Regional Governor Bios

is a member of the Slow Food Pittsburgh steering committee who attended Terra Madre and Slow Food Nation in 2008.  He serves as the Western Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), where he helps to build infrastructure for local food distribution, develops collaborative social enterprises, and forms partnerships with foundations and food enterprises, among other responsibilities.  Greg is a graduate of Slippery Rock’s Sustainable Systems Masters Program and Leadership Pittsburgh.  He is a Board member of the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.  He and his wife operate an organic CSA farm, Blackberry Meadows, outside of Pittsburgh.
Area: PA, OH, MD, DE, WV, District of Columbia

lives in Eugene, Oregon.  In 2003, he stopped in at a meeting of the local Slow Food chapter and left as the chapter leader.  The job was so much fun that he stayed until 2010, when he was named Regional Governor for Oregon and Idaho.  As chapter leader, Tom attended Terra Madre in 2006 and Slow Food Nation in 2008.  In 2009, Tom worked on sustainable agriculture projects in Kenya, including a joint project with Slow Food International, the Network for Eco Farming in Africa, and Friends of Kenya Schools and Wildlife.  Tom’s articles on food and cooking have appeared in the Register-Guard newspaper and Northwest Palate magazine.  Tom graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School.  His professional career focused on utility regulation and alternative dispute resolution.
Area: OR, ID

grew up spending time between Southern California and Hamburg, Germany in a household where cooking and baking were at the center of life.  Her mother produced lavish meals, as well as baked a daily array of confections for afternoon “Kafee and Kuchen” to host her German in laws. Anna learned early that community building happens when the practice of winning the warmth of hearts is connected to the appreciation of the stomachs.  When Anna started to raise a family, some seventeen years ago, the idea of creating an urban oasis for her children became very important to her. She ripped out her conventional garden and replaced it with an assortment of fruits and vegetables, from concord grapes and bananas to mustard greens and broccoli, and even a few rabbits.  This gave her children a place to learn, touch, taste and experience nature and from there bring it to the table.  Anna has professionally worked in and around the restaurant and food industry since she was fifteen, doing everything from creating pastry to catering large scale events.  She led Slow-Food East-Bay’s “Time for Lunch” campaign and organized the Eat-In in Berkeley, CA.  Anna currently works for the non-profit, Marin Organic as the Supporting Business Program Manager. She is also working on a book, International Lunchbox, an international collection of images of children’s lunches and the narratives of the individuals creating them. Anna’s position on the Slow Food Berkeley’s steering committee is to work and connect with local organizations, to work on various initiatives and bring Slow Food’s goals to the roots of our communities.
Area: Bay Area, CA

was raised in a “better living through chemicals” household.  He discovered upon leaving for college that garlic was, in fact, not a type of salt but the bulbous relative of the onion, which, it turned out, was not a salt.  Thus began decades of self-discovery with a short bout of quiet desperation thrown in for good measure.  Thom started Slow Food Charlotte in 2004 and with the help of many has seen their numbers grow and their local food economies begin to take shape.  Slow Food Charlotte is active in school gardens, community & demonstration gardens, education and awareness of local farms, food & culture. Thom holds a B.S. B.A. and an M.F.A. in poetry making him uniquely qualified to organize, empathize and get beyond his personal angst to the issues at hand.
Area: NC, SC, VA

grew up in Alabama with a taste for gumbo and red beans and rice.  After graduating from law school in 1975, she moved to Hawaii where she has practiced law for over 30 years.  Shelby joined Slow Food Hawaii in 2004, went to Terra Madre in 2006 with Hawaii’s delegates, and has led the Hawaii chapter for the last three years.  When not practicing law, Shelby harvests and processes her macadamia nuts, avocados, citrus, and figs, and works in her vegetable garden.  She is also on the boards of several non-profits.
Area: Hawaii

