- 2017 Candidates
- KIM DIETZ, Senior Manager, Environmental, Natural and Organic Policy, The J.M. Smucker Company
- TOM DZIKI, SVP Real Estate and Sustainability, UNFI
- BOB KAAKE, Innovation Director, Annie’s Inc.
- ASHLEY KOFF RD, Owner, Ashley Koff RD LLC
- TODD LINSKY, Principal, Todd Linsky Consulting
- BRITT LUNDGREN, Director of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture, Stonyfield Farm Inc.
- JEREMIAH MCELWEE, SVP Merchandising & Private Label, Thrive Market
- DR. MIKE MENES, Vice President of Food Safety & Technology, True Organic Products Inc.
- PAUL SCHIEFER, Director of International and Restaurant Operations, Amy’s Kitchen
- MARK SQUIRE, President, Good Earth Natural Foods
- SYLVIA TAWSE, Founder and Chief Fresh Officer, The Fresh Ideas Group
CAST YOUR VOTE
KIM DIETZ
Senior Manager, Environmental, Natural and Organic Policy, The J.M. Smucker Company
Kim Dietz brings over 30 years of experience and delivers exceptional expertise in organic policy, quality assurance, organization design and human resource development. She has done voluntary work for OTA throughout her career both as a leader and as a participant. Kim is currently enrolled in Michigan State University working towards her Master’s degree in Global Food Law.
Kim serves as Vice-President of the OTA Board of Directors as well as Chair of the GROOrganic Steering Committee. She has also served on USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and California’s Organic Products Advisory Committee (COPAC), and is a founding member of the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) and Materials Working Group (MWG). Throughout her life, she has been involved in organic farming and sustainability. She lives in Chico, California, with her husband Michael, dog Kiko, and Siamese cats Yuki and Sagi.
Professional Experience:
- Organic Trade Association (OTA),
- Current Vice-President of the OTA Board of Directors
- Current Chair of the GROOrganic Steering Committee.
- Currently serve on the Executive and Governance Committees
- Past OTA volunteer positions;
- Co-chair of the Materials Classification Committee; Chair of MPPL Committee, Nanotechnology, and Grower Group Taskforces and member of the Technical Advisory Committee (1992 to Present)
- Sprouts Market - Vendor Advisory Council (2017-current)
- QAI Stakeholder Committee on Transitional Certification (2017-current)
- CCOF LLC Management Committee (2014-2015)
- USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), Board Secretary and Materials Committee Chair. Handling Board Representative (2000 to 2005)
- Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), Founding Executive Committee Member. Kim was an initial board member and served as secretary (1996 to 2003).
- California Organic Products Advisory Committee (COPAC), Member (1999 to 2005)
- Material Working Group (MWG), Founding Member & Co-Chair (2006 to Present)
Work Experience:
- J.M. Smucker Company:
- Senior Manager, Environmental, Natural and Organic Policy (May 2016 to present)
- Senior Manager, Compliance & Industry Relations (January 2014 - 2016)
- Manager, Human Resource & Regulatory Compliance (1999-2014)
- Manager, Smucker Quality Management Systems & Organization Design (2001-2014)
- Manager, Quality Assurance (1995-1999)
- Buyer, Organic Fruit (1991-1995)
- Production Planner (1986-1991)
- Accounting Clerk (1984-1986)
Education:
- Masters of Jurisprudence (MJ ), Global Food Law from Michigan State University - (currently enrolled – expected graduation 2018)
- B.S. in Science from Chico State University (1994)
Certifications:
- Kepner-Tregor, “Certified Process Consultant,” and “Certified Ethics Trainer,” problem-solving and decision-making certification course. (1999)
TOM DZIKI
SVP Real Estate and Sustainability, UNFI
Tom Dziki is Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Sustainability at UNFI, a licensed architect and beekeeper living in Eastern Connecticut. His current responsibilities include sustainability, philanthropy, real estate and construction. He has been with UNFI for more than 15 years, and has held a variety of executive roles including President Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, President Select Nutrition Distributors and Chief Human Resources Officer. His experiences at UNFI have given Tom valuable insight into many aspects of the organic food supply chain. He believes that his diverse background working through complex systems and organizations can be a benefit to the Organic Trade Association.
