Board & Staff

Amanda Wood is a native Forestvillain and walking exclamation point. Her nearly boundless enthusiasm, mishmash of practical and professional skills, oddity, and enjoyment of speaking to (almost) anyone, make her and the Food Drive Program uniquely suited to each other.

She is passionate about raising funds to feed people and promoting service to others as a way of life— deeply rewarding and so frequently missed as an ideal in our current culture. She’s kiss-the-ground grateful to get to work with beautiful humans who freely give their time and energy to this shared mission and is rumored to turn into a Care-Bear-like creature on sunny successful food drive days.

She enjoys sleeping late, driving backroads, wandering the hills of Sonoma County gathering medicinal plants, hanging with the heaps of children in her family, and performing somersaults in virtually any natural body of water she comes across.

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Amy comes to Food For Thought with experience across community food systems, from local agriculture to garden-based education to food access work. She believes deeply that relationships and good food can be healing, and was drawn to Food For Thought’s commitment to providing nutritious food with compassion and love. Amy is passionate about food accessibility and production, and is excited to join the development team in supporting Food For Thought’s role in the Sonoma County food system.

Amy moved from New England to California in 2017 and has enjoyed building a life and community here. In her free time, she loves to surf, climb, hike, pick flowers, and read.

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Andrea grew up in East Los Angeles and moved to the Bay Area following high school. During high school, she played softball for four years, taking on roles as a pitcher, shortstop, and catcher. She went on to study Psychology at Diablo Valley College, where she held positions on the boards of the Latino Student Alliance and the DREAMERS club.

Andrea loves her job. She finds purpose in helping others and joy in taking care of those in need. In her role, she is particularly passionate about serving the Latinx community. She is a wife and mother of three wonderful children, lives in Forestville, and takes pride in serving her community.

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Angel is native to Sonoma County. He was first inspired to work at a community-based level while completing his dietetic technician degree at Santa Rosa Junior College while interning with non-profit programs. He’s been fortunate to live and explore a great variety of California during his educational years, completing his bachelor’s degree in Foods and Nutrition at San Diego State University and his dietetic internship through Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

One of his biggest joys is coming home to his toddler, Leonardo, and fiancé Jazmin. Favorite pastimes of his include cooking, trying new eateries, hanging out with the boys, reading, playing with Leonardo, and visiting family.

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Crista is a Bay Area native deeply rooted in East and North Bay activism, protest art, and community organizing. She earned dual Bachelor’s degrees from Sonoma State University in 2018 in Women’s and Gender Studies and Social, Political, and Economic Development, and completed her Master’s in Public and Community Health at Boston University in 2026.

During her undergrad, Crista lived and worked in the West Bank with multiple non-governmental organizations, where she led community-based initiatives focused on water access and navigation, land back movements, and the empowerment of women and youth. She is a Certified Community Health Worker, having worked previously in labor unions and organizing, homeless outreach and housing justice, and harm reduction and overdose prevention.

Fun facts:

• Crista has lifelong roots in hospitality—she was raised in a hotel as the daughter of a General Manager and Executive Chef.
• She currently resides in Petaluma with her partner, dog, and cats, Cauliflower and Fennel.
• She serves on committees for a girls’ racecar driving foundation and a local yacht club.

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Dante was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. He earned degrees in fine art and urban architecture. During his studies, he enjoyed volunteering for a variety of nonprofits that served the local community. He came to the United States in 1997 and moved to San Francisco in 2006, where he worked designing and building outdoor and garden spaces.

In 2015 Dante moved to Forestville, where he adopted a fantastic rescue dog and sweet kitty. In his spare time, he enjoys keeping in shape as a vegetarian and exploring the natural beauty all around Sonoma County. Dante says, “Working at FFT and serving our community is an honor.”

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Emily was raised in Maryland from the age of four and moved to Sonoma County in August 2023. She drove across the country with her adventurous dad and adorable, energetic rescue dog, Benji. While Emily is becoming acquainted with Sonoma County, she has family in the area to show her the beauty of Northern California. Emily spends her free time exploring around her new home with family, friends, and sweet Benji.

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Helen joined Food For Thought in 2017 as Volunteer Program Manager, bringing several years of experience in nonprofit operations and volunteer engagement. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Augustana College and a Master’s degree in Food and Agricultural Law and Policy from Vermont Law & Graduate School. In 2021, she stepped into the role of Director of Community Engagement, where she led the organization’s outreach and advocacy efforts while continuing to strengthen and grow its volunteer program.

