Paul Adams has been working inside the grocery industry since the Eisenhower administration. Moving just outside the industry as a consultant, he has continued to serve the industry for the past three decades.

Tye Anthony is the Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Associated Wholesale Grocers. He has been an industry senior leader veteran for over 25 years for both retail chains and wholesalers. Tye grew up in a family-owned rural supermarket business in Nebraska and has owned and operated small format rural supermarkets.

Ellen Barber has been the Executive Director of Marshall County Partnership for Growth for 6 years. During this time, the organization has restored the grocery store to Blue Rapids, expanded the local car dealership, and leveraged millions of dollars in grants for business and roads throughout the county. The next phase for the organization is to tackle rural housing.

Lisa Bates is the Interim Assistant Director of the Community and Economic Development program of ISU Extension and Outreach. As an interior designer, with experience in marketing and logistics, she utilizes her background to support and enhance communities in Iowa. In her work, she has focused on enhancing interdisciplinary collaborations with design processes and creative engagement. Her work includes collaborations with economic development, independent retail, local food systems, universal design, and creative engagement methodologies.

Molly Beardslee, MPH, is a regional SNAP-Ed Extension Agent serving the Shenandoah Valley. Her favorite fruit is a nectarine.

As District Director, Mr. Bell is responsible for delivery of SBA programs and services throughout Central and Western Kansas, and for district coordination among the SBA, the Small Business Development Centers, SCORE chapters, and a Veteran Business Resource Center.

Carey Berger is an attorney with a background in psychology and finance who has been serving the grocery industry for over thirty years. As a consultant, he assists people at the “crossroads of business and family” as they address the often delicate issues associated with business transition in all forms.

Jan Bergkamp is a local business owner in Blue Rapids, Kansas. Before taking the leap into managing a restored grocery store, she ran a successful greenhouse floral business for many years. Today, her business has diversified into floral, deli, and bakery items as well. The store has been a great success in the area.

Over the past three years, Darren Bingham has been the project lead for the Northern Arizona Rural Foods Pathways Project through Northern Arizona University (NAU). He holds a masters degree in Sustainable Communities and graduate certificate in Community Planning from NAU. His research at NAU has ranged from zero waste curriculum development, local food quantification and procurement, supply chain resilience mapping, sustainable building practices, and environmental marketing.

Erica Blair is an Extension Specialist with K-State Research and Extension and a Program Manager for both the Rural Grocery Initiative and Kansas Healthy Food Initiative. In this role, she supports healthy food retail across the state and nation by providing technical assistance on a range of topics, including grocery ownership models, financial resources, and e-commerce, and more.

Shawn Bolerjack is the Pricing & Marketing Specialist for Town & Country Super Market, Inc., a locally-owned grocery retailer operating 31 supermarkets under the Town & Country Supermarket, Country Mart, Apple Market and Price Chopper banners in Missouri and Arkansas. Bolerjack has been with Town & Country for 13 years and is a third generation employee of the company dating back to its founding in 1962. Bolerjack enjoys serving his local community by serving as an Alderman and Board President for the City of Salem, Missouri and serving on numerous community boards and non-profits. Bolerjack also enjoys running marathons and raising funds for charities including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a St. Jude Hero.

Cindy Borgword is a Food Safety Specialist and Culinary Incubator Manager. Borgwordt has an MS in biology and is certified in Produce Safety, Prevetative Controls for Humans, GMP, Better Process School and Food Manager. The Culinary Incubator is for socially disadvantaged persons to develop new food products, with food safety trainings and business assistance.

Tommy Carlucci has been a chef / caterer in Columbia County for 30 years and is presently co-chef of the Chatham Real Food Co-op. Tommy has ran his own catering company since 1996 with clients ranging from local fire departments to non-profit organizations such as Art OMI, Time and Space Limited, the Columbia Land Conservancy and many private clients. Tommy joined CCRK as a volunteer first and then was offered a part-time position as Chef several months later.

David Carter has served at the Director of the Kansas Energy Program since 2016. He is a Certified Energy Manager and Certified Measurement & Verification Professional through the Association of Energy Engineers. Carter is also a certified auditor for ISO 50001, Energy Management Systems, and has been conducting energy audits since 2008.