has enjoyed living, food shopping and dining around the world. She discovered Slow Food while living in Europe in 2000 and was extremely pleased to see that a local chapter had been established in Phoenix when she returned to the United States.  She is the publisher and editor of Edible Phoenix magazine, a quarterly local food publication celebrating the abundance of the Phoenix Valley season by season.  Pamela is a past leader and currently the treasurer of Slow Food Phoenix.  She is a board member for Community Food Connections and Edible Communities and is a member of Les Dames D’Escoffier and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.  She was formerly a management consultant and holds a Bachelor degree from Stanford University.
Area: Arizona and New Mexico

grew up with a big table in the kitchen and a garden in his back yard. A geologist’s concern for the environment and a lifetime love of good, clean and fair food led him to Slow Food, where he co-founded Slow Food Denver in 2000. Matt co-chaired the Education Committee for Slow Food USA after his work in establishing a Seed to Table school gardening program in Denver.  Matt is also a Board member with the Colorado Organic Producers Association (COPA) where he endeavors to promote a more reasonable food supply system between organic producers and consumers. He has recently been involved with a collaborative urban farming initiative between COPA, University of Colorado – Denver, Slow Food and the Denver Public Schools. Matt remains active in national food issues, primarily focused on sustainable meat production/processing and, Farm to School efforts.
Area: CO, UT, MT, WY

was born and raised in Tyler, Texas in a family devoted to the fine art of the kitchen and the table, which has been lovingly passed through the generations like an heirloom treasure.  She graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas in 1974, and being in that place at that time during tumultuous circumstances helped to shape and inform her passion for food justice today.  Martha has been a resident of Wisconsin for 11 years, and at the helm of Slow Food Wisconsin Southeast since 2006.  She serves on the Board of Growing Power, is a founding member of the Milwaukee Food Council, and a member of the Shorewood Nutritional Advisory Committee. 
Area: MN, WI, ND, SD

found Slow Food to be the perfect match from a gastronomic and environmental perspective.  Her food interest was fed by her mother’s interest in and love of food.  Her food curiosity may or may not have been genetically passed on, but passed on it was.  This curiosity burgeoned when Beki started to work and travel as a nurse overseas.  In London, she worked with women from all over the Empire, who would prepare their native cuisines.  Denmark introduced her to Scandinavian delicacies.  After working in New Zealand, she toured Southeast Asia, an endlessly fascinating world for food exploration.  Her exposure to ethnic foods grew exponentially from the Pennsylvania Dutch farm food of her youth.  Slow Food concerns merged with her environmental concerns.  Beki founded Slow Food St Louis in 2001, and it’s now a large chapter which features annual events including the Art of Food, Lambstravaganza and Convivial Pursuit.  All those Beki has met associated with Slow Food have been pleasant, sharing and caring people.  If you share your food, you share your time and your life. 
Area: MO, KS, OK, AR

was born in 1950 in Berkeley California, to a family where cooking was important, and raised in that city’s turbulent 60’s and 70’s, Larry’s work today as a Slow Food Governor continues a long interest in social and environmental issues. Larry is a past co-leader of the Russian River convivium, located in the Sonoma County wine-country. He and his wife Laura (who is a co-leader of Russian River) own an educational tour company called “Food & Wine Trails” that produces group trips into California and around the world. Along with their personal hobbies of hiking, travel, gardening, wine and cooking, Larry and Laura have managed to fully integrate their professional vocation with their many, Slow Food-style avocations.
Area: Northern CA Wine Country: Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Mendocino, Humboldt

joined Slow Food more than 10 years ago when her son brought home the Journal SLOW from a friend’s house.  She read it cover to cover on the spot and decided she had found her niche.  As an importer/distributor of small production artisanal olive oils and balsamic vinegar from Italy, Rosemary has attended Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre many times.  She was one of the leaders of Slow Food Boston for four years.  Rosemary’s professional background includes teaching on the community college level and working as a speech and language pathologist.  As the former she became aware of an alarmingly increased incidence of autism in children, and cancers in ever younger adults, and realized the connection between food/nutrition/healthy immune systems and these statistics.  Rosemary started school garden programs in the towns of Dartmouth and Westport, MA, and has assisted with the ‘CitySprouts’ School Garden program in the Cambridge.  Rosemary currently writes a ‘Sustainability’ column for a small environmental newsletter and is working to get the ‘Macomber Turnip’ to get boarded onto Slow Food’s Ark of Taste.
Area: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island (recruiting an additional governor in this growing region soon)

