Curt Ellis

Curt Ellis is a social entrepreneur, filmmaker, and food justice advocate known as the co-founder and co-CEO of FoodCorps. FoodCorps is a nonprofit organization that partners with schools and districts to advance student health, education, and belonging through food. The organization reaches more than 500,000 students annually with its food education and school nutrition programs. Ellis and five colleagues co-founded FoodCorps in response to the national epidemic of childhood obesity and diet-related disease, centering the organization around an AmeriCorps public service initiative that recruits young leaders for a year of full-time service fostering healthy school food environments in low-income communities. Service members conduct nutrition education, build and tend school gardens, and promote local food in school cafeterias.

Before launching FoodCorps, Ellis established himself as a documentary filmmaker. His breakout film, "King Corn," followed Ellis and Ian Cheney on a yearlong quest to grow an acre of corn and trace its journey into food. The film featured journalist Michael Pollan and former Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz, received a limited theatrical release, aired nationally on PBS Independent Lens, and won a George Foster Peabody Award. "King Corn" contributed to reframing public debate around the Farm Bill as the Food Bill. In the sequel, "Big River: A King Corn Companion," Ellis and Cheney returned to Iowa to investigate the ecological impacts of chemical-intensive agriculture. Ellis and Cheney also co-founded the documentary and advocacy company Wicked Delicate Films, whose first feature, "The Greening of Southie," aired on Sundance Channel and told the story of Boston's first residential green building from the perspective of the construction workers.

Ellis began working with the other founders of FoodCorps by leading a planning process that engaged more than 10,000 stakeholders in developing the FoodCorps model. Under his leadership, the organization has become a force for systemic change in school food policy and culture. A frequent speaker on sustainability, Ellis has lectured at TEDx, the Muddy Boot Festival, MountainFilm, and other conferences and campuses. He serves on the steering committee of Voices for National Service and the boards of Springboard Collaborative and GreenWave.

Ellis has been recognized as a Draper Richards Kaplan fellow, Claneil Foundation Emerging Leader, Kellogg Food and Community fellow, New Profit Social Entrepreneur, and Emerson Collective Dial fellow, and is a recipient of the Heinz Award, Pearl Award, and GQ Leader Award. He was also named to the NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College's inaugural list of "40 Under 40" rising stars. Ellis holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale University. His career, spanning documentary filmmaking, policy advocacy, and nonprofit leadership, demonstrates an ability to translate complex food system challenges into compelling narratives and actionable solutions, establishing him as a prominent voice on the intersection of food, justice, and public health.