Whole Planet Foundation

Regional Director, Africa and the Middle East

Brian Doe

Brian was hired as the Africa Field Program Manager in 2010 to manage growing Whole Planet Foundation support in Africa, he is providing additional oversight to current partners and expanding Whole Planet Foundation’s work across the continent with new dynamic microfinance institutions.

Brian’s first experience with Africa was building trade linkages in the private sector between businesses in West Africa and Illinois under a program funded by the Illinois state legislature in 1999, and he has been interested in finding better ways of linking the U.S. private and non-profit sectors with strong counterparts in Africa ever since.
He first travelled to the continent in 2000 as a Water and Sanitation volunteer with the Peace Corps in Mauritania (West Africa), and then moved his way into managing small grants and contracts to local partners for U.S. organizations working on the continent. To date, he has been fortunate to have worked closely with hundreds of different local NGOs and businesses in countries as diverse as the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tunisia, and others.

Having spent nine of the last thirteen years living in Africa, he most loves the openness and generosity of the communities he has lived and worked in, and never ceases to be amazed by the diversity of cultures and geography of the continent.

Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific

Claire Kelly

Claire is the Asia/Pacific Regional Director for Whole Planet Foundation. She is responsible for overseeing and expanding a portfolio spanning the region – from Pakistan to Samoa.

Claire joined Whole Planet Foundation in March of 2013 as Microfinance Field Program Manager for Africa/Middle East region. In that role, she supported the regional portfolio by visiting partners in 20 active countries, identifying new potential partners and providing financial and project analysis. Claire became Senior Program Manager in March 2015 where she worked with WPF’s systems specialist to monitor the global portfolio and support the Asia region with research and reviews.

Prior to joining WPF, Claire served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Extreme North of Cameroon from 2010-2012. Claire has a BA from Georgetown University and she also studied abroad in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews. Claire is passionate about the foundation’s dynamic partners and their hard working staff who bring financial services to rural populations around the globe. While on and off the road travelling, Claire enjoys yoga, swimming, reading and cooking.

Global Programs Director

Daniel Zoltani

Daniel oversees Whole Planet Foundation’s global portfolio and is responsible for developing global strategy, expansion and overseeing partner operations in more than 68 countries.

Before assuming the role of Global Programs Director in December 2015, Daniel served as Whole Planet Foundation’s Asia/Pacific Regional Director. In this role he was responsible for identifying new viable partnerships while providing oversight to existing partners spanning the region. Prior to joining the Whole Planet Foundation team, Daniel worked in microfinance at the field level for Whole Planet Foundation’s longest standing partner, Grameen Trust. During this time, Daniel supported the planning, implementation, and coordination of the establishment of Grameen Build-Operate-Manage (BOM) microfinance institutions in Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia. The role involved managing the collaboration between large commercial banks, as funding partners, the management teams of Grameen microfinance experts from Bangladesh, and the local field staff. Daniel holds degrees in Economics and International Affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Daniel strongly believes that microcredit is a tremendous and powerful tool to alleviate poverty when implemented appropriately. He believes microcredit is an opportunity, a means to provide intelligent, motivated entrepreneurs an opportunity to unleash their own skills and talents in order to improve their livelihoods.

Fundraising Program Manager

Ellen Bettis

Ellen Bettis joined Whole Planet Foundation in 2018 as the Fundraising Program Manager. In this role she empowers people to impact communities through philanthropy by investing in the transformational power of microcredit. A firm believer in compassion and human potential, she spent five years prior to joining the Foundation advancing workforce and education programs in Austin and Fort Worth, Texas. She holds a BA in English from the University of North Texas. In her free time she enjoys arts and entertainment, volunteering as a member of the Junior League of Austin, and exploring the great outdoors.