Helen now serves as Programs Director, where she provides strategic leadership across all program areas, guiding the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of services to ensure they are responsive, equitable, and impactful for the communities Food For Thought serves.

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Heather joined Food For Thought in October 2026, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience working with mission-driven organizations focused on education, access, and equity. Prior to joining Food For Thought, Heather collaborated with the United Nations, higher education, industry, and governments to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), creating conversations and developing frameworks to hold institutions accountable for measurable progress on some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

At home, Heather is a parent of three children, four cats, and one fish. She’s a writer, painter, and wannabe runner.

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Jessica is passionate about learning and applying her skills to work that feels fulfilling. She has spent most of her career either working in non-profits, local government, or higher education to develop, pivot or stabilize programs. She also has a micro business, which she loves tending to as well. She joined FFT as the Capital Campaign Coordinator, and is excited to leverage her skills to support the organization in achieving it’s expanding goals and mission.

Having lived in Nebraska, New Mexico, and Humboldt County, CA, Jessica moved to Santa Rosa in 2014 with her husband and has enjoyed building her new community here. She likes to enjoy quiet times in the morning, beautiful drives around the area, snuggles with her dogs, and spending time with people who are interesting to talk to.

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Jonathan Rosenblum comes to Food for Thought with over 15 years of experience as a leader in nonprofit organizations. He brings a skill set comprised of strategic planning, organizational oversight, and team leadership. Jonathan received his Masters of Public Administration and has worked for a wide range of nonprofit organizations serving some of the community’s most vulnerable populations.

Jonathan returned to Sonoma County in 2015 after spending nearly 10 years living and working in New York City. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling the globe, hiking, camping, and exploring the Sonoma County coastline.

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Lauren Bowne has guided her strong passion for food and agriculture into two decades working to make communities healthier and more connected to their food supply. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a journalism degree she went on to law school at UC Davis where her focus was food and agriculture policy. She’s worked with a range of nonprofit organizations as a policy advocate, executive director, fundraiser and board member, while also participating in the food system directly as a cheesemaker. She has a long relationship with Sonoma County Farm Trails and spearheads the popular Artisan Tasting venue at the Gravenstein Apple Fair each year.

Lauren lives with her husband, two sons, and five cats on a small homestead in Valley Ford.

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Lenore joined Food For Thought in 2024 with over 15 years of experience in marketing and graphic design. She earned her B.A. in Graphic Design and M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from Florida State University before settling in Sonoma County. Inspired by years of volunteering, she transitioned to nonprofit work to align her professional skills with her passion for purpose-driven community care.

In her free time, Lenore finds joy in a plethora creative hobbies, lifelong learning, volunteering, cooking, and spending time with her partner and their cat, Squishy.

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Megan is a Sonoma County native who enjoys a vibrant family life with her husband and two kids. They have recently welcomed a new playful puppy into their home who’s brought them additional love, warmth, and joy.

Her passion for the great outdoors shines through in her love for everything from a relaxing day at the beach to an all day river float down the Russian River, to a thrilling whitewater adventure. She loves chasing waterfalls, summiting mountain peaks and exploring local trails on the weekends.

Megan embraces the beauty of her surroundings, while cherishing time spent with loved ones. When Megan isn’t exploring nature, she’s likely hosting game nights, entertaining for the holidays, crafting with her kids and teaching them how to cook.

With a rich background in hospitality, Megan has spent many years perfecting the art of making people feel right at home and curating memorable guest experiences.

Megan is passionate about helping others and watching the local community thrive.

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Born in Healdsburg, Oliver has always loved food and views it as the central force connecting his interests in health, environmentalism, and community. After studying cognitive science at UC Berkeley, he began his career working for local organic vegetable farms. After a short diversion working for mental health organizations, Oliver returned to agriculture at the Food for Thought Garden.

Joining Food for Thought has been an exciting step for Oliver, allowing him to put his skills into practice maintaining our diverse garden, growing fresh produce, and sharing sustainable agriculture practices. As the Garden Manager, he is proud to do this with our wonderful volunteers and serve our Sonoma County community.

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Roger joined the Food For Thought team in December 2020 after the closing of the Face 2 Face’s 3 Monkeys Thrift Store. His experience at a nonprofit thrift store made him a perfect match to join the food bank. He works every day helping organize delivery routes, receiving large grocery orders, and keeping the food bank stocked and ready for our clients.

