, texture, and flavor in plant-based food
- ensure you are getting essential nutrients by supplementing with B12
Whether you are new to plant-based eating or want to learn some new vegan food tricks, this is presentation is a must-see!
- 1:00pm in the Ghosh Center Lecture Hall -
Book signings to follow
Robert Cheeke - The Plant-Based Athlete
Robert grew up on a farm in Corvallis, Oregon, where he adopted a vegan lifestyle in 1995 at age 15, weighing just 120 pounds. Today he is the author of the books, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, Shred It!, Plant-Based Muscle, the New York Times bestseller, The Plant-Based Athlete, and his latest, The Impactful Vegan, to be released on June 25, 2024.
Robert is often referred to as the “Godfather of Vegan Bodybuilding,” growing the industry from infancy in 2002, to where it is today. As a natural bodybuilding champion, Robert is considered one of VegNews magazine's Most Influential Vegan Athletes. He tours the world sharing his story of transformation from a skinny farm kid to champion vegan bodybuilder. Robert is the founder of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness and maintains the website VeganBodybuilding.com and can be found at @veganbodybuildingandfitness. He is a regular contributor to Forks Over Knives, The Center for Nutrition Studies, Vegan Strong, The Vegan Gym, and No Meat Athlete, is a former multi-sport athlete, and has followed a plant-based diet for more than 28 years. Robert lives in Colorado with his wife and two rescued Chihuahuas.
Presentation - How To Be An Impactful Vegan
U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern
Congressman Jim McGovern represents the Second District of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives. He is a champion for the people of his home state of Massachusetts, and a global leader working to end hunger, protect human rights, and promote peace. He believes public service should be about bringing us together and working to make life better for all our families.
Jim has been the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee since 2018, serving as Chairman during the 116th and 117th Congress. Jim has worked hard on the Rules Committee to change business as usual on Capitol Hill and make Congress work in a more open, transparent, bipartisan way. For example, he put in place rules to give all Members of Congress more time to read bills. He required that bills to go through the committee process instead of just being written behind closed doors, and he created a new office to recruit and retain congressional staff that reflect the diversity of the American people.
On the House Agriculture Committee, Jim has been a global leader in the fight to end hunger. He fought for and successfully secured a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to make ending hunger a national priority. Thanks to Jim's advocacy and tireless work, military families are being screened for hunger for the first time ever, families with children get enhanced food benefits, schools are able to provide more nutritious meals, and America now has a plan to end hunger within the decade.
Jim was born and raised in the Burncoat neighborhood of Worcester. The values he learned from his family are the same ones he fights for every day in Congress: fairness, decency, respect for all people, and the idea that each of us has an obligation to give back to our community. Jim’s parents, Walter and Mindy, own a small package store in Worcester, and his sisters are both public school teachers. He is married to Lisa Murray McGovern and they have two children, Patrick and Molly.
The PLANT Act for Plant-Based Food Production
The 2024 NEVF is thrilled to welcome special guest speaker U.S. Representative Jim McGovern, who will speak briefly about some of his current legislative efforts to promote food and nutrition security, including the Peas, Legumes, and Nuts Today Act (PLANT Act), a bill to support plant-based food production and local farmers.
- 12:30pm in the Ghosh Center Lecture Hall -
Followed by a reading of the 2024 Worcester Vegan Week Proclamation