Educator & WFM Team Member Volunteer Manager

Genie Bolduc

Genie is the Global Educator for Whole Planet Foundation and the Whole Foods Market Team Member Volunteer Program Manager. Genie came to Whole Foods Market in Austin in 2002 and has held many positions at Whole Foods Market, from cashier to Store Trainer, to Associate Store Team Leader to Internal Programs Ambassador for Whole Planet Foundation in 2008.

In her current role she provides educational materials for Whole Planet Foundation and assists groups of Whole Foods Market Team Members in the opportunity to travel to places where Whole Foods Market sources products and Whole Planet Foundation funds microlending programs, to immerse themselves in global communities, becoming ambassadors for Whole Planet Foundation.

Through the program, Whole Foods Market Team Members broaden their horizons, participate in community service projects and learn about the transformative power of microcredit firsthand. Sharing the mission of Whole Planet Foundation with Whole Foods Market Team Members and helping to raise awareness and funds for poverty alleviation, is a dream job for her.

Finance Coordinator

Jessica Villanueva

Jessica grew up in border city Juarez, Mexico. It was not until college that she moved to Austin, Texas to pursue a career in accounting. She has a Bachelors of Business Administration from Texas State University. Her goal was to find a niche in accounting for nonprofit and work for a company that mirrored her core values.

Jessica first joined Whole Foods Market Global Support as an Associate Accountant for the General Ledger Team, where she provided some accounting support to Whole Planet Foundation. She transitioned to the Whole Planet Foundation Team in early 2015 as the Administrator of Business and Finance and is now the Finance Coordinator for the foundation.

Like almost every Austinite, Jessica enjoys jogging around Town Lake with her dog, trying every food truck on her way, live music and festivals. She also enjoys playing, watching and having discussions about soccer.

Director of Development and Outreach

Joy Stoddard

Joy joined Whole Foods Market in 2000 and Whole Planet Foundation in 2006. She develops strategic partnerships, fundraises for microcredit, and connects Whole Foods Market shoppers, suppliers and team members as well as external advocates to Whole Planet Foundation. Joy has been awarded All*Star five times, Team Member of the Year and numerous leadership recognitions. In her role as Whole Foods Market Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Trainer, Joy trained thousands of team members and supported a dozen store openings, including the flagship store in Austin. Having met microentrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica, East Timor, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Peru, Senegal and Togo, and in California, Nebraska, New York, Massachusetts, Texas and South Carolina, and more, she is inspired to share the transformative power of microcredit and create prosperity.

 Previously, she coordinated training programs at the International Monetary Fund for six years. She has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and speaks French and Spanish. Joy enjoys Austin with her husband Scott, stepson Roman and nieces Isabel and Lily.

Digital Fundraising Specialist

Olivia Hayden

Olivia designs and updates our website, manages our social media, email marketing, and graphic design. She loves all things creative and lives to bring new ideas to life through artistry. She loves to read about current events and philosophy. Don’t mess with fonts on her watch!

Regional Director, Latin America and North America

JP Kloninger

JP has been a Whole Foods / Whole Planet team member since the early aughts. While he is currently its Latin America, Caribbean, and North America Regional Director, JP first joined Whole Planet Foundation as Administrator of Finance and Business Analysis in 2010.

A native Californian, JP spent most of his childhood and teens in Costa Rica, where he gained equal fluency in Spanish and English. He was also immersed during that time in the culture of many other Mesoamerican and South American countries.

JP holds a BA in Management/Engineering from Claremont McKenna College, a BS in Agricultural/Bioresource Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MA in Economics, development emphasis from the University of San Francisco. Learning about microfinance in graduate school, compounded with his earlier direct observation of the power of a small loan to ignite human potential, prompted JP to be an advocate of financial access for those closest to the base of the economic pyramid. Of particular impact to JP was seeing the prosperity that a small loan enabled for his Chinese-immigrant grandfather, his family, and his community in Nicaragua in the 1940s, when he started what became a thriving specialty grocery store chain in Managua — Supermercados Wong!

