Speakers

This is a legacy page for the 2019 event.
For the 2020 event, go to the Home page.

Central Florida Veg Fest features several great speakers on a variety of vegan-related topics! Veg Fest speakers are sponsored by Earth Sponsor Vegetarians of Central Florida and emceed by Julie Watkins of Garden Sponsor The Girls Gone Green, and Royce Ashcroft of Garden Sponsor Noor XVII.

If you are interested in being a speaker at Veg Fest, please fill out the Speaker Application. If you have any questions about speaking at Veg Fest, please contact Larry Rumbough at [email protected] or 321-331-1859.

Special Guest!
​10:30 a.m. VeganEvan, VeganEvan's Mission
"Welcome to Central Florida Veg Fest and Vegan Rap"

11:00 a.m. Amber Orman,  AdventHealth Radiation Oncology
"Breast Cancer: The Power of Lifestyle"

Dr. Amber Orman's presentation will discuss the benefits of a whole-foods plant-based lifestyle in terms of cancer prevention, with a focus on breast cancer. It will encompass other pillars of lifestyle medicine, including physical activity, stress management, sleep quality, and social support/connectedness. She will give practical, implementable advice that can be easily adopted by attendees.
 
Dr. Amber Orman is a board-certified plant-based radiation oncologist who is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and specializes in integrative therapies for breast cancer. She joined the AdventHealth Medical group in 2018, and currently practices in Orlando, Kissimmee, and Celebration. Previously she served as breast section faculty at Moffitt Cancer Center, and assistant professor at the University of South Florida Morsani School of Medicine.

1200 p.m. Richard Cortes, NinjaFit Gym
"I Get My Protein From Where Your Protein Gets its Protein"

Richard Cortes will be talking of his journey from a kid athlete to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle filled with drugs, alcohol, and an unhealthy diet-- back full circle to the American Ninja Warrior athlete/gym owner that he is today at 36, fully fueled by plants.

Richard Cortes is a loving husband and father of two kids, a 2-time American Ninja Warrior, EA Sports Manager/Designer, Ninjafit Gym Owner/Trainer.

1:00 p.m. Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, The Joyful Vegan
"How to Stay Vegan in a World That Wants You to Eat Meat, Dairy, and Eggs"

Many people choose veganism as a logical and sensible response to their concerns about animals, the environment, and/or their health. But despite their positive intentions and the personal benefits they experience, they're often met with external factors can make veganism socially difficult and emotionally exhausting to sustain. In this talk, bestselling author and cultural commentator, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau shares her wisdom for managing these challenges and arms audience members, both vegan and plant-based, with solutions and strategies for coming out vegan to family, friends, and colleagues; cultivating healthy relationships (with vegans and non-vegans); communicating effectively; sharing enthusiasm without proselytizing; finding like-minded community; and experiencing peace of mind as a vegan in a non-vegan world.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's compassionate living philosophy is propelling plant-based eating into the mainstream and forever changing how we regard animals. A recognized expert and thought leader on the culinary, social, ethical, and practical aspects of living compassionately and healthfully, Colleen is a speaker, cultural commentator, podcaster, and award-winning author of seven books.

2:00 p.m. Nikki Benoit, The Root Of All Peace
"Peacing It Together--The Path to Miracles in Dark Times"

Her life was falling apart, none of her tools were working, she let go and let her heart take the wheel--the rest was magic! Nikki Benoit's book "Peacing it Together: The Foundation" is on the miracles that came to her when she began just listening to her heart and intuition. It feels like we're all being guided to navigate our lives from this space, the levels of miraculous support we can see confirms this! Her talks include discussion circles for others to share their experiences as well. Just being around this conversation helps unravel limiting beliefs and dysfunctional programs that lead to a flat, unfulfilling life. Everyone leaves inspired!
 
An east coast native, Nikki spent her college years and beyond as an activist for animals, the environment and social justice issues. Needing to make sense of and come to peace with everything along the way, she began her work on the spiritual level. When she realized that the conditions of our outer world are just reflecting the conditions of humanities inner world, her focus shifted to energy healing arts and yoga. Now a Reiki Master, yoga instructor, author, and speaker living in Austin, Texas she hosts discussions on the importance of living a heart-lead life, inspiring steps for self love and personal mastery--the recipe for global peace.

3:00 p.m. Imari Spigner, Noor XVII
"Why I Became Vegan and How it Changed My Life"
 
Imari will be talking about her transition to a vegan diet and how it lead her to higher consciousness and to becoming an animal rights activist.
 
Runway Model Imari Spigner was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Orlando Florida. She first became vegan in April of 2017 and since committing to the lifestyle change she has become compelled to get more involved and educate others about the harsh realities of animal agriculture. She strives to motivate people to extend their compassion and save themselves and the planet through many different forms of activism such as Cube of Truth demonstrations, leading Animal Rights Marches and emceeing Veg Fests all throughout Florida. When she's not doing outreach Imari loves to be on the stage, whether it be emceeing or strutting down the catwalk! Imari has been a runway model for over two years and after meeting life partner Royce Ashcroft the two co-founded Noor XVII, The Vegan Entertainment Network, with intention to spread awareness and shine a light on the vegan lifestyle in a fun way! Imari is full of charm and her charisma and wit make for a fantastic experience every time!

4:00 p.m. Kimberly Kirschner, Willow Star Haven Charitable Foundation
"How to Save Friends and Influence People (or how to present research on the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle meat-eaters can't argue with)!"

If you are thinking about becoming vegan or want to convince friends and loved ones that plant-based living provides optimal health, tune into this evidence based presentation. It answers the  "how to" and "why to" along with providing some fun responses to the question "where do you get your protein?"

After losing her mother to lung cancer, Kimberly was motivated to pursue education and certification/licensing in multiple disciplines with the goal of promoting health through a well-rounded lifestyle focused on proper nutrition, exercise, meditation, rest, and relaxation. Her credentials include: Florida Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN); Masters of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health, Certified Nutrition Specialist; A4M Fellowship in Integrative Oncology; Certified Radical Remission (from cancer) Workshop Instructor; Florida Licensed Massage Therapist; and Certified Personal Fitness Trainer; She is also a Certified Food-for-Life Instructor (Food for Life is a direct service nutrition education program of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). Wellness outreach and counseling is provided through her non-profit Willow Star Haven Charitable Foundation.

5:00 p.m. Leilani Munter, VegNation
"Racing Extinction"

Leilani Munter will be speaking about our human impact on our planet, the sixth mass extinction of species we are currently living through, ways to reduce your impact on the planet and animals (including being vegan), and will show clips from our Emmy-nominated film "Racing Extinction." She will also talk about her vegan outreach program that she did at Daytona and other tracks last year, giving away 30,000 vegan cheeseburgers to race fans over five race weekends with her Vegan Strong race team.
 
Leilani Munter is a biology graduate, race car driver and environmental activist. Discovery's Planet Green named her the #1 eco athlete in the world, ELLE Magazine awarded her their Genius Award, and Sports Illustrated named her one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world. Since 2007, Leilani has been adopting endangered rainforest to offset the carbon footprint of her race car. So far she has protected over 1,500 acres of rainforest. Leilani sits on the Board of the Oceanic Preservation Society, the Academy Award winning filmmakers behind "The Cove." She was featured in their Emmy-nominated documentary film Racing Extinction.  Leilani also sits on the board of EarthxFilm and Empowered by Light. Leilani is also a patron of Population Matters and an ambassador of Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project. Leilani is vegan, her personal car is an electric Tesla Model S which she charges with solar power. Leilani's motto is: never underestimate a vegan hippie.