He loves working in the food bank because it is a supportive environment with a great team of people who really care. In Roger’s free time, he likes being creative and enjoys drawing and making illustrations.

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Ron has served as Executive Director at Food For Thought since 1996. He brings a combination of skills to the organization, which includes previous non-profit executive management, a B.S. degree in computer science with 15 years of related work experience, and management abilities first learned at a family-run business.

Ron played an essential role in the capital funding campaign and the building project for Food For Thought’s current facility in Forestville. He has provided stable leadership by staying focused on the mission of providing excellent nutrition to people in Sonoma County affected by HIV and other serious illnesses. He is Vice Chair of the California Food Is Medicine Coalition.

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As a proud Bay Area native and current resident of Marin, Stephanie is deeply rooted in the vibrant culinary culture of Northern California. Armed with a degree in Food Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Stephanie embarked on a culinary journey that spans over two decades.

With a career firmly anchored in food service and hospitality, Stephanie has cultivated an impressive portfolio of experience; crafting innovative menus to spearheading employee dining programs for companies like Google, Zynga, and Genentech, she has been able to combine her passion for food and knack for operations to bring thoughtful food programs to life. She’s really excited to continue her journey with FFT and support the wonderful community of Sonoma County through the power of food.

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Tom joined Food For Thought in 2022 with a background in fundraising and research. Originally from northern England, he’s proud to work for such a vital organization in his adopted home of Sonoma County.

Having worked in the nonprofit and higher education sectors and having been a stay-at-home parent, Tom brings a wide range of perspectives and experiences as well as a personal dedication to Food For Thought’s incredibly important mission.

Outside of work, Tom is passionate about country and folk music, any kind of history, and following sports. He lives in Petaluma with his wife and daughter.

Claudia was born and raised in Forestville, Sonoma County, where she has been actively involved in the community since middle school. Claudia first starting volunteering for Food For Thought while at El Molino High School. After graduating, she continued volunteering with FFT in whatever way she could, including taking shifts at food drives, assisting clients at the food bank on Saturday mornings and helping out at fundraising events.

Claudia is a graduate of Sonoma State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Planning with an emphasis in City Planning, as well as a Minor in Computer Science. More recently, Claudia was elected to serve on the Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council as the representative for the Hacienda District and is the Communications Specialist for the local community choice aggregator, Sonoma Clean Power.

Melanie Jones-Carter is a Santa Rosa resident and Northern California native. An active and engaged member of her community, Melanie is passionate about making connections and fostering positivity wherever she goes.

In 2015 she worked with her neighbors to create the “Signs of Hope” yard sign project. Black and white yard signs with inspirational quotes that can still be seen throughout the Junior College neighborhood. Proceeds from the popular project were donated to F.I.S.H. a local food pantry in Santa Rosa.

Melanie served as a member and Vice Chair of the Art in Public Places committee in Santa Rosa from 2019-2023, while working to bring the best public art to the people of Santa Rosa. Melanie specifically focused on bringing diverse perspectives to the pool of artists working with the city.

She is the president of the Mendocino Community Garden, a newly appointed Chair of the Design Review Board for the City of Santa Rosa, and 2nd Vice Chair of the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, for which she is also a party delegate. She is also the Vice Chair for the Board of the Museum of Sonoma County.

As a professional, Melanie had a long career managing personnel, overseeing customer service, and directing operations at a variety of businesses and organizations including Stanford University Dining Services, GES Exposition Services, IKEA, The Ecumenical Hunger Program, and Dynatex International— a Santa Rosa based semiconductor company.

A life-long athlete and fitness enthusiast, Melanie has also taught spinning classes for over a decade at various YMCA’s.

Melanie has always lived a commitment to getting involved. As a teen she volunteered with the United Farm Workers to raise funds and awareness of issues facing the California farming community. When her children were young she served as a Girl Scout Troop Leader and president of her daughter’s softball league. She was on the board of The Ecumenical Hunger Program— a nonprofit in East Palo Alto that offers support services and advocacy to the local community.

In her personal life Melanie loves to spend time with family and friends enjoying all that Sonoma County has to offer— delicious food & wine, beautiful scenery, and diverse and vibrant culture.