BOB KAAKE
Innovation Director, Annie’s Inc.
Bob Kaake is Director of Innovation, Technology and Quality at Annie’s Inc., a long-time industry leader in the organic and natural food space based in Berkeley, CA, and currently the fastest-growing brand in its division. As the leader of Annie’s product innovation, Bob leads a passionate team of product development and quality professionals to ideate, develop, and bring innovations to market that drive Annie’s long-standing mission to create great-tasting foods that are better for people and the planet. Over his 11-year tenure at Annie’s, Bob has driven the brand’s portfolio growth by leveraging ingredient quality as a standard, converting its collective product sales from 10 percent organic to over 90 percent (Certified Organic and “Made with Organic”). With that growth, Bob has navigated through the challenges of a supply-constrained market across both ingredients and product manufacturing. Bob firmly believes meaningful partnerships across all levels of the organic supply chain are the key to a successful food company. Additionally, his ability to navigate and influence across functions, while keeping product quality and sustainability top of mind, has been instrumental to the Annie’s success story.
Bob’s interest in food began at an early age helping his mom cook in the kitchen. With an engineer’s brain he inherited from his father, he eventually found a way to blend the two interests and became a food scientist. He believes that the most delicious foods start with real ingredients and everyone has the right to know how their favorite foods are farmed, raised and produced.
Bob has over 30 years of food industry experience in product development and quality assurance, including previous leadership roles at PowerBar, Sunshine Biscuits and Ventura Foods. Bob currently serves on the Board of Trustees for The Organic Center, a non-profit research and education organization under the auspices of the Organic Trade Association. Bob is a Certified Food Scientist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science from Purdue University. Bob and his husband live in San Francisco, the ultimate destination where technology and good food collide.
ASHLEY KOFF RD
Owner, Ashley Koff RD LLC
Ashley Koff, RD, is your better health enabler. For decades, Ashley has helped thousands achieve and maintain their better health goals using her better nutrition tools to assess their current nutrition, keep what’s better, and act better, not perfect, more often. Today, she is recognized among the first healthcare practitioners to publicly educate and advocate for organic. Ashley’s work combines her skills as an award-winning global nutrition expert and those from her work as a strategic planner for a global advertising agency to create messages that encourage support for organic agriculture and production by consumers, retailers, the media, influencers, educators and policymakers.
At the start of her nutrition career, Ashley sought to define better nutrition and faced a lack of education opportunities for healthcare practitioners to explore organic agriculture and its impact on human health. As such, she created her own global organic agriculture education ‘adventure’ much of which she covered in the media (Good Morning America “Going to the Source” health segments, Huffington Post, Prevention, Oprah magazines, The Today Show). The knowledge acquired ignited a passion to define organic as a better nutrition tool to enable better health for all – people and planet – today and tomorrow. She created the dietary label “Qualitarian” to promote the importance of ingredient quality above other choices; it continues to enjoy support from leading experts such as Drs. Oz, Hyman, Katz, chefs, authors, and influencers and is used by consumers to define their preferences.
Today, Ashley is a leading world nutrition expert sought out for her better nutrition knowledge and unique ability to translate it into messages that empower recipients to make better nutrition choices, more often. She shares her message with millions nationwide via The Better Nutrition Membership, in the media, as a speaker, spokesperson and across her award-winning social media platform. Author of two consumer book, she contributes to medical education materials, and is frequently chosen to educate healthcare providers on better nutrition. She consults for companies and organizations including the Cleveland Clinic, Westin, Blue Cross, and James Beard Foundation, and was selected as the California state representative for the Let’s Move campaign during the Obama Administration. Ashley maintains a private practice online and in Washington, D.C., where she lives with her dog Rerun, is re-learning the trumpet, and enjoys a modest obsession with basketball. For more about Ashley, visit www.AshleyKoffApproved.com.
