Food Coalition Coordinator
Rachael Cougler (coordinator@northwestmifoodcoalition.org)
Bio coming soon
Chairperson of Operating Committee
Mary Clulo (mclulo@mhc.net)
M.A. Public Policy, Maternal and Child Health
Certificate in Health Administration, University of Chicago
B.A. Business Administration, University of Notre Dame
Mary works in Munson Healthcare in the Treasury department. She ran the food pantry for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church for 18 years as a volunteer leader. In 2016-2018 she served on the Steering Committee of the Food Coalition, which became the Operating Committee in 2018. She has served as the chair of the Operating Committee since March of 2018. Mary also participated on the systems team that created the Food Security System Map.
She lives in Traverse City with her husband and has two adult children.
Recording Secretary
Carol Hockin – ACTS
Bio coming soon
Treasurer
Chair, Empty Bowls fundraising event
Co-Chair, Fundraising Committee
Member, Purchasing Committee
Kathy Maly (malyk805@gamil.com)
B.S. Accounting, Western Michigan University
M.B.A., Western Michigan University
Kathy worked in Accounting for hospitals/health systems for her entire career predominantly in the Southeast Michigan area. Looking to enjoy their vacation home year-round, Kathy and her husband Frank moved to Traverse City where Kathy joined Munson Healthcare in 2018 and retired in 2023 after serving as Munson’s Chief Financial Officer. While living downstate, Kathy and Frank volunteered in various capacities relating to food insecurity such as leading their church’s annual dinner for 10 years at the St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit, also leading a Christmas food and gift drive for patients at the health system for 13 years. Kathy and Frank currently live on Lake Leelanau and enjoy boating. In her spare time, Kathy is learning to watercolor paint so she can do paintings of our beautiful “Up North”!
Website Master, Social Media, Fundraising and Marketing
Michele Worden (wordenwood@msn.com)
B.S.Chem/B.S. ChE 1988, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
M.B.A. 1999 Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Certificate of Fundraising Management, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Advanced Master Gardener Volunteer MSUE
Michele began volunteering with the Northwest Food Coalition in 2016 as the facilitator of the Steering Committee, which was formed to address issues identified in the 2014 Benzie Rotary Food Security Report. She was the team leader for the creation of the System map for the food coalition. Prior to moving to Northern Michigan, Michele worked as a product development consultant for technology-based companies. She also worked as an engineer and project manager capital projects in the Petroleum and Chemical industries, overseas and domestically. In the Grand Traverse region, Michele spent six years working in various elementary schools as an instructor in school gardens, ‘Food of the Month” nutrition programs, and as a Farm to School instructor. She is a founding board member of The Greenspire School, Traverse City, where she started the STEaM Night program, She is the current president of the Master Gardener Association of Northwest Michigan.
She lives in the woods in Traverse City with her husband and two teenage children; she enjoys hiking the trails and working in her garden.
Member
Co-Chair, Governance Committee
Pastor Dave Kroon (dave@thegoodsam.org)
Pantry Coordinator
Good Samaritan Food Pantry
Dave is the pantry coordinator and chaplain for Good Samaritan Food Pantry in Antrim county. Dave has served on the Operating Committee since 2019.
Member
Co-Chair, Governance Committee
Michelle Northrup (mnorthrup@benziebacn.org)
Director of Operations at Benzie Area Christian Neighbors (BACN), Beulah MI
Benzie Area Christian Neighbors (BACN)
B.S. Business Administration and Management 1988
Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant
As Director of Operations at BACN since 2012, Michelle has been involved in the growth of the organization and food pantry. She was formerly involved with the Grand Vision to Grand Action and the Poverty Reduction Initiative, Traverse City MI.
She has also attended classes at the The Evaluators Institute (TEI), and completed the Acumen Systems Practice training. She has volunteering with Steering Committee on 2016 and was part of a team that completed a food security system map. She was also the chair person of the Farm2Neighbor purchasing committee.
Michelle lives in Traverse City with her husband and daughter’s dog, which they inherited when she moved to the west coast. She enjoys hiking, swimming and trips to visit relatives and friends.
Member
Cathy Somes (kairkalkaska@gmail.com)
Executive Director
Kalkaska Area Interfaith Resources
Cathy runs Kalkaska Interfaith Resource (KAIR) in Kalkaska county, which operates a food pantry and thrift shop. Recently KAIR was awarded a large grant to open the first meal site in Kalkaska. She has volunteered on the Steering Committee, then Operating Committee since 2016.
