FS6 Team

Our Team

The Food System 6 team is a passionate group of food-industry change-agents working together to support the FS6 mission and entrepreneurs. You can learn more about what we're working on and where we came from by navigating to the LinkedIn profiles connected to each team member.

FS6 Team

Caesaré Assad
Chief Executive Officer

Caesaré grew up in the Chickasaw Nation in rural Oklahoma, facing the challenges of food access, and the consequences of a consolidated, over-industrialized food system. Because of these experiences, Caesare's work over the 20+ years has been spent leading food business innovations to address social and environmental challenges. Caesare's expertise spans the private, non-profit, and corporate sectors, with a range of hands-on, operational leadership roles as a chef, entrepreneur, and business executive. Caesare has launched back-to-back start-up concepts for Whole Foods Market, co-founded The Cleaver Group - a food environment design consultancy, developed culinary career programs for youth, and nutrition-based wellness and foodservice concepts around the US for private and corporate clients. Caesare's work is focused on surfacing and supporting issues that impact poor people and under resourced communities, which they implement through their work with the Food System 6 Accelerator.

Patrick Ahern
Chief Operations Officer

Patrick is an operations and business development professional who has helped local businesses achieve sustainable solutions. Over the past 15+ years, Patrick’s expertise includes experience in both B2B and B2C markets, with a focus on business development, procurement and distribution, project management, restaurant equipment and design, systems creation, market analysis, and biogas driven power generation.

Originally from the Midwest and having lived on both coasts with 2 cross country trips under his belt, Patrick’s desire for new experiences is resolute. He is enriched by his community in the traditional ways of amazing food, great parties, and most recently fireside chats with friends, family, and neighbors.

He has a Bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in Political Science with a specialization in Public Administration and Masters of Business Administration in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University.

Perri Kramer
Program Director

Perri has led Marketing and Operation teams, as well as product launches, in the organic food industry for over a decade. Prior to joining Food System 6, Perri worked for Whole Foods Market, Revolution Foods, and for restaurant and food marketing consultancies. An early passion for cooking led her to study food equity and farming and ultimately to build a career working with ethical businesses that support sustainable food systems. Still a deeply invested home cook and avid dinner party host, Perri brings communities together by celebrating good food and, in her free time, develops recipes for a local community supported fishery. Perri holds B.A. degrees from The Colorado College in History & Political Science as well as a concentration in Agro-Ecology.

Melissa Rouse
Communications Director

Melissa is a writer and editor with a passion for food system change. She is dedicated to supporting small and mid-sized organizations with big-picture plans for the betterment of local and global food communities.

Growing up in a beekeeping family on the Big Island of Hawaii, Melissa has been immersed in the food and agriculture world since day one - and has been captivated by the challenges and opportunities that this industry creates. By turning her editorial background towards the FoodAg space, Melissa has been able to combine her skill and passion; she is excited to be partnering with Food System 6 as they work to transform the traditional structures of this age-old industry.

Melissa has a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Critical Social Thought from Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Kim Karris
Director of Strategic Development

As both a career fundraiser and philanthropic funder, Kim has spent the last 15 years developing creative strategies to raise millions for nonprofits and direct catalytic capital to social, environmental, and food justice movements.

Most recently, Kim served as the Executive Director of Food Well Alliance where she mobilized a regional coalition of policymakers, funders, farmers and community food entrepreneurs that worked together to change policies, invest in solutions and amplify the role of local, sustainable agriculture in improving the health of communities across metro Atlanta. As a member of the start-up team, she helped raise over $10 million in capital, built a devoted network of local supporters and developed the organization’s formative grantmaking and capacity building program, including the “Food Innovation Fellowship” -- a business accelerator for Atlanta’s community food entrepreneurs. Under Kim’s leadership, nearly $5 million was invested directly in 200 urban farmers and food entrepreneurs to build their collective power as they work toward a sovereign, regenerative and equitable food system.

In addition to her food system work in the American “Deep” South, Kim is also steeped in the resistance movements of the Global South having lived and farmed directly with agricultural communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua. She is a graduate of Agnes Scott College and received a Masters Degree in Sustainable Food Systems from the United Nations mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica.

Meredith Fenton
Storytelling

Meredith Fenton has been working in and with social change organizations her entire career. As an independent consultant based in Oakland, she provides coaching, training, and strategy to progressive organizations and leaders so our movements can better leverage tools of communication, storytelling, and culture for social change.

In addition to her work as the Storytelling Coach for FS6, she partners change makers around the country including Latino Community Foundation, Define American, The Hood Incubator, Perinatal Equity Initiative, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, and the Trust Based Philanthropy Project. Outside of her business, Meredith serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Californians for Justice and volunteers with groups such as Seed the Vote and the Wellesley College Board of Admissions.

