About Our Panelists

We are honored to have gathered a distinguished group of individuals for the panel discussion following the film presentation.
Moderator: Steve Levine, Director of Cannabis Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
Vote Hemp Director (2008 to current)
Hemp Industry Association President Emeritus (served as HIA President for 9 years)
HIA Director (served on the HIA Board of Directors for 14 years)
Santa Barbara Hemp Festival (1999-2007)
Produced and Hosted talk radio show “Hemp: Lifeline to the Future” (2000-2005)
Santa Barbara Hemp Company (1997-2002)
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
Vote Hemp

The Filmmaker, Linda Booker
Producer/Director Linda Booker is the founder of By the Brook Productions based in central North Carolina. Linda completed a Certificate in Documentary Arts from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in 2005.
Her first documentary “Love Lived on Death Row” featured a powerful story examining the intersection of domestic violence, restorative justice and the death penalty. “Bringing It Home” is the second feature documentary produced by Linda and co-directed with Blaire Johnson. It won the Jury Award at this year’s Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival and Best Environmental Film at Sedona International Film Festival.
“Bringing It Home” has been part of a national campaign to help educate consumers and lawmakers about hemp’s uses for healthy, sustainable products and the policy changes needed to bring this beneficial crop back to U.S. farmers.
By the Brook has also produced videos for numerous North Carolina non-profits, the City of Durham and Clean Jordan Lake on water quality protection issues.
By the Brook Productions

Beate Kirmse, Cylab Group LLC
Beate, a native of Germany, is the owner of TangerineKangaroo, an online business dedicated to promoting and selling eco-friendly and sustainable products with a focus on Hemp.
Along with building her ecommerce presence, Beate is pursuing LEED Green Associate certification. Her goal is to promote industrial hemp as a healthy and sustainable building material option. Beate and her husband, Bern Galvin, obtained the first permit in California to use hemp masonry for a home addition.
Beate graduated with a Masters equivalent degree in Business and Information Technology from University of Stuttgart, Germany and she holds a Certificate in Arts Administration from New York University.
TangerineKangaroo
Hempcrete Building Diary

John Roulac, Nutiva Founder and CEO
John founded Nutiva in 1999 to create a better food system that nourishes people, communities and our planet. As a vocal challenger of the industrial food system, he is a strong advocate for hemp agriculture, GMO labeling, organic farming and healthy food for all. Through his leadership, Nutiva has been named one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing food companies in America for five consecutive years.
John is a keynote speaker on sustainability, trends in the organic food industry, purpose-driven companies and the impact of genetically engineered food. He has founded four nonprofit groups including GMO Inside and the Nutiva Nourish Foundation, which donates 1% of Nutiva’s sales to support sustainable agriculture and other environmental programs.
Nutiva
Nutiva Nourish Foundation
Lawrence Serbin, Hemp Traders Founder and CEO
In 1990, Lawrence was graduating college and wanted to start a business which would help make the world a better place. As a biology major, he had studied the properties of cannabis hemp. At that time there were no existing hemp companies and virtually no sources of hemp products.
While working a full time job, he began to volunteer his time at an organization called The Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp (BACH). Within a year he became its national director. During his time as director, he familiarized himself with industrial hemp and was able to locate resources in other countries where it was still legal to grow. Lawrence decided hemp textiles offered the best opportunities for a business and stepped down as director of the organization in January 1993 to start Hemp Traders.
Today Hemp Traders is the largest supplier of hemp fiber products in the country with a mission to help the environment by bringing hemp back into the mainstream.
Hemp Traders

Tuesday, August 12 Watershed Workgroup Meeting

Our regular 2nd Tuesday of the month Watershed Workgroup meeting is chaired by Bill O’Brien, who specializes in engineering for water resources and land use.
The Board liaison to the group is David White with a teaching, gardening and permaculture background.
The purpose of the Watershed Workgroup is to save energy by increasing efficient use and conservation of water, and promote the importance of preserving our watershed.
The August 12 meeting will host Jim Hines, Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter.
Regular meeting business will be conducted 4:30 to 5:15pm, then Jim will lead a discussion on “The Politics of Drought” 5:30 to 6:45pm.
Meetings are held at the OVGC Resource Center 206 N. Signal St. Suite S is upstairs from Blatz Law Firm on the Aliso St. and Signal St. corner.
Call (805) 669-8445 for any further questions.

Summer Food Preservation Series

Summer Food Preservation Series

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07%20Jars.jpgSaturday, July 26 – Fermenting with Michelle Dohrn
Course and teacher information here.

Saturday, August 16 – Canning with Christa Bandringa
Course and teacher information here.

Saturday, September 6 – Dehydrating with Risa Horowitz
Course and teacher information here.

All demonstration courses will be held 10:45 am to 1 pm in the Meiners Oaks area, and space is limited to 18 attendees per class.
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OVGC Members
– $35 per course / $90 for all 3 courses
Non-members
– $40 per course / $105 for all 3 courses

Continue reading “Summer Food Preservation Series”