MEET OUR TEAM

Passionate Leaders Driving Northern California’s Natural Products Industry Forward

Our team comprises dedicated professionals from diverse sectors of the natural products industry. Their combined expertise and commitment fuel our mission to foster a thriving community in Northern California. We invite you to learn more about our Board Members, Emeritus Board, and Staff, and connect with them at our upcoming events.

Naturally NorCal Board of Directors

Elliot Begoun

Founder and Brand Champion of TIG Brands

Elliot Begoun is a 30-year industry veteran, author, podcast host, founder of TIG Brands, and a champion of Tardigrades. TIG Brands supports a community of entrepreneurs interested in building nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brands that become Tardigrades, not Unicorns. Learn more about TIG Brands’ programs here and catch Elliot at FoodBytes, the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute, and the Natural Products Business School. Tune into the TIG Talks podcast and find Elliot’s articles in publications such as The Huffington Post, SmartBrief, and New Hope.

Elliot Begoun

Mirek Boruta

Sr. Director, International Sales at Feastables

Mirek has over 15 years of CPG experience, all focused in the natural food space. He has worked at small brands and has helped manage larger brands including Silk Plant Based Milk and Clif Bar. His passion is working with cross functional partners to identify consumer pain points. Mirek does this by solving those needs with consumer products, and bringing them to market through awareness, trial and purchase tactics. Outside of work, Mirek is a husband, father of 2 kids and an exercise enthusiast. He does triathlons, plays tennis and just generally loves being outside. Above all, Mirek focuses to source and eat healthy and sustainably for himself, his family and community to support all those passions.

Mirek Boruta

Pete Brennan

President of Innovation at Mattson

An experienced CPG Executive with a love for building brands and a drive to positively impact communities through natural & organic mission-driven businesses that inspire a shift forward in the food system and the world around us. Pete currently sits as Chair of the Naturally Bay Area board and brings 20+ years of Consumer Packaged Goods experience to his role as Vice President of Innovation at Mattson. Having worked and learned at small and large companies like Kellogg’s, Foster Farms, Del Monte, Zola, Purely Righteous Brands, and the E. & J. Gallo Winery – he has led & developed iconic food & beverage brands including Kashi, Morningstar Farms, Gardenburger, Eggo, Foster Farms Fresh Chicken, and most recently his own husband-wife startup, Soñar! Organic Grain Free Tortilla Chips. When Pete isn’t working or talking natural products, you can find him riding one of his bikes or teaming up with his wife to chase after their daughters on the soccer field or around the house in Oakland, CA.

Pete Brennan

Kristel Corson

Chief Marketing Officer at Traditional Medicinals

Kristel joined Traditional Medicinals in 2022 as their Chief Marketing Officer to focus on building the brand for its next phase of growth, rooted in purpose and delivering high-quality, medicinal products that harness the power of plants and their many wellness properties. Prior to Traditional Medicinals, Kristel spent more than 30 years helping beloved brands like Clover Sonoma, LeapFrog, Jamba Juice and Clif Bar & Co. meet or exceed business objectives through a combination of innovative new product launches, strong retail presence and marketing programs that create positive, lasting consumer connections. In her last role at Clover Sonoma as Chief Revenue Officer overseeing Marketing and Sales, Kristel led the transformation of the brand from a values-based regional brand to a national, conscious consumer brand through mission driven branding and innovative new products. Corson championed Clover Sonoma’s B-Corp certification as a way to align the business with its care for people, the community, and the planet. A key focus for Corson was packaging sustainability and product innovation. Under her leadership, Clover launched the first fully renewable plant-based milk carton in 2020 and the first gallon milk jug with 30% post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in 2022. In 2022, the company launched Clover Sonoma Moon Milks, its first product line to go national and win a 2022 Nexty Editor’s Choice award for its Golden Moon. Kristel earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from San Francisco State University. She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and two children and proudly supports her community as a Bay Area native.

Kristel Corson

Janal Cruz

Head of Operations at Patagonia Provisions

Prior to Patagonia Provisions, Janal was the VP of Operations at Guayaki. She is an experienced operations professional with a demonstrated history of working in the Food & Beverage industry. She is skilled in a broad spectrum of operations: Supply Chain Management, Cross Functional Team Leadership, Customer Service, and Project Management. Dedicated to building high performing teams and developing potential.