FS6 Residence Program
The FS6 Residence Program is a co-designed experience that places an expert and leader in the role of mentor and coach to help FS6 advance their advance their holistic model for founder support, as well as to provide an environment for the Resident to explore their own body of work. The Residents draw upon their many years of experience to complement and expand upon FS6’s custom work with our teams and the FS6 mission overall. The Residents may also provide mentorship to the FS6 team, as we continuously seek new and better ways to equip our next generation of leaders with the skills they need to be successful. FS6 typically provides a stipend to the resident and we are open to creative and thoughtful partnerships. Inquiries regarding these roles may be sent to us at FS6@foodsystem6.org.

Doug Beacom
Entrepreneur in residence

Doug is an educator, operator, leader and relentless champion of imagination and the human experience with and around food. After a decade in K-12, nonformal and project-based learning, his family started their adventure in food as WWOOF apprentices on a goat farm in Santa Cruz County in 2011. While in Santa Cruz, Doug led the creative contract farming, innovative packaging and co-manufacturing initiatives that helped scale Farmhouse Culture to a national fermented foods brand. Later, he moved to Sonoma County to serve in plant leadership roles for Miyoko’s Creamery and Revive Kombucha.

With experience ranging from raw sauerkraut to snack chips, and mozzarella to adaptogens, Doug was VP of Manufacturing with Siddhi Ops, where he led outsourced commercialization, manufacturing and optimization projects with a variety of brands across multiple platforms, distribution channels and stages of growth.

When he’s not in a facility figuring out how to get it made, he can be found home fermenting, gardening, cycling and homeschooling with his family.

Learn more about Doug on his LinkedIn.

Elizabeth Carney
Executive in Residence

- Executive Producer, Tribal Code
- Founder, Zen Heart Lab
- Chair, Business and Leadership Forum at the Commonwealth Club of California

Elizabeth leverages her experience for maximum impact as Entrepreneur and Executive Producer, leading and guiding projects for her own initiatives and for clients. She has worked in the Technology Industry, Health and Healing, Food and Farming, and Money and Business and it remains her passion.

As Executive Producer, she has advised her clients in their marketing strategies, building companies' brands and creating new game changing concepts. She leads teams for story telling and brand development, technology solutions, and partnering with clients to achieve visibility through all channels. These include Corporate Identity, Web Development, Design Systems, Development, Event Producing, and Video Storytelling.

As Entrepreneur she has substantial experience working with early to mid-stage sustainability, social impact, and tech enterprises.
She has created new start ups, growing them to award winning multimillion dollar businesses with an emphasis on “farm-to-table” and local health applications offerings. She has partnered to bring the Fair Trade Seal from Europe, influencing change in the structure of the coffee industry and connecting producers directly with consumers.

She is a Connector, Communicator, Collaborator, Promoter and Organizer.
She serves as Business Catalyst, Creative Thinker, Marketing and Brand Strategist.
By promoting Regenerative Business, and the UN sustainability goals, she offers Leadership and Mentoring to organizations with whom she works.

She builds networks and deepens business relationships through strategic communications. As team leader of the ULAB 2.0 Accelerator for Systems Transformation, she has led initiatives in rural communities and indigenous settings, moving her team from idea to prototype through using Social Presencing Theatre, and other methodologies, to build “action confidence” toward Whole Community Health Systems and fermenting change

Andrew FAlcon
Entrepreneur In Residence
2020

Andrew brings extensive commercial, operations, and entrepreneurial expertise to his role as Entrepreneur in Residence at Food System 6. Andrew’s work in biomaterials, packaging, organic waste valorization, and international development, together with his roots in Midwestern family-farming, combine to give him a unique perspective on the intersection of food/agriculture and adjacent sectors at the systems level.

Andrew is passionate in his belief that circular, regenerative solutions are essential for the long-term health of the planet, and that entrepreneurs, innovation and markets have the best chance to catalyze system-level change. Andrew lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children, often can be found behind a grill at home or at the family farm in Iowa, and holds a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Learn more about Andrew on his LinkedIn.

Rishi Nijhon
Therapist IN RESIDENCE

Rishi has 10+ years as a medical psychotherapist working within a variety of healthcare organisations and has provided direct clinical care to thousands of patients throughout the state of California. His current position at Kaiser Permanente has put him at the heart of the community and has sparked a passion to bring fundamental change to the institutional systems that deeply impact the emotional and mental health of the individual immersed within them. Rishi has committed himself to the study of plant medicine as a means to bring about individual and collective transformation. He recently received certification in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy and Research from the California Institute of Integral Studies and aspires to apply this education widely to facilitate systemic change, cultivate hope, and radically change the perspectives of how we approach decisions that impact the health, wellness, and dignity of the individual and the planet we all share.

