Natalie hails from the East Coast and moved to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College, where she studied Urban and Environmental Policy and Spanish. She has worked in the food industry since she was 14, serving ice cream, coffee, fine italian food, and more. She is joining the Food Forward team after several years of labor and tenant organizing. She is passionate about economic justice and food access, and feels grateful to work in a position where she can connect with people everyday (Food Forward’s awesome volunteers!) and grow community. When Natalie is not working, she is likely thinking about her next coffee, reading in one of her many favorite L.A. parks, or spending time with her family, friends, and her very hungry cat named Margot.

I am originally from the state of Puebla in Mexico. I grew up in a town called Huachinantla. Growing up I attended school, worked in agriculture with my family, and enjoyed hunting. Prior to working at Food Forward I worked as a driver and dispatcher at the Wholesale Produce Market for 17 years. One day at work Luis explained what Food Forward does with donated produce and he told me he was looking for a driver. I was immediately interested! In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, playing soccer and playing music with my band.

Joe Bobman comes to Los Angeles by way of Central Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. He spent five years working with food and environmental justice programs up and down the Connecticut River Valley, including farmers markets, community and school gardens, and a bike advocacy program. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, he began working at SOVA’s Community Food & Resource Program, where he developed an incredible appreciation for Southern California’s abundance of fresh produce and passionate volunteers. He is also a professional baker and has worked at bakeries, food trucks, and one of L.A.’s top restaurants. When he’s not working, he is cooking at home, riding around on his bike, or reading anything written by Ursula K. LeGuin.

I am originally from Puebla, Mexico.  Before I worked at Food Forward, I was a driver in the produce industry for 15 years. I enjoy being a driver because I get to interact with people from many different countries and backgrounds. I enjoy working at Food Forward because we help many people in need. When I’m not working, I enjoy playing music with my band and spending time with my family.

Sam Cahall spent her childhood in rural Kentucky running wild in the woods near her home. She attended Centre College and earned a degree in Sociology and Anthropology. After school she held various sales and food industry jobs, and served as an admin at an environmental nonprofit. She found the most joy in making granola on her boss’s one-acre homestead surrounded by goats, inspiring great interest in alternative food channels. In 2016 she traded out the Appalachian Foothills for the San Gabriel Mountains. To help get the lay of the land she canvassed Los Angeles for an environmental nonprofit but most recently was head of a bakery. Her aim to live by the motto to “leave things better than you found it” has returned her to the world of nonprofits. When she is not working, Sam is in the kitchen recreating family recipes and the delicious foods found in her new home. Apart from food, she also enjoys abandoning craft projects, reading, and spending time outdoors.

I am from Mexico, Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas. I grew up in an area of ​​Zacatecas called Rancho Jacales—it was a community of 80 people. I worked in a produce store for 17 years, and I was in charge of giving donations and I was interested in giving to help other people. That’s what made me think about working at Food Forward one day. One day, Luis proposed that I work with him. I could work every day and at the same time help people in need, so my decision was made. I like to cook and share new things to cook with my family.

Jen Cox grew up just outside of Detroit, Michigan on the sixth Great Lake, Lake St Clair. When she graduated from college, Jen moved to Washington, DC for a six-month internship that turned into a twenty-year career in environmental policy and organizing. After serving in nonprofit fundraising leadership at several advocacy organizations, Jen relocated to Los Angeles and built a consulting practice providing fundraising guidance on climate, environmental education, democracy reform, and social justice issues. Previous volunteer experience in food distribution inspired Jen to want to serve in her new hometown and led her to Food Forward. Jen earned her BA with a dual concentration in environmental policy and history at the University of Michigan and is certified in nonprofit management by Georgetown University’s professional development program. When not learning everything she can about Southern California’s fruit and vegetable abundance, Jen enjoys taking day trips to see the beauty of the coast and the desert, experiencing LA’s music legacy, and sampling the incredible tacos.

Melina is a New York City native who recently moved to Los Angeles. She previously worked in various forms of education, ranging from acting, to gardening, to queer sex ed. In 2020 she began volunteering with hunger relief organization City Harvest, working at their mobile markets and assisting with fundraising. After becoming so engaged with this work, Melina decided that this is what she wanted to pursue in Los Angeles, and is ecstatic that she gets to do so with Food Forward.

I grew up in Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico. I have been working in agriculture since my early teens with my grandfather and later on the tomato harvest in Merced, California. At first it was very tiring but as time passed it helped me learn the value of hard work and gave me a great appreciation for the produce business. Before coming to Food Forward I worked in Los Angeles Wholesale produce market as a warehouse clerk and supervisor for 19 years. One day while I was talking to Luis about the work Food Forward does and asked him to let me know about job openings. I find the work very interesting and really value being able to help people in need, especially low-income families. In my free time, I like to play the electric bass and practice with a Norteño band. And I also enjoy spending time with my family.

