Next Monday, September 9, Founders League will host RallyRI and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council as they hold a roundtable discussion with author and economist Michael Shuman on what it will take to grow more successful food-related businesses in Rhode Island.
Michael will lead the group in a conversation about the unique opportunities and constraints inherent in Rhode Island’s food sector, developing business skills, creating support communities, and evaluating alternative ownership models.
Michael Shuman is director of research for Cutting Edge Capital, director of research and economic development at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. He holds an AB with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a JD from Stanford Law School. He has led community-based economic-development efforts across the country and has authored or edited seven previous books, including The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (2006), Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age (1998) and Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Acheive Real Prosperity.
In recent years, Michael has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha's Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO), and served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. He has given an average of more than one invited talk per week for 25 years throughout the United States and the world.
Food and Beverage innovation--and fostering the launch of more scaleable food startups-- is a central component of Rally RI’s mission and part of a portfolio of work to support and encourage entrepreneurship in Rhode Island’s amazing food and beverage community.