Gabriel’s family came to the Dry Creek Valley through the Bracero program in 1955 and has called Sonoma County home ever since. Raised in Windsor when there was only a blinking stop light on Arata Lane, he has seen his hometown grow exponentially. Gabriel was in the second class to graduate from Windsor High. He then obtained his Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State University as well as an A.O.S from Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco. For 7 years Gabriel operated a fast-casual Mexican restaurant in Novato dedicated to food that was organic and preservative free. In recent years, he has found a new passion in insurance and financial services. It is his goal to help people have confidence in their finances.

Gabriel has worked in the Food for Thought kitchen since its inception of the program in 2017 at Twist Eatery in Forestville. He can honestly say that he hasn’t had a case of the Mondays in over 3 years.

Dewey is a retired San Francisco attorney who moved with his wife Susan to Graton 16 years ago. His 50-year law practice focused on real estate and estate planning. During all his career he was actively engaged in leadership roles in various Bay Area public and private non-profit activities which included the Coalition for Essential Schools reorganizing the Oakland Unified School District; President of the Piedmont Council of Boy Scouts of America (where he worked successfully on the national level to change the BSA position on gay scout leaders); Chair of the Art Guild of the Oakland Museum Association; President of the Piedmont Unified School District School Board of Trustees (2 terms); Senior Warden, St. John’s Episcopal Church as well as many other board positions on organizations seeking equity and social justice.

Since moving to Sonoma County Dewey has chaired or served on the Board of Directors of St. Dorothy’s Rest Association (negotiating the turnover of 350 acres of forest to public ownership); The Bishop’s Ranch and Palm Drive Hospital Association.

Dewey’s interest in providing healthy food arose from a small project he led with Redwood Empire Food Bank to distribute weekly groceries to Parkside School in Sebastopol. With a core of dedicated volunteers, the program continued for 9 years (through Covid) until budget cuts forced its closure. He has always been a financial supporter of Food for Thought, but the end of his program at REFB caused him to more deeply examine and become enthusiastic about its program and mission. Its emphasis on care for its clients, particularly those in the LBGTQ+ community, is in line with his history. He will never forget the first client who said he was “sick” with a new disease and witnessing his deathbed Will in 1981.

Dewey and Susan have three boys and four granddaughters.

Elisa has been both a staff member and a volunteer at Food For Thought and always left the food bank feeling better than when she arrived. She was hired as the Volunteer Program Manager at Food For Thought in 2008 and retired in January 2018.

Elisa was the volunteer coordinator at Canine Companions for Independence for five and a half years. Before that, she coordinated Artrails and was the exhibitions curator for the Sonoma County Cultural Arts Council. She was a librarian in San Francisco Public libraries, Sonoma County library system, Ursuline High School and Santa Rosa Junior College.

She was born in Noblesville, Indiana and earned her masters in Library Science from U.C. Berkeley. Elisa has one son, Andy, and in her spare time enjoys drawing, gardening, games, reading, movies and friends. She is very grateful to be a part of a compassionate, caring, fun-loving organization with great staff and volunteers.

Nancy has worked in the field of health promotion and health education for over 25 years. She earned her Masters in Public Health and Social Work at the University of Michigan. She joined Kaiser Permanente in 1997 and has been in the leadership role of Director of Health Education at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center since 2013.

She joined the Food For Thought Board in November 2018. She is drawn to Food For Thought’s powerful mission and is especially interested in supporting and promoting the Welcome Home and Medically-tailored Meal programs.

She was born in Northwest Florida and has been a resident of California since the age of 13. She moved to Sonoma County in 2002 with her husband to raise their two children after falling in love with the area. She loves the bountiful healthy food, natural beauty and community spirit of Sonoma County. In her free time, she enjoys dinner parties, hiking, movies and raising her German Shepard puppy.

Evan grew up in Napa before moving to Sonoma County in 2003 and planting his community roots in Petaluma. He absolutely loves living and working in the North Bay and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the area with clients as a realtor with Century 21 Epic. Evan received his B.A. in Environmental Studies and Planning and worked both as a City Planner and elementary school teacher at various locations around Sonoma County before finding his true professional calling in real estate.

Evan’s passions include music, reading, sports, and giving back to the community. He was drawn to Food For Thought by its Food is Medicine mission and commitment to nutrition, and he is honored to add his unique blend of skills to the Food For Thought cause.