Allison grew up in New England, and stayed close for college, studying Communications at Northeastern University. Upon graduation, Allison made the move out West and spent 6+ years at TOMS Shoes, helping to build and execute global partnerships. She continued to work in the marketing/partnerships space for other for-profit companies, and is now excited to bring her background in relationship building and campaign management to support Food Forward’s fundraising efforts

Diane grew up in suburban Los Angeles, where she and her siblings used to pick avocados from their backyard and sell them 8 for $1! After college at UC San Diego and earning a Stanford MBA, Diane’s early career focused on finance, strategic planning, and change management with large and small for-profit organizations. She also started teaming up with other MBAs to do pro-bono projects with nonprofits, and gained tremendous satisfaction from seeing the “ah-ha” moments created when talented people with different backgrounds blend their best ideas to tackle social issues and create impact. As a result, she became increasingly passionate about applying her skills to help organizations improve people’s lives. Diane has since focused her career on supporting community-based organizations, and has worked with over 200 nonprofits in her roles as an executive director, grantmaker, professional services provider, and consultant. When she met Rick and Food Forward in 2010, she became an instant fan of the organization, so was thrilled to join the staff in 2021!

LaNeisha is a Compton native who spent a large part of her childhood gardening with her grandparents, which drove her desire to be a doctor. In high school she began cooking and discovered a passion for food. Currently, a student at ASU earning her degree in Nutrition, she has developed an interest in food justice and food insecurity as she strives to serve her community in Los Angeles. In her free time she enjoys gardening and spending time with family.

After a long career in newspapers, Andrea Howry planted new roots and became the Ventura County Branch Coordinator in July of 2019. She’d been leading backyard fruit picks for about four years, hooked after the first pick when she found a bird’s nest in a citrus tree with a tiny blue egg inside. She and her husband have lived in Ventura for 27 years, raising three kids and several rescued dogs. She is a graduate of Stanford University and enjoys hiking and reading.

Griffin grew up in Santa Monica, CA where he developed an enduring love affair with the ocean and coastal ecosystems. He studied Filmmaking, Creative Writing and Spanish at Cornell University, though he spent much of his time there working in cornfields for a plant-breeding project, wandering around the Arboretum with a camera, and wondering why mycelia aren’t a more prominent part of common conversations.  Griffin spent a year after school covered in flour, working in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant, where he shaped pasta dough by hand. He’s stoked to spread his love of food amongst his local community and develop a deeper understanding of Southern California’s agricultural history and practices in the process!

I was born and grew up among the rolling hills of Villa Purificacion, Jalisco, Mexico. In my hometown, I was a rancher. I grew up growing food, being around animals, and I enjoyed drinking warm fresh raw milk with chocolate and sugar. We had plantain trees, apple trees and horses. My favorite horses were named Retinto and Rebel. Before coming to Food Forward I worked in construction, as a butcher, a driver and in a grocery store. Five years prior to working at Food Forward, I started and developed a food recovery for my church. and it was God’s plan for me to find Food Forward. When I’m not working, I like to preach God’s word and work as a missionary.

I was born in a small town in the mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico. I grew up in a poor family, what my parents made was not enough to provide for my 12 brothers and sisters. So I would help my neighbors out for very little pay. I helped harvest corn, and helped out on a cattle farm. During my town’s festivals, I fell in love with a beautiful woman. So I followed her down to the US and married her. She changed my life, a lot of my success I owe to her. Because I have lived through poverty and food insecurity, I’ve always admired the people that help others out. One day, I was presented with the opportunity to be a part of Food Forward and that’s how I am here today. I’m very pleased with what I do and hope my story inspires others.

I am originally from Chiquimula, Guatemala. In Guatemala, I worked as a sign painter on the road and as a driver and brewer for Gallo brewery. I was a brewer.  I’ve worked as a driver in the produce industry in Los Angeles for 30 years and now I’m working with donated produce! My favorite thing about working for Food Forward is the schedule. In my free time, I enjoy being with my family and fishing.

Kevin is a resident of Bell who spent his summers in high school volunteering at his local food pantry, providing him with a lasting desire to help his community and combat food injustice. He is joining the Food Forward team after several years of coordinating for a service-based non-profit in the South Bay, specifically for food assistance programs for families facing food insecurity. Currently a sophomore at Cal State Long Beach, he is excited to be joining an organization like Food Forward and continuing to serve the LA community.

