Robert Sheilds received his natural resource management education in Vermont and has had a professional career in renewables and green building. The last decade spent on the frontline of a rapidly changing planet in Fairbanks, Alaska, has prepared him for what comes next for us all. Robert is a champion of permaculture as the foundation of a regenerative economy and believes that Alaska is in the process of emerging as a living lab where innovation, not fossil fuels, drives us forward and that industrial hemp is the key to practical self-reliance where food, energy, and zero waste policies keep costs low and the quality of life high for generations to come. As the founder of the nonprofit Alliance for Reason and Knowledge, ARK, Robert strives to convert public schools into experiential practicums and STEAM (or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics), nurturing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Robert believes mainstreaming the hemp industry in Alaska and regionally across the US can save our farm feed and families.