JP has made diverse professional, academic, and personal contributions in the international arena, including import/export of agricultural machinery, computer hardware, and food perishables; multinationals’ business development, brand management, financial management, operations analysis, and team leadership; and teaching undergraduate and graduate international business, economics, and statistics.

JP loves cooking and tasting foods of all sorts and origins; exploring his home state of Texas, his home country of Costa Rica, and the rest of the world with his wife Laura and two daughters Emma and Stella; and can often be found in his “happy place” watching a Costa Rica, Brazil, or US national soccer team match.

President and Executive Director

Philip Sansone

Philip is the President and Executive Director of Whole Planet Foundation, overseeing operations, programmatic direction and financial management. Philip brings over 48 years of expertise and experience to the mission and operations of the Foundation. His diverse and far ranging background focuses on three distinct arenas in international development: entrepreneurship, subsistence agricultural cooperatives and microfinance in developing countries.

As an entrepreneur in Austin, Texas, Philip founded Book People – one of the largest independent bookstores in the country, where he continues to serve on the Book People Board of Directors. Philip was also the director of Multimedia, a business unit of Whole Foods Market’s Wholepeople.com and importer of indigenous arts and crafts from the developing world. In the international development arena, Philip managed community development projects in Latin America for the Peace Corps and USAID and in Afghanistan for a non-governmental organization.

In the 1970s as a subsistence agricultural cooperative specialist, Philip worked for seven years with small subsistence farmers in Latin America and more recently in Afghanistan to encourage farmers to choose alternatives to the opium poppy cultivation. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras where he worked with the Misquito Indians for almost three years on the Patuca River in La Mosquitia, and in Paraguay for four years helping to start agricultural cooperatives.

Philip has a BBA from Texas Tech University, is conversant in Spanish and can exchange basic pleasantries in Guarani and Misquito. Philip is a firm believer in the power of free markets, honest yet limited government and “conscious capitalism” to create prosperity and individual dignity. Philip also serves as chairman of the UK and Canada Boards of Directors for Whole Planet Foundation.

Marketing and Outreach Program Manager

Sandy Mariscal

Sandy (left) is the Marketing and Outreach Program Manager for Whole Planet Foundation, responsible for the support and development of Supplier Partnerships and the general support of Whole Planet Foundation Programs.

A graduate of Santa Clara University, she holds a Bachelors in Sociology with a special emphasis in Business and Human Services and a Minor in Ethnic Studies. Prior to joining Whole Foods Market in 2008, Sandy worked as the Project Manager for Youth, Communities, and Social Justice Project at SCU and SFU. Native to the San Francisco Bay Area, she was fortunate to spend all her childhood summers in rural Corongoros, Mexico and is fluent in Spanish. Sandy has 19 years of retail grocery experience, 7 of which she worked as Marketing and Community Outreach Team Leader in Whole Foods Market’s Norcal Region at Flagship Stevens Creek, Los Gatos, and Pioneer Palo Alto. In 2010, she pursued her passion for Whole Planet Foundation’s mission and traveled as a Team Member volunteer to Arequipa, Peru. There she observed firsthand the extraordinary power of microcredit in action through microcredit lender Pro Mujer, helped build water cisterns for the community, and volunteered at the local school. Over the years, she has helped support microloan fundraising through marketing activities like the Hustle for Whole Planet Run, community and team member presentations, and in-store events. Sandy is thrilled to be pursuing her passion for partnerships, cultural diversity, and Whole Planet Foundation in her current role to help alleviate poverty around the world in a sustainable way that empowers recipients, celebrates cultural differences, and respects different ways of life.