Brittney Cavaliere is Program Manager at the Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions at Connecticut Foodshare where she is responsible for overseeing many of the day-to-day operations of the Institute, managing various projects, and conducting research to promote long-term food security, health, and well-being. She provides technical assistance and support to communities in the Kansas Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative who are seeking to create healthy food environments at local food pantries and food banks. Brittney received a Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Barb Depew has worked with Kansas Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) at the Kansas Department of Education for the past fourteen years. In the past four years, her responsibilities as the Farm to Plate Project Director involve working with partners and program sponsors across the state to incorporate local foods in meals and snacks. Their vision is “Kansans Can” collaborate to procure and serve local foods in CNPs to promote learning and the success of each student.

Kathy Draeger (she/her) is the Statewide Director of the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, a citizen-driven program that connects communities to their land-grant University to advance sustainable agriculture, natural resources, clean energy, and sustainable tourism. Kathy and her family farm in Big Stone County, Minnesota and have a grass fed livestock operation and certified organic cropland.

Jim Dudlicek is director of communications and external affairs at the National Grocers Association, a national trade association comprising more than 1,500 members representing the retail and wholesale grocers that make up the independent sector of the food distribution industry. Dudlicek joined NGA in April 2020 after 18 years as a food industry journalist, most recently as editorial director of Progressive Grocer, where he worked for 10 years on the editorial team. Prior to PG, Dudlicek was editor of Dairy Field and Dairy Foods magazines. He spent eight years as a reporter and editor for community newspapers in the Chicago suburbs after graduating from Marquette University in 1994. Dudlicek lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and daughter.

With almost a decade of experience as a practicing registered dietitian, Tara Dunker has contributed to the field in various professional capacities. Her current role, however, is Extension Educator for UNL covering the areas of food, nutrition, and health with a focus on healthy youth and families, food access, local food systems and food safety.

John Kane is a philantropic logistics entrepreneur, developing food access solutions for rural counties, Indigenous communities, and US Territories. His previous logistics effort created a national network of 30+ contracted warehouses facilitating food and supplies donations (up to $45 million/year) to animal welfare organiztions. In addition to day-to-day support, the organization established a disaster response footprint from the Caribbean Islands, across the US and Pacific, to Nepal.

Kevin Edberg is the executive director for Cooperative Development Services and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of the organization. He has a strong background in agriculture, economics, and marketing. He holds bachelor’s degrees in horticulture, agricultural economics, and secondary science education, and has done graduate work in plant breeding and plant physiology, all at the University of Minnesota.

Rick Feltenberger is the Regional Director of the Kansas SBDC at Fort Hays State University as well as the Founder and Director of ForwardFocus, a business advisory and exit planning firm focusing on rural business transitions. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and an Accredited Business Intermediary with over 30 years of business and entrepreneurial experience. Rick has helped business owners across the United States prepare their single largest financial asset for an eventual Exit With Dignity™.

Kate Foley is a Project Coordinator at The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit working to ensure delicious, nutritious food for all. Kate supports Healthy Food Financing Initiatives in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and other regions throughout the U.S. Kate holds a Bachelors of Arts from Villanova University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration.

Mari Gallagher is a nationally known expert on healthy food access, market dynamics, and retail (especially grocery) trends. Her work includes market studies and hands-on consulting for small and large grocers. She also works for government and nonprofit sectors on programs and policies related to food and health.

Daniel Gile is the store manager of G&W Foods in Iola, Kansas. Out of 26 stores, he was named Store Manager of the Year in 2020. The same year, he received the Thrive Allen County Award for Excellence in Economic Development. Gile has 25 years of customer service experience, 8 of which have been in grocery retail. He is a husband, father, and enjoys playing tennis and basketball.

Rachel Gillespie is a Senior Extension Associate for Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Kentucky and first year Doctoral student. Ms. Gillespie has worked in community-based participatory research, including quantitative and qualitative study measures, for over five years. Her work primarily focuses on investigating the intersection of food environments and dietary and shopping behaviors, and how this impacts health outcomes in a population.

Anthony Goodwin is an innovative leader with a proven record of success in the healthcare and retail industries, including former management of the ProMedica store in Toledo. Goodwin is skilled in retail operations, management, new store development, job training and workforce development, business innovation, consulting, project management, and Social Determinants of Health program development and evaluation.

Selha Graham is one of the founding members of Rolling Grocer 19 and brings her long-standing passion for food justice to the project. Selha is integral to the daily operations and tasks necessary to not only run RG19, but also to cultivate a community gathering place revolving around healthy foods and nourishment.