C. MIKE LINDSEY
C. Mike is a dynamic leader dedicated to improving the accessibility of sustainable food. He is the co-founder of two organizations that integrate restorative infrastructure into the urban food ecosystem: NexLoop, an award winning biomimetic design company building nature-inspired water capture technology for urban agriculture, and FeedForward, a grassroots catering collective empowering marginalized individuals to find meaningful work through holistic cooking.
Prior to entrepreneurship, C. Mike immersed himself in a number of diverse fields. He studied at the University of Rochester where he created an interdisciplinary degree called Integrative Neurobiology, earned a scholarship year to explore the neurolinguistics of bilingualism, and managed a public radio station. After college, C. Mike worked in veterinary medicine for 8 years as a nurse at several emergency hospitals, including the National Zoo. Most notably, he was the Director of Development & Client Advocacy of a NYC vet hospital where he implemented his own staff training program and facilitated strategic partnerships, customer relations, and marketing campaigns while actively leading the Surgical Team. C. Mike views the outsider’s perspective as an advantage and has regularly picked up side hustles in the food industry to maintain a creative edge. In 2015, he spent his days off from the hospital apprenticing at Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm. He became fascinated by the challenges of growing food in cities, eventually leaving medicine to get his hands dirty with several other urban farms. C. Mike now focuses on developing comprehensive methods to support NYC’s thriving, local food community.