TODD LINSKY
Principal, Todd Linsky Consulting
Todd Linsky, a veteran of over 30 years in the organic produce industry, started his career as a produce manager in a small natural foods store. He moved as a retailer to a pioneering Southern California multi-chain store in charge of all their produce departments. Todd continued to hone his skills. Working nights on the Los Angeles produce market as an organic buyer, he started the next phase of his journey, moving him eventually to a sister company that was the first grower/shipper in the industry.
In 1989, Todd was asked to represent one of those growers, and the Cal Organic sales company started. What began as a few hundred acres grew to almost forty thousand by 2014.
In 2015, Todd embarked on a journey to establish the TLC (Todd Linsky Consulting) family of companies that would serve the long-term comprehensive needs of businesses worldwide. His goal has been to help build brands and increase supply, all while maintaining the integrity of the organic produce industry. Todd’s focus is on making companies whole thru the development of their people, growing relationships with purpose.
BRITT LUNDGREN
Director of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture, Stonyfield Farm Inc.
Britt Lundgren is passionate about growing the organic sector with integrity in order to advance economic opportunity for farmers, create healthier choices for consumers, and foster a healthier environment. This is the focus of her work as the Director of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture at Stonyfield, and also the reason why she values the work of OTA and would be thrilled to advance these goals as a member of OTA’s Board.
As an active participant in many OTA task forces and lobby days, she has a great appreciation for the work OTA does to protect and advance organic agriculture. She believes that we need to continue to grow funding for organic research as well as strengthen USDA’s ability to support existing organic farmers and help more farmers make the transition. Everyone from farmers to consumers depends on USDA to maintain strong regulations, improve them when necessary, and enforce the standard so that organic certification continues to be meaningful. This also needs to continue to be a priority for OTA.
With over a decade of experience working to advance agricultural sustainability through policy and supply chain initiatives, including six years at Stonyfield, Britt would bring much relevant knowledge and enthusiasm to the OTA Board. In her role at Stonyfield, she leads the company’s partnership with Wolfe’s Neck Farm to launch the Organic Dairy Training Program, which is designed to train the next generation of organic dairy farmers. She also helped to start the Organic Grain Collaborative, which focuses on pre-competitive strategies to increase domestic production of organic grain, and helped to create OTA’s new Organic Grains, Pulses, and Oilseeds Sector Council.
Prior to Stonyfield, she was an agricultural policy specialist for Environmental Defense Fund. She has a Master of Science in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from Tufts University. She serves on the Board of the Sustainable Food Lab, is a Soil Health Advisory Board member for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture, and a past Board member of the Sustainable Food Trade Association.
OTA plays a critical role as a steward of the growing organic sector. Britt would be honored to help support this mission as a member of the Board.
JEREMIAH MCELWEE
SVP Merchandising & Private Label, Thrive Market
A twenty-four year veteran of the Natural Products industry, Jeremiah McElwee has been on all sides of the business and supply chain, literally from seed to shelf. Currently Thrive Market’s Senior Vice President of Merchandising + Private Label, Jeremiah also served for seven years as the Executive Global Coordinator for the Beauty, Apparel & Wellness categories at Whole Foods Market (WFM), a $1.5 billion annual division of the business during his tenure.
During his time at WFM, he pioneered multiple, industry changing, quality standard initiatives including natural beauty standards (WFM’s Premium Body Care standard), organic labeling requirements for personal care, and the largest-ever sustainable packaging guidelines for a major retailer later adopted by Walmart. Jeremiah is also a passionate advocate for and creator of Fair Trade standards that changed the natural products landscape.
In addition to developing hundreds of branded products that line natural food store shelves and managing the Whole Foods & 365 private label brands, he helped Dr. Andrew Weil develop his branded product platform.
Thrive Market launched in November 2014 and has skyrocketed to become the largest national Non-GMO food retailer in the U.S. while democratizing access to natural + organic foods for all Americans. Jeremiah was part of the startup team and built the initial product launch catalog, and is responsible for Thrive Market’s premium quality, yet value priced, private label program. Since December 2015, Thrive has launched over 138 private label items with over 300 more products in the pipeline scheduled for launch in 2017! Ninety-eight percent of the items launched to date are certified organic with a focus on regenerative agriculture practices as well.
