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Food Alliance Staff
Scott Exo • Executive Director
Matthew Buck • Assistant Director
Karen Lewotsky • Certification Director
Heather Saam • Certification Manager
Roberta Anderson • Business Development Director
Lynn Fitch • Development and Marketing Director
John Harrington • Communications Manager
Jessica Metteer • Administrative Assistant
Bob Olson • Director, Food Alliance Midwest
Jill Grunewald • Midwest Assistant Program Manager
Scott Exo • Executive Director
Email: Scott at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 30
Scott provides strategic direction and leadership for Food Alliance. He is the main point of contact for leaders at other organizations, businesses and agencies. He also represents Food Alliance at public events and to the media.
Scott has over twenty years of non-profit and program management experience. Prior to joining Food Alliance in 1999, he worked on farm and forest land conservation issues for 1000 Friends of Oregon, managed rural development and education programs in Asia and Africa, and was an organizational consultant.
Scott currently serves on the the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Resource Center's administrative council; the ODA/OSU Food Innovation Center advisory board, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch advisory board.
As an East-West Center graduate fellow, Scott earned dual Masters degrees in Geography and in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1989.
Matthew Buck • Assistant Director
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Email: Matt at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 22
Matt coordinates planning, budgeting and evaluation of Food Alliance programs. He coordinates fundraising and fiscal management and reporting. He also supports Food Alliance communications and marketing.
Matt has over a decade of non-profit and program management experience. Prior to joining Food Alliance in 2004, Matt served as communications director for Sustainable Northwest, a regional non-profit promoting environmentally sound economic development. In that position he led research, writing and publication of over 100 case studies of sustainability initiatives by urban and rural businesses, community organizations and government agencies. He conceived and organized two “Sustainability Forums,” which each drew more than 1,000 participants from across the US and internationally. Under contract with USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Matt also published Sustainable Agriculture: Continuing to Grow, which profiled a wide range of on-farm research and development efforts.
As chair of the board of Friends of Zenger Farm, Matt has also led a successful effort to create an education center focused on sustainable agriculture and community food systems on an historic 16-acre farm property in a low-income neighborhood in outer Southeast Portland. Matt holds a B.A. degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Lewis and Clark College, and has additional experience in research and education.
Karen Lewotsky • Certification Director
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Email: Karen at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 25
Karen oversees development and administration of Food Alliance's certification standards and policies. She is the lead contact for issues covered under Food Alliance certification.
Prior to joining Food Alliance in 2006, Karen spent eight years as a Program Director for the Oregon Environmental Council, where she managed agriculture and water programs. She holds a PhD in Geography and a JD with a Natural Resources emphasis, both from the University of Oregon.
Heather Saam • Certification Manager
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Email: Heather at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 23
Heather oversees administration of Food Alliance's certification program, the receipt and processing of certification applications, and the training of Food Alliance accredited inspectors. She is the lead contact for questions related to the certification process.
Prior to joining Food Alliance in August 2004, Heather worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a study of nutrient management practices on Wisconsin dairy farms. Heather grew up on her family's century farm in Northwest Illinois. Heather holds an MS in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA in Philosophy and Chemistry from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa.
Roberta Anderson • Business Development
Director
Email: Roberta at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 31
Roberta works in the Northwest and nationally on outreach to farmers, ranchers, food packers, processors and distributors regarding Food Alliance certification. She also works to recruit participation and support from commercial food buyer and to match supply and demand for certified products.
Roberta joined Food Alliance in September 2004 after earning her Masters in Business Administration at Portland State University. During her MBA program, Roberta focused on issues of social responsibility and environmental sustainability in business and completed a certificate program in Food Industry Management. She did an internship with the promotions department at New Seasons Market, a beloved Portland-area natural supermarket chain, and consulted for Coastwide Laboratories, a regional sanitary maintenance supply distributor and manufacturer of award-winning sustainable cleaning products. Roberta has served on the board of directors for Portland's Hollywood Farmers' Market since 2002.
