Danforth Plant Science Center Elects World Food Prize Laureate to Board of Directors

Cary Fowler, PhD, is the recipient of the 2024 World Food Prize and a leading figure in international food security. He is the president of the Food Security Leadership Council and father of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, an Arctic facility that safeguards more than 1.3 million seed varieties, protecting global agriculture from threats like environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. He is the author of several books, including most recently the Nautilus Book Award winner Seeds on Ice. Previously Fowler served as the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy for Global Food Security. He is the past Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and is Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. His groundbreaking work has been highlighted in The New Yorker, 60 Minutes, and the documentary Seeds of Time. He holds a PhD from Uppsala University in Sweden, as well as several honorary doctorates.

In August 2025, Fowler was the featured speaker at the Danforth Center’s Seeds of Change event.  Learn more about what he had to share about global food security here.

Wesley Jones, co-founder and principal, Sage Capital, and Sanjeev Krishnan, chief investment officer, Seed 2 Growth (S2G), have completed their board terms. The Danforth Center is grateful for their service.