(360) 376-2009Thanks to all who joined our online Member Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, July 12th. If you weren’t able to join, catch all the updates on the state of the Co-op with this recording.
Thanks to all who joined our online Member Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, July 12th. If you weren’t able to join, catch all the updates on the state of the Co-op with this recording.
Caitlin Leck is a mother, organizer, farmer, and facilitator who believes local food system work can be a forum for progressive social change. She is the Coordinator of the Food System Team of San Juan County, a steward of the Traditional Foodways space in the Agricultural Summit, and helped found the Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture program. Caitlin treasures her experience on the highly collaborative Co-op Board team, especially in her role on the Board Development Committee, and would be honored to serve another term.
Laurie is a freelance community organizer and design strategist who works primarily with small businesses, community groups, non-profit organizations. She is passionate about the power of art and community projects to build movements and strengthen threads between social, racial, economic, and environmental justice issues. She has a background in design, art, architecture, outdoor education, and organic gardening. She has a passion for offshore sailing, front-yard vegetable gardening, and backcountry adventure. She is deeply committed to the idea that community interdependence holds the solutions to our problems.
My name is Beth Devereaux and I, alongside my family, moved to Orcas a few years ago for the learning opportunities this island provides. The Orcas co-op has been a positive place for me, as it has been for so many. The heart of community = local and organic food. My background is in alternative learning environments in multiple communities between South America and remote Alaska. I am a curious, positive and responsive person. Learning alongside wonderful people of all ages has enabled me to continually appreciate new perspectives and ways of knowing. I would like to learn, grow, and contribute as a member of the Orcas Food Co-Op board.
Sara Pelfrey serves as the Cooperative Relations Senior Manager at Orcas Food Co-op, where she champions cooperative governance, community engagement, and inclusive leadership. With a deep-rooted commitment to fostering equitable food access, Sara integrates social justice frameworks into cooperative models, supporting community-driven initiatives and participatory decision-making. Her passion for building resilient, compassionate communities guides her approach to collaboration, empowering people to create meaningful connections and sustainable change across Orcas Island.
I have been a Co-op member since it was founded. As a volunteer, I help with the Co-op website. I like the Co-op’s dedication to local food production, strengthening community and community resilience. I like the way the Co-op takes the needs of low-income members into account. I enjoy being involved. Being a board member is a fulfilling way to contribute to and connect with my community.
Cooperative organizations have the unique ability to create lasting changes in their communities, the moment a need arises. The Orcas Food Co-op is a responsive and compassionate organization that has nurtured a vital, food-access safety net on our island. As an active member of our local business community and volunteer for non-profits across the county, I have witnessed the dedication of our neighbors as they work to create equitable outcomes for every person on Orcas. With a background in education access and dismantling systemic food scarcity, I hold dear our collective strength and ability to serve the islands’ evolving needs. I am honored to learn and grow with you as a member of the Orcas Food Co-op board.
Tony Grosinger moved to Orcas Island in the summer of 2018 with goals of reducing his footprint, growing food, and building community. Tony previously served on the board of the NE Seattle Tool Library where he focused on growth and teaching. He is very passionate about creating supportive and sustainable community resources.
Sue and her husband, Steve Bernheim, moved to the island from the Seattle area about the same time the food co-op was open for business. She has been passionate about staying environmentally engaged for a long time and has tried to be a helpful advocate for locally sourced food and other basic needs. In her previous life, Sue was the operations manager in Asia and India for a software company back when software was a tangible product, helping to create an array of developer products locally.
Of the Human Beingdom. Neurowitch. Originally from Knoxville,
Tennessee with lineage ties to Korean, Japanese, Ashkenazi Jewish,
European and Native American heritage. Herbalist combining the wisdom
of Appalachian traditional folk medicine, Western Herbalism and Korean
ancestral medicine ways. Holistic foods chef focusing on local and
seasonal foods for vibrant whole foods wellness. Graduate of
California Institute of Integral Studies with a focus on Ecofeminism,
the impacts of climate change on marginalized communities and somatic
psychology. Forest dweller currently living on Coast Salish Nations
ancestral land, referred to as Orcas Island, with her husband Earl and
son Castle.
I moved to Orcas for the isolation but am willing to work with others on the island to limit greenhouse gas emissions and increase our supply of locally-grown food.
My wife Susan Bauer and I joined others to grow fruits and vegetables with Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture (OCPA) late in 2017 and now we host an OCPA neighborhood co-op-style garden at our “Fir Peace Farm” past Doe Bay. I am in my second term on the county Agricultural Resources Committee. I have been a lawyer in Seattle and an Edmonds City Councilperson.
I’m thankful for everyone at the Co-op who keep us supplied with local & organic food and hope we can provide more in the coming years.
Many of us know that feeling of stepping onto the island, knowing it is your heart’s home, and regardless of where you go, it always calls you back. I first moved here as a young man, then launched into the world again, forever changed, and then followed my heart back here with my family.
