Herrick (“Rick”) Fox is the Founder of Meristem Institute, a non-profit that builds capacity for policies and value chains that fulfill hemp's promise as a climate-smart driver of opportunity for all. He is also Co-Founder of Meristem Farms, a Vermont producer of hemp crops and consumer products since 2018. Rick co-chairs the Government Affairs Committee of the National Industrial Hemp Council of America, and the Committee on Policy & Regulations of the Federation of International Hemp Organizations. Prior to Meristem, Rick completed his 15-year USDA career in senior management with the Foreign Agricultural Service, leading a division in agricultural trade capacity-building. Before that he worked in the Forest Service, first in land management on National Forests and later in policy with senior Department officials and the US Senate Committee on Agriculture. In his early career, Rick lived in Siberia and the Russian Far East for 6 years in the 1990’s, working in conservation and forest science.