Lynn Fitch • Development and Marketing Director
Email: Lynn at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503-493-1066, ext. 32
Lynn leads Food Alliance’s marketing and communications activities, as well as individual and corporate development efforts. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, major gift acquisition, brand management and media/public relations.
Lynn has worked with local, national and international non-profit organizations for more than 25 years. Her experience includes directing a radio and television station in rural Alaska, raising money for renewable energy projects around the world, creating a yurt village for migrant framworkers, and leading advocacy efforts to help homeless families.
Lynn received the National Recycling Award for Candice the Aluminum Can; a marketing campaign about pollution, resource conservation and the economics of recycling, which revolved around a very charismatic aluminum can.
Lynn enjoys long walks in the woods with her two canine companions, cooking exotic meals for her friends and traveling around the country to hear great music. She reads voraciously and her favorite magazine is Adbusters. She volunteers for a variety of community based non-profits, helping to make the world she lives in a better place.
John Harrington • Communications Manager
Email: John at foodalliance.org
Phone: (503) 493.1066, ext 24
John joined Food Alliance after managing communications and events for six years at Sustainable Northwest. He volunteers for a variety of sustainability and conservation organizations and public entities in Oregon, and currently serves on the board of Orlo, an organization that explores environmental issues through the creative arts.
John grew up on the east coast and has over a decade of experience in project management, public relations, graphic arts, editing, and publishing. In 2005 he published the book, Renewing the Countryside: Washington.
John has a BA in English Literature from New York University. His personal interests include urban landscapes, video and music production, photography, biking, hiking, enjoying regional food and drink, and advancing Portland's creative/green community.
Jessica Metteer • Administrative Assistant
Email: Jessica at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 26
Jessica joined the Food Alliance team in December 2008. Her duties include assisting the Certification team with the many processes and tasks involved in completing certification, providing support and assistance to the Executive Director, researching and supporting campaigns for our Business Development team, Board support and meeting coordination, and helping to coordinate our annual Industry Forum and Dinner.
Jessica comes to Food Alliance after spending five years helping to produce events for the award winning Portland Rose Festival (named Best Festival in the World, 2007 by the International Festivals and Events Association). She loves everything about living in Oregon and has been volunteering with the Oregon Country Fair, in Veneta, Oregon, for over 20 years.
Bob Olson • Director, Food Alliance
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Midwest
Email: Bob at foodalliance.org
Phone: (651)265-3682
Bob works in the Midwest to support outreach to farmers, ranchers, food packers, processors and distributors regarding Food Alliance certification. He also works to recruit participation and support from commercial food buyer and to match supply and demand for certified products.
Bob joined Food Alliance Midwest in January 2005. Bob has over 25 years of agricultural and business development experience, working with farmers as a staff member of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Bob earned an undergraduate degree in plant and soil science and a masters degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics. He was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm where he experienced first-hand the challenges and opportunities of food production.
Jill Grunewald (McLaughlin) • Assistant
Program Manager,
Food Alliance Midwest
Email: Jill at foodalliance.org
Phone: (651) 209-3382
Jill provides development, communication, and marketing support in the Midwest, building consumer and business awareness of sustainable practices in agriculture and the food industry.
Jill joined Food Alliance Midwest in June 2007. Jill received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Kansas, and in 2006 received her certificate in Holistic Health Counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. Prior to moving to Minneapolis, Jill lived in Kansas City, MO, where she served on the steering committee of the Kansas City Food Circle, an all-volunteer, grassroots organization created to promote the development of a permanently sustainable local food system. She was also a member of the Kansas City 100 Mile Diet group, scouting out local sources of foods in an effort to support local farmers and to educate and increase consumption of these foods in Kansas City and the surrounding region. Additionally, Jill enjoys contributing to two publications as a monthly health and wellness writer.
Elizabeth Palles • Bookkeeper
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Email: Liz at foodalliance.org
Phone: 503.493.1066, ext 21
Liz manages accounts payable and receivable, grant allocations, bookkeeping and financial reporting.
Prior to joining Food Alliance, Liz served as the administrator/office manager for two environmental organizations in rural New Hampshire, Friends of the John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, and Lake Sunapee Protective Association.
