In 1998, after a successful career as a musician and recording artist in Germany, Helge moved from Hamburg to the San Francisco Bay Area in pursuit of a healthier life. Recovered from a serious illness by eating local organic foods just a year prior, he became a scholar of organic food production and sustainability.

After working as Wild Oats Markets’ Northern California Marketing Manager, Helge accepted a position at California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), one of the largest organic food certifiers in the United States. There, as Director of Marketing & Communications, Helge worked to educate the food industry and the public on the value of organic food and the importance of establishing an agricultural system based on biologically sound methods.

During his time at CCOF, he produced, wrote, and hosted an educational video entitled, “Organic Food & Agriculture – Past, Present, Future.” The video encouraged CBS to choose him as the spokesperson for the “Inside Organic” campaign on KPIX, which aired in fall and winter of 2003.
Also while with CCOF, Helge studied holistic nutrition at Baumann College in Santa Cruz, combining his understanding of the environmental benefits of organic food production with a human health perspective.

In 2004, he became the Executive Director of Marin Organic, an innovative association of organic producers in Marin County, California, dedicated to creating the first organic county in the nation. The organization addresses today’s economic, environmental, social, and cultural challenges in new and creative ways, and has become one of the most progressive voices of sustainable agriculture in the United States. Marin Organic’s members include such well-known names as Cowgirl Creamery, makers of award-winning organic cheeses, Star Route Farms, the oldest continuously certified organic farm in California, and Straus Family Creamery, the first organic dairy west of the Mississippi.

As Executive Director, Helge regularly hosts political leaders, environmental activists, well-known authors, and international dignitaries such as Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on their visit to Marin in November of 2005.

To reach a broader audience and give a platform for both his work with Marin Organic and the growing local and organic food movement, in 2009, Helge launched An Organic Conversation, a weekly radio show on Clear Channel affiliate Green 960. An Organic Conversation features groundbreaking initiatives and ecology-based thinking in the organic food and holistic health movement, blending science with ancient knowledge, and spirituality with many observations and stories from the land.

As an authority in the field of organic food production, sustainability, and human health, Helge is a regular speaker at conferences throughout the United States and Canada, and has advised businesses, organizations, local and state governments, as well as U.S. Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives, on agricultural challenges and opportunities.

Helge currently serves on the Board of the Ecological Farming Association (EFA), as well as on the Advisory Board of Cal Poly’s Sustainable Agriculture Program in San Luis Obispo