People

Prior to co-founding the Berkeley Food Network, Sara (she/her) served as director of the Berkeley Food Pantry, where she became aware of the need for innovative, out-of-the-box solutions to the thorny problem of food insecurity in Berkeley. She strongly believes that food assistance work must be done in a way that best respects and meets the needs of those being served. Sara has worked in non-profit development for the past twelve years, raising funds and awareness for local independent K-8 schools and organizations that support foster children, youth, and families. She has also worked directly with foster youth in Alameda County. Sara brings her background in American History and Public Policy to her work at BFN.

Parris (she/her) grew up in Richmond, CA, where she experienced food insecurity. As she grew older, Parris began to ask "why?", realizing her proximity to food insecurity was not unique to her household or even her neighborhood. This piqued her interest in learning more about her reality and her community. At a young age, she was employed by Ma'at Youth Academy, a non-profit environmental organization committed to improving health and safety in her hometown. She went on to receive a degree in Sociology. Joining the team as a Warehouse Coordinator and now BFN's Director of Operations, Parris brings nearly 15 years of warehouse operations and logistical experience, along with a passion for addressing food insecurity, to the Berkeley Food Network.

Erika (she/her) joined the growing BFN team in December 2020 as Executive Assistant, bringing with her a wealth of administrative support experience from a variety of organizations both large and small. The driving constant in her career has been to contribute in some way towards realizing a better world for all, a principle that has taken her to the fight for same-sex marriage, labor rights, and criminal justice reform. Erika was born in San Francisco, raised in Petaluma, and has been living in Berkeley since 2006. She is honored by the opportunity to work in and for her community.

Sonny Pritchett (they/he) is a black non binary person from the Central Valley. They are motivated to be more involved with their local food systems and find best methods to distribute fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. In 2019, Sonny set out on a journey to explore farms across the country. They found a home in Durham, NC and started work with the Durham Co-op Market. This inspired Sonny to continue their work in connecting communities to healthy food and supporting healthy food accessibility for the people. Joining BFN, Sonny is excited to learn new and different strategies for distributing food and for networking among the community.

Taiyo (he/him) joined the team as Research & Advocacy Manager in June 2021, and now serves as BFN's Strategy Manager. His broad experience in international exchange, higher education, corporate social responsibility, and philanthropic consulting informs his approach to scaling food systems change. Taiyo is an alumnus of Oberlin College and the Fulbright Program, and regularly mentors folks in both networks. A native of Columbus, Ohio, he especially appreciates the Bay Area for its consistent weather and Asian American communities.

Emily Esteban (she/her) has always been drawn to food; whether it’s cooking, eating, or studying food. Emily is an alumnus of St. Mary’s College of CA and Oregon State University, where she took extensive coursework in anthropology and food studies. Her experience in navigating government agencies and nonprofits to create collaborative partnerships informs her approach to building community-based solutions to food insecurity. Emily was raised in the Bay Area, and is thrilled to give back to the community by joining the BFN team as the Outreach Manager!

Grace (she/her) was introduced to the importance of food recovery in her college dining hall, where students organized the recovery of dining hall food 6-days a week across campus. Since then, pursuing food justice work has taken her to Chicago where she served as a Lunch Bus Associate at the Greater Chicago Food Depository distributing summer meals across Chicago and to Wellington, New Zealand where she engaged youth in the BGI's Community Kitchen Food Recovery Project. This work has inspired Grace to continue working to connect people and food more directly and to creating a more just food system. In August 2020, she stepped into the role of Food Recovery Manager. In February of 2022, she took on the wider responsibilities of Sourcing Manager and remains excited to grow BFN’s food recovery program and bring more food to Berkeley residents.

Julia cannot remember when she realized that her favorite room in the house was the kitchen: she has an innate love for food and cooking. Growing up in Northern Michigan, her appreciation for local food communities began while working as an assistant to a pastry chef at a small restaurant in high school. Through this, Julia's love for baking and cooking grew into a fascination with the role of food in the world. She attended the University of Michigan where she studied anthropology, sustainable food systems, and writing. Julia has worked with food in a myriad of ways including elementary school chef, farm-to-school educator, butcher's assistant, and production baker. Through these diverse lenses, she has seen the juxtaposition of food waste and hunger in the communities she loves. She is excited to connect people who need it to food that would otherwise go to waste as Hub Kitchen Manager and work with BFN volunteers who share this goal.

