Foodware Aware: Eliminating Plastic Foodware

Working under contract from the County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability (OOS), the Foodware Aware Program is a comprehensive outreach, marketing, and technical assistance campaign to assist over 4000 restaurants and food facilities on the San Francisco Peninsula make the transition to reusable and/or fiber-based compostable foodware as a soft enforcement strategy for the County’s leading edge Disposable Foodware Ordinance.
The project included branding and campaign development, production of education materials, an inclusive product purchasing guide, vendor relations and discounts, a mini-grant program for vulnerable and low-income businesses, Community-Based Organization partnerships, a variety of outreach methods, a technical assistance hotline, a comprehensive marketing and media campaign, and 1:1 technical consultations with food facilities,
Salmon-Safe
Food and Wine
Food and Wine
Salmon-Safe is a globally recognized eco-label program for Northwest vineyards, farms, and urban land management, whose practices protect watershed health and biodiversity. Through a strategic partnership between Stewardship Partners and Portland-based Salmon-Safe, Inc., I built out the strategic plan, partnerships, funding, staffing, and implementation, ultimately recruited a network of over 150 participating farms and food businesses to the program. Our creative marketing, communications and retail promotional campaigns gained national recognition, including several personal media appearances and national speaking engagements. Monitoring demonstrated measurable impacts on ecosystem health and local farm economy. The program was then expanded to the built environment and urban landscapes, including corporate campuses, golf courses, and commercial development, with participation from several iconic Northwest brands. Press Coverage: LA Times "Seattle tries new hook to save Salmon " Seattle Post Intelligencer: "Shoppers get more ways to help salmon- Veggies, fruit, wine and even eggs to carry new logo" New York Times Business Letter to the Editor: "Looking for Labels at the Grocery Store" Puget Sound Business Journal: "Eco-friendly branding nabs market share" |
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The Open Label Project
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The Open Label app and accompanying website allows consumers to directly scan or look-up barcoded products, find useful information from trusted sources, and share their opinions with others. The data generated platform is built around user added digital "labels" categorized by various health and sustainability indicators. Data from several key NGO partners was used to initially populate the site and beta users attached over 100,000 labels to the approximately 20 million indexed products. OpenLabel was acquired by Buycott in Q1 2016. Press Coverage: Sustainable Brands: "New App OpenLabel Aims to Replace Product Labels" Triple Pundit: "Bar Codes Apps Allow Consumers To Make Informed Choices" Tree Hugger: "Crowdsourced labeling app aims for radical transparency in product labels" The Guardian: "Google-backed app helps consumers understand what's in their products." |
Full Circle Farm-to-Table Organic Delivery
As a leading organic delivery business in Washington State, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest, Full Circle partnered with Hollister, California based Eating With the Seasons to develop an organic "farm-fresh" food hub delivery system in the San Francisco Bay Area. As part of the roll-out I built the network of regional supplier businesses and supporting organizations, developed the sourcing and food waste programs, and grew out the membership base through community engagement and creative promotions and content (see spotlights below).
FARMER SPOTLIGHTS
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Press and Blog Coverage:
Sustainable Food News: "West Coast's largest organic food delivery service expands in Bay area"
Bay Area Food Blog: "Full Circle Organic Delivery Review"
Food Gal: "Full Circle now delivers to Bay Area"
East Bay Express: "Beyond the CSA"
Sustainable Food News: "West Coast's largest organic food delivery service expands in Bay area"
Bay Area Food Blog: "Full Circle Organic Delivery Review"
Food Gal: "Full Circle now delivers to Bay Area"
East Bay Express: "Beyond the CSA"
THE NORTHWEST CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL
As Education Director for the Northwest Chocolate Festival, 2015-2018, I organized one of the most extensive chocolate education programs in the world, consisting of 80+ presentations, panels, tastings, and interactive exhibits on a variety of topics related to ethical supply chains, cultural explorations, flavor and processes for craft chocolate, industry trends, stories from origin producers and craft chocolate makers.
The Northwest Chocolate Festival and concurrent Unconference represents the largest gathering of craft artisanal chocolate makers in North America. Chocolate makers, cacao producers, and industry professionals from across the globe come together to share their knowledge, products and inspiration, with major focus on strengthening sustainable supply chains and producing the highest quality craft products. |
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SCS GLOBAL SERVICES
At SCS Global Services, I managed communications, marketing, PR and business development with clients across a variety of sectors from biofuels to textiles, to jewels and minerals to recylced plastics to agricultural products.
Here is a video of client testimonials and the SCS show booth at the 2013 Greenbuild Conference in Philadelphia, featuring SCS certified green building products . |
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Press Placement for SCS Clients
Triple Pundent: "Updated Recycled Content Standards"
Regulatory News -UK: "SCS Certified Responsible Jewelry Supply"
Stockhouse: "Tetra Pak(R) recycler Verdek, earns SCS certification"
Enviro.Aero: "Sustainable Biofuels Key to Aviation's Future"
RecyleAmp Interview: "Top 3 things most companies can do to better meet environmental certifications".
Cambodian Times: "Alliance for Responsible Mining Launches Fairmined Certification"
Regulatory News -UK: "SCS Certified Responsible Jewelry Supply"
Stockhouse: "Tetra Pak(R) recycler Verdek, earns SCS certification"
Enviro.Aero: "Sustainable Biofuels Key to Aviation's Future"
RecyleAmp Interview: "Top 3 things most companies can do to better meet environmental certifications".
Cambodian Times: "Alliance for Responsible Mining Launches Fairmined Certification"
BUYER BE FAIR: THE PROMISE OF PRODUCT CERTIFICATION
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I had the pleasure of being mentored on this film project by award winning PBS filmmaker, John de Graaf. Released in 2006, this documentary looked at the emerging field of environmental certification and eco-labeling as an effective tool to promote sustainable practices. Focussing on two leading examples, Fair Trade Coffee and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood, the film explores the issues and opportunities around the globe to improve livelihoods and protect the environment through the power of market-based solutions. |
Certified Wood &
Market-Based Conservation
Market-Based Conservation

My graduate work at Yale in community forestry and social ecology launched my early career as co-founder of the Northwest Natural Resource Group, most notably piloting Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification projects as the local NGO partner of the Rainforest Alliance. One of the more complicated achievements was managing the Department of Defense FSC certification contract for the 86,000 acre Fort Lewis Army Base, the first of it's kind for a military installation and the first federal lands certification under the FSC system.
Other notable projects included certification of the City of Seattle's Cedar River Municipal Water Basin, a pilot Non-Timber Forest Products training and marketing program for immigrant forest workers, cooperative group "chain of custody' certification models for wood product businesses, and early stage innovation in forest-based carbon credits.
Press Coverage:
Daily Journal of Commerce: Fort Lewis Timber Gets Green Seal of Approval
Puget Sound Business Journal: Green Stamps, Timber Industry Eyes Standards for Sustainability
Kitsap Sun: WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: Undermining of Local Environmental Laws Feared
Kitsap Sun: Brush Picking - The Silent Industry: Is there more in the forest than the trees?