Before founding Food Forward in 2009, Rick was an award-winning photographer and writer who focused on the faces and stories of marginalized communities. His formal training as a cook, along with his exploration of California’s agricultural workforce in his body of work entitled “The Migrant Project: Contemporary California Farm Workers” gave him a deep appreciation of and involvement in both the gourmet cooking and food justice worlds. These varied interests, along with his conviction that access to healthy, fresh, nutritious food is a human right, culminated in him coming aboard as full-time Executive Director of Food Forward in 2011.

He’s spoken internationally on food justice and social innovation issues, and his work has been profiled in dozens of media outlets including The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian, Sunset Magazine, NPR, and The Los Angeles Times. Rick has served as a regional delegate to the Slow Food/Terra Madre Conference in Torino and as a Ralph M. Parsons Fellow, and won Fast Pitch competitions for Food Forward in California and Texas. He received an inaugural Trailblazer Award by the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2016, and the TIAA Difference Maker award in 2018. He was named a Food Champion by LA City Council, a 2017-18 Senior Fellow at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Policy, one of 40 Inspiring Leaders by the Center for Nonprofit Management, and a 2020 Impact-Maker to Watch by Los Angeles City Council & Board of Supervisors. Rick serves on the Leadership Circle of the LA Food Policy Council.

Quang Nguyen grew up on the beaches of Southern California. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, he started his career in software sales and data analysis. Wanting to do more for his hometown, he found himself in the nonprofit education management world, where he helped several organizations expand and scale in their operations, finance, and IT. During this time he was exposed to the disparity in the availability of basic resources to a large population. Quang is excited to be joining the Food Forward team and the food justice movement. Away from the office, Quang enjoys wrenching on machines, visiting the beaches and mountains, and spending time with his family.

Nkemdilim comes to Food Forward with years of experience in entertainment, digital media, and building nonprofit partnerships. Her passion for education, service, and equity led her to Food Forward, and she has jumped right in to help expand Food Forward’s humanitarian efforts.

I was born in a small town pueblo called San Miguel in the country of El Salvador. My name is Omar but everyone calls me Panchito. I had previously worked at a produce company where my boss at the time thought my name was too difficult to remember so he decided to call me Panchito, and it has stuck ever since. There was a period in my life, where I was in need of help, and I was helped out by some amazing people. That inspired me to want to do the same, so when I heard there was an opportunity for me to be a part of Food Forward, I quickly approached Leo with interest. Since then, I’ve been doing my part in helping the community out. I spend my free time with my granddaughter and family. 

 I am originally from the northern part of Guatemala, the countryside. Growing up, my family had a dairy farm and we had to milk 100 cows before going to school in the morning. My father was an agricultural business engineer and I followed his steps  becoming an agricultural business engineer. I moved to the USA in 1991. Before Food Forward, I worked for a church and developed a food recovery program similar to the Wholesale Recovery Program  Luis and I competed for the same donations at the Wholesale Market, and he always told me that he had a big plan (the Pit Stop!) and we were going to work together. I always have the willingness to help those in need and that was one of the big reasons I came to Food Forward. We can help the world be a better place by providing for those who experience food insecurity with a smile and respect. When I’m not working, I’m a churchgoer so that occupies most of my time. I also like to cook and spend time with my family and friends.

Alex is originally from Dallas, TX with East Coast roots. He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he studied Communications with a focus on Journalism. After graduating, he immediately moved to New York City where he served as a City Year AmeriCorps member. Supporting his students in Long Island City, Queens, his passion for encouraging youth to follow their dreams inspired him to start raising money for programs that did just that. This launched his development career at iMentor, an education nonprofit whose mission is to provide post-secondary guidance to students through mentoring relationships. He helped build the organization’s first-ever regional advisory board in NYC, and supported their national development team’s major gift strategies and initiatives across four new regions in the U.S. After living in NYC for 6 years, Alex’s life was rerouted to Los Angeles during the pandemic. Also passionate about food justice and quality produce, he learned about Food Forward while shopping at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market and decided to play a larger role in the fight against food insecurity. In Alex’s spare time, you can find him playing tennis at the park, exploring his new city, or likely eating a large sandwich on the beach. 

Vivian Poonsopin was born and raised in North Hollywood climbing trees, digging holes, and getting stuck in each. She went to college for a bachelor’s in animation, later again for computer graphics but eventually fell into event production. During her time working at festivals, she saw firsthand the piles of waste left behind and the impact on the environment, and something inside her shifted. It was serendipity that she was riding her bike down the same street as the Food Forward office and saw the van parked on the street. She looked Food Forward up online and from then knew she had to be part of it. When not roaming around the offices she can be found watching cartoons, playing video games, or tending to random animals and plants in her life.

