Joan Boykin

Joan Boykin has +40 years of experience in the natural/organic products industry in consumer package goods, retail, publishing and nonprofits. She was formerly ED of The Organic Center and held leadership positions at The Hain Celestial Group, New Hope Network and Alfalfa’s and Wild Oat Markets. She’s been a Senior Consultant to WhiteWave Foods, Celestial Seasonings, Way Better Snacks, 1908 Brands, Goddess Garden, and many others. Joan was a founding member of The Organic Center and Naturally Colorado and was the recipient of Naturally Colorado’s Local Hero and Lifetime Achievement awards. In 2017, she was inducted into the “Hall of Legends” at Expo West.

Mark Retzloff

Senior partner with Boulder Farm Team, chairman of the board of Alfalfa’s Markets, co-founder and board member of Aurora Organic Dairy, co-founder and venture partner of Greenmont Capital Partners, former chairman of the board of The Organic Center and former president and co-founder of Horizon Organic Dairy. He is a recipient of Naturally Colorado’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Organic Trade Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the Boulder Esprit Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sylvia Tawse

A co-founder of Naturally Colorado and Naturally Network, Sylvia is founder and president of Fresh Ideas Group (FIG), a PR and Branding firm specializing in natural and organic since 1995 and representing some of the nation’s most dynamic brands, nonprofits and trade associations.  FIG has conducted “True Brand Storytelling” workshops and crisis communications for national and international CPG brands and many of the organic industry’s top nonprofits and trade groups. She received Naturally Colorado’s “Local Hero” award in 2017 and the Organic Trade Association’s ‘Organic Pioneer’ award. Sylvia and her husband, after 28 years of organic farming in Boulder County, now reside on two organic acres in Taos, NM.

Daenna Power

I joined the military in 2014 with the intent of funding my path to becoming a doctor. However, along the way, I discovered something even more exciting than a future in medicine: operational efficiency. Leading teams, improving processes, and driving results became my true passion. There’s nothing that sets my soul on fire more than fixing a broken process. Over the past decade of military service, I’ve been fortunate enough to be placed in challenging roles that helped me grow my leadership, communication, program management, and collaboration skills. I’ve successfully managed complex operations, led diverse teams, and spearheaded initiatives in high-stakes environments. These experiences have fueled my love for operational efficiency and my joy in transforming organizations. My leadership is grounded in compassion, focusing on empowering teams through collaboration to achieve impactful results. As an empathy-driven leader, I believe success comes from supporting and uplifting those around me. My core professional competencies include organizational analysis, leading cross-functional teams, optimizing operations, developing policy, and facilitating training. I excel in generating comprehensive reports, ensuring compliance, and solving complex challenges to drive growth. I have managed projects, programs, and teams across various global defense domains, with extensive experience in nuclear operations and homeland defense. I have an active TS/SCI clearance and a proven track record of delivering results under pressure in dynamic environments. Let’s connect if you’re interested in discussing how my diverse background and skills can contribute to your organization’s success!

Carlotta Mast

Elexis Schroder

Elexis has built a reputation as a strategic marketing and communications leader with more than 20 years experience in agency settings and within a growing CPG company. She specializes in developing and implementing integrated, brand-building programs that help authentically share a company’s mission to drive trial, sales and loyalty. She is known for building camaraderie and buy-in from teams across functions and organizations to get things done, all while making people laugh along the way. Elexis founded SchroderHaus based on the belief that there is a better way to serve purpose-driven organizations that put people and the planet just as high on the priority list as profit. As the Head of the Haus, Elexis aims to inspire the SchroderHaus crew to do kick-ass work daily, and to be a trusted advisor to her clients.

Heather Kennedy

Passionate consumer and retail marketing professional with 20 years of experience working with inspiring brands and products in the natural and organic industry. Proven track-record leading high performing teams, developing meaningful brands and delivering marketing strategies that drive growth. Currently a Marketing Instructor at the University of Colorado, sharing my experience with spectacular undergraduate and MBA students at the Leeds School of Business. Specific experience includes: Brand Management, Category and Shopper Marketing, Strategic Planning, Managing Client/Agency Relationships, Conscious Capitalism, Launching and Managing New Products, Digital Marketing, Communications Strategy, P&L Management

Jaimi St John

My expertise and passion unite at the intersection of sustainable business strategy and customer-centric culinary innovation. I thrive on uncovering opportunities to create and operationalize crave-able new products while maximizing profitability for brands committed to sustainable sourcing models and progressive people cultures. As a classically trained chef armed with a Master’s in Food Systems and a background in innovation leadership, marketing, supply chain and operations, I understand the innovation-to-market process through a cross-functional lens. I’ve had the honor of leading teams at Chipotle, Panera, Everytable and Nextbite through successful multi-million dollar launches across multiple categories and dayparts. The driving force behind my career is the desire to heal our food system through customer-driven, strategic innovation for a brighter and more delicious future.

