2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Valerie Segrest, an enrolled member of the Muckleshoot Tribe and co-founder of Tahoma Peak Solutions, is a passionate advocate for food sovereignty and traditional food systems. For over a decade, she has worked to empower Tribal communities by increasing access to traditional foods and healing systems through culturally grounded education and advocacy. Valerie directs the Native Plants and Foods Institute and co-founded the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project, where she developed gardens, curricula, and intergenerational learning rooted in Coast Salish knowledge.

She holds degrees in Human Nutrition and Environment & Community and was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People of 2025. A former Kellogg Food and Community Fellow, she has shared her expertise globally and has been featured by Women’s Day magazine, Food Network Magazine, the J. Jill “Inspired Women” Campaign, The Seattle Times, The New York Times, and KUOW’s "Splendid Table." Valerie writes the Indigenous Foodways column for YES! magazine and co-authored Feeding Seven Generations: A Salish Cookbook and Indigenous Home Cooking: Menus Inspired by the Ancestors. Valerie continues to champion Indigenous knowledge as a path to healing and resilience.