Traditional Medicinals

Chief Marketing Officer

Kristel joined Traditional Medicinals in 2022 as their Chief Marketing Officer to focus on building the brand for its next phase of growth, rooted in purpose and delivering high-quality, medicinal products that harness the power of plants and their many wellness properties.

Prior to Traditional Medicinals, Kristel spent more than 30 years helping beloved brands like Clover Sonoma, LeapFrog, Jamba Juice and Clif Bar & Co. meet or exceed business objectives through a combination of innovative new product launches, strong retail presence and marketing programs that create positive, lasting consumer connections. In her last role at Clover Sonoma as Chief Revenue Officer overseeing Marketing and Sales, Kristel led the transformation of the brand from a values-based regional brand to a national, conscious consumer brand through mission driven branding and innovative new products. Corson championed Clover Sonoma’s B-Corp certification as a way to align the business with its care for people, the community, and the planet. A key focus for Corson was packaging sustainability and product innovation. Under her leadership, Clover launched the first fully renewable plant-based milk carton in 2020 and the first gallon milk jug with 30% post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in 2022. In 2022, the company launched Clover Sonoma Moon Milks, its first product line to go national and win a 2022 Nexty Editor’s Choice award for its Golden Moon.

Kristel earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from San Francisco State University. She lives in Sonoma County with her husband and two children and proudly supports her community as a Bay Area native.

Fromagex

West Coast Business Development

BPM

Jamie Emerson-Heery is a CPA and works as a Partner at BPM LLP. He has over ten years of experience in public accounting. His experience includes working with companies in a variety of industries in the public and private sector including winery and vineyard land, food and craft beverage, investment banking, investment funds, real estate and manufacturing.

Jamie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of San Francisco. He was recognized as a winner of the North Bay Business Journal’s Forty under 40 in 2016 and was recognized as one of ten North Bay Accounting Leaders You Need to Meet in 2019. He is also a member of Leadership Santa Rosa Class 35.

Exchange Bank

Vice President and Regional Business Development Office

Summer brings over 15 years of experience in business management, promotions, and marketing in the wine, agribusiness, food manufacturing, and restaurant industry and provides local specialized financial leadership and community support to Exchange Bank’s Commercial Banking group.

Before joining Exchange Bank, Summer was the regional marketing manager at American AgCredit where she managed all aspects of marketing and community support for the Northern CA Region and territories in the Central Valley (a $2B portfolio within 15 counties). Summer worked with the agriculture community including youth with fair loans, scholarships and diverse programs which included real estate, leasing and crop insurance to young and beginning farmer programs.

Summer attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business with an emphasis in Sales/Marketing and a minor in Viticulture. Her education also includes a Certified Sommelier and Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). Summer’s accomplishments include the NBBJ’s Forty Under 40 Award 2019 and Sonoma West Magazine’s Women in Business Spotlight 2018. She is a board member of the Sonoma Farm Bureau, Sonoma Fair Foundation, Naturally North Bay, Santa Rosa Junior College Ag Trust and a past Russian River Winegrowers board member. Summer is a Sonoma Vintners Barrel Auction committee member, sits on the Sonoma-Marin Boys and Girls club advisory board, and is the VIP guest sommelier for the Sonoma County Wine Auction. Summer is also a guest auctioneer for the PBS Travel and Wine Auction.

Summer lives in Santa Rosa with her two sons, Cooper and Cruz. When not pursuing her entrepreneurial and community support passions, she can be found gardening or casting a line in the water, hoping to catch the next big fish.

Moss Adams

Shawn started his career at Moss Adams 1999 with a focus on serving food and beverage companies. Currently, he leads the Food & Beverage Practice in Northern California and works with numerous food manufacturing and processing companies in the region. He actively helps clients implement their visions and business strategies. Shawn believes in a hands-on approach and spends much of his time in the field assisting clients with business issues, technical accounting issues, internal controls, implementation of corporate accounting policies and procedures, and financial management. He has extensive experience working with closely-held family businesses and private equity portfolio companies and reporting to boards of directors, audit committees, owners, and management. Shawn has assisted in both the sale and acquisition of numerous food processing companies. He is a member of the firm’s business combination subject matter expert group which provides guidance to clients in accounting for and reporting business combinations.

