Core Chapter

Shadi Bakour

Shadi is responsible for overseeing all facets of the business, specializing in accelerating ideas through strategic foresight, drive, and determination. Previously, Shadi worked in Consulting and Private Equity at Booz Allen Hamilton and Abraaj Capital. Shadi excelled in academics and athletics from a young age, and received a full scholarship to Culver Military Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the nation.

Shadi graduated Summa Cum Laude from The George Washington University, where he received a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance and Economics. Shadi received a Full Scholarship, Dean’s List, and was a Board of Trustees Scholar.

Ryan Black

After eating his first Açai bowl, Black saw an opportunity to create nutritious, Açai-based products to share with people all over the world while committing to a socially- and environmentally-conscious business model. This was before buzzwords like social responsibility and entrepreneurship existed, and from day one, Black has ensured that SAMBAZON stays true to its founding principles and commitment to doing good. In addition, Black paved the way in helping create the current organic and fair trade certification standards for wild-harvesting the Açai crop where they did not previously exist. SAMBAZON continues to operate under the Triple Bottom Line philosophy, which measures success economically, socially and environmentally. This progressive, forward-thinking culture is thread through the fabric of SAMBAZON today.

Black is also the co-founder of the tri.org, a non-profit organization working to empower and educate millennials into mobilizing and building a more conscious future, socially, in sustainability and economically. Together, with like-minded partners, SAMBAZON, Thrive Market, Numi Tea and Dr. Bronner’s, Black and the tri.org are working to build a community of activists, conscious warriors and change makers.

Prior to co-founding SAMBAZON, Black received his BA in Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and in European Football Leagues. Now, Black lives near the beach in San Clemente, CA and his passions include travel, music, and surfing. He speaks multiple languages, and credits his time in Boulder and his international football career as the stepping-stones to building a socially-responsible, international business.

Ryan and Sambazon joined OSC2 as a community Member in 2018.

Don Buder

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.

Birgit Cameron

Under Birgit’s direction, Patagonia Provisions has introduced a varied line of mission-based food products intended to address critical environmental issues while establishing a model to help restore the food chain. Patagonia Provisions has doubled its sales each year, as Birgit has rapidly expanded distribution into national grocery stores and outdoor lifestyle chains. In addition, she has introduced Patagonia Provisions to international markets in Europe and Asia. Birgit has been a fervent advocate, financial supporter, and partner to a variety of like-minded organizations who follow a similar mission as Patagonia’s: “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Her work with Patagonia Provisions has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR and Bloomberg Businessweek.

In 2016, Birgit produced Unbroken Ground, an award-winning documentary detailing the critical role food plays in solving the environmental crisis. Later that year, working closely with The Land Institute, she introduced Patagonia Provisions’ Long Root Ale, the first beer made with a perennial grain called Kernza. In 2018, she worked as part of a larger Patagonia effort to establish the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). ROA is a new high-bar organic certification that includes optimizing soil health to sequester more carbon, and values animals’ and workers’ welfare. Under Birgit’s leadership, Patagonia Provisions has become a recognized leader in the organic food movement.

Birgit lives in Marin County, CA, with her husband and their two daughters.

Timothy Childs

In 2006, Timothy founded TCHO Chocolate in San Francisco and was the driving and creative force behind the company’s vision and strategy and including TCHO’s flavor­driven approach to chocolate making and TCHOSource, an innovative project to improve farmers’ livelihoods and generate prosperity throughout the cocoa value chain. Working in partnership with USAID, TCHOSource has become a model for sustainably focused programs in South America and beyond.

Timothy is a participant in the Google Innovation Lab for Food Experiences, a global collaborative network for leading thinkers and doers in the food space who apply their knowledge and passion towards imagining and shaping the future of food. He also is the founder of World Headquarters, a 73,000 ­square­ foot curated design, art and food innovation lab on Treasure Island and home of Treasure8 and the Future Food Center.

Before he brought his Silicon Valley start­up mentality to the food industry, Timothy founded a company that developed machine­vision systems for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. His background in technology is deeply rooted in the pre­web internet and early real­time computer graphics fields. Timothy was directly involved in many early stage internet/computer graphics and virtual reality companies, and co­founded the non­profit, community­building organizations VeRGe (Virtual Reality Education Foundation in 1991) and the infamous Web3D RoundUP. He continues to embrace advanced visualization tools in all his businesses.

