Advisory Board Members

All are listed in alphabetical order by first name. Learn more about our Food Sovereignty Advisory Board.

Brandi Adakai (she/her) currently serves as Empowerment Center Director for Rocky Mountain Service Employment Redevelopment (RMSER). She’s passionate about children and families, food access and systems, workforce development, community development, and small business development. Brandi helped build the first-ever empowerment center in Pueblo with RSMER and is working towards creating empowerment centers for all ages across Colorado. 

She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University-Pueblo, as well as two associate degrees – one in early childhood education and another in general studies with an emphasis in Business Management from Pueblo Community College. Brandi also received a director’s certificate from Pueblo Community College.

Brandi is very active in her community. She’s currently a board member for the Latino Chamber of Commerce and Pueblo Rescue Mission, as well as serves on the Commission on Housing and Homelessness, as a coalition member of the Pueblo Food Project, and as Treasurer for Hasan School of Business’ alumni chapter. She also volunteers at many food pantries and banks, churches, schools, community gatherings, and chamber events. Brandi previously served on the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s Governing Council.

She’s the blessed mother of two heaven-sent children, Christiana and Josiah. Brandi’s motto is “with every negative, THERE IS a positive.” 

Emily Olsen (she/her) believes in supporting community-led solutions to the challenges we face. She’s passionate about supporting the health of people, communities and our planet. 

With a background in health equity and food justice, Emily has worked with communities across the country to create their own healthier futures. As the Executive Director of Cloud City Conservation Center in Leadville, she works on initiatives at the intersection of environmental justice and health equity, including Cloud City Farm, Lake County’s only produce farm. Emily has previously worked with Lake County Build A Generation, Denver Food Rescue, Fresh Food Connect, and FoodCorps. She’s currently a member of the Lake County Food Access Coalition and also serves on the Parkville Water Board and the Kitchen Committee for St. George Community Meals. 

Emily believes that our own individual health is not separate from the health of our communities or our planet. When not working to support her community, she can be found running or skiing in the mountains surrounding Leadville.

Fatuma Emmad (she/her) is Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Head Farmer of Front Line Farming. She is an affiliate professor at Regis University and lecturer in the Masters for Environmental Studies Program at CU-Boulder. She’s also the owner and operator of Bountiful By Design, a sustainable high-end landscape company.

Fatuma was born in Denver and raised in Denver and Ethiopia. She has worked farming organic and heirloom vegetables on her own acreage as part of a land co-op, setting up farms for restaurants, and as a farm manager for multi-acre community farms in Milwaukee and Denver.

Before becoming a farmer, Fatuma was a political scientist who engaged in issues affecting marginalized farming communities, such as the push for genetically modified seeds across Sub-Saharan Africa. She believes in resistance by the world’s land caretakers to single solutions for crop productivity and seeks to work on reframing ideas of food security.

Fatuma has been certified and teaching yoga since 2004 and is a graduate of the Center for Agriculture and Ecology at the University of Santa Cruz. She currently serves as a Mayor-appointed member of the Sustainable Food Council for the City of Denver, a co-chair for the City’s Good Food Purchasing Policy Group, and president of Mile High Farmers. She’s also a fellow at Transformational Leaders for Change, promoting leaders of color in Colorado, as well as a 2020 Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellow. 

Fatuma previously served on the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s Governing Council. She also was awarded the inaugural Kathy Underhill scholarship, which annually recognizes a community member who’s changing hearts and minds in the hunger space with advocacy, policy, and/or community engagement through the lens of health equity.

Jodi Walker (she/her) has never been afraid to take on controversial issues and has frequently used unorthodox approaches to bridge the cultural, economic, and generational challenges of her Eastern Plains community. Kids At Their Best, which she founded, exemplifies the strength of her commitment to all children and all families. Jodi’s understanding of the complex interplay of major political, financial and distribution systems – and the impact at the local level – has led to national recognition for both her and her organization.

She has brought together immigrants from Mexico and South America and refugees from Somalia, along with local children whose families have lived on the Eastern Plains for generations, to build a network of youth who use peer support and other means to increase their job potential and to promote the value of diversity in rural Colorado. This work has allowed Jodi to develop sustainable programs to serve not only local children but to inspire others.

Her work extends beyond her county to encompass regional, state, and national missions to improve the lives of children. Jodi also serves on the board of the statewide Community Resource Center and Morgan County Food Coalition. She also has served as a member of the state AmeriCorps advisory group as well as the former Governing Council for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger. One of her favorite projects is working with a national cohort of nine agencies tasked to bring innovations to solving rural childhood hunger.

Jodi overcame a traumatic brain injury to pursue her soul work on behalf of children and families. She and her husband run a 300-acre family farm in Wiggins, raising cows, chickens, occasional pigs, and a host of other critters. Together, they have six children, one granddaughter, and a 120-lbs Great Pyrenees puppy. When not working, she supports the local volunteer fire department where her husband and children are firefighters. She also loves exploring the Colorado outdoors, reading, and sewing. 