I came to this country 45 years ago from Zacatecas, Mexico. My father was not present in my life so from a very early age, I worked the fields to help my mother provide for 7 siblings and me. I’ve been working in this country for 40 years, and this has been the job that has fascinated me the most. It has motivated me to do better. I feel fulfilled as my true passion is giving back. As a father of four and now also a grandfather of 4, I spend most of my free time helping my wife out around the house, sweeping, mopping, you name it! 

Betsy hails from Oklahoma and spent her childhood summers selling produce at farmers markets and devouring her mom’s homemade plum jam, made with plums her family gleaned from trees on country roads. She ventured to Boston for college, where she studied Sociology and Global Health and Health Policy and mentored Boston youth outside the classroom. After graduation and one too many April snowstorms, she moved to Los Angeles to direct Better Angels, a nonprofit supporting low-income L.A. high school students through the college admissions and transition process. Her students, who often battled hunger and poverty, confirmed her desire to work toward a better local food system for communities in need. Betsy began volunteering at an urban farm in her neighborhood and eventually found Food Forward. When she’s not supervising Food Forward’s stellar volunteers, you can find her hiking, road tripping with a good playlist, and being a good auntie to the many dogs in her life.

Samantha Teslik was born and raised in the SFV in a home surrounded by citrus, avocado & stone fruit trees. She left the valley to spend 6 years living in Hoboken, New Jersey to earn a Masters Degree in Food Studies from NYU and manage youth education programs at NYC’s Greenmarkets, but always knew (particularly during winters) that Southern California would be where she called home again. She is thrilled to bring her experience educating students about the importance of eating fresh, local produce to Food Forward and help folks further appreciate and engage with the bounty of regional fruit trees we are blessed to live among. When she isn’t advocating others to harvest fruit & fight food waste, Samantha enjoys camping and hiking, cooking and eating, petting cats, and spending time with her growing family.

I’m originally from Nayarit, Mexico. I grew up in a small town called Borbollon in the municipality of Compostela. Before I came to this country I studied, worked in agriculture and enjoyed playing soccer in my free time. Before I came to Food Forward I worked in a produce company as a driver for about 16 years. I got interested in working for Food Forward when I learned about the mission. I truly appreciate that our produce is distributed 100% free and is available for everyone in the community no matter their race. When I am not working I enjoy running in the park and when I am home I find many things to do in my free time, such as mowing the lawn and organizing everything.

Sierra grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, California, exploring the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. She studied Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside where she committed her career to public service. After graduating, Sierra enjoyed an eight-year stint in Boulder, Colorado. As a member of her local CSA, she fell in love with community-sustained agriculture and sharing the abundance. Sierra brings diverse nonprofit experience in fundraising, volunteer management, program leadership, and operations. Following three years of grant writing for international and local nonprofits, Sierra and her family planted permanent roots in Southern California. She joined Food Forward as Grants Manager in October 2021, combining her passion for connecting people with local, nutritious food with her skills in fundraising. When she’s not working, you can find Sierra trying a new outdoor activity, tending to her plants, or spending time with her husband and two furry children.

I am from the department of Totonicapán in western Guatemala. I come from a family of farmers, we planted corn, wheat, beans, etc. When I was little I used to tell my parents that I would do this on a larger scale. Eventually, I immigrated to the United States and started working in the produce industry and I believe my dream came true. I worked in produce for 20 years. Since I was a kid my parents taught me to share with those in need and this was the main reason why I decided to work at Food Forward. When I’m not working., I enjoy running, going to the park with my kids, and spending time with my family.

Christopher hails from the great midwestern city of St. Louis, Missouri. Passionate about photography, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Photojournalism (2007) and is a avid street photographer in his spare time. Besides his main interest, Christopher also has a revolving set of hobbies including playing music (bass), DJing (all vinyl), pinball, disc golf, biking and collecting retro video games. A turning point in his life came when volunteering at The Alameda County Food Bank in Oakland, California in 2012. Christopher decided right then and there that his goal in life was to use his skills to help people (thus starting his path to working at a non-profit organization). Christopher also holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology (2016) and his last job was teaching art to adults with disabilities at a day program in St. Louis. Christopher currently resides in Ojai, California with his girlfriend Chloe and dog Jake.

Amir first joined Food Forward in 2013. He was raised in his family’s restaurants in Echo Park, working as soon as he was old enough to stop breaking dishes, and eventually owned his own Latin American Fast Food joint on Hollywood Blvd. His experience includes over 16+ years of accounting and finance as well as 4+ years as Food Forward’s Operations Director, where he did a little bit of everything and helped us grow from an organization of 6 employees to 24. With the birth of his son, Remy in 2017, Amir took a 2 year hiatus to be a semi-decent homemaker and awesome stay at home dad! He is excited and grateful to once again walk the zesty halls of the Fruit Cave and rejoin his fellow Fruitopians!