"The Wizard"

Victor Quiroz

Victor may not be an actual wizard, but he sure knows his way around an excel spreadsheet and datasets. After completing a six month internship and graduating from St. Edward’s University, Victor joined Whole Planet Foundation in September 2012. Prior to working with the Foundation, he completed an internship in risk analysis and also gained experience writing grants for another local non-profit. Today, Victor supports Whole Planet Foundation’s programs as our Data Analyst by collecting, sorting, and managing the data and information Whole Planet Foundation receives from its partners around the world. He has also designed and implemented several tools that are designed to help the team manage our portfolio and visualize our data more effectively and efficiently.

Regional Manager, Africa and Middle East

Zoe So

Zoe joined Whole Planet Foundation in June 2016 as a Program Manager supporting the Africa and Middle East portfolio.

Prior to joining WPF, Zoe started an independent consultancy specializing in program strategies and partnership development for NGOs and social enterprises. She worked at BRAC USA for three years, where she supported financial inclusion and youth empowerment initiatives in Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone. Zoe has also worked in operations, grant management, and monitoring and evaluation in Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and served in the Peace Corps as a small enterprise development volunteer in Senegal. She holds dual master’s degrees in international affairs and journalism from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

Board Member

A.C. Gallo

A.C. Gallo is the President and Chief Operating Officer for Whole Foods Market. He learned to enjoy good food and the importance of food presentation growing up. His grandparents owned a fruit stand in the Bronx and later started a small Italian grocery, and his parents owned a top-rated restaurant. A.C. began stocking shelves at Bread & Circus when it was just one small specialty foods store with ten employees; he later left the Company after more than 15 years but returned to Bread & Circus after it was acquired by Whole Foods Market. He quickly moved into regional management as the Northeast region’s vice president and then, in 1996, as president of the region. A.C. is currently President and COO, leading six of Whole Foods Market’s 12 regions. He is committed to sustainable agriculture and fostering the growth of foods with the purest ingredients.

Board Member

Angela Lorenzen

Angela is the Regional President of the Pacific Northwest region of Whole Foods Market. She began her career in natural foods 25 years ago in her hometown of Petaluma, CA. Since joining Whole Foods Market in 2000, she’s served in a wide range of positions at every level of the company and in multiple markets. She most recently led as VP Operations in Northern California, and now joins the Pacific Northwest team as Regional President in Summer, 2016.

Angela’s been recognized as a WFM Global All Star, and it’s her knack for identifying potential in individuals, teams and markets that keeps her curious and drives results. She comes from a big, food-loving Italian family which inspires her passion for cooking, gardening and travel. She enjoys camping, photography, volunteering at food banks, and supporting non-profit foundations that give dogs a second chance at life.

Board Member

Asim Shad

Asim’s retail career spans over twenty years, and began after graduating from Newcastle University with a BA (Hons) degree in Accounting & Finance. From there, Asim joined British fashion retailer Arcadia Group, where he successfully completed his professional CIMA/CGMA qualification. He then spent thirteen years at music retailer HMV Group plc in various finance leadership positions, including Head of Commercial Finance.

Asim joined Whole Foods Market in 2013, initially serving as Finance Director for the UK region, and more recently taking on a co-leadership role to head up the UK region. He was drawn to Whole Foods Market by its socially-responsible and stakeholder-focused core values, and also by WFM’s commitment to its higher purpose goals. His passion at Whole Foods Market is empowering and encouraging others to seek continuous improvement in their roles, and helping to establish a strong framework to deliver consistent results across the organization.

Outside of work, Asim is passionate about music, and is a keen gig-goer and record collector. His other interests include travel, photography, running, politics and the arts.

Asim serves on the board of Whole Planet Foundation, which is dedicated to alleviating poverty through the provision of microcredit across communities around the world.

Board Member

Bill Jordan

Bill Jordan has worked for Whole Foods Market for over 31 years. He began his career in Grocery as a courtesy clerk at Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Food Markets. Throughout his time at Whole Foods, Bill has worked his way through various roles, both in stores and regional. These roles balanced well in operations and purchasing from Associate Store Team Leader to Grocery Coordinator. He spent 29 years in the Southern Pacific region. In 2014 Bill moved into his current position as Rocky Mountain Regional President. Bill is devoted to the Whole Foods Market foundations. Bill and his wife, Meredith, have four children.