Nate Redinbo (he/him) is originally from Oregon and has been living in the Bay Area for 6 years. He is excited to help make a positive nutritional impact on the East Bay community with Berkeley Food Network! When not in the warehouse, Nate enjoys running, biking, and fermenting various foods. Nate has experience with environmental non-profits and local government and is looking forward to using this experience to make it easier for everybody to access the nutrition they need to eat and live healthy and meaningfully.

Emma (she/her) has been working in the world of food justice and community organizing as a farmer and garden educator. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and is grateful to be a part of BFN’s community-based work to recover and redistribute food in an area where she has deep roots. When she is not in the BFN warehouse, you can find Emma hiking the trails of the East Bay, tending plants in her front yard, or taking a polar plunge in the Pacific Ocean.

Jo (they&she) is a non-binary Latinx person from the greater Los Angeles area. Jo started their food justice journey working at grocery stores and doing volunteer work with mutual aid projects. They are looking forward to learning more about making healthy food accessible to all, and connecting with other food justice organizations. When Jo is not working or volunteering, she spends her time making music, painting, skating, and enjoying time with nature and loved ones.

Oscar (he/him) first started working in the food justice field with Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland. Assisting and problem-solving with the volunteers is his favorite part of working at BFN. Oscar is a huge computer enthusiast who also enjoys playing video games with friends. Already bilingual, Oscar is further expanding his skills with Japanese language classes, and hopes to also begin studying Chinese as soon as he has the opportunity.

Deb (she/her) is a former chef, caterer and food event consultant, and has been active in other Bay Area non-profits including Jewish Youth for Community Action (JYCA) where she was a board member and the Berkeley Community Fund. Deb retired from her role as a restaurant chef around 2000, and since that time has catered, planned, consulted and executed on food-related events and programming in the Bay Area for several non-profits and educational institutions including The Nature Conservancy, JYCA, Congregation Netivot Shalom, the St. Paul’s Episcopal School and Berkeley High. Deb holds a BA in Urban Studies from Brown University. Prior to her food-related non-profit work, Deb was a staffer for the Greenbelt Alliance, a non-profit land conservation and urban planning organization in the Bay Area since 1958.

Dona (she/her) has held faculty and academic administrative positions for the California Community Colleges System Chancellor’s Office, the College of Marin, Chabot College, and Allan Hancock College. Dona also served as the president of the California Chief Instructional Officers Association. She has worked as a consultant to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the James Irvine Foundation, particularly in the area of education in community colleges. She has been a consultant to multiple California college districts, and she regularly co-presents a course for new chief instructional officers. Dona is faculty in the Enrollment Management Academy at Claremont Graduate University, and is a co-author of the California Community College Chief Instructional Officer Manual. A resident of Berkeley, CA, Dona holds a Master of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and completed coursework and exams for a doctorate in Political Science from UC Berkeley. “I have been concerned about food insecurity and have been a supporter of the Alameda County Community Food Bank for many years."

Rana (he/his) is a Strategy Consultant at Strategy& (part of the PwC network), and an MBA from UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business. He has served in leadership at Haas, in Vice President of Admissions and Vice President of Social Impact roles. Rana earned dual BS degrees in Business Economics and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona in 2015. Rana's prior work experience includes time at Goldman Sachs and Rakuten, working in various strategy and operations roles. At Goldman Sachs, he headed up the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program through the firm’s relationship with the nonprofit. Rana has spent time in East Africa working on various social initiatives such as HIV/AIDS eradication in rural Tanzania and fighting child pregnancy in Uganda, and he is passionate about putting an end to food insecurity globally. Rana is obsessed with all things food and cooking. He is an avid traveler, an adventurous eater, and a certified SCUBA diver, looking to discover the world’s next best hole-in-the-wall.

Susan (she/her) co-founded and later served as President of MPR Associates, a Berkeley education research and consulting firm. She specialized in issues related to college access and success and student financial aid. After retiring, she turned her attention to food insecurity and food waste issues and has been an active volunteer for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. She has a bachelor’s degree from McGill University, a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Public Administration from New York University. “After working in many public policy areas, I have come to appreciate the urgency of addressing food insecurity in our community. Without adequate and nutritious food you can't be healthy and you can't succeed in school or work."