Timothy is a founding member of the board of Illuminate the Arts—presenting organization of The Bay Lights—and a founding member of other advisory boards, such as OSC2. He is an internationally sought­after speaker and has been featured in hundreds of print, broadcast and online stories by major media outlets, including The Economist, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wired, Time and NPR

Caroline Duell

Caroline received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont and a Certification in Neuromuscular Reprogramming from California’s Institute of Conscious Bodywork.  Caroline and her husband, Ryan Rich, All Good’s VP of Sales and Marketing, love to be outdoors; mountain biking, skiing, kite surfing, climbing and growing food.  They live on their organic farm with their equally nature loving daughters, Kalia and Allegra.

Mike Forbes

In addition, Mike has played a key role in the 2014 acquisition of Lucini Italia, an importer of premium Italian specialty foods, from Molinos USA.

Mike discovered California Olive Ranch on a wine tasting trip to Napa Valley and has been enamored ever since!  He loves working for a company that is so focused on creating a quality product and building a California Olive Oil Revolution that mirrors what happened in the wine industry.

Prior to California Olive Ranch, Mike held Marketing roles at General Mills, Procter & Gamble, and Fortune Brands.  In these roles he launched over 15 new products, created multi-million dollar integrated marketing campaigns, and advised C level executives on major strategic decisions.  Mike also served as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he helped a diverse array of companies, school districts, and museums on strategy issues.

Mike holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA with Honors from the University of Wisconsin.  Mike lives in Oakland, California.  In his spare time, Mike enjoys cooking, hiking in the hills around the Bay Area, and spending time with his four year old daughter.

Michele Kessler

Vincent Kitirattragarn

Vincent is a New York City native who started his career research environmentally and socially beneficial products for the City of New York. He moved to the Bay Area to work with GoodGuide, a natural product ratings company headed by a UC Berkeley Professor. There he helped create rating systems for hybrid vehicles, food and beverage items, recycled paper and other categories. His academic background includes two engineering degrees from Cornell University and five years of sustainability and natural product research across the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Dang Coconut Chips are sold in 7,000 locations around the US, including Whole Foods, Target, Kroger, Safeway, Stop n’ Shop, The Fresh Market, Sprouts, CVS, Amazon and many independent grocers. The coconut chips are made of sliced copra (coconut meat), seasoned and toasted to perfection. The toasting process caramelizes the sugars and creates a wonderfully buttery umami flavor from naturally occurring aromatic coconut oil. It’s a wonderful snack and a healthy alternative to fried chips, dried fruit and nuts. For home cooks, it’s a versatile topping that can be used to enhance ice cream, yogurt, salads, oatmeal and baked goods. 

Vincent holds both Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees from Cornell University and currently resides in Oakland, CA. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and received a SOFI Gold award for “Best Snack” for Dang Original Recipe Coconut Chips.

Matthieu Kohlmeyer

La Tourangelle was launched as the first traditional nut oil mill making high quality flavorful & all-natural oils in California. All nut oils made by La Tourangelle are 100% locally sourced and participate to a positive upcycling process where lower grade nuts find a second life as delicious nut oils. La Tourangelle sources mostly organic oils from outside and partners with like-minded artisan oil makers all over the world to offer a full line of oils & organic dressings.

After a successful period of significant growth, Matthieu successfully negotiated the buyout of MIC in 2016. Today, La Tourangelle is a $75M global business with manufacturing facilities in France & California. La Tourangelle is a leading specialty food brand in North America, Europe, and China. La Tourangelle products are distributed in over 35,000 stores globally. La Tourangelle offers branded products and private label products to its customers. With over 160 employees globally and strong relationships with all key American retailers, Matthieu brings vision, execution and a true entrepreneurial spirit to businesses.

Ken Lee

Caryl Levine

Chris Mann

Angela McElwee

Starting in May 2008 as VP of Sales, she was promoted to VP of Sales Operations in 2013 and began serving as President in August 2016. Her tenure has seen tremendous industry growth, innovation, and change, all while remaining true to its purpose of connecting people, plants, and planet to create healing. She is a passionate advocate for using business as a vehicle to promote positive change, and brings that same ethos to her work as a Founding Board Member for Naturally Austin, a nonprofit working to nurture impact businesses in Central Texas, and to her volunteer work as an Advisory Board Member for the climate change education leader, At The Epicenter.

Jerry McGeorge

Jerry is actively involved in the start-up and development of cooperatives and has consulted with several co-ops during their start-up phase. He has served as chair of the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) board of directors and currently sits on the NCBA executive committee. From 2006 to 2015, Jerry was a founding member of the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council, charged with advising the Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture and other government officials on issues and policies related to Wisconsin’s organic industry.

In his community, he serves on the Center for Special Children board, and is board president for the Youth Initiative High School in his hometown of Viroqua, Wisconsin. Jerry is a past member of the board for the Viroqua Food Co-op. He earned a bachelor’s of social work degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

Prior to CROPP, Jerry worked as a therapist facilitating group therapy sessions, providing one-on-one instruction and therapy, crisis intervention, and respite services.

