Julian O’Reilley – Associate Director, Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets
Julian earned an MBA focused on Sustainability and Food Systems in 2009 and has worked for the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFM) which operates seven farmers markets in Seattle since 2010.  She developed and piloted the Fresh Bucks EBT Incentive program for Seattle, which has been used as the model for many other markets around the state.  Prior to coming to NFM, she worked in food manufacturing as a sustainability planner for Nature’s Path Foods, founded an environmental organization for members of the lgbtq community, ran a catering kitchen, and served as a nonprofit manager for 10 years.  She never gets tired of kale.

Patricia M. Hennessy – Interim Operations Director, WSFMA and Founder of The Local Food Trust
Patricia joined WSFMA in October 2017 as Interim Operations Director. She has 17 years of  experience in non-profit organizational development and leadership primarily in public health and education She now is focused on supporting small farms and value added food producers. Her expertise includes start-up management, financial planning and strategic growth, fund development and cultivation, community and legislative engagement, marketing and public relations, and innovative program design and oversight. In 2016 she founded The Local Food Trust, a non-profit  that inspires direct investment in food and agriculture projects focused on workforce and community development.

Holly O’Neil, Facilitator and Trainer
Holly provides organizational development support for farmers markets, food co-ops, farmer co-ops, food banks and other non-profits. She also facilitates meetings for a wide variety of networks and coalitions that are working on strengthening local and regional food systems. She is a master facilitator with over 20 years of professional experience, specializing in consensus building, cooperative decision-making, change management, member-owner relations, board/management role and responsibilities, and strategic planning.  Holly’s curriculum and tools are used by organizations across the country. Among other projects, Holly is currently involved in the development of a statewide Farm-to-School Network, and is a co-coordinator of Whatcom Farm to School.

Paul McClellan, Principal, Corvus Northwest
Paul McClellan helps small businesses plan and manage for true sustainability through financial visibility, business process, and data-driven decisions. While the focus of Corvus NW is on small and local business, Paul has worked for international and regional companies, having held the roles of Director of Marketing, Controller, Product Manager, MIS/IT Manager, and Due-Diligence Analyst. Paul has consulted for clients in numerous markets, including consumer electronics, industrial distribution, systems integration, professional services, online retailing, media, hospitality, food, and agriculture. This breadth of experience enables him to quickly understand the priorities of his client, asking better questions and getting better answers.

Ivy Fox – Operations Manager, Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets
Ivy was raised on a family farm in Utah, and credits these experiences for bringing her here today.  After receiving her BA in Agricultural Economics and Spanish from Smith College, Ivy moved to Seattle and began working at local nonprofits.  Noticing systemic patterns that lead to burnout and toxic work environments, Ivy returned to school and obtained her Masters of Arts in Organizational Development and Sustainability. Upon graduation, Ivy began working for the NFM and reconnecting with her farm background. For the past six seasons, she has been focusing on creating vibrant neighborhood farmers markets that are socially and environmentally responsible as well as FUN!

Shane Laib – WSFMA Board Member and Walla Walla Downtown Farmers Market Manager
Shane is the manager of the Downtown Farmers Market in historic Downtown Walla Walla.  He has been nearly a lifelong resident of the Walla Walla Valley, participated in 4-H and FFA, and works with several nonprofit groups in the region.  Shane’s background includes retail sales, event planning, and public relations.  He served on the Walla Walla City Council for eight years and served as a Legislative Aide to Senator Michael Baumgartner in 2013.  In his spare time, he likes to spend time in his garden and participates in upcycling and vintage shows.

Karen Kinney – WSFMA Partnerships Director
For the past 20 years she has worked to connect Washington farmers and farmers markets in Seattle and around Washington state.  She was a co-founder of the Columbia City Farmers Market in Seattle.  While working for King County’s Ag Program, she helped farmers markets in south King County start accepting credit, debit and EBT cards using a statewide food access partnership.  This became the model for the WSFMA’s Regional Leads program that connects farmers markets and community partners to expand opportunities for low income shoppers at farmers markets.  She is a member of the WSU Food Systems Team, Farmers Market Integrity Advisory Committee, and the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition.  She co-authored with Colleen Donovan, the WA State Market Management Toolkit.

Colleen Donovan
Colleen has been spotted at Washington farmers markets since 1998 when she headed north from California’s Central Valley to attend graduate school at the University of Washington. By 2003, she landed in Ellensburg to run Pacific NW regional programs for Heifer International and started partnering with local nonprofits, King County, WSDA, WSU, and small farms dedicated to community-based, just food systems. By 2010, the people, passion, and ethics of farmers markets had drawn her in. Colleen has likely recruited you for two WSU statewide farmers market surveys, over 20 Rapid Market Assessments, projects with Latino farmers, creating shopper promotions, and building farmers market integrity. Colleen and Karen Kinney stockpile their favorite tips and tools in the “Washington Farmers Market Management Toolkit” among other publications.

Katherine Flores
Katherine D. Flores is the WIC Famers Market Nutrition Program Lead for Washington State at the Department of Health (DOH).  She has worked through WSU on a number of nutrition projects with Hispanic communities in Washington and Idaho, and with WSDA on projects to support risk management for farm workers.  She has a degree in Nutrition from San Carlos University in Guatemala City.  She sat on the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (NAFMNP) Board of Directors in 2015 and is the Western Region of States’ Representative to NAFMNP for 2018-2019.

Jamie Wells
Jamie Wells is the Food Access Lead within the Nutrition Science and Active Living Unit at the Washington State Department of Health. She works on projects that create nutrition and physical activity opportunities for low-income Washingtonians. At present she’s serving as a health services consultant to Washington agencies implementing programming funded through Washington State Department of Health’s SNAP-Education grant and Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant. Jamie is a Certified Health Education Specialist and received a Masters in Public Health from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, NY.