Board Election Candidates

3 Seats and 8 Candidates

Vote May 1-15

All candidates’ responses are unedited. Please refer to briarpatch.coop/vote-2023 for full candidate profiles. You can vote online with a valid email address.

Ballots open May 1 at 8:00am and close May 15 at 5:00pm.

Keri Askew Bailey

I fell in love with Briar Patch on my first visit and look forward to the co-op opening in Auburn. The variety of options available for a broad array of dietary needs and preferences is incredible. I love knowing my household’s food dollars are helping support local producers and healthy options. Members can feel good about supporting a movement toward a more sustainable food system. The coop’s expansion will allow my community to enjoy ethically sourced, high quality food available right at our doorsteps. While I travel to Grass Valley as often as possible to shop, it is difficult to make the trip and I look forward to being able to make the co-op my weekly shop. I would be honored to serve on the Board as the co-op expands to help accomplish great things as it balances the needs of two diverse communities. I believe in community engagement as an integral part of bringing communities together and it is important to bring diverse perspectives to the co-op Board. My past experience in the retail grocery industry and long career in politics and public policy give me a unique perspective and set of skills that would be an asset to the co-op and its membership.

Julann Brown

In 2019, my husband and I joined in a local effort to create a Food Co-op in Auburn because we are strong believers in the concept of a supporting locally grown and sourced healthy foods. We were thrilled by the agreed upon acquisition of the Central Square Food Co-op by BriarPatch. We are avid listener/supporters of KVMR radio and are familiar with all the wonderful ways in which the BriarPatch Co-op supports the local community.

I have not had the opportunity to fall in love with the BriarPatch Co-op (yet) since we live and work in Auburn and the location of the BriarPatch Co-op in Grass Valley is a bit too far for us to be regular shoppers. What I do love about the soon to open BriarPatch Co-op in Auburn is that food co-ops are rooted in the communities they serve, which creates a sense of accountability among the workers, members, and shoppers. I love that the BriarPatch Food Co-op is committed to supporting a strong local food system and providing community educationon healthy food choices and environmental sustainability. I am especially excited about the location of the Auburn BriarPatch Co-op right off the busy Bell Road/Highway 49 corridor, a hub of national retail chains and will be within walking distance to people/families with lower to moderate incomes. When one shops at or, better yet, becomes a member of a food co-op they are automatically taking part in a system that strives to increase community health and promotes social responsibility. Shopping at a food co-op is truly voting with your dollars for a healthier local economy and more sustainable local food system, and that is something we can all get behind.

Jonathan Collier (incumbent)

A lot has changed in the world over the last three years and so too with the Briarpatch, but there’s a consistent thread that stays unbroken and continues to remind me what I love about our co-op.

First, I love that we’re a mission-driven and value-driven organization. This means that our decisions and actions are guided by a strong set of core beliefs, beliefs that are rooted in the social good, the environment, future generations, as well as our own financial viability. We follow our Ends Policies which provide us with clear, consistent direction even in times of unprecedented change.

I love our staff. It’s incredible how our staff has shown up through all the challenges of the last three years. They continue to be friendly, maintain a positive attitude and are always helpful. It’s good quality folk like this that make us the nationally recognized coop that we are. I also love that we take care of them by paying competitive wages plus a strong benefits package, and use an open book management system to empower them to continuously improve the organization.

I love how we support and nurture our local small farmers. We’re always looking at ways to help them out and make sure these hard working folks can stay viable. Opening a new store and expanding their market reach is just one way that we hope to keep our local farm community vibrant and our greater community resilient.

I also love that we have a health food store of this caliber in our community and soon in Auburn. It’s easy to take for granted while living here and shopping at the Briarpatch for so many years, but everytime I travel out of town I’m reminded of how fortunate we are.

Kimberly Hallinan

What I love most about BriarPatch Food Coop is that I don’t have to read the labels to ensure “clean” products! Yay! And I appreciate the commitment to organic produce and local sourcing of food, as much as possible. BriarPatch has product standards. There are insidious ingredients that find their way into our food and I so truly appreciate a grocer who is watching out for that and avoiding them. In addition to product standards, I want to support a grocer who is deeply committed to being a part of the fabric of the community of which they are an integral part.

Alana Lucia (incumbent)

What I love about the BriarPatch has not changed in the years I have been on the Board, but it has certainly grown deeper. At the foundation, I appreciate that BriarPatch is a grocery store where I can find trusted foods. That we can support a loving community with the purchase of such foods is truly living the dream. The employees continue to be loving, caring people who you can count on for a warm greeting as well as knowledgeable information. We have a variety of opportunities to support local organizations directly and indirectly and when there is a catastrophe, we know BriarPatch is going to show up in the right ways and do the right things. What a community treasure!

Michael Mignone

My wife, Marcy, and I love the entire concept. The fact that it is a Non-Profit and is wide reaching in its services to the community, including other local charities, and the quality of food offered is exceptional, reaches the core of how I want to serve my community in retirement.

I have been blessed with a lovely family, business success and good health and now is time to continue to give back to others.

I see no conflict of interest by serving on your board.

Lindsey Pratt

I love shopping at BriarPatch! The Co-op offers local, high quality, healthy, and ethically crafted goods that would be otherwise hard to access if BriarPatch wasn’t a part of our community. As a former farmworker of a farm that had sales commitments through BriarPatch, I know that the Co-op is an integral part of supporting local farms and our overall local food economy.

How to Vote

The 2023 Board Election, held May 1 through 15, will be here soon! In this election, three seats for Board Directors are open.

Important points to remember:

• If your email address is inaccurate, the Co-op must send your election materials to the latest postal address we have on record. Update your email address at updateinfo@briarpatch.coop, to make voting as easy as a few clicks of a mouse.

• According to our bylaws, each Owner household is entitled to one vote by the primary Owner of Record. Co-op Owners of Record who are fully paid or current on membership payments by 5:00pm on March 20, 2023 are eligible to vote.

• Login information for online voting will be mailed and emailed to voters in late April.

• Ballots open May 1 at 8:00am and close at 5:00pm May 15.