What skills and qualities do you have that uniquely qualify you for the Board of Directors, and why do you want to run for the Board?
I have served on the Co-op Board since October 2022 and led development of the current strategic plan. I have been present for and attended to changes in Co-op leadership — at the Board level and with the General Manager/CEO in that time. All these experiences have required attentive listening, thoughtful discussion, and heartfelt care with fellow board members, community members, and staff. I’d really like to continue supporting our direction, celebrate our accomplishments, and have a hand in updating the strategic plan. As a community and regional planner, I have experience in outreach, facilitation, plan research and writing, and building and maintaining partnerships. I also have experience in communications and operations in a financial advisory practice. I am attuned to matters of inclusion and consider myself someone who can imagine many facets to issues or problems and find creative ways to address them.
Choose one of the five goals of the Co-op strategic plan and briefly talk about what interests you, and what you could contribute to its development.
Healthy Food Access interests me because it is aimed at making healthy food accessible to everyone in our local area. We all need to eat, no matter our identities or preferences. I love that this goal combines offerings in the stores with community contribution, food system support, sustainable practices, and out-of-the box thinking. The responsiveness the Co-op has to the local community sets our grocery apart from other grocers in town. The fact that this business is a co-op enables circulation of local dollars in the community, which further supports local health and well-being. I work professionally on equitable access issues, and I consider food access in our community (and region) an element of my work. I appreciate how broadly inclusive it is, and I’m committed to ensuring healthy food access is and remains a priority for the Co-op.
Think about a situation that demonstrates your ability to create a climate that values cultural diversity. How would you encourage sharing different perspectives?
In my work organizing writing critique groups, I have been intentional about inviting culturally diverse writers to participate. These groups form with the intent to share, and it’s important to establish clear guidelines for how to discuss work. Since establishing the guidelines is a collaborative undertaking, I encourage multiple formats for people to share their perspective, including one-on-one discussion, group discussion, and written input. A critique group comes with an embedded purpose. Likewise, it’s important to have a clear goal or purpose in convening a group. I am a strong believer in forming relationships with cultural communities by going to them and establishing relationships where they are as a preliminary step to creating something new. It’s possible a new undertaking isn’t needed, and collaboration itself can foster culturally diverse sharing. These relational skills apply to how I engage with the Co-op Board, how I consider addressing member input, how I evaluate business planning decisions, how I did and would seek input to develop the strategic plan, and how I anticipate forming collaborations with other organizations and entities in the region.
What do you believe are the Co-op’s greatest strengths?
To me, the Co-op would not be what it is without the people — at all levels of the organization — that make it work. Along with that, the Co-op’s membership is the fuel that keeps the business running. The Co-op’s status as a co-op is also one of its great strengths as it distinguishes our business from other similar businesses, affords us flexibility and responsiveness unmatched by our competitors, and nourishes the community by circulating local dollars. The Co-op’s community legacy is also a great strength for the personal, locally grown values it has, which offers an antidote to the impersonal, automated, and globalized world we live in. Fifty-six years of operation is a solid foundation from which to respond to the changing needs of people, climate, and enterprise.
Describe any experience you have in reading and understanding financial statements.
As a current member of the Board, I review the Co-op’s financial statements monthly. I own and operate my own small business and work in operations with another business owner. I am familiar with profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and investment strategies.
Describe the experience, skills or knowledge you have working with any or all of the following: cooperatives, policy governance, consensus process, nonprofit or for-profit boards, a group that used active member participation to achieve its goals.
All Community Food Co-op Board members have experience with policy governance and consensus process. For several months during my service on the Co-op Board, I participated in an ad hoc committee that reviewed policy monitoring reports, so I have extra, relevant experience with that aspect of policy governance.
Before moving to Bellingham full-time in late 2019, I was active in the Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance, a coalition working to steward the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area by managing and redistributing visitation. Specifically, I coordinated the Car-Free Implementation Team, which was comprised of several government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and local advocates, to lessen the negative impacts of personal vehicles in and around the National Scenic Area. The fruits of that effort are evident in the Gorge today.
Describe your connections with the community, including volunteer work if applicable.
I have volunteered on Whatcom Land Trust committees and the Ragfinery Board. I am an active participant in the Red Wheelbarrow Writers group, and I co-facilitated the group’s 2025 collaborative novel. I had a catalyzing role in Bellingham’s first Subdued Saunter in October 2025, a community walk through town as part of Walk and Roll Bellingham’s Week Without Driving programming. I have also participated in Whatcom Land Trust stewardship activities and conducted an independent habitat restoration project on the Whatcom Creek Trail. My natural habitat is the Whatcom Creek Trail, so you’re likely to find me there ogling the lichens on the bridge railing, staring at the creek water, playing hide-n-seek with the hummingbirds, listening to the trees and ivy, and breathing deeply of the air searching for words to describe how it smells.
Describe any business or entrepreneurial experience you have.
I’ve been a small business owner since 2016 and generally have lived a creative’s entrepreneurial life.