Conference Schedule

About the Speakers

• Kenna Eaton

  Port Townsend Food Co-op

  Kenna Eaton is the General Manager of The Food Co-op in Port Townsend, WA, where she leads a team of more than 100 employees in advancing a mission of “working together to nourish our community.” With a collaborative and people-centered leadership style, Kenna focuses on strengthening the local food system, cultivating employee development, and ensuring the long-term success of the community-owned grocery cooperative. She has worked at this food co-op for 15 years, having previously served as the GM of the Moscow Food Co-op in Idaho for 30 years. Through strategic leadership and community engagement, Kenna has helped both Co-op’s grow and serve as trusted sources of healthy food and local connection.

• Leah Scates

  Skagit Valley Food Co-op, Mount Vernon

  After serving as General Manager at Sno-Isle Food Co-op in Everett, Leah Scates is now the General Manager of Skagit Valley Food Co-op. With over 10 years of cooperative experience in retail operations, produce, and marketing, Leah considers herself a true co-op nerd. Her commitment to the cooperative model ignites her passion not just for co-ops, but for local producers and the vital role co-ops play in the local multiplier effect: sourcing and shopping locally to strengthen community ties, building resilience in the local food system, and improving the livelihoods of our friends, neighbors, and farmers like you.

• Lisa Sedlar

  Community Food Co-op, Bellingham

  Lisa is a skilled and successful grocery executive with over 25 years of experience delivering smart growth in the natural and organic food marketplace. Lisa is currently the CEO of Community Food Co-op in Bellingham WA. Prior, she founded Green Zebra Grocery with a mission to increase access to healthy food. Green Zebra was designed to modernize convenience stores by offering healthy, natural, organic, and freshly made foods. Prior, Lisa was the President and CEO of New Seasons Market, where she helped grow the business to over $300M in revenue and more than 2,000 employees. Over 30% of the food and goods sold at New Seasons were produced by local farmers, fishers, ranchers, and makers. Lisa also served as the Director of Purchasing at Whole Foods Market and the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Pharmaca. She is deeply knowledgeable about sustainable food systems, regenerative farming, and food marketing. Lisa has dedicated her career and volunteer capacity to supporting local producers. She believes every person has a right to access nutritious, healthy, and culturally appropriate food.

• Andrew Yokom

  Puget Sound Food Hub, Mount Vernon

  Andrew Yokom has spent the last seven years building one of the Pacific Northwest’s most consequential local food enterprises. As Executive Director of the Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative, Andrew leads a farmer-owned organization working directly with over 120 local producers to move fresh, regionally grown food into the hands of buyers across Western

  Washington. Under his leadership, PSFH has grown to over $12 million in annual revenue, delivering real economic returns to the farmer owners. Andrew believes a thriving local food economy is one of the most powerful levers we have — for environmental stewardship, community health, individual vitality, and fair livelihoods for the people growing our food. It’s not one issue. It’s the connective tissue between all the things we want our communities to be. PSFH is a founding member of the Northwest Food Hub Network, collectively providing market access for more than 200 farms across the region.

• Mike Wenrick

  PCC Community Markets

  Mike Wenrick has been supporting healthy communities, farms, and ecosystems for 20+ years. In 2023, he joined PCC Community Markets as Director of Purpose, helping guide the co-op’s work in social, environmental, and economic sustainability. His journey in food/agriculture began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras with coffee-growing communities, conducting public health projects across Latin America/Caribbean, and growing partnerships with food justice leaders in the US. Mike has also served as Executive Director of Zenger Farm in Portland, Oregon and serves on the boards of the National Organic Coalition, Climate Collaborative, and the Coalition for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture.