Serving since 2015; Term ends in 2025

I first visited Port Townsend in 1994 and moved here three years later; PT offered relief from city traffic and prices with an urban level of culture. I soon left my software career and have since tried my hand at teaching Italian, arts administration, and literary translation. I’ve studied everything from systems design and cognitive science to comparative literature and crossword puzzles, and my current roles in community organizations bring together a surprising number of those threads. I’ve been involved with local cultural institutions for many years, and I’m honored to serve on the board of the Food Co-op. It’s a cultural institution, too, both in the way it champions our local collaborative spirit and in the access it provides to local cuisine and agriculture.

Serving since 2020; Term ends in 2025

I was born on a large farm in rural Georgia outside of a small town called Zebulon. I grew up moving around a bunch and ended up in Colorado as a young adult in the early 90s. I stayed in Colorado until my wife and I decided to move “somewhere” in Washington State and accidentally found Port Townsend. Of course, we only found PT once we stopped actively searching for where we wanted to move to - you know how it goes. Once here, my wife and I immediately applied for and got jobs at the Food Co-op; so, being a part of the Co-op was really an integral part of our move here and becoming part of the community. The Co-op is really an extension of our amazing community and I am stoked to be a part of it.

Serving since 2023; Term ends in 2026

I have been in love with Port Townsend since 1981 when my husband and I spent our honeymoon here. We vowed to move here one day and finally did thirty-six years later. My life has evolved around food, whether growing it, preparing it and/or taking an active role in nurturing people’s bellies. Growing up in New England in the sixties and seventies, I ate a meat-and-potatoes diet with a limited variety of fresh vegetables and fruits. When I moved west in 1978, choices were vast compared to what I knew in the East. I embraced growing some of my own food, joining my first co-op and exploring international cuisines.
I spent three years on the board of the Jefferson County Farmer’s Market and have volunteered for the Jefferson County Food Bank for the past six years. My work on the Food Co-op’s board has included in-store demonstrations to introduce our members to new local products and local produce from farm vendors, and cooking simple dishes, hoping to expand our members’ kitchen repertoire with new ideas to cook at home.

Serving since 2024; Term ends in 2026

Food is medicine. It is a bridge of connection, a joy, a safe haven. Like connection, relationship, and community, we cannot live without it. Our bridges may look like kitchen tables, floors, tv trays, or beds that we fill with integral substance as much as the sweetness and spice. I hope to help play my part in the means of connection while on the board.

I moved to PT to grow as a person; more accurately, to become more of myself. This “becoming” cannot have happened without a community of loved ones to help me buy my first car to get here or a love long forgotten helping me find somewhere to lay my head each day. Days turn into weeks and months, and I meet new people to love. Sunrises come with breakfast, belly-laughs, and hot coffees around an old rickety table. Winter sunsets welcome hot chocolate beside burgeoning embers and tales of the past. I didn’t think I could find somewhere to fit here (and perhaps I still don’t) but that is not a hindrance. When you’re someone on the outside, you can see the things that are missing and need attention and care.

We notice and share these gaps with those who have access to tools of repair who cannot see the big picture from within because we can’t grow alone. And we shouldn’t. Interdependence is our survival. The myriad ways we can support one another is how we succeed.

Serving since 2024; Term ends in 2027

My path to the Co-op started years ago when I was young, and my mother grew her own garden. We would watch the baby plants grow, and then in late August, our reward would be to go out there and pick whatever we wanted. For me, it was a tomato - sun-ripened, dripping with juice, and organically grown.

I have had two careers - one state and one federal and between them, I have been a counselor, a trainer, and a mentor. The benefit of the federal job was having the ability to live in three countries and 5 states. Each time I moved somewhere new, I would make it a point during harvest to find that end of the driveway stand or farmer’s market. Within those jobs, I tried to contribute beyond just working there – so I would volunteer. Some of my volunteer work included participating in and chairing both the diversity and wellness committees.

For a time, I spent most of my vacations kayaking or sailing in the San Juan Islands. To get there, I would take the Port Townsend ferry and fell in love with the town so when the time came to retire, my first choice was here. And then came the Co-op. The first walk into the store - the smell of food, seeing people connect, and all the fresh produce. Then after attending last year’s annual general meeting, I was so impressed I wanted to be more a part of it all, so I volunteered for the Community Engagement Committee. I am still on it and love the work we are doing.

Serving since 2024; Term ends in 2027

Long before I moved to Port Townsend two plus years ago, I knew about the Co-op. On visits to Port Townsend over the years, I had been deeply impressed by the incredible produce section with fruits and vegetables one just didn’t see in the Northern Rockies. I had bought what had been difficult items for me to find in the bulk goods section. But more than that, I had noticed the influence of the Co-op in the creation and support of what makes Port Townsend a wonderful place to live. How the Co-op impacts our greater community is the best example I know of how much good applying a cooperative model can do.

I had a full and satisfying career practicing law, making land use decisions for my county, and trying cases for organizations, businesses, and government. Over the years, my clients were, among others, small grocery stores, environmental organizations, a small city, a state agency, victims of bias and prejudice, and many people from differing walks of life who had simply made a mistake. It’s the experience, knowledge and understanding from that career that I would bring to the Board.

For me, the Co-op is the heart of Port Townsend. Anything I can do to help make sure that the Co-op continues to thrive is what I want do. I strongly believe that if the Co-op thrives, Port Townsend will too. It would be a great honor to be able to contribute by serving on the Co-op’s Board.

Serving since 2024; Term ends in 2027

In 2012, I fell in love with a beet (two-thirds the size of my head) from Midori Farm at the Port Townsend Farmers Market. It offered the taste of “terroir,” that earthy combination of mineral-rich soil, long days of sunlight, Pacific Northwest rain and winds, salty air; and the quality of qi that shines through well-cared for products grown in well-tended land. My family moved to Port Townsend in 2018 in pursuit of taste and flavor, and I quickly became a Food Co-op member.

Locally, I’ve used my creative and strategic talent and chef instructor experience to partner with the Farmers Market on market demos, collaborative programming for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth aimed at well-being, and a novel, collective, trust-based approach to support new and diverse vendors’ participation. I also served as a member of the Port Townsend Food System Resiliency Task Force during the pandemic where 15 organizations and leaders kept people and food systems safe, sustainable, and robust while maintaining equitable access to quality food. This work inspired my food podcast. As a lawyer, I also worked with others to preserve over 100 acres of agrarian land in Chimacum and assisted with land back work as a personal commitment to food security, farmers, and indigenous leaders.

Cooperation makes the impossible possible when we show up for each other with our gifts and common purpose. I am honored to serve the community and the Food Co-op as an integral part of a healthy and holistic food system.

INTERIM SECRETARY

Serving since 2013; Currently an emeritus board member (non-voting); Term ends in 2024

I grew up in Redmond when it was a one-stoplight town known for its bike derby instead of for Microsoft. Much later, after living for ten years in Virginia, where you park at the top of the Shenandoah Mountains and walk down, John and I moved back home to our much wilder Olympics and Cascades. We love hiking, food, music, and nice people, so Port Townsend is the perfect town for us. I joined the Co-op board because I treasured our extraordinary store, and I’ve stayed on because I’ve come to appreciate the importance of cooperatives in our flawed economic system and because I think a strong community is essential.