Human Resources Director & Accounting Manager, Artizen, Inc. Born and raised in Northern California, Betty is a fifth generation Californian.  She has worked in the HR and Accounting fields for her entire career.  Betty moved to Sonoma county in 2005 and in her role as the human resources director for a local bank she became interested in becoming more involved in the wonderfully volunteer and nonprofit oriented communities of Sonoma county. She had the good fortune to find her way to Food For Thought, where she has been able to put her professional experience to use on the Finance committee and various other committees for several years.   Betty is proud to be involved with an organization that lets her serve the community that she loves and work with others who have such passion and compassion.

Tim moved to Sonoma County in 1990 having spent many years working in real estate and the investment industry. Over twenty-five years ago, he and his wife, Jackie, founded Reuling Vineyard and began growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes on their 16-acre property south of Forestville.

Since moving to Sonoma County, Tim has served on the board of the 4C’s ( Child Care Community Council, chairing the non-profit for a 2-year period. For a number of years, Tim served on the board of the Sonoma County Education Foundation and was actively involved in the Centro Laboral de Graton, the Graton day labor center.

Motivated by the organization’s mission of food equity and nutrition, Tim became involved with Food for Thought when the family moved to Forestville in 1993, serving as a volunteer at various events and as a benefactor. Prior to joining the Board, he was a member of the Finance Committee for six years. In addition, the family’s gardens have a source of organic fruit and vegetables for FFT.

Tim’s interests include cooking and enjoying time with family (grandparenting) and friends, traveling, hiking, fishing and hunting.

Born and bred on the East Coast, Estelle is an attorney who spent her career in Washington, D.C., before she retired to Sonoma County in 2015. Until her retirement, for eleven years she represented organizations devoted to election law. From 2010-2015, for example, she was Legislative Director of Project Vote, a national nonpartisan organization promoting civic engagement, improved election administration, and voting rights. Throughout her 40+-year career, Estelle worked primarily for non-profit advocacy organizations devoted to progressive policy issues, including Death with Dignity, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Estelle has volunteered at Food for Thought since she moved to Forestville in 2015. In addition to her weekly service in the food bank (until COVID, that is), she volunteers at fundraising events and serves on the Advocacy Committee. Participation in the mission of Food for Thought has been one of the most fulfilling commitments of her retirement. She is also Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Sonoma County and a member of the Board of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Northern California—representing two more of her passions, modern art and women’s rights. A graduate of the University of Chicago and the University of Maryland Law School, Estelle is the mother of two grown daughters and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Boston.

Mitch moved to the Bay Area from New York and then Washington, DC, in 1978. After completing an Internal Medicine residency in San Francisco he practiced Emergency Medicine full-time until his retirement a few years ago. He moved to Sebastopol 12 years ago and enjoys living here with his wife and English Springer Spaniel. His two daughters live in Seattle and New Orleans. He enjoys traveling, cooking, and reading.

Mitch began volunteering at Food For Thought in the food bank and subsequently in the kitchen. A chance request from FFT regarding automated electric defibrillators led to his obtaining, distributing, and training staff in the use of AEDs for multiple nonprofit enterprises in the greater Sebastopol area.

While growing up, Mitch was influenced by his mother, who loved to host large gatherings of family and friends and prepared mountains of food. The mission of Food For Thought beautifully matches the ethos she imbued in him.

John Andrew grew up in Texarkana, Texas and received his Bachelor of Arts in Music  from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.   He spent a year in rural Nicaragua teaching English and translating for medical mission teams before pursuing his Doctor of Medicine from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. While in medical school, he was a medical researcher for The Dr. Oz Show which provided him with an understanding of Integrative Health and inspired him to pursue his personal passion of health and wellness.

John Andrew feels privileged to support the HIV community. He began by volunteering at Food For Thought, and then as a bilingual case manager at Face to Face (HIV/AIDS service organization). In his current role of Social Work Case Manager at Santa Rosa Community Health HIV Team, John Andrew uses his medical background and ability to connect to patients with a holistic approach. John Andrew enjoys mindfulness meditation, Ayurvedic nutrition, yoga, kickboxing, nature hiking, world travel and culture. He is an activist in the LGBTQ community, an alumnus of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, and member of the 2019 Documentary Gay Chorus Deep South. The mission of Food For Thought deeply resonates with his life mission of making a positive impact on the community.

“In my view, leadership calls us to embody what we wish to share with others, and my experience working in the world of HIV has afforded me depth and insight to serve others wholeheartedly”. John Andrew joined the Board in 2021 and is excited to bring his passionate attitude and creative energy to this organization which he loves.

We recently said goodbye to our dear friend Diana. She will be remembered as a passionate, skilled, and incredibly caring member of our community.