People

Irene is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised on occupied Muwekma Ohlone land (San Francisco). With a background in arts administration, communications and nonprofit fundraising, she is passionate about cultivating meaningful relationships that drive community impact through resource mobilization and redistribution. Driven by a vision of a world where a high quality of life is ensured for all, she is excited to join Berkeley Food Network to creatively dismantle the systematic targeting of vulnerable communities and support access to nutrient dense food for everyone.

Andrew Crispin brings personal experience and professional expertise to the fight against food insecurity. Originally from New Hampshire, Andrew brings a diverse background in research, education, hospitality, and public health to his role as Executive Director at Berkeley Food Network. Andrew graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry and from Boston University with a Master's in Nutrition. He is committed to building partnerships and using a data-informed approach to strengthen the social support network within Berkeley, ensuring all who need food are able to access it.

April’s entire career has been spent in non-profit accounting and finance. Originally from a farming community in North Carolina, she moved to the Berkeley on the Summer Solstice of 1992 and cannot imagine leaving. She is also a lifelong artist and writer. You can find her on the banks of Strawberry Creek with her dog or planting vegetables with her partner. She is excited to bring decades of extensive, dedicated skill to her work at Berkeley Food Network.

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.

Perry Hall (she/her) has worked for over 12 years coordinating volunteers at non-profits engaged in environmental education. She is passionate about the difference that volunteers can make and works to match each volunteer’s abilities and motivation with the needs of the organization. Perry is excited to be a part of making good nutrition more accessible to members of the Berkeley community that she calls home. She looks forward to collaborating with staff and volunteers to expand BFN’s partnerships with local businesses and organizations.

James (he/him) is a Northern California native with a family history of giving back to food insecure communities, from his mother volunteering in food pantries to his grandmother leading canned food drives at her church. James is an alumnus of San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s in Film and Screenwriting and enjoys losing himself in a good movie or book. And during his time off, James can be found with his wife walking around the lake and redwoods of Oakland or writing his next screenplay at a local coffee shop. He has an extensive background in customer service and is excited to help his local East Bay communities through his work at BFN.

Ben is a second generation Berkeley resident and is fortunate to return home and work in the community he grew up in. He brings with him a background in farming, cooking, and organic produce sales and distribution. Ben is excited to work for an organization that is focused on improving access to healthy, high quality food for the Bay Area community.

Angelina is a Bay Area native with roots in Richmond and Berkeley, she attended Berkeley Public schools and went on to study early Childhood Education leading her to a career in teaching for many years. She is now hoping to get involved in community based programs that have an emphasis on food justice and education. She's excited to embark on a new journey with Berkeley food Network, and be part of an important service that directly impacts the communities she was raised in.

Keli’i (Key) is a first-generation college graduate, born and raised in the East Bay by his grandparents, who instilled in him values of pride, purpose, and community. Forged from his values and life’s humble beginnings was a passion for investing in people. Throughout his personal and professional life, Keli’i has joined efforts supporting educators, students, athletes, the unhoused, immigrants, single parents, and low-income individuals because he loves seeing others thrive. He's excited to join BFN in the everyday fight to help the community weather the rising cost of living in the Bay. He looks forward to spreading awareness and helping community members obtain essential resources to achieve a higher quality of life. When he’s not at BFN chasing his dreams, you can catch him coaching football at Pinole Valley High School, or embarking on an outdoor adventure with his wife, and dog Nala.

Kate (she/her) is a Master of Public Health candidate in Food and Nutrition at UC Berkeley, proudly born and raised in the East Bay. With a background in community engagement and policy and health research, she is committed to advancing food justice through community-led solutions. Kate is excited to support efforts that promote equitable access to nutritious food and recognize food as a human right. Outside of BFN, you can find her crocheting, playing bass, or on a run.

Pam (she/her) has worked in the public, private and nonprofit sectors and has been a longtime community volunteer in the Bay Area. She served as Chair of the City of Berkeley Parks and Recreation Commission and was a board member and sea kayak guide at Environmental Traveling Companions, a non-profit serving people with disabilities and under-resourced youth. Her professional experience includes directing operations at Goodwill Industries, San Francisco and working in the office of Berkeley City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli. Currently, she is the Employer Engagement Manager for BroadFutures, a non-profit that prepares young adults with learning disabilities to successfully enter the workplace. Pam received her B.A. from Tufts University, her MBA from Dominican University and holds professional certificates in Process Improvement and Sustainable Operations from Portland State University.

Mirna (she/her) is a first-generation Latina with a demonstrated history of 10 years working in the nonprofit sector. She is currently the Executive 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.

Lynnette Orme is a CPA and MBA and currently works as a Senior Finance Director at MHN, a behavioral insurance company. Previously, she worked as the Chief Financial Officer of Lifelong Medical Care, a non-profit Health Center based in Berkeley. She also volunteered as Treasurer for Berkeley High School Development Group for close to four years. She was born and raised in Berkeley and her family spent all of their vacations in the Sierra Nevadas so she calls Yosemite her second home. For higher education, she attended UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley – ultimately receiving a BA in Classical Languages. For post-graduate work she attended California State East Bay (Hayward), receiving a Master in Business Administration, Taxation. She hopes that her background running finance and operations teams will be of help in preparing BFN for the next big administrative leap. She is a big proponent of people having access to healthy, nutritious food - one of dad’s life lessons was “food is love”.

