OUR TEAM
PBFA is powered by a diverse team of passionate plant-based advocates dedicated to supporting our member community, propelling our industry to even greater heights, and building a healthier, more sustainable, more equitable food future for all.
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Rachel Dreskin
CEO
POLICY
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Marjorie Mulhall
Senior Director, Policy
MARKETPLACE
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Julie Emmett
Vice President, Marketplace Development
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Hannah Lopez
Director, Marketplace Development, Foodservice
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Nikki Smith
Associate Director, Marketplace Development
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Linette Kwon
Data and Consumer Insights Analyst
COMMUNITY
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Maddie Segal
Director, Membership
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Sara McGoun
Senior Manager, Member Relations
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Alessandra Franco
Manager, Member Growth
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Quinn Lentz
Senior Coordinator, Member Relations
COMMUNICATIONS
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Kate Good
Director, Communications
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Alison Spasser
Associate Director, Marketing
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Annie Tarashansky
Senior Coordinator, Communications
OPERATIONS
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Margaret Barnard
Senior Director, Operations
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Ciara LaChaux
People and Operations Generalist
DEVELOPMENT
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Jeff Doyle
Director, Program Development
CONSULTANTS
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Beverly Paul
Federal Policy Consultant
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Carl Jorgensen
Agriculture Consultant
OUR BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
PBFA benefits immeasurably from the visionary guidance and industry expertise of our Board of Directors, composed of plant-based leaders from across our member community.
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Nicole Sopko
COO, Upton’s Naturals
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Jaime Athos
CEO, The Tofurky Company
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Sadrah Schadel
CEO, No Evil Foods
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Lizzie King
Director of Sales, North America, Impossible Foods
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Julia Stamberger
CEO and Co-Founder, The Planting Hope Company
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Peter van Dijken
Owner and Co-Founder, Green Boy Group
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Danny O'Malley
President and Founder, Before the Butcher
OUR ADVISORS
We’re grateful to work with a coalition of expert advisors with years of invaluable experience in industry, policy, social justice, and beyond—all dedicated to harnessing their expertise to elevate plant-based foods and drive food system progress.
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GW Chew
Founder and CEO, Something Better Foods
Equity and Social Justice -
Rebecca Cross
Founder, Greenfare Law LLP
Legal -
Matt Dunaj
CFO and COO, Fly By Jing
Finance and Operations -
Nil Zacharias
Founder and CEO, Plantega
Strategy -
Mark Langley
Managing Partner, Unovis Asset Management and New Crop Capital
Startups
OUR COMMITTEES
AND COUNCILS
PBFA committees—composed of leaders from across our member community—provide critical insights and expertise that informs the planning, development, and execution of our work.
POLICY COMMITTEE
The Policy Committee plays a key role in shaping PBFA’s federal and state policy work, harnessing our community’s collective expertise to strengthen the plant-based foods industry, defend our sector against burdensome labeling challenges, and guide PBFA’s strategy around key policy opportunities like the U.S. Farm Bill, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and more.
Co-Chair: Jaime Athos | CEO | The Tofurky Company
Co-Chair: Lizzie King | Director of Sales, North America | Impossible Foods
Cheryl Dreyer, Director, Regulatory Policy & Intelligence, Kerry Foods
Stephanie Goodwin | Director, Nutrition Policy | Danone North America
Brian Hansen | General Manager | Scoular
Katrina Picon | Director of Communications | Califia Farms
Kobi Regev | CEO | Pleese Foods
Jo Saint-George | Chair and General Counsel | HBCU College of Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine
Cate Thorin | Head of Government Relations | Novozymes
Jessica Wasserman | Government Relations Counsel | On behalf of Bel Brands USA
Teri Witteman | General Counsel and Secretary | Beyond Meat
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
As our industry—and in turn, PBFA—continues to grow, our Membership Committee plays an essential role in guiding our efforts to better serve and support our diverse, cutting-edge member community. Committee members help us enrich and engage our community, identify the needs that shape our benefits, and help us bring new voices to the table.
Co-Chair: Danny O’Malley | President and Founder | Before the Butcher
Co-Chair: Peter van Dijken | Owner and Founder | Green Boy Group
Scott Cowger | VP National Sales Manager and Head of R&D | CII Foods
Nithya Hariharan | Head of Marketing | Novozymes
Melissa Pacheco | Partner, Executive Recruiter | Chameleon Collective
Teun (Tony) Raymakers | Commercial Director | Green Boy Group
David Weitzman | Manager, HR Business Partner, Specialties and Commercial Excellence | Ingredion
SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
The Sustainability Committee identifies meaningful ways to advance and promote the positive environmental impact of plant-based foods, and opportunities for the PBFA member community to get more involved in the sustainability space—from participating in life cycle assessments to mitigating environmental and climate impacts of production, packaging, and other activities.
Co-Chair: Sadrah Schadel | CEO | No Evil Foods
Co-Chair: Julia Stamberger | CEO and Co-Founder | The Planting Hope Company
Kara Davis | Director of Impact | Unovis Asset Management
Sara Fletcher | Communications and Public Affairs Director | Oatly
Jessica Hulse Dillon | Director, Soil & Climate Alliance | Green America Center for Sustainability Solutions
Gayle Massey | Head of Partnerships and Media Solutions North America | vegconomist
Qing Qing Miao | Director of Sustainability | MyForest Foods
Nicole Perez | National Account Manager | Impossible Foods
Arlan Peters | Head of Sustainability | Novozymes
David Piza | Director, Global Business Development, Alternative Proteins | Griffith Foods
Ella Rosenbloom | VP of Sustainability | Califia Farms
Nicky Shaw | Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication | Daiya Foods
Elana Schwartz | Sales Manager | Scoular
RETAIL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Focused on advancing the position of plant-based foods in the broader marketplace, this council shapes and defines merchandising best practices in retail, both online and in-store—all to ensure an environment in which a diverse slate of plant-based foods is widely accessible to the growing number of consumers demanding them.
Executive Sponsor: Julie Emmett | Vice President, Marketplace Development | PBFA and PBFI
Executive Sponsor: Erin Ransom | Chief Growth Officer | The Tofurky Company
Co-Chair: Nikki Smith | Associate Director, Marketplace Development | PBFA
Co-Chair: Carolyn Geruc | Director of Sales, Conventional Channel | Greenleaf Foods
Co-Chair: Eric Chou | National Retail Sales Manager | Hodo Foods
Brendan Cravitz | Brand & Marketing Director | 2foods USA
Lori Driscoll | Albertsons Team Leader | Upfield
Brian Hansen | General Manager | Scoular
Elizabeth Hemphill-Burns | Sr. Director of National Sales | BRAINJUICE
Kimberlie Le | Co-Founder and CEO | Prime Roots
Debra Mackey | Director of Sales | Daiya Foods
Ethan Sonne | Sr. National Brand Manager | Presence Marketing
Kristina Vadeikaite | Director of Insights and Category Management | Daiya Foods
Ellen Wheeler | Vice President of Sales | Alive Publishing Group