Janal Cruz

Anna Dair

Head of Sales at Ground Control

Anna Dair is Head of Sales at Ground Control. Previously, she was the Director of Business Development at Straus Family Creamery. The company’s mission is to help sustain family farms in Marin and Sonoma Counties by providing high quality, minimally processed organic dairy products, and to support family farming and revitalize rural communities everywhere through advocacy and education. Straus Family Creamery is committed to reaching carbon neutrality at the Straus Dairy Farm as well as all partner farms, by 2030. Anna was responsible for leading Straus’ specialty and wholesale business, including commercial and non-commercial foodservice segments. She also heads the company’s consumer relations function. Anna has worked in the food industry for close to 20 years, cultivating the value and benefits of sustainably raised and organic foods within the industry. Prior to joining Straus, she held sales leadership positions in the sustainable meat industry, including Niman Ranch, one of the first branded companies to ban the use of antibiotics and hormones in meat production.

Anna Dair

David Davick

Managing Director at Propeller Industries

David Davick is a Managing Director at Propeller Industries, where he leads the Consumer and Transaction Advisory practice areas. Propeller is a strategic finance partner to dynamic, early-stage and high-growth companies, providing the flexibility and tailored support needed to accelerate growth.

With over 25 years of experience in Investment Banking, Corporate Finance, Investor Relations, and Public Accounting, Dave has served as CFO and transaction advisor to more than 100 CPG and Technology clients since joining Propeller in 2016. Previously, he spent over a decade at Gap Inc., including leading its Investor Relations program, which was ranked #1 in the industry in Institutional Investor magazine’s 2015 survey of Buy-Side investors. He began his career in Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan (then Hambrecht & Quist) and in audit and advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Dave serves on the board of Naturally Bay Area and the advisory boards of Tribetic and HomeRunIQ. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Virginia, where he also taught in the undergraduate business school.

Outside of work, Dave and his wife, Natalya, report to their board of directors: their son, Felix, and daughter, Sasha.

David Davick

Mike Dovbish

Executive Director at Nutrition Capital Network

Mike serves as Executive Director of Nutrition Capital Network, providing strategic guidance and preparing participating companies for NCN Investor Conferences. Since NCN’s inception in 2007, Mike has worked with presenting companies on their business plans, pitch presentations and overall strategy to best position them for growth and investment. He also identifies and introduces potential investors and strategic partners to companies before, during and after the investor meetings. He has worked with entrepreneurs on their business strategy, capital raising, market opportunity assessment, value proposition and partnership development.

Mike Dovbish

Jamie Emerson-Heery

Partner at BPM LLP

Jamie Emerson-Heery is a CPA and works as a Partner at BPM LLP. He has over ten years of experience in public accounting. His experience includes working with companies in a variety of industries in the public and private sector including winery and vineyard land, food and craft beverage, investment banking, investment funds, real estate and manufacturing. Jamie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of San Francisco. He was recognized as a winner of the North Bay Business Journal’s Forty under 40 in 2016 and was recognized as one of ten North Bay Accounting Leaders You Need to Meet in 2019. He is also a member of Leadership Santa Rosa Class 35.

Jamie Emerson-Heery

Lynn Graham

Founder at Hustle & Flower

Lynn Yako Graham founded, scaled, and exited Beekeeper Marketing, an agency that helps natural and organic foods reach their potential on Amazon and other online retailer platforms. While at Beekeeper, she built a data analytics platform that ingested Amazon data and provided actionable insights for her clients and company. Prior to founding Beekeeper, she led brand marketing initiatives at natural foods companies, was a tech product manager, and was a strategy consultant. Lynn has a BA in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from Haas Business School. She loves to play tennis, is a mom of boys, and loves hip hop.

Lynn Graham

Dan Harris

Partner at Morrison Foerster

Dan Harris is a partner of Morrison Foerster’s Emerging Companies + Venture Capital Group.