Member
Purchasing & Fundraising Committee Member
Taylor Moore (taylorm@goodwillnmi.org)
Manager, Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan
B.A. Sociology & Political Science – Colorado College
Diplome de Cuisine, Le Cordon Bleu
Taylor Moore serves as Manager of Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan, a program of Goodwill Northern Michigan. A culinary graduate and holding a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Political Science with a focus in social welfare policy, Taylor has led Food Rescue’s transition in adopting systems change practices to address food insecurity and food waste. Since Taylor joined the team in 2015, Food Rescue has prioritized access to healthy food by increasing services to and connection with local farmers through its Healthy Harvest program, the Northwest Food Coalition’s Farm to Neighbor Program (F2N), Groundwork’s Local Food Relief program, and, most recently, assisting the Area Agency on Aging’s USDA produce distribution. Taylor understands an equitable food system to be a primary function of sustaining and improving one’s sense of belonging to a community.
Advisor
Kris Thomas (kristhomas95@aol.com)
President of Board, Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital
Benzie Rotary Club
B.S. Nuclear Engineering 1985, U Mich, Ann Arbor
2018 Athena Award for Women in Leadership
Since moving to Northern Michigan, Kris has been very involved in volunteering in the community and with the Benzie Rotary Club. She has served as the president of the Benzie Rotary foundation and led programs in local schools. She is the founder of the cycling event Bike Benzie, a Rotary fundraiser. She started the Healthy Harvest gleaning program, which is now managed by Goodwill Food Rescue. She has been a leader in the fighting food insecurity, and is the principal author of the Benzie Rotary 2014 Food Security Report. Prior to moving to northern Michigan, Kris worked as a nuclear engineer at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Currently she lives in Traverse City and also serves as the President of the board of Trustees of the Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital of the Munson Healthcare System.
Member
Purchasing & Fundraising Committee Member
Christina Barkel (christina@groundworkcenter.org)
Purchasing Coordinator for Northwest Food Coalition
Food Equity Specialist
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities
B.A. in Environmental Science, with focus on Environmental Justice from the Literature, Science and Arts school
School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Christina works as a Food Equity Specialist with Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. She supports several key parts of the Food & Farming program. Most of her time is spent working with farmers and food pantries to create systems that increase the amount of healthy, locally grown food available to people who use food pantries. Christina began her work with the food coalition as the Purchasing Coordinator of the Farm2Neighbor program through the Helping You Heal grant. Her role has been expanded the encompass expanded purchasing for the Northwest Food Coalition through funding from the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation . Previous experience includes working with community gardening, urban food access work and farm to school Initiatives in both Ypsilanti and Detroit, as well as five years managing a diverse vegetable CSA farm in Leelanau County.
Christina loves to be outside as much as possible, and can be found in the garden, at the beach or on the trails in the summer and on skis or skates in the winter.
Advisor
Jennifer Berkey (berkeyj@msu.edu)
District 3 Director
Michigan State University Extension
B. S. Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona, 1997
M. S. Administration, Central Michigan University, 2008
Serve Safe Instructor
Jennifer serves as the District Three Director and provides administrative oversight for the six county MSU Extension offices in Northwest Lower Michigan including; Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska and Manistee Counties. She has worked for MSU Extension for 22 years and prior to this assignment she worked as an extension educator providing supervision for SNAP-Ed nutrition instructors as well as taught food safety education for the community. She has been active in multiple leadership positions within her community; PTO president at two schools as well as served as President of MEAFCS (Michigan Extension Association of Family and Consumer Science Educators). Jennifer has been an active member of the Northwest Food Coalition by linking the nutrition and food safety resources to the pantry members.
She lives in Traverse City with her two daughters and her golden doodle. Jennifer enjoys participating in her daughter’s school and sporting events as well as hiking on our beautiful northern Michigan trails or boating on the bay.
Advisor
Meghan McDermott (meghan@groundworkcenter.org)
Food and Farming Program Director
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities
B.A. Food and Sustainability Studies, Psychology Vassar College – Poughkeepsie, NY 2013
Meghan’s work is in regional food systems. She has contributed to Groundworks food and farming focus area since 2015, and has led this work as Program Director since 2016. Meghan sits on many regional advisory boards and has strong facilitation skills that she uses to problem solve and create positive change in sustainable food systems. Meghan began her work in Northern Michigan as a Food Corps Service Member working in area schools in 2013.