Board Member

Brooke Buchanan

Brooke is Global Vice President of Communications & Government Affairs for Whole Foods Market, Inc., which is America’s first national certified organic grocer and operates over 460 stores worldwide. She leads Whole Foods Market’s public relations, internal communications and government affairs efforts.

Brooke has previously served as Vice President of Communications at Theranos, Vice President of Public Relations for Williams-Sonoma and held multiple senior positions at Wal-Mart. Prior to her corporate experience, she spent over eight years in political and government communications. She has extensive experience in government affairs, having served as the National Press Secretary for the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008.

In her new role with Whole Foods, Brooke is bringing together our PR and Team Member Communications teams to create a strategic, comprehensive communications program advancing the company’s brand identity and broadening awareness of our company’s mission. In addition to the media relations and internal communications functions, she will have responsibility for government affairs and crisis communications. Brooke has recently relocated to Austin from San Francisco with her beautiful Golden Retriever, Lola.

Board Member

Glenda Flanagan

Glenda Flanagan is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Whole Foods Market, a publicly-traded company which is ranked #214 of the Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, FORTUNE magazine has ranked the Company on its “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 17 consecutive years – from the list’s inception in 1998 through today. Since Glenda joined Whole Foods as CFO in 1988, she has played a major role in the development of the Company as it has grown from six stores in the late 1980’s and going public in 1992, to 450 stores and more than $15 billion in sales today. In February 2015, Fortune Magazine cited Ms. Flanagan as the longest-sitting CFO among the then 58 women CFOs at Fortune 500 companies.. She is a member of the boards of directors of the three foundations sponsored by Whole Foods Market: Whole Planet Foundation, Whole Cities Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation. Additionally she is a member of the Board of Directors of two publicly-traded companies: since 2004 Credit Acceptance Corporation based in Detroit, MI, and since 2016 Fit Bit, Inc. based in San Francisco, CA.

Board Member

Jeff Teter

Jeff is the President and General Manager of Allegro Coffee Company. He brings with him more than 20 years of consumer packaged goods and beverage experience, most recently as Division Vice President at Constellation Brands. At CB, he revitalized several mature brands and introduced a series of new products which significantly improved bottom line performance for the company. Before that, he was President of Snapple Beverages of NYC, a subsidiary of Quaker Oats Company. From 1984 to 1995, Jeff was employed by Pepsi Cola Company, where he assumed marketing, sales and operational roles of increasing responsibility in different markets across the U.S.

Jeff joined Allegro to find a company closely connected to their roots, with the highest quality standards and a dedicated team member group that thoroughly enjoys and supports the spirit of the company.

Board Member

Jeff Turnas

Jeff Turnas is President of 365 by Whole Foods Market™. He was appointed to lead Whole Foods Market’s new retail store brand in June 2015. In this role, Turnas has overall responsibility for launching the streamlined, quality-meets-value store concept in locations across the U.S. His strong operational and product background, combined with his design acumen and passion for customer experience, food and overall excellence, make him the ideal leader for 365 by Whole Foods Market. The new stores are slated to open in 2016 and will offer convenience and quality with everyday low prices on natural and organic products that meet Whole Foods Market’s industry-leading quality standards.

After graduating from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, Turnas began his career at Merchant of Vino in Detroit in 1995 and joined Whole Foods Market when the companies merged in 1998. His first job with the company was as an associate store team leader in Chicago’s Lakeview store. He also worked as the regional specialty coordinator in the Mid-Atlantic Region before moving back to the Midwest to become the regional specialty coordinator. Turnas then spent two years as the regional vice president of purchasing in the Midwest Region, followed by two years working as the Northeast Region vice president of purchasing. From 2007 to 2009, Turnas served as president of the North Atlantic Region.