I know that this is where my daughters will grow and bloom; dedicating time to the places supporting our community to thrive is incredibly important. The Co-op embodies all the things that are important in communities. From quality food to cultivating relationships across the county, the Co-op ensures that everyone has an invitation to the table and understands that the power to make the world we all hope for can be achieved by working together.
I bring a lifetime of community building, creative engagement, business sensibilities, and a passion for connection. It would be my honor to spend my time and energy supporting the Co-op’s growth and its positive impact on Orcas.
Over the last 20 years Josh has helped build multiple worker-owned cooperatives and worked as a community organizer fighting for economic and racial justice. For the last 13 years he’s been a worker-owner of a successful social justice graphic design studio called Design Action Collective, a small business that is a democratic workplace and serves non-profits, labor unions, and social justice organizations with professional graphic design and web development services. Before moving to Orcas in 2020, Josh and his family lived in a cooperatively owned co-housing community land trust. He feels his skills and experience are of most use to progressive cooperatives who are trying to both succeed as small businesses, advance the cause of social justice and anti-racism, and function democratically, while serving the needs of community. Josh would love to offer his time and skills in whatever ways might best help this vital community institution thrive, and would love to meet like minded people and build relationships in the process.
Over the last 20 years Josh has helped build multiple worker-owned cooperatives and worked as a community organizer fighting for economic and racial justice. For the last 13 years he’s been a worker-owner of a successful social justice graphic design studio called Design Action Collective, a small business that is a democratic workplace and serves non-profits, labor unions, and social justice organizations with professional graphic design and web development services. Before moving to Orcas in 2020, Josh and his family lived in a cooperatively owned co-housing community land trust. He feels his skills and experience are of most use to progressive cooperatives who are trying to both succeed as small businesses, advance the cause of social justice and anti-racism, and function democratically, while serving the needs of community. Josh would love to offer his time and skills in whatever ways might best help this vital community institution thrive, and would love to meet like minded people and build relationships in the process.
Daniela arrived on Orcas in 2020. Shortly thereafter, she became a part of Orcas Community Resource Center and dedicated her time to serve the Orcas Island community. She is actively engaged in bilingualism and creating strength and inclusivity in the Orcas Island community. She loves nature, books and poetry, hospitality, culture and languages. Daniela is beyond grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow with the Orcas Food Co-op, creating community and strength through food, gastronomy and culture.
Libi served as a founding board member of Orcas Food Co-op and was instrumental during the design and remodel phase of the startup. In 2020 Libi joined the staff team as a senior manager, when she temporarily closed her shop, Springboard, in Eastsound. Before Springboard, many people knew Libi as manager at Roses Cafe. A long-time resident of Orcas Island, she has been involved in many community efforts. Libi served on the Montessori School Board and was resident liaison to Opal Community Land Trust Board. She is passionate about quality, local and affordable food for everyone.
Drawn by the strong sense of community and undisputed beauty of the San Juans, Natalie and her partner, Nik Schulz, moved to Orcas Island from West Sonoma County, CA in early 2016.
Regina is a believer in the power of good food and community to keep us strong and healthy.
With a diverse background in finance, nutrition, yoga and massage, teaching, and small-business ownership; Regina is equally at home book keeping as teaching a class about the joys & benefits of fermenting!
She first discovered the benefits of local organic food and the importance of eating healthy fats (like butter!) more than 15 years ago, after reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This set her on the path to learning and teaching about making healthy food choices and how the food we eat impacts our health, overall vitality, well-being and happiness, as well as the health of the planet.
Regina loves working at the Co-op so she can share her knowledge and passion for local organic food with her community while helping our local economy grow and thrive.
Learner is a co-founder of Orcas Food Co-op, having served as a founding board member and Project Manager during the startup before being hired as the General Manager prior to the Co-op opening in June 2014. As the GM, Learner has built a strong team that has grown the Co-op into a successful business and thriving community hub. Learner is a 4th generation cooperator and has benefited from having many mentors in the co-op field, including his father William Limbach, a former food co-op manager himself. Learner is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Cooperative Management through St. Mary’s University, Halifax, International School of Cooperative Management. A 20 year resident of Orcas Island, Learner has served on many community boards and committees, including the Agricultural Resources Committee of San Juan County since 2013, and the San Juan County Food System Team since 2020.
Lesley arrived on Orcas in 1977, an impoverished artist looking for a peaceful rural island life. Shortly thereafter, she became a founding member of both the Olga Artworks Cooperative Gallery and the Olga Symphony. She is currently an active member of the Actors Theater and volunteers at Orcas Center. She loves gardening and training dogs and became a certified service dog trainer in 2010.
Caitlin believes nourishing food and regenerative farming can act as mechanisms of progressive social change, and has been acting on this conviction as an activist-farmer for over a decade. She is an anchor farmer in the Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture project, serves as the Outreach Chair for the San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee, sits on the Steering Committee of the Orcas Women’s Coalition, and operates her Eastsound-based edible landscaping company.