began his beverage career working for his family’s distributorship in San Antonio.  He went onto manage one of the distributorship branches in Austin, Texas and then on to work for several breweries including Canada’s Molson, Australia’s Foster’s and the Miller Brewing Co.  He developed a passion for craft and imported beers and distilled spirits through his many associations with small artisan producers in the industry.  He formed, Artisanal Beverage Company in 2000, representing craftsman producing beer and distilled products made with passion and enthusiasm.  He served as leader of Slow Food Dallas in the early stages of its formation and co-authored its By-Laws and succession plan.  He is currently introducing his own orange liqueur, Marc Danielle, produced in France in partnership with Jean-Pierre Cointreau and master distiller Alain Royer.
Area: Texas

came to Slow Food via an interest in food and regional culture, cultivated in the kitchens and gardens of a family with roots spreading from Texas to Providence, Ireland to Italy. A lifelong educator, she develops cultural programming for museums, currently overseeing adult programs at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. A co-founder and co-leader of Slow Food Seacoast from 2006 to 2009, she enjoys shaping educational events that bring New England food traditions into the 21st century. She attended Slow Food Nation, helped pioneer a Seacoast Local Food Networking Group to collborate on strategies for building a local, sustainable food system, and served as Education Coordinator for the first NH Fish & Lobster Festival in September 2009.  At the rare times when she is not thinking about food, Michelle’s vision for a nation and region built of interconnected, vibrant local cultures finds her involved across the community, in projects as diverse as shoreline protection, local media, and local music.
Area: ME, NH

, M.S. Ed.S., was a public high school teacher for thirty years, and is now in her second career as Sustainable Food Service Education Coordinator at Emory University.  She founded Slow Food Atlanta in 2000, and since then, she has galvanized the area in supporting the local, sustainable food producer community.  Julie has created alliances with many like-minded non-profit organizations, including Georgia Organics, Southern Foodways Alliance, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and the CDC’s Department of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. She serves on the steering committee of the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, and is a founding member of the Green Foodservice Alliance.  She has also spoken about Slow Food at numerous universities and civic organizations.
Area: GA, FL

– Bio coming soon
Area: Midwest (IN, IL, MI, IA)

is an attorney and advisor who has helped guide Slow Food Los Angeles since 2005, first as a member of its steering committee and since 2008 as its coleader. A member of Slow Food since 1996, Lisa’s interest in sustainable food production and consumption began with backyard farming in Chicago and has blossomed since her relocation to the warmer climes of California. Along with her Slow Food Los Angeles colleagues, Lisa continues to work to increase awareness of Slow Food’s good/clean/fair philosophy in communities across Los Angeles and is establishing partnerships with others who support urban farming and community gardening, “greening” of urban food deserts, the promotion of local food markets, and farm-to-school and school garden-based educational programs. As the snailwrangler, Lisa serves as a conduit for information about food news and issues through Slow Food Los Angeles’s popular website, its email list, and the @snailwrangler Twitter feed. Bridging her interest in food and law, Lisa writes on the intersection of food, law, and public policy and is developing a graduate-level course to help shape future debate on these subjects.
Area: Southern CA

is a retired Clinical Professor in Rehabilitation Medicine and Bioengineering at the University of Washington Medical School. He is a past president of the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest, chair of its judging of Northwest wines and founding chair of the Auction of Northwest Wines.  He and his wife Diane have an organic garden and enjoy cooking and wine making.  He is founder and now co-leader of the Slow Food Seattle.  He is involved in their Northwest Ark, Presidia and RAFT projects.
Area: Washington, Alaska