Chuck (he/his) also serves as Board President of the Berkeley Community Fund, which provides scholarships, mentoring and other forms of college success support to resilient Berkeley High School seniors from low-income backgrounds, most of whom are first in their families to attend college. Chuck “retired” in 2010 after orchestrating the sale of the global legal recruiting company he co-founded. During 20+ years in that industry, Chuck was a career advisor to countless attorneys, and a key staffing partner to many of the Bay Area’s premier companies and law firms. He was previously a lawyer at a global 50 firm and a founder and executive editor of a monthly legal publication, which he subsequently sold. Chuck holds a BA in American Government from the University of Virginia, and a JD from the UCLA School of Law. “My interest in food insecurity issues springs from a number of years volunteering at — and being inspired by the work of — the Alameda County Community Food Bank."

Kate (she/her) is also a founding partner at North Berkeley Investment Partners, LLC, an independent investment advisory firm that provides investment management and financial planning services to families, individuals, trusts, and foundations. North Berkeley puts particular emphasis on client-centric life planning, socially responsible investing, and community engagement. Kate holds a BA in Chinese Language and Culture from Dartmouth College and an MA in Cultural Anthropology from UC Berkeley. “I’ve been interested in food access issues since the early 1980’s when I first moved to Berkeley for graduate school and worked in a food coop and was active in efforts to develop organic certification for agricultural products. Every element of life is supported when people have access to food that supports their health, and their community tradition. I want to be part of making that happen."

Allen (he/his) is a Director for Benefit Street Partners, an Institutional Alternative Investment division of Franklin Templeton, overseeing relationships with Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), Family Offices, Private Banks and other accredited fiduciary investors. Allen received his BA from San Francisco State University and earned his MBA from the University of San Francisco. Born, raised and a longtime resident of Berkeley, Allen and his family have personally witnessed food insecurity issues with college students and senior citizens and are very passionate about doing their part to help.

Gilda (she/her) is a seasoned attorney with extensive experience advising global companies on commercial, employment, privacy, intellectual property and corporate governance matters. For the past nearly 14 years, Gilda held leadership roles at AECOM, a publicly-traded, Fortune 500 infrastructure consulting firm, where she served as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. Prior to her tenure at AECOM, Gilda was Assistant Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at ABM Industries. Gilda received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine, and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco, School of Law. Gilda is a long time resident of the Bay Area and is passionate about social and economic justice issues, notably food insecurity and issues impacting women and other underrepresented minority groups. Gilda is also a member of the Board of the Center for WorkLife Law, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization at UC Hastings Law School committed to advancing the rights of women and minorities.

Mirna (she/her) is a first-generation Latina with a demonstrated history of 10 years working in the nonprofit sector. She is currently the Associate Director of The Multicultural Institute, a community-based nonprofit organization addressing Latinx Immigrant community's issues in three counties of the California Bay Area. Her personal and first-hand experience shape her career and passion for programs and initiatives tailored towards the immigrant community. Mirna's work experience centers around Community Outreach to the day laborer and domestic worker community, Direct Service to monolingual Spanish speaking immigrant adults, Nonprofit Administration and Development, Donor Cultivation, and Grant Writing and Contract Management. With a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from University of California Berkeley Mirna is pursuing a Masters of Nonprofit Administration at the University of San Francisco.

Patrice (she/her) is the coordinator of Daily Bread, an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to redirect excess food that local food vendors donate to groups that house and feed people in our community, including pantries, senior and youth centers, drop-in centers, free meal programs, and shelters. Prior to retirement, she was also principal associate at an energy efficiency consulting firm where she managed projects and teams of analysts to enable and enhance programs that help customers all across the country save energy and water. Previously, Patrice founded and managed her own consulting company for fifteen years, and became the founding executive director of Association of Demand Side Management Professionals, the first association to support and advance professionals working in the energy efficiency field. Patrice holds a BS in mathematics and economics from the University of Arizona, and an MS in Civil Engineering from University of California Berkeley. She is an avid hiker and food lover. “About 20 years ago I answered a teeny ad in the East Bay Express asking for help delivering food donations for Daily Bread. I never looked back. This small effort tapped into two things that matter to me greatly: reducing food (and other) waste and feeding people in need. People need to eat every day and every day we still waste almost 40% of food ever prepared. I’m energized by the growing commitment of food vendors and community groups to address food insecurity, and the great spirit of volunteerism here. Together, I know we can make more good things happen.”