PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Advertising Section

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Accounting

Little Caesars

Little Caesars is pleased to announce the promotion of Allison Bieri to Senior Vice President, Accounting. Since joining the company in 2015, Allison’s leadership and experience has proved invaluable to the brand. Her new role will be focused on consolidating the accounting needs for all divisions of Little Caesars, including Blue Line Distribution, Little Caesars Fundraising, and Champion Foods along with expanding the accounting team to align with growing business needs.

Economic Development

MICHauto

Drew Coleman is the Senior Director of MICHauto at the Detroit Regional Chamber. Coleman leads the development and implementation of talent initiatives for the MICHauto in collaboration with the Chamber’s education and talent team. Coleman also oversees the implementation of MICHauto’s key pillars of advocacy and next-gen mobility, as well as the research, convening, and marketing efforts of the initiative. Prior to joining the MICHauto, Coleman spent 10 years with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation leading the State of Michigan’s foreign direct investment program and business attraction strategy.

Law

Foley & Lardner LLP

Irina Kashcheyeva is a commercial litigator with Foley & Lardner LLP, and a member of the rm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group and Consumer Law, Finance and Class Action Working Group. Irina has litigated and counseled clients on various aspects of state and federal consumer protection and privacy statutes, and regularly represents companies in the healthcare, nancial services and automotive manufacturing sectors.

From Page 3 e food prepared for each meal comes from the farm with a wine pairing from a ree Oaks wine shop. Each dinner has seating for 40 guests. A private botanical dining room o ers seating for 14.

Consulting

Mercer Health & Bene ts Mercer, global actuarial and employee bene ts consultancy, and subsidiary of Marsh McLennan, announced the appointment of Deanna Kilgore, Associate, Health & Bene ts practice. Deanna has almost a decade of experience providing oversight and assistance to employer plan sponsors with their employee bene t programs. Deanna earned an Associate Degree from Oakland Community College in Business Administration. Visit www.mercer. com and/or on Twitter @Mercer.

INSURANCE / BROKERAGE

Kapnick Insurance Group

Kapnick Insurance welcomes Derek LaCosse as a Client Executive in their employee bene ts division. LaCosse brings with him years of business-to-business sales experience within the tech industry and is licensed in both Employee Bene ts and Property & Casualty Insurance. “His experience in client relations, project management, and business development make him uniquely quali ed to help his clients achieve their goals,” says Dave Huntzicker, Senior Vice President, and partner at Kapnick.

Economic Development

MICHauto

Kathy Dallas is the Director of Resource Development for MICHauto at the Detroit Regional Chamber. Dallas recruits new corporate partners for MICHauto and Let’s Detroit and manages corporate Chamber memberships in the automotive, mobility, and high-tech cluster MICHauto serves. Dallas returned to the Chamber in 2022 after previously working there from 2008 to 2016. During her rst tenure, Dallas managed sponsorships for all Chamber events, including Mackinac Policy Conference. Most recently, Dallas was a Senior Sales Director for the Fulkerson Group, managing sponsorship opportunities for major events in Detroit. She also served as Director of Fundraising at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation.

Nonprofits

Fair Food Network

Building on 25 years in social and environmental activism, Kate Krauss has been named Fair Food Network’s CEO. In her seven years in leadership, the organization has grown its budget vefold, developed critical operational infrastructure, and diversi ed funding sources. Kate will guide Fair Food Network in its mission to grow vibrant communities through food, weaving together sustainable solutions and a commitment to community listening with a focus on food as a pathway to joy and justice.

“We do that to tighten the link in how food is produced and consumed. e fact that the Beard Foundation thinks that’s relevant is remarkable,” Berens said. “ e tickets are always in demand, but I think the nomination will de nitely help business. I think (the nomination) shows how the Beard Foundation is actively looking to broaden what has traditionally been a slightly more narrow scope.”

Some say that scope should include farmers like Berens.

She grew up farming in her hometown of Hamilton, about halfway between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Her father ran a nearly 400-acre pickle farm and sold products to Heinz.

It wasn’t until Berens enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor that she realized not everyone had gardens in their backyard.

“It was just something that was commonplace” for her, Berens said.

REAL ESTATE

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services The Loft Warehouse

Justin Cain has been promoted to Vice President of Residential Real Estate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Loft Warehouse in Detroit. Justin brings 7 years of experience and an abundance of best practices to his clients and to the BHHS Loft Warehouse team of realtors. His success is centered on the mantra, “Simple in approach. Excellence in execution.” Justin is a SE Michigan real estate leader and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of top real estate agents.

It was in Ann Arbor where Berens began to develop an appetite for cooking. She worked at the popular Zingerman’s Deli from 2002-07 under head chef and now managing partner Rodger Bowser. In Ann Arbor, Berens visited her rst farmers market.

“(Bowser) brought more local food to Zingerman’s. It was actually nice for me, at the time, to go to the grocery store and get vegetables as opposed to in my backyard.”

Berens then moved on to expand her cooking expertise.

After college, she trained in a garden-focused kitchen at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland.

“ ere was a movement coming in the restaurant industry of bringing in beautiful produce. Ballymaloe cemented that idea,” Berens said.

In 2009, Berens founded Bare Knuckle Farm in Northport at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula, where she worked for eight years. “I recognized the disconnect people feel with farming and wanted to help tighten up that understanding,” she said.

While running Bare Knuckle Farm, Berens also spent some time in Chicago — a market with a great dining reputation.

So why go to ree Oaks from the Windy City?

“I’m a Michigander through and through. Even when I wasn’t here, I didn’t change my residency,” Berens said. “I knew I wanted to be back in Michigan. It was all about trying to gure out the logistics. My husband is a musician, so we needed some proximity to a big airport. I was looking at doing a residency (at Granor), but instead of doing that, they hired me.”

Granor Farm Manager Johannah Frelier is glad to have Berens as part of the farm, adding that Berens’ success is directly tied to the farm’s success.

“ e fact that a (Beard) nomination went to a chef and farm business in rural southwest Michigan speaks to the innate desire to reconnect food with the land,” Frelier said. “So often meals, whether served at a restaurant in a big city or a rural town like ours, have little to no connection to the sourced ingredients. It’s beyond valuable that Chef (Berens) is a former farmer who can identify and understand the volatile nature of farming in today’s climate and remain exible and unendingly excited at the jewels we bring in from the elds each week.”

Berens admitted she hasn’t sought out the type of validation the Beard nomination may bring, but it’s nice to be appreciated for what she and Granor Farm have to o er.

“I certainly feel a sense of pride and validation for everyone who works here,” Berens said. “Maybe there’s a sensitivity to that that comes from so few people understanding agriculture.

“I think about when (former New York City Mayor) Michael Bloomberg said, ‘how hard is it to be a farmer?’ He’s not alone in not understanding that. I do think it’s really nice to have people say they recognize our hard work and that we’re doing something worthwhile.”