Learn more about Rishi on LinkedIn.

Doug Koob
Executive in Residence

Doug Koob is the Founder of Circle Alliances, a consulting company that helps emerging food and beverage brands and concepts grow. His passions are creating business strategies, driving new opportunities, forging alliances between creative thought leaders, and exploring innovative food and beverage concepts.

Doug spent 23 years with Starbucks Coffee Company in business development, concept development, and sales leadership. He helped lay the foundations of Starbucks’ channel growth in the U.S. and Western Europe, including its foodservice, franchise, consumer product, and office coffee divisions.

After Starbucks, Doug worked in executive-level roles with First Watch
Restaurants and Asian Box Restaurants. Doug has a broad network of relationships in the U.S. and abroad, and deep knowledge of trends in the industry. He regularly facilitates food and beverage concept tours in leading-edge markets.

Circle Alliances clients have included Salt & Straw, Smith Teamaker, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, MOD Pizza, Evergreens, Farmer’s Fridge, Joe Coffee, Equator Coffees, Maryhill Winery, and Brew Dr. Kombucha.

Doug is also a Content Director for Food Inspiration Magazine which hosts Food Inspiration Days in The Netherlands.

Doug is a Vice President and Founding Board Member of the Green Apron Alliance which is an alumni community for Starbucks.

Christine Su
Entrepreneur in residence
2020

Christine is the former CEO and co-founder of PastureMap, a grazing management software company used on over 6 million acres globally, to help ranchers increase profitability while building healthy grasslands. Christine built the company from zero to profitability, and a successful exit to SoilWorks Natural Capital. She serves on the board of Kitchen Table Advisors, a California nonprofit serving 80%+ women farmers and farmers of color.

Learn more about Christine on her LinkedIn.

Ethan Rublee
ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE

Ethan is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, aspiring farmer and, is passionate about applying computer vision, machine learning and robotics to empower farmers and local food systems to heal people and the planet. Ethan has worked in Silicon Valley for the past decade, developing open source computer vision software Willow Garage, making robots unload trucks and move pallets around a warehouse at Google, and providing machine learning based tools for artists in Hollywood. In 2020, Ethan moved his family to an 11 acre upstart farm in Watsonville, CA- just an hour and a world away from Silicon Valley. Ethan is currently running an online farmers market on the Central Coast, and founding his next company on the farm- farm-ng inc. with a focus of bringing low-cost robotics to farmers everywhere.

Learn more about Ethan on his LinkedIn.

Loretta oden
Elder in Residence

Loretta Oden, host of Emmy-winning Seasoned With Spirit, began her passionate relationship with food as a small child at the side of her Mother, Grandmothers and Aunts in Oklahoma. She’s spent the past thirty + years, cooking, studying, teaching and adapting recipes to preserve the culinary legacy of her upbringing. In the 1990s, she and her Son, the late chef Clayton Oden, opened the Corn Dance Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the first restaurant to showcase the bounty of food indigenous to the Americas.
Loretta has served as a food consultant for the Yocha DeHe-Wintun Nation, San Juan Pueblo, Taos County Economic Development Center and the Tohono O’odham Nation as well as creating menus for numerous Native American events such as NCAI, Oklahoma History Center, Red Earth Festival, Michigan State University, Forest County Potawatomi, Gun Lake Potawatomi and many, many others. She worked with Francis Ford Coppola as a restaurant consultant as well as with several luxury resort venues in California, Arizona and Colorado. Working with many chefs over the years has broadened her culinary skills while creating opportunities for her to spread her knowledge of Native food culture to a broader audience.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LORETTA ON LINKEDIN.

dimiter gurdjilov
Program PArtner

Dimiter is a circular economy enthusiast and has been a Managing Partner of Challenger Capital Partner since 2011. He has more than 18 years of investment banking, private equity and turnaround experience. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Investment Director at NBGI Private Equity, based in London, where he was involved in a number of private equity transactions. Prior to NBGI Private Equity, he was Vice President at Bedminster Capital. Before joining Bedminster in 2004, he worked at JPMorgan, where he worked in investment banking and covered a number of regions and industries, including natural resources, energy and infrastructure. Prior to that, he worked in New York in the areas of Telecommunications, Media and Technology. Dimiter received his BA from the American University in Bulgaria and earned his MBA from the University of Miami.

Board of Directors