grew up in the South in a family whose background includes restaurateurs and farmers. A chef by trade, Mark co-founded Slow Food Bluegrass in 2005 in hopes of bringing together members of Kentucky’s sustainable agriculture and culinary communities in order to promote local and organic food. Through free or low cost events, the chapter has reached out to a diverse group of partners on school garden, childhood nutrition, food justice and other food education projects. He has a passion for organic and heirloom gardening, traditional southern cuisine, and sharing what he has learned with others.  Mark is currently the Executive Chef at Brown- Forman, an American-owned wine and spirits company which owns Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort.  He has worked as a chef in some of the world’s greatest culinary destinations.  Mark is on the Board of Advisors for Sullivan University National Center for Hospitality, a founding member of the Napa Valley Culinary Alliance, and is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Area: KY, TN, AL, LA, MS

and his wife, Denesse, have operated T&D Willey Farms since 1981, a seventy- five acre certified organic spread in Madera growing a wide array of Mediterranean vegetables the year round. Willey Farms produce is appreciated in specialty markets and fine restaurants up and down the west coast as well as on the tables of over 800 weekly CSA members in their own community. Tom passionately advocates for local food prominence through his writing, speaking, radio and event organizing activities in Slow Food Madera.
Area: Central Valley, CA

quit his day job four years ago (he is a retired City of New York executive) and now spends much of his time in the fight for a good, clean, and fair food system. He has been a member the Slow Food New York City Leadership Committee since 1999.  Ed serves on many boards and committees, including: Greenmarket Farmer and Community Advisory Committee (NYC’s farmers markets); the Governing Board of the Food Systems Network NYC; and the Food Policy Steering Committee of the Manhattan Borough President, where he participated in drafting the NYC Sustainable Food Charter.  He also participates in the activities of the New York City Alliance for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.  As a member of Slow Food NYC, Ed is active in the Harvest Time Network, a network of members and friends involved in the movement for good food in schools.  In 2003, Ed combined his love of history and apples to start a Slow Food NYC effort to help bring the Green Newtown Pippin apple, the only American heirloom apple native to the Big Apple, back to New York City tables.
Area: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut

Click here to go back to the list of Regional Governors.

Slow Food Chapter Leaders

Local Slow Food chapters form the foundation of conviviality and provide the grassroots fuel for the movement. More than 170 chapters all over the US invite members to taste, celebrate, and champion the foods and food traditions important to their communities. Chapters are led by volunteer leaders, and each chapter is distinct in its approach and local activity.

Visit Local Chapters for more information and to find the local chapter nearest to you.

Slow Food International

Slow Food International

Via Mendicit‡ Istruita 8
12042 Bra (Cuneo), Italy
Tel. +39 0172 419611
Fax +39 0172 421293

Slow Food USA Regional Governors

Slow Food USA Regional Governors are volunteer leaders who help to foster healthy development of local and campus chapters.  As connectors and mentors, governors facilitate communication amongst chapter leaders and provide guidance on chapter management.  A region is typically made up of ten or more chapters in a geographic area, and governors serve a 4-year term.  Read the bios of our governors by clicking here.

Regional Governors Contact List

Please note: regions and states subject to change.

NEW ENGLAND
Rosemary Melli, Slow Food Boston (MA, VT, RI)

Michelle Moon, Slow Food Seacoast (ME, NH)

NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY & CONNECTICUT
Edwin Yowell, Slow Food New York City

MID-ATLANTIC (OH, PA, MD, WV, DC)
Greg Boulos, Slow Food Pittsburgh

SOUTHERN
Thom Duncan, Slow Food Charlotte (NC, SC, VA)

Julie Shaffer, Slow Food Atlanta (GA, FL)

Mark Williams, Slow Food Bluegrass (KY, TN, AL, LA, MS)

MIDWEST & GREAT PLAINS
Joel Smith, Slow Food Chicago (IL, IN, MI, IA)
joel(at)slowfoodchicago(dot)org