Dan works closely with a wide range of innovative food system technology, CPG, software, hardware, and marketplace-based companies throughout their life cycles, advising on general corporate and commercial matters, equity and debt financings and mergers and acquisitions. Dan’s core practice also involves representing a number of leading investors in the CPG and technology sectors. Dan focuses on providing his clients commercially-grounded advice geared towards achieving their ultimate business goals and has represented companies and institutional investors in transactions totaling more than $3 billion over the past two years alone.

Dan lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family. He enjoys exploring the world with his family and embraces his role as culinary guide on their trips. When in the Bay Area, you may find Dan reliving his days of playing competitive sports, perusing local farmers’ markets or cooking with his daughter and son. Dan is also a self-proclaimed oenophile.

Dan Harris

Dave Hirschkop

Founder at Dave’s Gourmet

I am a trained coach and mentor at ICA and SKU, who founded and exited two food companies. Also, I currently help create educational content for the Specialty Food Association (where I am in their Hall of Fame) and Naturally Bay Area. I founded, operated and successfully exited Dave’s Gourmet, a gourmet sauce company that won dozens of awards, gained enormous media coverage, and reached millions of consumers by selling to thousands of stores.

Dave Hirschkop

Shawn Jensen

Food and Beverage Partner at Moss Adams LLP

Shawn started his career at Moss Adams 1999 with a focus on serving food and beverage companies. Currently, he leads the Food & Beverage Practice in Northern California and works with numerous food manufacturing and processing companies in the region. He actively helps clients implement their visions and business strategies. Shawn believes in a hands-on approach and spends much of his time in the field assisting clients with business issues, technical accounting issues, internal controls, implementation of corporate accounting policies and procedures, and financial management. He has extensive experience working with closely-held family businesses and private equity portfolio companies and reporting to boards of directors, audit committees, owners, and management. Shawn has assisted in both the sale and acquisition of numerous food processing companies. He is a member of the firm’s business combination subject matter expert group which provides guidance to clients in accounting for and reporting business combinations.

Shawn Jensen

Ericka Karner

Chief Growth Officer at Kuli Kuli Foods

Ericka has over 25 years of marketing, sales and general management experience in the consumer goods industry. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from UCLA. Ericka’s career has included positions at large companies like Kraft and Nestle, but start-ups have been where she feels most at home for the last decade. At Kuli Kuli, Ericka’s focus is to drive profitable growth through innovation and strategic sales expansion. She is passionate about the Kuli Kuli mission to improve the lives of women across the globe with both business opportunities as well as healthy food options.

Ericka Karner

Andy Kay

CEO at Manzana

Andy is a Brit who has split his career between roles in the UK, France and the US. He spent his early years in finance roles in various FMCG companies, before becoming General Manager of innocent drinks in France in 2011. In 2013 he left innocent to join the French farming co-operative Agrial as their UK CFO, then jumped the pond in late 2017 to become their US CFO and since 2021 US CEO, based at Manzana’s site in Sebastopol, with a remit stretching to a dairy in New York and a hard cider business in Seattle, with a few organic orchards to manage as well. Andy brings a strong international perspective to NNC board as well as sound financial and commercial acumen.

Andy Kay

John Mackie

Partner at CMPR LLP

John Mackie is a Founding Director of FIG and serves as its pro-bono counsel and corporate Secretary. His firm, Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP (CMPR) is a Founding Sponsor of FIG. John is a Partner in CMPR, a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. John helped to found CMPR after holding a number of positions in government (last as Deputy Secretary of Business, Transportation & Housing for the State of California) and as a Partner in several other law firms. His own practice is concentrated in food and beverage businesses, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and real estate. John has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations including Sonoma Academy, The Oliver Ranch Foundation, LBC, Sonoma County Museum, North Bay Angels, Building Markets and others. Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP is a founding sponsor of FIG. It is a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. This also includes issues related to non-profit organizations, such as trade groups and educational, cultural and philanthropic organizations. The firm’s practice areas includes the food and beverage industries; start-up enterprises and business organization; mergers, acquisitions and finance; intellectual property; employment counselling ; real estate and land use; commercial litigation; affordable housing and other areas of expertise.

