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Wilma Dykeman Legacy – Green Money Forum: “Valuing the Environment” Panel
June 2, 2022 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
$5.00
Speakers
Leah Mathews
Professor and Chair of Economics @Uuniversity of North Carolina Asheville
Dr. Leah Greden Mathews is an applied environmental economist. Her research focuses on estimating the value of those things you can’t buy on grocery store shelves – like water quality, scenic quality and cultural heritage. Leah is a founding member of the Food for Thought cluster at UNC Asheville, a multidisciplinary faculty group teaching courses across campus. Food for Thought focuses on developing students as informed consumers of food by providing a platform for discussion of what we eat, why we eat, where our food comes from, its journey from production to consumption, and how food affects our bodies and health. As a systems-thinking teacher/scholar, Leah engages students and colleagues from multiple disciplines in order to enrich her intellectual life and to broaden her understanding of the world. Dr. Mathews earned her BA in Economics, French, and International Affairs from Marquette University, and her PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.
Jamie Ager
Chief Executive Officer @Hickory Nut Gap Farm
Jamie Ager is a fourth-generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, North Carolina. Jamie, in partnership with his wife Amy, built Hickory Nut Gap into a well-established regional brand and created a destination farm that welcomes visitors to learn about agriculture. The farm currently raises organic cattle, pasture-raised hogs and poultry, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. In addition to the farming production, the Agers built and oversee an on-farm store and butcher shop. Jamie and his wife Amy have three sons and live at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. In his spare time, Jamie enjoys working on the farm, swimming in the farm pond, learning, and spending time with his family.
David Gantt
Attorney and former Chair @Board of Commissioners of Buncombe County
David Gantt is an Asheville-based Social Security Disability and Workers’ Compensation lawyer. He earned his BA in Economics at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and his JD at Campbell University Law School. David was elected to the Buncombe County Commission in 1996 and served as Chair from 2008 to 2016. The governor appointed him to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission (2008-2012), as well as to the Mountain Resources Commission (Chair, 2010-2013). David has won the Sierra Club of Western North Carolina’s Leadership Award, the Minnie Jones Social Justice Award, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Legacy Award, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County’s Humanitarian Award.
