Two Minnesota leaders, Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford and U of M School of Public Health professor Rachel Hardeman, made the prestigious TIME100, the national magazine’s annual list of “Most Influential People of 2024.”

Ford was recognized for helping Americans understand the global food chain. “The farm-to-table movement has been happening at restaurants since the 1970s. But thanks to Beth, the farm-to-boardroom-table movement is just beginning,” TIME wrote. “She’s showing corporations and the government the absolute necessity of investing in rural America.

On the topic of health equity, TIME wrote of Hardeman: “Her antiracism research has been at the forefront of our fight to end our nation’s maternal-health crisis, uplifting evidence-based solutions to address the root causes of racism in our health care system.

Both Ford and Hardeman have been recognized on the TCB 100 list in the past. Ford was a TCB Person of the Year in 2020. Hardeman participated in a TCB Talks panel discussion in late February on health equity. “It’s racism – not race – that is impacting our ability to achieve health equity,” Hardeman told the audience. “It’s not the physical appearance of someone’s skin color that is making them more sick. It’s that we live in a system, a society, and within structures that have marginalized and allocated resources based on how people look, and not necessarily on the notion of equity.”

They’ve also been the subject of ongoing coverage at our magazine.
Read More on Rachel Hardeman »
Read More on Beth Ford »