Jessica has a diverse background in customer service, communication, and education advocacy. With extensive experience as a former director of customer service in the private sector, Jessica transitioned her skills and passion towards public education. She served in communications and public information roles at Oakland and Berkeley USDs. The majority of her positions in education were as a volunteer serving as Co-President for Berkeley High School Development Group, among other leadership positions. Jessica brings exemplary leadership, fundraising, project management and non-profit operations skills. Jessica's community involvement extends beyond education, as she has also been actively engaged in local youth sports programs, acting as coach and manager for both Albany Berkeley Girls Softball and ECFC/Spurs soccer. She is a Berkeley native who holds a B.A. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Regular BFN volunteer for 5+ years. Joined BFN’s Finance Committee in August 2024. Business degree with an accounting concentration from the University of Washington. Retired from Chevron after a 32-year career (mostly in the Bay Area, with time in Houston, Miami and Cape Town, South Africa). Experience in business planning, strategic studies, project management, investment analysis, corporate reorganizations, communications and energy economics. Corporate Claim to Fame: Last 4 years at Chevron were working as the Advisor to the current CEO of Chevron, running leadership team meetings, reviewing approvals on his behalf, preparing materials for "ExCom" and Chevron's Board, and organizing multi-day off-site meetings. Grew up in Seattle. Married to Kate, no children. Live in the Elmwood area of Berkeley. Like to travel (Spain, Portugal & Mexico this year.) Enjoy biking and hiking.

Rebecca (she/her) worked as a statistician/data scientist until her retirement in 2022. She started her career in academia and then moved to the private sector, working with both for-profit companies and for a combination of public and private sector organizations as an independent consultant. She has worked with a variety of clients in various industries including the Netflix, Amazon, Sony, Pfizer, Nissan, The Moore Foundation, and Covered California. She has also volunteered in the community: coaching soccer for ABSC and Mavericks, serving on the PTA Board and as PTA President at Thousand Oaks School, as well as on the PTA Council. Rebecca received her undergraduate (AB) degree from Harvard and holds both a PhD in Sociology and a MA in Demography from UC Berkeley.

Jeffrey is a first-generation UC Berkeley alum, and President & CEO of Visit Berkeley, the cities Destination Marketing Organization. With the mission to promote Berkeley as a desirable destination for visitors and locals alike, Jeffrey brings his energy and passion for connecting people together, and is excited for collaborations that will help all of BFN's marketing efforts.

After a quarter of a century of working in advertising, marketing and communications at a variety of big digital companies, I found myself removing myself as a candidate for my dream job, selling or giving away everything in my New York apartment and moving back into my childhood home to care for my mother in the last years of her life. Not the path I imagined my career taking but fulfilling as a daughter to a single mom who sacrificed so much for me to have the life I have. What happened next was a lesson in exercising caution when asking the universe "what's next?" I took a temporary job as a cashier at my favorite grocery store, Berkeley Bowl - just something to 'hold myself over' while I searched for my next career move. About a month later a global pandemic hit, putting a hard hold on any plans I had. Interestingly, among the chaos and stress of the pandemic, an opportunity came to light that enables me to use my experience to benefit a company I had grown to love. Today I am proud to serve as the Marketing and Communications lead at Berkeley Bowl, in an amazing role where I am able to flex my creative muscles, lean into my experience in a whole new industry surrounded by great people. When I'm not working surrounded by amazing food, I am mom to the best doggo ever, and I indulge in cooking and the occasional foray into stand up comedy.

Chuck (he/his) previously served as board chair of Berkeley Community Scholars, 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."

Jake is a Cal professor in Geography as well as a farmer /co-owner of Rancho Siempre Verde’s (RSV) Phoenix Food Project, which donates 10,000 pounds of organic produce for BFN to distribute to our neighbors each year.

Faith Kelley serves as one of the pastors at Berkeley Friends Church, a Christian Quaker community in Berkeley, CA. Before becoming a pastor, Faith worked in hospitality, non-profits and as a public librarian. The common thread of welcoming others and building community ties her work together. Faith served on the board of Pendle Hill, a Quaker education and retreat center outside Philadelphia, from 2007 to 2013, including two years as the board's recording clerk. Faith has a Masters in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University and a B.A. in anthropology and linguistics from Miami University. She lives with her four young children and husband in Oakland.

Ian was raised in Berkeley and worked in the financial services sector for over 30 years in California, New York Philadelphia and London before retiring back in California in 2022. He managed a wide variety of investment portfolios for clients ranging from endowments to mutual funds, pension plans and sovereign wealth funds. He worked for the City of Berkeley Parks & Recreation department from 1984-1989 and has volunteered at food security programs in London, Alameda and at BFN since 2022. Ian earned his BA in economics from UC Davis, MBA from UC Berkeley and is a CFA Charterholder.

With a distinguished career at Santa Clara University, Barry Posner has served as the Michael J. Accolti, S.J. Professor of Leadership and Chair of the Management and Entrepreneurship Department. His tenure includes a significant 4,386 days as Dean of the Business School. Barry's academic contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Association for Talent Development’s highest honor for Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance. He has been acknowledged as one of America’s Top 50 leadership coaches, ranked among the Most Influential HR Thinkers globally by HR magazine, and the World’s Top 75 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc. magazine.

Locke grew up in Berkeley. Shortly after her family arrived in 1969 she was part of the church congregation that started the Berkeley Emergency Food Project (now Insight Housing) to feed the hungry newly populating the streets of Berkeley. With years of experience working in non-profits globally and locally in areas of grassroots organizing and fundraising, Locke moved into leadership positions as President of the Board of the SHARE foundation (current) (working in El Salvador and Honduras), she is an alumni board member of the Berkeley Public School Fund (currently Advisory Board). She appreciates working collaboratively within the community, including the 5 years she worked in the Athletic Department at Berkeley High School. Locke has a BA in Sociology from California Lutheran University and while no longer as fluent as she was in the 1980’s, can participate in a meeting and a pretty good conversation in Spanish.