A life-long learner, I bring curiosity in what ever I do. I have been thinking outside of the box for most of my life to find creative solutions for the challenges we face. From my four years working in refugee camps in Thailand to a Masters Degree from the School for International Training, I have been exposed to new ways of seeing the world.

After 15 years of building Food Connects into a social enterprise with $5M in annual revenue, I have made the challenging decision to open a new chapter and continue learning. I aim to share what I have learned and experienced. 

As a GenXer I have had the privilege of seeing how seeing multiple generations work and have been open-minded to shifting paradigms. I have been a part of incredible new forms of collaboration and partnership, practiced first-hand social entrepreneurship and shared leadership, all while using a systems thinking lens.

My experience in the food system has first of all been based in the belief that an intervention in the food system impacts many of the issues I care about from community-based rural economic development to climate change resilience and mitigation to social justice and public health and education and more.

The need for and value of a social enterprise model continues to be clear. We need structures that take the best of the “business” sector and the “charity” sector to create sustainable enterprises that serve the common good. We need to get out of the old paradigm of its one or the other. Its both.

I have also learned about how to take calculated risks in uncertain situations. To take action, learn from action (and mistakes!), and to iterate and try again. We don’t always have answers to our complex world but we can solve problems by trusting ourselves to ask better questions by taking action.

I have always had a personal growth mindset to keep evolving and learning. I thrive working in small teams with a complex problem to solve, challenging each others’ assumptions to bring out new, creative ideas. 

I look forward to supporting others on their journeys.