John Mackie

Ian Malone

Managing Director at Aspect Consumer Products

Ian Malone is a Director and a founding member of Aspect Consumer Partners. He has over 18 years of finance, investment banking, M&A and operational experience in consumer products, food & beverage, real estate and technology. Ian specializes in advising growing consumer products companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and other important strategic matters, with a particular emphasis on companies in the food, beverage, wine, beauty and personal care sectors. Prior to co-founding Aspect Consumer Partners, Ian was a Senior Vice President with Global Wine Partners, where he led execution on a number of M&A transactions in the wine and craft beer industries. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Premier Pacific Vineyards, one of the largest developers of premium vineyards, where he worked in corporate strategy, finance and portfolio management. Ian began his investment banking career at UBS Investment Bank advising companies in the Technology sector on M&A and corporate finance. Ian received his Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College, and also attended Oxford University (St. Catherine’s College).

Ian Malone

Ben Mand

CEO at Guayaki

Ben Mand is CEO of Guayakí Yerba Mate. Prior to joining Guayakí, Ben was CEO of Harmless Harvest. At Harmless Harvest, Ben successfully transformed Harmless Harvest by tripling sales, radically streamlined the supply chain, and ultimately transformed an unprofitable business into a profitable and scalable company. Ben also led the successful acquisition of Harmless Harvest by Danone. Perhaps most importantly, Ben’s passion and commitment to the company’s mission-led objectives has resulted in assistance to >38k people in Thailand via Fair For Life initiatives, a transition to >50% regenerative organic farming, conversion to 100% rPET bottles, and bringing Harmless Harvest dramatically closer to its goal of 100% zero-waste. Over the past 20 years, Ben has worked in various brand marketing and innovation roles at leading companies including General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, and Interbrand. He has made an impact as a change agent, driving improvements in health, sustainability, and social impact while delivering consistent sales and profit growth. Prior to joining Harmless Harvest, Ben oversaw all marketing, innovation and creative strategy for Plum Organics, a leading organic baby food brand. Under Ben’s tenure, the brand quickly accelerated from #3 to #1 in the category. Ben is a seasoned speaker and has been featured at industry events including SXSW, Natural Products Expo and Advertising Week, speaking about everything from socially-minded business practices to marketing with empathy.

Ben Mand

Ritu Mathur

GM of Dymatize at Premier Nutrition

Ritu Mathur is the GM of Dymatize at Premier Nutrition, a leader in convenient nutrition, delivering high quality, great tasting nutrition through ready to drink shakes and powders. Ritu is skilled at telling emotional, purpose-led narratives to build brand love and awareness combined with an analytical mindset. As a seasoned marketer and brand strategist for over a decade, she has a demonstrated track record of building consumer love and loyalty. In the past, Ritu served as the Senior Director of marketing at Clif Bar where she architected a values-based equal pay campaign for LUNA Bar and built key partnerships with the US Women’s National Soccer Team and Venus Williams to drive gender equality in sports. She also worked on the Outshine and Drumstick brands at Nestle and at Peloton on its global brand strategy. More recently, Ritu served as VP of Marketing at Amy's Kitchen.

Ritu Mathur

Noel McArdell

Senior Vice President and Market Executive at Bank of America

Noel McArdell is a Senior Vice President and Market Manager for the Bay Area Business Banking team at Bank of America. In this capacity, Noel leads a team of financial specialists focused on delivering strategic advice with an emphasis on understanding a client’s industry and unique needs to ensure delivery of integrated financial solutions to help them attain their goals no matter how simple or complex. Noel’s mission is to help companies and local communities thrive by making financial lives better. Bringing over 20 years of banking experience, Noel joined Bank of America in 2007. Prior to her role as a Market Manager, she worked as a Middle Market Client Manager with the Greater Bay Area. Throughout her banking career, Noel has served many mid-sized companies throughout the Bay Area to support their commercial banking needs. Originally from Marin County, Noel graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from University of Berkeley. In addition to her degree from Berkeley, Noel also attended the University of California, Paris, where she conducted a n economic comparative study of France and the European Union while studying French. She now resides in the Marin area with her family.

