Speakers

Chris Schwartz

Executive Director, Iowa Food System Coalition and Supervisor, Black Hawk County

Chris Schwartz is the Executive Director of the Iowa Food System Coalition and the current Chair of the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors. For more than 25 years, Schwartz has been a community and political organizer, having worked on nearly every progressive cause of our time. Prior to joining the Iowa Food System Coalition, Schwartz spent 18 years as a state and national organizer for Americans for Democratic Action.

In 2016, Schwartz made history by becoming the first gay man to hold a countywide office in the state of Iowa when he was elected to the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors. He is now in his second term. As a County Supervisor, Schwartz has been a champion for public health, labor, infrastructure, conservation and green energy, with notable successes in all areas.

Schwartz has many active pastimes and hobbies including restoring his historic Waterloo home, which he purchased with his late husband Logun, traveling and seeking out new local and regional foods. He studied both political science and music at the University of Northern Iowa, where he was first introduced to the local foods movement. He is a multi-instrumentalist and can be found playing electric bass, theremin and synthesizers in his rock band The Harmony Electric and in a variety of jazz groups.