Martha Davis Kipcak, Slow Food Wisconsin Southeast (WI, MN, ND, SD)

Beki Marsh, Slow Food St. Louis (KS, OK, MO, NE, AR)

TEXAS
Mark Monfrey, Slow Food Dallas

ROCKY MOUNTAINS (CO, UT, WY, MT)
Matt Jones, Slow Food Denver

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Anna Hillgruber Smith Clark, Slow Food Berkeley (Bay Area)

Larry Martin, Slow Food Russian River (Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Mendocino, Humboldt)


CENTRAL VALLEY CALIFORNIA
Tom Willey, Slow Food Madera

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Lisa Lucas Talbot, Slow Food Los Angeles

HAWAII
Shelby Floyd, Slow Food Hawaii

WASHINGTON, ALASKA
Gerry Warren, Slow Food Seattle

OREGON/IDAHO
Tom Barkin, Slow Food Seattle

SOUTHWEST (AZ, NM)
Pamela Hamilton

Slow Food USA Advisory Board

(Current as of April 2006)

Michael Dimock (Chair Emeritus)

Executive Director, Roots of Change Fund, San Francisco, CA

Slow Food Russian River chapter member

Joan Dye Gussow

The Mary Swartz Rose Professor Emeritus of Nutrition and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and former head of the Nutrition Education Department

Brian Halweil

Worldwatch Institute & Edible Communities

Corby Kummer

Senior Editor, The Atlantic Monthly

Deborah Madison

Chef, Author, Teacher

Patrick Martins

Founder, Slow Food USA and co-founder, Heritage Foods USA

Marion Nestle

Professor - Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University

Michael Pollan

Author, The Botany of Desire & The Omnivore's Dilemma

Eric Schlosser

Author, Fast Food Nation

Alice Waters

Owner, Chez Panisse Restaurant & Vice President, Slow Food International

Slow Food USA Board of Directors

As a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Slow Food USA is governed by a Board of Directors, which meets on a regular basis and keeps minutes of their meetings. For copies of any board minutes, contact the Slow Food USA offices at 718-260-8000.

Jim Braun

Co-founder of the Illinois Farmer-Consumer Coalition, Springfield, IL

Slow Food Springfield chapter member

Katherine Deumling

Slow Food Portland chapter steering committee member

Christopher Carpenter (Board Chair)

Winemaker, Lokoya, Napa, CA

Slow Food Napa Valley chapter member

Lynne Frame

Professor, Mill Valley, CA

Slow Food Marin chapter member

Kurt Friese (Secretary)

Chef emeritus and owner of Devotay; editor of Edible Iowa River Valley, Iowa City, IA

Slow Food Iowa City chapter member

Kelly Gibson

Director of Marketing, Organic Valley, Chicago, IL

Slow Food Chicago chapter member

Lynn Eve Komaromi

Director of Development, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Berkeley, CA

Slow Food Bella Berkeley chapter member

Jeffrey Roberts (Treasurer)

President, Cow Creek Ventures, Montpelier, VT

Slow Food Vermont chapter member

Paolo Di Croce

Executive Director of Slow Food International

Slow Food USA National Office

Slow Food USA National Office

20 Jay Street, Suite M04
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 718-260-8000 or 877-SlowFoo(d)
Fax: 718-260-8068

Office Hours: M – F 9:30 – 5:30 pm

Slow Food USA Staff

Jane Sung E Bai

Director of National Programs

Jenny Best

Special Assistant to the President

Deena Goldman

Leadership Program Manager

Erika Lesser

Director of Operations & Special Projects

Gordon Jenkins

Advocacy Program Manager

Sheila Karaszewski

Membership Coordinator

Patrick Keeler

Development Coordinator

Jerusha Klemperer

Program Manager, Networks and Partnerships

Kate Krauss

Director of Development

Nathan Leamy

Acting Director of Operations

Julia Middleton

Youth Programs Manager

Brian Sinderson

Director of Marketing & Communications

Josh Viertel

President

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at or call 718.260.8000