Noel McArdell

Drew McGowan

President at Open Heart Marketing & Communications

Drew is a purpose-driven leader with strategic communications, brand marketing, influencer marketing, and partnership experience with an emphasis on driving change through authentic storytelling that connects brands with consumers’ hearts and minds. He brings a unique perspective to marketing via his diverse career path including corporate, agency, nonprofit, and government organizations. Drew previously worked at Mezzetta where he lead communications and focused on planning and executing communications at the company, brand, and product levels via PR, partnerships, messaging, and storytelling. He also ran a consulting practice helping brands develop marketing and communications programs working with brands such as MasterClass, and e.l.f. Beauty. Previously, Drew led influencer marketing and communications at Clif Bar & Company, partnerships for Another Planet Entertainment, as well as entertainment marketing for The Clorox Company. He also spent 9 years in the agency world and helped start a nonprofit building playgrounds across the country. Drew serves on the Board of Directors of the Influencer Marketing Association, is a Council Member for Chico State’s Digital Marketing Program, and a Board Member of Town Business. Drew lives in Oakland, Calif. with his wife, 2 boys, and a rowdy dog named Rowdy. He continually thinks about sustainability, particularly around the evolution of food and how it affects our society. He’s also a member of a competitive BBQ team that’s won 3 world championships while living a plant-based lifestyle.

Drew McGowan

Ryan Musser

Assurance Partner, CPA at BPM LLP

Ryan leads the consumer business group at BPM, a CPA & advisory firm based in San Francisco. He focuses on assurance work in the consumer space, and additionally provides technical accounting advisory services across industries. He also has expertise in SEC reporting, business combinations and similar complex accounting areas. Ryan has a personal interest in finance and helping clients achieve their business and financial reporting goals.

Ryan Musser

Susie Picken

Marketing Director, Big Tree Farms

Passionate about transforming the future of food, Susie Picken leads Marketing at Big Tree Farms, bringing rich experience from pioneering brands like Miyoko's Creamery, Scharffen Berger, Traditional Medicinals and Amy's Kitchen. With an MBA in Marketing and Economics, she combines creative consumer engagement with strategic insights to elevate sustainable brands in today's dynamic marketplace. Her innovative approach to storytelling makes Fair Trade and Regenerative Organic Agriculture resonate with modern consumers, helping reshape the natural products landscape. As Board member of Naturally NorCal and past-Chair of Naturally North Bay, she unites innovative brands to amplify the impact of conscious business practices.

Susie Picken

Larisa Rapoport

Principal at Baker Tilly

Larisa is an audit partner with a focus in the manufacturing and distribution industry, including consumer products and food and beverage, as well as the technology industry. With over 20 years of experience, she has served middle-market privately held companies in a variety of industries. Her experience has been developed through her work domestically and internationally, with years of accounting experience in Israel.

Specific Experience:

Assists clients with audits, reviews and accounting matters such as share-based payments, revenue recognition, variable considerations, software capitalization, equity transactions, debt restructuring and recapitalization.
Provides strategic business advice to management and technical accounting support to controllers and CFOs of privately held organizations.
Performs assurance engagements and coordinates additional services for her clients, including corporate and individual tax and business advisory.
Performs various business consulting engagements such as CFO advisory and mergers and acquisition projects.
Named one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times in 2017.

Larisa Rapoport

Mike Scheu

Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Straus Family Creamery

Mike serves on the executive leadership team and is responsible for marketing, sales and product development at Straus Family Creamery, a family-run, mission driven organic food business based in Petaluma, CA. For over 20 years Mike has held a variety of leadership positions in the food industry, delivering measurable results in diverse environments ranging from early stage, high growth start-ups to the world’s largest food company. Prior to coming to Straus, Mike served in several brand management and sales leadership roles at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream (a division of Nestle), Odwalla Juices, WetFeet.com and The Clorox Company. He earned his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BS from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. Early in his career, Mike worked in the financial services industry, with both Ernst & Young and JP Morgan. Mike joined the Board of FIG/Naturally North Bay in 2018 and became Board Chair in 2019. He also serves on the Board of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Mike Scheu

Tessa Schrupp

Chief Marketing Officer at Drink Wholesome

Tessa Schrupp is a native New Hampshirite, drawn to the West Coast by the allure of a vibrant food scene and a community of sustainability minded folks. She’s a liberal arts graduate of Colby College and has immersed herself in various facets of the Northern California food and beverage scene. After working a Sonoma wine harvest in the fall of 2020, Tessa moved full time to San Francisco and found employment at Postcard Communications with a focus on food and beverage clients. Past clients include CPG brands, restaurants and food-tech clients like Hog Island Oyster Co., the Omakase Restaurant Group, Umaro Foods, and Heidrun Meadery. In the spring and summer of 2023, Tessa worked as a contractor for Twrl Milk Tea, supporting account management and marketing. Most recently, she took a role as the Chief Marketing Officer at drink wholesome, a DTC, gut-friendly protein powder company. Tessa makes her home in the Presidio of San Francisco and brings a wide range of skills, event planning + brand collaborations among them, as well as enthusiasm for the natural foods industry, to the proverbial table. Her favorite foods include poke, chocolate souffle and raclette.

