Dedicated Leadership

Justin Freeman is the General Manager of Hummingbird Wholesale, an organic foods wholesaler based in Eugene. Hummingbird sources a wide range of agricultural products from farmers in Oregon and the greater Pacific Northwest, supporting both established organic producers and farmers who are transitioning or are new to organic cultivation. Justin brings a diverse professional and educational background to the sustainable food industry, having previously worked in academic biological research and in corporate and non-profit settings. He holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and The University of Texas at Austin (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Management Information Systems, respectively), as well as an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. Justin and his wife Jennifer call Eugene home.

Kellee James is Founder and CEO of Mercaris, a market data service and trading platform for organic, non-GMO and other identity-preserved agricultural commodities. Prior to Mercaris, Kellee spent five years at the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the first electronic trading platform and registry for spot, futures and options contracts on carbon, sulfur, clean energy and other environmental products. In 2009, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as a White House Fellow where she advised members of the administration on environmental markets. She has also worked with coffee farmers and commodity banks in Latin America on risk management and income diversification strategies. Kellee was named by both Black Enterprise Magazine and Crain's Chicago Business Magazine as a '40 under 40' rising leader. Ms. James is an Aspen Institute Catto Environmental Fellow and has also served on the board of Net Impact, a membership organization of more than 12,000 MBA professionals committed to sustainability. She is currently a non-resident senior fellow at the Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC. Kellee received her MBA and MA in International Development from American University and completed a BA in Spanish from the University of Kentucky.

Roger became enthusiastic about agriculture when he started a hobby garden in high school. After graduation with a degree in plant biology from the University of Nebraska, he began working with a nonprofit, Sustainable Agriculture Education, executing programs around an 18-acre farm (AgPark). Following this, he worked for leading organic food brand, Amy’s Kitchen, to bring agricultural products from farm to processor to manufacturing facilities. Currently, Roger is working full time and studying for a Master’s Degree in agriculture through Washington State University. Additionally, Roger and his partner are farming one acre of mixed vegetables and seasonal cover crops at AgPark, selling produce to local restaurants and craft food producers.

Emma Sirois coordinates the national Healthy Food in Health Care Program (HFHC) at Health Care Without Harm. Emma leads a team of content experts and organizers to work with health care institutions and health professionals across the country to promote sustainable food systems by leveraging the purchasing power and health authority of the health care sector. From 2007 to 2014, she directed the Regional HFHC Program in Oregon by developing educational and networking opportunities and direct technical assistance to advance regional and national program goals. Previously, Emma worked in Arizona building sustainable food resources and regional food systems through direct marketing opportunities for local farmers, urban and school agriculture projects, food and nutrition education, and public policy advocacy, with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Arizona Community Action Association and the not-for-profit, Community Food Connections. Emma holds a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two girls, enjoying the bounty of the region.

William F. (Bill) Tracy, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. At UW-Madison, Tracy leads the largest public sector sweet corn breeding program in the world. In 2014, Tracy was named public plant breeder of the year by the National Association of Commercial Plant Breeders. Bill's research areas include the genetics, genomics, and biochemistry of endosperm carbohydrate synthesis, the relationship between plant development and pest resistance. Tracy serves the plant breeding community in a number of roles. He has been on the Maize Crop Germplasm Committee for more than 20 years and is currently chair. He is the first chair of the newly created CIMMYT Maize Germplasm Committee. He also chairs the International Sweet Corn Development Association, the corn breeding research executive committee and the NAPB advocacy committee. Tracy has served on numerous USDA regional committees. For 20 years Tracy has been a passionate advocate for reinvigorating public plant breeding, recognizing the serious threats to US agriculture in having highly concentrated decision-making and germplasm ownership. He has been a board member of a number of nonprofits including Organic Seed Alliance, The Michael Fields Institute, and the Dane County Humane Society.

Glenn is the COO, General Manager, and co-owner of BumbleBar. In 1996, after a year in business, he joined BumbleBar, the company his wife founded the year before. BumbleBar was one of the first certified organic snack companies. BumbleBar exclusively made BumbleBranded products until 2007. This is when we decided that our mission of supporting sustainable agriculture and family farms would be greatly amplified if we started making products for other similarly committed companies. He graduated from San Diego State with a degree in social science (emphasis on economics) and a minor in German. He serves on the board of Temple Beth Shalom in Spokane, Wash.

Lynn Youngbar currently provides organization development consulting services to non-profits and government agencies in Oregon. Her career focused on starting and leading innovative, community change-oriented non-profits and founded Rural Development Initiatives, Inc. in 1991. She has extensive experience in the Oregon Legislature and other policy forums in Oregon and the Northwest and consults on community and economic development, non-profit interim management, strategic planning, succession planning and environmental resource issues.