Jeremiah and his team spend countless hours sourcing the highest quality, organic + non-GMO products so that Thrive Market Members can feel confident they are getting the absolute best for themselves and their families every day.
When not working as an eco-superhero, he can be found in the Texas Hill Country practicing hot vinyasa yoga, spending time with his daughters, or checking the surf report and planning his next escape to the coast.
DR. MIKE MENES
Vice President of Food Safety & Technology, True Organic Products Inc.
Mike was born and raised in the Midwest and grew up amid the grapes, apples and cherries of Michigan, along with the corn and soy throughout Illinois and the Ohio River valley. Because of his immigrant parents, there was always constant exposure to the outdoors, where chores included working in the garden in the summers and after school.
Mike completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry at Andrews University in Michigan and went on to finish his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. His career interests centered around biological systems and how modification of the surroundings could influence the way these systems interact.
After completing his education, an opportunity presented itself and he moved to the agricultural community of Central California. He left academics but continued pursuing his interest in understanding biological systems, this time as it related to food. Mike joined a testing laboratory in Fresno and ultimately became laboratory director of the food safety testing branch of BSK & Associates.
Mike’s first real interest in organic began in the farmers’ markets throughout the state. There was something undeniably different about the taste of produce grown without chemicals. This is where his interest was sparked. What is this industry all about? What are the biological influences that could affect this finished product? Hence, his next career move was working for True Organic Products (TOP), the leader in organic fertilizers.
Mike began his time at TOP developing food safety systems for this organic fertilizer manufacturer. This was during a time of strong produce industry pressure as a result of the E. coli O157 spinach outbreak a short time prior to his joining the company. This led to FSMA development through participation on the OTA Task Force and the Food Safety & Technology Council for the United Fresh Produce Association.
Currently, Mike is the Vice President of Food Safety & Technology where he continues to apply his food safety knowledge. However, his curiosity about the organic industry and how to affect the biological systems around it continue to be satisfied in his role by helping to find new inputs for use as organic fertilizers. Also, recent participation in the OTA’s Transitional Task Force fueled more questions. What fertilizing tools can be provided to America’s organic farmers? Is it really organic? What needs to be done from a fertilizer perspective to keep up with the growing organic demand? Let’s find out.
PAUL SCHIEFER
Director of International and Restaurant Operations, Amy’s Kitchen
Paul Schiefer is both Director of International Operations and Director of Restaurant Operations for Amy's Kitchen. He is responsible for managing Amy's Kitchen global operations, including new business ventures in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and India. Paul also oversees the Amy's Drive Thru – the first organic drive thru restaurant in the country that opened in July 2015 to tremendous success. Paul has previously held positions in manufacturing, supply chain, technology, and advocacy over his nine years at Amy's. Paul is passionate about using his business skills to meet both economic and values-based goals – with a strong focus on promoting organic agriculture as the best path forward for our global food system.
Paul is a member of an USDA Advisory Committee on Foreign Trade, as well as, a regular contributor to the Organic Trade Association's lobbying efforts and policies. He is currently a director for the Leadership Institute for Ecology and Economy, and a strong advocate for sustainable organic agriculture at a community, national, and international level. Paul is a member of the Amy's Management Committee, Sustainability Leadership Committee and Government Affairs Team.
As a young leader at Amy's, one of Paul's key focus areas is how to motivate and grow the next generation of organic farmers, consumers, and leaders to ensure a bright future for our industry. Paul recognizes that the incredible success of organic can only continue if we can harness the talent, resources, and enthusiasm of our youth to carry the great work of our industry forward. He believes there are many challenges facing our young farmers and leaders, such as access to land, training, and capital that we as an industry can and should help them solve.
In his spare time, Paul loves to cook homemade meals using garden-grown organic ingredients, hike in the local mountains, and spend time with his friends, fiancé and family.