Tessa Schrupp

Jason Seeber

Bio Needed

Jason Seeber

Will Seppi

President and CEO at Costeaux Bakery

Will Seppi is the President & CEO of Costeaux. He is the second generation to step into the baking business following in the footsteps of his father and mother, Karl and Nancy Seppi. Prior to re-joining Costeaux in October of 2004, Mr. Seppi was the Corporate Controller of Celerity Group, Inc. a leader in design and manufacturing of gas and chemical delivery modules integral to the manufacturing of semiconductors. Under his leadership, Costeaux has grown into a regional producer and distributor of craft bakery items and operator of several company branded retail bakery cafes. Costeaux French Bakery has been a Healdsburg establishment since 1923 and has been owned and operated by the Seppi family since 1981. Mr. Seppi graduated with a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University. Will and his wife, Brandy, reside in Healdsburg with their three children.

Will Seppi

Jim Taschetta

Chief Operating Officer at MISTA

Jim is the Chief Operating Officer for MISTA, the world’s leading food innovation platform. He is a 30-year CPG veteran with mix of large company and start-up experience. He started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. During his 10 years at P&G, including 7 overseas, Jim built a variety of brands and categories. While at Coca-Cola, Jim led a $2 billion-dollar portfolio of brands, including the Sprite, PowerAde and Minute Maid brands. As an SVP at Visa, Jim led the repositioning of the Visa brand and introduced a brand management system to the marketing function. Over the last several years he has focused on bringing his experience to helping small to medium sized companies scale. He was one of the first executives at the fin-tech start-up Yodlee, which went public in 2015. While at Bare Escentuals, he led product and marketing and helped position the company for a successful sale to cosmetics giant Shiseido. Most recently, he led the expansion of start-up Caveman Foods, helping them to become a leading provider of Paleo snacks. Jim received his MBA from Cornell University and lives with his wife and two children in Burlingame, CA.

Jim Taschetta

Anna Ten Elshof

Technical Account Manager at IMCD US Foods Inc.

Anna is a young face in the food industry. She graduated in 2020 from University of California, Davis with her Bachelor’s in Food Science and Technology with an Emphasis in Brewing Science. Starting her career in the flavor world, Anna specialized in sports nutrition. Out of the gate, she had the opportunity to help develop a variety of food and beverages working with some of the top leaders in the nutrition category. In addition to R&D, she developed and managed marketing campaigns for the products launched, growing an immense passion for evaluating industry and consumer trends. Currently, Anna works at IMCD US Foods, a Global Specialty Ingredient Supplier, as a Technical Account Manager providing ingredient solutions to manufacturers across the United States. Anna resides in the East Bay with her fiancé and two cats. In her free time, she enjoys trialing new recipes for her cookbook, being active outside, and visiting all the amazing breweries in the Bay Area. She is an advocate for continued learning and will find herself reading about the food system, food processes, and what healthy means these days when she is not exploring parts of California she has not yet travelled.

Anna Ten Elshof

Vanessa Toy

Founder at Cultivate Creations

Vanessa is the Founder of Cultivate Creations, a boutique marketing, strategy, and innovation consulting firm focused on driving expansive growth for emerging and established natural and organic brands. She is a consummate advocate for the consumer perspective and loves smart design, breakthrough integrated marketing, and innovative ideas. Cultivate Creations has a deep appreciation for a 360 approach to everything it does, and takes the time and thought necessary to ensure that its work and ideas speak to consumers, retailers, sales organizations, trade partners, press, and internal audiences.

