For the past 25 years, Larry has worked nationally in sustainable agriculture and food systems and has helped create numerous organizations many of which provided conceptual threads that led to the Food Commons. At the Food Commons he directs the development of the organization on the regional and national levels, coordinates the Executive Team and chairs the National Board. Larry also serves on the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2012.

From 1976 to 2008, Larry had an academic career with the University of California Cooperative Extension and in 1986 he was appointed director of the Cooperative Extension office for Ventura County. In 1993, he founded the UC Hansen Trust, a multi-million dollar University of California endowment established to sustain and benefit agriculture in Ventura County, and, in 1997 he established and directed the UC Hansen Agricultural Research and Education Center.

In 1996, Larry worked with Mr. Dee Hock, founder and CEO Emeritus of VISA International, on the design of innovative organizational structures. From 1996-2002 Yee helped start the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, working with fishermen and environmentalists; the Society for Organizational Learning, working with MIT and Peter Senge; and his work at the Kellogg Foundation led to the development of Community Alliances of Interdependent Agriculture, the precursor to the national Association of Family Farms where he served as national board chair from 2002-05.

Larry has served on two national USDA Cooperative Extension strategic planning committees, one on organizational diversity and the other on the future of American agriculture. In 2003-04, he was appointed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as National Program Leader for Food Marketing Systems Innovations. In 2003, he was also invited to join the Agriculture of the Middle national initiative and continues to serve on the National Coordinating Committee.

From 2002-08, Larry served on the Stewardship Council of the California Roots of Change and was elected board chair in 2006. He is a past board member of the national Food Alliance and currently serves on the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa.

Larry was a founding member of the Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance and the Regional Civic Leadership Alliance. He has also served on the Board of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy.

Larry received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from University of California, Davis, and a Master of Business Administration degree in Agribusiness from the University of Santa Clara. He was also a Kellogg Fellow at the Resources for the Future Institute in Washington DC.

Register to hear Larry Yee speak at the 3rd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference: Cultivating our Future on March 21 – 22 at the Highlander Union Building at University of California, Riverside by going to this URL: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-growriverside-conference-tickets-20479422504

Related Articles:

California Organization Takes on an Ambitious Goal: Restructuring the Entire Food System