Theresa Marquez, Heartland Stories Radio Producer and Host

A pioneer of the natural foods movement, Theresa Marquez has dedicated her 40-year career to “protecting family farmers and facing our health crisis through a culture of healthy food.” Founding president of The Organic Center, and CROPP Cooperative’s first chief marketing executive, Theresa helped to grow Organic Valley from $5M annual sales to America’s largest organic farming cooperative with $1.1B in revenue. Known for her change-inspiring projects such as WomenShare, Grass Up, Earth Dinner and FrogTV, Theresa amplified the good food movement as co-host of Rootstock Radio, a podcast “celebrating the change-makers who are working to restore and revitalize our broken food and farming system.”

Recipient of the Organic Trade Association’s 2010 Organic Leadership Award for Achievement in Growing the Organic Industry, the natural foods leader saw her 2019 retirement as a launching point. Upon a friend’s recommendation, “don’t retire… rewire,” Theresa teamed with HHRA Executive Director Charles Benbrook to launch HHRA’s flagship project “The Heartland Study” — seeking answers to the mounting evidence that herbicide exposure is causing birth and developmental defects. In support of the study, Theresa hosts the weekly radio and podcast series Heartland Stories Radio, with stories aimed “to move minds and hearts toward a food culture that improves our quality of life and protects our children.”