Vanessa Toy

Melissa Woodside

Senior Key Account Manager at Givaudan

Melissa Woodside

Emeritus Board

Don Buder

Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Don is a strategic legal advisor and corporate counsel to emerging growth and middle-market Food & Beverage, Food Tech, and Ag Tech innovators and investors. His clients are based in the major U.S. food hubs, including the Bay Area, Boulder, Brooklyn, Austin and Los Angeles. His law firm, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (DWT), has one of the largest food & beverage practices in the United States, with over 40 attorneys serving food venture entrepreneurs, emerging brands, larger food companies, and the private equity firms that invest in them, at every level of the food chain from “Farm to Label”. Don is a Founding Faculty Member and member of the Advisory Board of the Food Business School at the Culinary Institute of America (Napa Valley). He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the board of Directors of KCETLink TV, the public television station in LA, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Technion Society – San Francisco Chapter.

Don Buder

Blair Kellison

CEO of Om Mushrooms

Helping founders and their companies reach their full potential through best practices and a culture of kindness

Blair has spent 25 years in the natural products industry as a CEO and board member. He was a founding member of Naturally North Bay. He is currently CEO of Om Mushrooms. Prior to that he was the CEO of Traditional Medicinals for 14 years. He has been the first non-founder CEO of five organizations, each time partnering with the founder and leveraging his experiences to transition to an executive team, best practices run organization. He has built and scaled company cultures centered on kindness, purpose and passion.

Blair helps founder-led, impact-focused companies accelerate growth and profits to enable them to control their own destiny. His motto is “run your company so well you never have to sell it, and if you do that, everyone will want to buy it”.

Blair Kellison

Mary Tarczynski

Principal, Client Solutions Lead at Parabolic

Mary Tarczynski has 30+ years of experience leading cross-functional teams to build equity and drive sales for CPG brands including Coca-Cola, Kraft, Clorox and Campbell’s. She left corporate marketing to spend four years in emerging ad tech; then in 2016 co-founded Parabolic, a shopper marketing agency offering “ideas with trajectory” – integrated strategies, concepts and activations – to help established and emerging natural brands sell in and sell through at retail. Current clients include Diamond Foods, Good Foods, the Plant-Based Foods Association, Straus Family Creamery, Traditional Medicinals, and Weleda Skin Care. Mary is currently the Education & Networking Events lead on the Naturally Bay Area Board. She is an advocate for diversity in leadership and recently “retired” after 13 years of volunteer leadership with the Network of Executive Women (now called NEXTUp) in Northern California. She and her husband live in the Oakland Hills and are the proud parents of Brown University and UCLA grads and a current UC Santa Cruz student. When not working, volunteering, or traveling for fun, Mary can be found running or hiking on Bay Area trails.

Mary Tarczynski

Staff

Monique Llamas Buckler

Director of Programming, Naturally NorCal

Monique Llamas has dedicated her career to supporting and growing natural and specialty food companies. Her experience working for distributors like UNFI and Falcon Trading Company, early-stage CPG brands such as 479 Degrees Popcorn, importers like Manicaretti Italian Food, and founding her own eCommerce business, Hardcover Cook, has given her insight and deep empathy for the challenges small businesses face. At Naturally NorCal, she manages programs and events to provide education and help foster connections so every industry professional has the tools and community to help them prosper.

Monique Llamas Buckler

Jill McLewis

Executive Director, Naturally NorCal

Jill is a seasoned executive leader with a strong track record in organizational growth, strategic development, and operational excellence. With extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, governance, and business development, she specializes in guiding organizations through transformation, fostering strategic partnerships, and driving financial sustainability.

With expertise in unifying leadership teams, she has successfully led organizational mergers, expanded membership bases, and developed impactful education and networking programs. She has overseen financial operations, CRM system development, and marketing strategies that have resulted in significant growth and engagement.

In addition to executive leadership roles, she has extensive experience in public service, overseeing policy development, city management, and multimillion-dollar budgets. Through strategic planning and collaboration, she has played a key role in legislative initiatives, economic development, and contract negotiations.

With a Master’s of Information Systems Management & MBA concentration, as well as PMP and Scrum Master certifications, she brings a unique blend of strategic vision, financial expertise, and operational leadership. Passionate about fostering innovation and community impact, she continues to drive meaningful change across sectors.