MARK SQUIRE
President, Good Earth Natural Foods
Mark Squire’s career began in the 1960s after reading J.I. Rodale and Sir Albert Howard, which instilled in him a deep conviction that we need to move our agriculture away from pesticide dependence and the foundation of our diets back to natural system approaches. This led to Good Earth Natural Foods where Mark has worked for the last 48 years. During that time, he spent three years out of retail, transitioning a family farm in North Carolina to organic production. This experience left Mark with a deep respect for farming.
Good Earth has always been a leader in developing the organic market. Under Mark’s ownership, there are now two stores in Marin County, CA, selling predominantly organic products. Good Earth also runs a school lunch program, which has been serving predominantly organic lunches to 1,000+ Marin kids, now in its 12th year.
Mark started volunteering for California Certified Organic Farmers in the 1980s as it was developing some of the first organic standards as well as the nuts and bolts of certification. Eventually, Mark served on the CCOF Board for five years.
During the 1990s, Mark served on the Board of OCIA for four years. At that time, OCIA was the largest organic certifier and developed some of the first standards for organic processing—a necessary next step to create the many organic choices available today. Mark subsequently worked for OCIA for several years as staff support for the committee overseeing certification for processors.
Mark Squire’s experience in policy leadership affecting governmental change came through state and county petition systems. He was a proponent of Marin County’s 2004 voter initiative, which banned the cultivation of genetically modified crops in Marin and passed with 61 percent of the vote. Mark was on the steering committees for CA Prop 37, which attempted to create statewide labeling in 2012. Last year he was also on the steering committee for the Sonoma County GMO ban, which passed with 54 percent of the vote.
Mark served on the board of the Non-GMO Project for over 10 years. During that time, he also held the position of Chair of the Standards Oversight Committee, which was charged with developing standards and guidance for GE avoidance.
Mark is the recipient of the 2013 Eco Farm Steward of Sustainable Ag award. He is now the proud owner of a 230-acre mixed operation organic farm in the San Francisco Bay Area.
SYLVIA TAWSE
Founder and Chief Fresh Officer, The Fresh Ideas Group
Sylvia R. Tawse is a founding partner of 22-year old Fresh Ideas Group (FIG), one of the nation’s largest public relations and branding firms specializing in the natural and organic products industry, and honored by Bulldog Reporter as the 2012 Silver Medal Winner for “Boutique Agency of The Year.” FIG’s first client in 1995 was Organic Trade Association.
Sylvia has 30+ years’ experience in food marketing, from owning her restaurant and catering company to managing national product launch and issues campaigns. Prior to FIG, she served as the Marketing & PR for Alfalfa’s Markets.
She believes in the power of gathering around the table. She has worked with national brands in promoting the pleasure of eating while benefiting the environment including: J.M. Smucker & Co., Earthbound Farm, Muir Glen Tomatoes, Bonterra Vineyards, Fetzer Vineyards, Horizon Organic Dairy, Whole Foods Markets, Coleman Natural Meats, Petaluma Poultry, Applegate Farms, Peet’s Coffee, Lundberg Family Farms, Niman Ranch, Quality Assurance International (QAI), and NSF International. Trade associations and non-profits remain a core capability for FIG as evidenced by current clients Slow Food USA, National Bison Association, Boulder County Farmers Market and American Cheese Society.
Sylvia has first-hand knowledge of the organic agriculture. She and her husband, Lyle Davis, own and operate Pastures of Plenty Farm, a 30-acre vegetable and cut flower farm in Longmont, Colorado, which sells at four farmers’ markets and enjoys an active CSA with 70+ shareholders. Sylvia also served on the Colorado Organic Producers Association when state regulations were drafted and codified.
Sylvia brings her professional culinary background to FIG and its clients. She served as Host City Chair for the International Association of Culinary Professionals Annual Conference in Denver (2009), and Treasurer and now Senior Adviser to the board of Chef’s Collaborative. She is a founding member and Senior Adviser to the Board of Directors of Naturally Boulder. She is proud of FIG’s work and donations to client Conscious Alliance, a non-profit providing youth empowerment and food to America’s poorest community, Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Sylvia graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Columbia College and studied at the University of Reading in England. She has four children with her husband Lyle Davis and two very happy farm dogs.