Jerry enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys playing sports and reveling in the great outdoors.

Erin Mittelstaedt

Steve Naccarato

In the 20+ years of experience, Steve’s evident ability to develop strong businesses, client relationships, and products has culminated in the development of 400+ new products and packaging, including private label items for such companies as Loblaws (Westfair Foods), Canada Safeway, Overwaitea Foods, Costco, Sobeys, 7-11 Convenient Stores, Interprovincial Cooperative (Federated Co-op) and other retailers, distributors, and health and nutrition brand owners. Results-oriented, he also successfully negotiated custom packaging contracts with major multi-national companies.

Steve is grateful to be apart of the health and wellness community offering organic sustainable foods.  When he isn’t traveling around the world he enjoys spending time with his four boys in Canada.

Sheryl O’Loughlin

From 2015 to 2019, Sheryl was CEO and “Chief Love Officer” of REBBL, the first plant-based, super herb adaptogen beverage company. In partnership with Not for Sale, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a future without human trafficking, REBBL works to create regenerative and just supply chains.

With a heart for human rights and mental health advocacy, Sheryl is the co-founder and co-leader of both the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Project and the Women on Boards Product for the natural products industry through One Step Closer to an Organic Sustainable Community (OSC2), a nonprofit whose mission is to address the toughest sustainability problems by building new regenerative businesses.

Earlier in her career, Sheryl served as the CEO of Clif Bar and Company. There she led the concept development and introduction of Luna, the first whole nutrition bar for women, which became a $70 million business in three years and continues to be a core brand in the company’s portfolio. She went on to co-found and serve as CEO for Plum, Inc., a healthy, organic food company that aims to nourish kids “from the high chair to the lunch box.” In 2013, Plum was successfully sold to Campbell Soup Company.

After Plum, Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and she held a faculty position at Sonoma State University, where she taught hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and other professionals.

Sheryl currently serves on the board of OSC2 and Foodstirs, and she is on the advisory board of Once Upon a Farm. She is also a member of the Forbes San Francisco Business Council. Previous boards include Zuke’s, thinkThin, Sugar Bowl Bakery, Gardein and the American Sustainable Business Council.

Sheryl earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and her Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. An avid camper and traveler, she lives in Santa Rosa, California, with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.

Learn more at www.sheryloloughlin.com

Amer Orabi

Amer has an innate ability to quickly identify and actualize valuable ideas, and turn them into business strategies. With a passion for problem solving and a proven history of exceeding business goals to drive top-line growth and scalability, Amer is a visionary behind the brand.

Prior to founding Pathwater, Amer led operations at Exumme, LLC – an innovative tech startup. Previously, he managed the finance division at the largest Toyota dealership in California, and was responsible for driving over 35% growth within his first year alone.

Amer earned his Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance from California State University, East Bay, as well as an Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree in Operations Management and Supervision from Foothill College.

Ahmed Rahim

At Numi, Ahmed travels to remote regions of the world seeking unique herbs and teas unknown in the United States, building partnerships with farmers and their communities. Numi has proudly benefited the farming community by increasing wages, sponsoring schools, hospitals, community centers, road construction and other needs to improve living standards in farming communities.

Ahmed and his sister Reem have been evolving their vision for Numi through the Numi Foundation, with initiatives that focus on local and global programs, acknowledging and addressing the challenges within their farming communities and in their backyard of Oakland, CA; from education to health and nutrition. Numi Foundation’s Together for H2OPE project is providing clean safe drinking water to farming communities across the globe.

Ahmed co-founded OSC, One Step Closer, a national community of sustainable natural products CEOs and business leaders. OSC strives to leave earth and humanity in better condition than we found it by inspiring natural products leaders to work in innovative and collaborative ways toward positive change. The group addresses the toughest sustainability problems facing our industry and our planet by building new regenerative business models and agricultural systems

Ahmed sits on various for-profit and non-profit boards enhancing their growth and sustainability goals. Ahmed’s core goal is to be in service to those focused on caring for their community and creating positive change for our environment.

Company Website: numitea.com

Ryan Rich

Ted Robb

In 2004, Ted co-founded Jungle Products, an importer and marketer of organic cooking oils ethically sourced from tropical regions around the world. Serving as CEO, Ted led the company into national distribution relationships within the natural grocery channel, built several unique sourcing partnerships with Dr. Bronners and Natural Habitats, as well as the eventual sale of the company to Blue Marble Brands, a division of United Natural Foods.  

In 2014, Ted co-founded New Barn, where he currently serves as the Chairman and CEO.