I offer food and beverage leadership in:

• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Product Innovation
• Supply Chain
• Manufacturing & Operations
• Integrated Marketing
• Nutrition, Wellness, & Fitness

Jenna Fitch

Jenna Fitch is the Community and Conference Content Director at New Hope Network. In this role she is passionate about using education and community building to empower stakeholders in the natural and organic products industry. Prior to serving in this role, Jenna led digital content production for the NEXT Accelerator, an educational platform for entrepreneurs, as well as supported exhibitors and attendees as customer and exhibitor service representative for tradeshows and conferences such as Natural Products Expo West and NBJ Summit.

Dedicated to the outdoors, conscious leadership and using business for good, Jenna has also spent time learning from and supporting organizations such as the Outdoor Industry Association, Restorative Leadership Institute, CU Leeds Professional Mentorship Program, Camber Outdoors and the Lake Champlain Committee.

Jenna earned her MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Leeds School of Business, as well as an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies with a certificate from the Program in Community Action and Public Policy from Connecticut College.

When not obsessing about sustainable packaging and soil health, you’ll likely find her hiking in Colorado with Oscar the Black Lab, playing beach volleyball or laughing out loud to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell me!

Joelle Trubowitz

John Simmons

Weller

As an entrepreneur with an eye for early trends, John has a passion for creating brands and establishing new innovations that ignite previously unknown categories. In 1995, he co-founded Third Street Chai and led it through its acquisition in 2013, paving the way for sustainable supply chain standards via Fair Trade and Certified Organic ingredients. With Weller, he is once again focused on developing interesting products that can help CBD’s wellness benefits go mainstream. John himself embraces a life of living well-er as a former professional bicycle racer who lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Justin Levy

Justin Levy is Executive Director of Conscious Alliance (consciousalliance.org), the Colorado-based national hunger relief organization that uses the connective power of art and music to feed communities in need. Levy was awarded the 2021 Industry Leader & Community Champ Award by Naturally Colorado and was formerly named a Top 25 Influential Young Professionals in ColoradoBiz GenXYZ Awards, and selected for BizWests 40 Under 40, among other accolades. He holds a degree in Service-Learning Program Development from Warren Wilson College.

Conscious Alliance combats hunger via strong relationships with like-minded brands and industry leaders, world-class musicians and artists, and service-driven local community partners and advocates. The organization focuses on expanding food distribution, improving food quality, diverting food waste, youth empowerment and volunteerism, and connecting people through the power of community.

Karyn Savory

My name is Karyn Savory and I am a brand connoisseur & alignment guide with an obsession for food. I currently reside here in Denver, though there are many places I could call home. I was lucky to grow up overseas, moving from one country to another, sampling all different cultures and experiences. Through my travels I’ve discovered that food is nourishing in many other ways than simply physiologically. It feeds our social and emotional needs as well.

In pursuit of combining this passion with purpose, I founded Sweet & Savory Designs to help food and beverage companies create top-shelf visual brands that provide joy and nourishment to their communities. Using my knowledge of the human experience, brand design psychology and a love for all things tasty, I collaborate with other passionate food & beverage entrepreneurs to help bring their dream to life.

Kate Cash

Kate Cash is the founder and CEO of Spark Strategic Advisors, where she helps purpose-driven CPG brands scale through strategic sales leadership and thoughtful execution. With two decades of experience in the natural products space, Kate brings a holistic, data-informed approach to growth. Her impact includes unlocking the right distribution partner for emerging brands, building sustainable retail strategies, and fostering a more collaborative, inclusive CPG ecosystem. Outside of work, Kate is often diving into something creative. She is a firm believer in curiosity and growth, whether that means failing forward at improv, experimenting in her chaotic vegetable garden, or landscaping with drought tolerant grasses and native plants (but mostly harvesting weeds, NOT the hip kind). She paddleboards like a baby deer on ice, lifts heavy things for fun at her local Crossfit gym, and attends yoga classes in an ongoing quest to find her Zen… still looking. In the summer, she can usually be found on a Colorado trail, sucking wind while her family charges ahead pretending not to know her, and loving every minute of this one beautiful life.

Kristine Root

As a leader, strategist, and culinary-minded optimist I work to empower social good and advance the cause of good food. I am passionate about delivering powerful strategies that propel growth for the bold visionaries and change-makers that are reimagining our food system and the role of food brands in systemic change.