Advisor

Carle Mackie Power & Ross LLP

Attorney and Partner

John Mackie is a Founding Director of FIG and serves as its pro-bono counsel and corporate Secretary. His firm, Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP (CMPR) is a Founding Sponsor of FIG. John is a Partner in CMPR, a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. John helped to found CMPR after holding a number of positions in government (last as Deputy Secretary of Business, Transportation & Housing for the State of California) and as a Partner in several other law firms. His own practice is concentrated in food and beverage businesses, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and real estate. John has served on the boards of  a number of non-profit organizations including Sonoma Academy, The Oliver Ranch Foundation, LBC, Sonoma County Museum, North Bay Angels, Building Markets and others.

  Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP is a founding sponsor of FIG. It is a law firm based in Santa Rosa that specializes in the issues of business. This also includes issues related to non-profit organizations, such as trade groups and educational, cultural and philanthropic organizations. The firm’s practice areas includes the food and beverage industries; start-up enterprises and business organization; mergers, acquisitions and  finance; intellectual property; employment counselling ; real estate and land use; commercial litigation; affordable housing and other areas of expertise.

Amy's Kitchen

Vice President of Marketing

Ritu Mathur is the VP of Marketing for Amy’s Kitchen, maker of organic and plant-based foods. Ritu brings over a decade of experience in the food industry, is skilled at telling emotional, purpose-led narratives to build brand love and awareness combined with an analytical mindset. As a seasoned marketer and brand strategist, she has a demonstrated track record of building consumer love and loyalty. In the past, Ritu served as the Senior Director of marketing at Clif Bar where she architected a values-based equal pay campaign for LUNA Bar and built key partnerships with the US Women’s National Soccer Team and Venus Williams to drive gender equality in sports. She also worked on the Outshine and Drumstick brands at Nestle. More recently, Ritu served as a consultant to Peloton on its global brand strategy.

COOKIE...take a bite!

Owner

The owner of COOKIE…take a bite!, Tracy Mattson, is a professionally trained pastry chef with over ten years of experience working in fine dining restaurants. She trained at L’Academie de Cuisine in Washington, DC and started her food career working in restaurants on the East Coast before settling in Sonoma County, California. To hone her craft and learn from the amazing talent in the pastry world, she has staged (i.e. volunteered for free) around the U.S. and abroad. Prior to changing careers, Tracy worked in Washington, DC  for a Texas Congressman (a Democrat – we have those in Texas) and then in government and private sector focusing on environmental regulatory issues. Ready to start out on her own, Tracy started COOKIE…take a bite! to share her love of sweets and bring cookies to another level and make them a wonderful treat for any occasion.

Voyage Foods

Senior Director, Away From Home

Straus Family Creamery

VP Sales and Marketing

Mike serves on the executive leadership team and is responsible for marketing, sales and product development at Straus Family Creamery, a family-run, mission driven organic food business based in Petaluma, CA. For over 20 years Mike has held a variety of leadership positions in the food industry, delivering measurable results in diverse environments ranging from early stage, high growth start-ups to the world’s largest food company. Prior to coming to Straus, Mike served in several brand management and sales leadership roles at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream (a division of Nestle), Odwalla Juices, WetFeet.com and The Clorox Company. He earned his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BS from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. Early in his career, Mike worked in the financial services industry, with both Ernst & Young and JP Morgan. Mike joined the Board of FIG/Naturally North Bay in 2018 and became Board Chair in 2019. He also serves on the Board of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Costeaux Bakery

President and CEO

Will Seppi is the President & CEO of Costeaux. He is the second generation to step into the baking business following in the footsteps of his father and mother, Karl and Nancy Seppi.  Prior to re-joining Costeaux in October of 2004, Mr. Seppi was the Corporate Controller of Celerity Group, Inc. a leader in design and manufacturing of gas and chemical delivery modules integral to the manufacturing of semiconductors.  Under his leadership, Costeaux has grown into a regional producer and distributor of craft bakery items and operator of several company branded retail bakery cafes. Costeaux French Bakery has been a Healdsburg establishment since 1923 and has been owned and operated by the Seppi family since 1981.  Mr. Seppi graduated with a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University.  Will and his wife, Brandy, reside in Healdsburg with their three children.