Max Gibson (he/him) lives in the tiny town of Saguache and serves as Executive Director of the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition and Board Chair of Saguache County Sustainable Environment and Economic Development. With an undergraduate degree from Naropa University and dual graduate degrees from CU-Denver in Public Health and Urban/Regional Planning, he has worked on healthy community design and food system planning in Colorado as well as humanitarian response in East Africa and the Middle East. 

Prior to that, he spent years leading wilderness trips across the Rockies and abroad, in addition to working as an EMT in a number of Denver and mountain hospitals. He can be found mountain biking, skiing, or soaking in some hot springs.

Monique Marez (she/her) is from Pueblo and believes that food connects us to ourselves, each other, and our abundant planet. She is a food systems practitioner with experience at every scale of the sector – from grassroots community organizing and farming and animal husbandry to international trade policy and food systems development in nearly 40 countries around the world. 

Monique's first job in agriculture was picking tomatoes with her grandmother. At 14 years old, she entered food service and waitressed in countless restaurants for 16 years. Monique relied on WIC, SNAP, and food pantries during different times in her life. Her consulting practice, Eptimizo LLC, provides strategic services to food and agriculture businesses, nonprofits, and  governments in an effort to build a more resilient and nourishing food system. 

She holds degrees from Yale University and New York University. In addition to being a coalition member of the Pueblo Food Project, Monique also serves on Pueblo County’s Horticulture & Agronomy advisory boards and volunteers with RMSER. She loves nothing more than cooking a delicious meal to share. 

Namrata Bhoomi Shrestha (she/her) serves as Health Access Director at the West Mountain Regional Health Alliance, where she leads initiatives addressing food insecurity and the social determinants of health in Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, and Summit counties. She joined the organization in 2017 as their Regional Health Connector, focusing initially on identifying the region's top health priorities, building relationships with healthcare providers and community organizations, and developing strategic programs to address the area’s physical, behavioral, and social health needs.

In her current role, Namrata oversees the Alliance’s Mountain Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security, where she collaborates with local partners to address barriers to food access, focusing on sustainable solutions that support long-term health and wellness. Additionally, she plays a key role in the Community Resource Network, which links community members to essential resources, including food assistance, housing support, and other social services.

A native of Nepal, Namrata brings extensive experience in community health initiatives on a global scale, specifically in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene sector. She has worked with a variety of influential international organizations projects, from UNICEF to USAID, as well as local entities such as Red Cross Nepal. This global experience has informed her approach to public health and given her a profound understanding of the importance of multi-sector partnerships, particularly in addressing issues like food insecurity.

Her ongoing work bridges healthcare and community resources, ensuring that food security is seen not only as a standalone issue but also as a fundamental part of health equity. Namrata’s leadership has strengthened the Alliance’s impact, fostering collaboration among community partners and healthcare providers to create a more resilient and food-secure region for all residents.

Stella Zhu (she/her) is from Shenzhen, China, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with degrees in Sociology and Molecular & Cell Biology. She served on UC-Berkeley’s Basic Needs Committee and conducted immunology research at the National Institutes of Health before joining Fort Lewis College as its Basic Needs Coordinator in Spring 2022. Stella helps oversee campus basic needs initiatives and the campus food pantry, the Grub Hub, with an incredible group of student leaders.

As part of the Student Well-Being team, Stella seeks to foster a culture of care where every student has access to desirable and reliable food, shelter, and a community that meets them where they are. She’s also involved with the La Plata County Food Equity Coalition and Colorado Higher Education Basic Needs Coalition.

Experiences in immigrant communities and mutual aid spaces that reimagine how we care for each other guide her commitment to culturally responsive models of food access, centering client choice and belonging. In her personal life, she enjoys disappearing into the mountains with her partner Nick and pup Puko, cuddling with her cat Ikalgo, and cooking good Chinese food.

Thái Nguyễn (chi/em, she/her): wife, proud mom of three amazing kids, and two playful fur babies is on a mission as the fearless leader of Kaizen Food Rescue/Share – Denver’s very own “Food Tsar”! 

A survivor of war atrocities and a former unhoused youth, Thái has turned her past into power, wielding over 20 years of business savviness and six years of nonprofit hustle to bring nutritious food to her community. With her infectious energy and zest for life, she’s cooking up sustainable food systems alongside local partners and fighting for policies that honor her farming and immigrant roots. 

She’s also involved with the Southwest Denver Food Coalition, Jefferson County Food Policy Council, Denver’s Sustainable Food Policy Council, and Mile High Farmers, as well as the USDA’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, Office of New Americans, Colorado Refugee Speakers’ Bureau, and the National Young Farmers Coalition as a Colorado Water Fellow. When she’s not busy shaking up the food justice scene, you’ll find Thái paddle boarding, rock climbing, or hiking with her family – or brainstorming her next big adventure over a delicious dinner!