In 2016, Ted co-founded New Food SPV, an investment vehicle designed to lead Series-A financings of New Barn, Inc. He is also a co-founder and partner in Stonewall Robb, a family investment company. Ted currently sits on the Board of Directors of New Barn, and Trail Coffee Roasters. 

Ted holds a B.A. in English and Film Studies from the University of the Pacific

Edouard Rollet

Prior to launching Alter Eco in the US, Rollet was a Senior Trade Attaché at the French Embassy in New York where he specialized in foreign investment, new ventures, media, marketing and mass retail. He has also consulted for the communications department of the UNICEF in Dakar, Senegal. Rollet holds an MBA from The European Institute of Business (IEA-Paris) and an MA in Mass Communications from the University of Florida.

Born in Lyon, France, Rollet moved to the US two decades ago. He enjoys traveling, the outdoors and exploring street food and restaurants around the world. Rollet resides in Mill Valley, Calif. and is married to Ilse Keijzer, founder of Alter Eco Pacific, which serves the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Frederick Schilling

In 2001, Frederick founded Dagoba Organic Chocolate, the first chocolate brand in the United States that not only rooted the triple bottom line principles of Planet-People-Profit to that industry, but also opened the door to using chocolate as a canvas for embracing exotic flavors and promoting single origin chocolate, giving rise to the chocolate industry as we know it today.

After selling Dagoba Organic Chocolate to the Hershey Company in 2006, Frederick then went on to co-found three more influential global companies in the organic market.

In 2008, Frederick teamed up with Diego Badaró, a 3rd generation cacao farmer, to start AMMA Chocolate, a vertically integrated chocolate company with operations in Bahia, Brazil.  The mission of AMMA is to use cacao as a catalyst for rainforest preservation and restoration.  Today, AMMA is regarded as Brazil’s premiere chocolate brand, recognized for its contribution to the country’s environmental and social efforts and for its quality.

Frederick also co-founded Big Tree Farms in 2008; based on Bali, Indonesia, with his business partner Ben Ripple.  BTF is now Indonesia’s largest organic food company, operating the largest organic coconut supply chain in SE Asia with over 10,000 small holder farmers.  BTF is the global pioneer of coconut blossom nectar-based sweeteners, the fastest growing alternative organic sweetener and coconut aminos.  BTF also built, which at that time in 2011, was the world’s largest Bamboo structure.

In 2015 Frederick co-founded Medisun Farms, a hemp cultivation enterprise with a focus on growing organic feminized hemp for the production and extraction of CBD and other valuable cannabinoids.  In 2018, Medisun Farms and Kler Solutions merged to create Klersun.  Today Frederick is CEO of Klersun, which has become a major ingredient solution provider in the emerging hemp-cannabinoid industry.

Miyoko Schinner

Miyoko is the author of five cookbooks, including the bestselling The Homemade Vegan Pantry (Ten Speed Press, 2015) and Artisan Vegan Cheese (Book Publishing Co., 2012). No stranger to media, she co-hosted three seasons of Vegan Mashup, a cooking show that aired on PBS stations nationwide. A coveted speaker, Miyoko presents at conferences, events, and universities across the country about culinary arts, animal rights, and the future of food. She has been featured numerous times in the media, including The New York Times, San Francisco Chronical, Huffington Post, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Today Show, PBS, and many others. Forbes recently included her in a line-up of women leading the future of food, and the North American Vegetarian Society inducted her into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame in 2016.

Caring deeply about animals, Miyoko, along with her husband, founded Rancho Compasión a farmed animal sanctuary in Northern California, which provides a “forever home” to cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, ducks, and other critter rescued from animal agriculture. Miyoko devotes her life to promoting a lifestyle based on compassion and sustainability in order to create awareness about the consequences of animal agriculture, and do her part to save the lives of animals and the health of the planet.

Books by Miyoko Schinner

The Homemade Vegan Pantry, the Art of Making Your Own Staples (Ten Speed Press, 2015)
Artisan Vegan Cheese (Book Publishing Company, 2012)
The New Now and Zen Epicure (Book Publishing Company, 2001)
Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional (Book Publishing Company, 1999)

Jon Silverman

Les Szabo

John Tansey

John has been part of the team that has lead Happy from 13 to nearly 200 million in revenue from 2010-2018.  He has grown with the organization to his current role as Chief Operating Officer.  Happy Family’s mission is to change the trajectory of children’s health through nutrition.  John strongly believes that food, and business, has the responsibility to be sustainable, resilient, regenerative, and purposeful in sourcing, product innovation, and especially in organizational culture.

In his private life, John nourishes his passion for local food and drink, functional fitness, mountain biking, and snowboarding with his wife Emily in the Northend of Boise, Idaho.