Brand Strategy | Growth Strategy | Consumer Brands | Insights | Data Analysis | Stakeholder Engagement

Libby Christensen

An innovative whole-systems thinker, I am results-driven and thrive with cross-disciplinary colleagues. I am at ease with writing for a variety of audiences, a motivated public speaker, and highly adaptable to change. My economic and spatial training, in addition to my high level of comfort collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data provides me a unique prospective on food and agriculture.

Mark Madic

Melissa Hauser

I’m a growth-focused, brand-led executive with nearly two decades of experience scaling mission-driven CPG brands in the natural food and beverage space. I’ve led businesses through periods of rapid expansion, omni-channel acceleration, and commercial transformation—while staying anchored in purpose, consumer insight, and operational excellence. I’ve had the rare opportunity to experience the full lifecycle of building and scaling consumer brands—from the vantage point of a strategic acquirer to the trenches of early-stage startups, and ultimately into full P&L and strategic ownership. This end-to-end perspective—paired with hands-on experience at every stage—gives me a unique ability to lead with both vision and execution. I’ve led brands to achieve breakout growth in highly competitive categories like plant-based, functional beverages, and sustainable packaging, while building high-performing teams and delivering meaningful top- and bottom-line results. I’m passionate about companies that sit at the intersection of health, sustainability, and innovation—and I’m energized by building brands that not only perform, but matter.

Michelle Lishnevsky

Raul Pero

I am a seasoned global marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in the consumer goods industry, specializing in Food, Home & Personal Care & Wellness categories. Throughout my career, I’ve held key leadership positions at Fortune 500 companies, family-owned businesses, and startups, consistently delivering exceptional results. My expertise spans across brand strategy, product innovation, and e-commerce marketing, allowing me to drive growth and scale for small brands and startups with limited budgets. Most recently, I was the Co-founder and CMO of Terraseed, a sustainably-sourced supplements brand based in Boulder, Colorado where I successfully led the company’s repositioning and growth marketing efforts. Currently, I provide strategic consulting services, leveraging my extensive knowledge to drive brand strategy, product innovation, and go-to-market strategies for various businesses. My previous experience includes serving as Head of Marketing & Innovation at Planterra Foods, where he spearheaded growth in a highly competitive market, and holding various marketing and innovation roles at J.R. Watkins, Henkel, and Ecolab. My industry expertise has also led him to serve as a Board Member at Colorado Food Works and as a mentor at BeyondSKU CPG accelerator.

Rajesh Babu

Rick DeSimone

Rob Dunsworth

Shawn Edwards

I’m a strategic, entrepreneurial and creative thinker with a proven capability to both identify and leverage consumer insights to create game-changing growth strategies and innovations.

Through 25 years of consumer insight and brand strategy experience—including prior lives at Kraft, Clorox, and Microsoft—I’ve personally designed and managed nearly every type of custom qualitative and quantitative research. I’m also a research nerd. I’m passionately curious about why people do what they do. I get a kick out of finding that insight and then using it to help clients create big business building ideas.

While I’ve been lucky enough to play a part in many successful new product innovations, my best and most favorite launches are currently ages 22, 17, and 15.

Sindy Wise

Sindy brings 25 years of natural products experience to the Naturally Colorado Board. She currently serves as the VP of Brand Sourcing for Pod Foods.

Prior to her brand work, she worked for pioneering natural products retailers, including Wild Oats, Pharmaca and Lucky’s Markets. Sindy knows the wellness product space inside and out.

Balance to mind, body and spirit is important to her, so when not attending her kid’s sporting events, she practices Pilates, travels internationally exploring all things food and wine, and makes her own hard kombucha – because gut health is so important!

Sonya Guram

Sonya’s interests are balancing environmental, social, and economic interests in pursuit of a better world. She has expertise in developing and managing programs, project management, economic and policy analysis, research, strategic planning, budgeting and financial analysis. She encourages civic and community engagement to work towards positive change.

Taylor Dewitt

Taylor joined Naturally Colorado in June of 2024 after living and working in the agriculture industry in Sydney, Australia. Taylor is passionate about sustainability and bringing tasty yet healthy (for people and the planet) foods to consumers in our Colorado community. She formerly worked as a Program Manager at the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the Leeds School of Business in Boulder where she provided education, resources and networking opportunities to students pursuing a career in mission-driven business. Outside of work, you can find Taylor biking, exploring the outdoors, traveling, watching Steelers football or hanging out with her friends, family and cat Juju!

Kristine Carey

Kristine has spent years working in the natural and organics food and beverage space, with a background in brand strategy and a focus on working with pre-revenue startups and emerging brands to help build consistent messaging that connects with consumers, beyond products and services.

She loves the Naturally Colorado community and is excited to have the opportunity to work closer with members, brands, investors, service providers and Naturally Colorado partners!