In March 2009, Turnas was named president of the then newly developed U.K. Region, which expanded into Scotland in November 2011, and continues to grow. He has leadership experience in five different regions, with a varied background in both operations and product buying and sourcing.

Turnas serves on the board of Whole Planet Foundation, which is dedicated to alleviating poverty through microcredit in communities around the world that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products. He will reside in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Megan, daughters Raina and Remi, and son, Rocco.

Board Member

Karen Christensen

Karen is currently Global Vice President of Procurement-Perishables for Whole Foods Market.

Karen joined Whole Foods Market in 1998 and recently started as the Global Vice President overseeing meat, seafood, and produce purchasing. For the last 6 years prior to becoming GVP, Karen served as the Regional Vice President of Whole Foods Market’s Northern California & Reno region. She originally started as a Regional Produce Buyer and quickly made her way to roles like Regional Produce Coordinator, Global Produce Buyer, and Global Produce Coordinator.  Karen is a true food visionary whose passion for Whole Foods Market’s mission and purpose allows her to be a champion for change and is excited to bring that enthusiasm to the perishable categories.

Co-Chairman of the Board

Lee Valkenaar

Lee Valkenaar has held various positions with the Company since 1987, including Store Team Leader, Vice President and President of the Southwest Region. Valkenaar served as president of the Mid-Atlantic Region from 2001 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2008, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Support, focusing on purchasing, marketing, and team member services. Since 2008, he has served as the Co-Chairman of the Board for Whole Planet Foundation.

Board Member

Michael Bashaw

Michael Bashaw is the Regional President of the Midwest Region of Whole Foods Market. His career with Whole Foods Market started 27 years ago as a Bread and Circus Team Member in the North Atlantic Region. As he moved up the ranks, opportunities within the company provided him with broad experience, working in stores in Northern California and along the East Coast. He moved from the North Atlantic Region to the Midwest Region in 1998.

In the Midwest Region, Michael led two of the company’s Chicagoland stores before moving to Toronto, Ontario, to open the Company’s first international store in 2002. In 2007, Michael was selected as the Midwest Region’s Construction Coordinator, overseeing the building of 10 new stores, plus completing two major store remodeling projects. His success in that position led to his promotion to the company’s first position as Vice President of Store Design and Development. Michael has been in his current role as Regional President since June 2009. Under his leadership the region has expanded from 21 to 59 stores.

Michael is a six-time Global All Star and twelve-time Regional All Star.

Board Member

Roberta Lang

Before retiring, Roberta Lang served as Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 500 company and the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Ms. Lang was responsible for a broad scope of corporate legal functions for the entire company and its 87,000 employees. Ms. Lang worked closely with the Whole Foods Market Executive and National Leadership Teams, as well as with Regional Coordinators and Team Members. She has been recognized three times as a Whole Foods Market “All*Star”, the company’s highest honor, for her overall outstanding performance as a dedicated, tireless team member who brings incredible intellect, seasoned perspective, understanding and balance to her professional life.

Prior to joining Whole Foods Market, Roberta practiced law in the Chicago area. She has been a legal consultant to several international corporations and has chaired both business and tax related bar association committees as well as serving as an arbitration judge. She is currently listed in Who’s Who of American Law and in the Who’s Who of American Business. She earned her undergraduate degree at Indiana University and her Juris Doctorate from the Valpraiso University School of Law. Roberta also serves on the UK and Canada Boards of Directors for Whole Planet Foundation.

Board President

Philip Sansone

Philip is the President and Executive Director of Whole Planet Foundation, overseeing operations, programmatic direction and financial management. Philip brings over 48 years of expertise and experience to the mission and operations of the Foundation. His diverse and far ranging background focuses on three distinct arenas in international development: entrepreneurship, subsistence agricultural cooperatives and microfinance in developing countries.

As an entrepreneur in Austin, Texas, Philip founded Book People – one of the largest independent bookstores in the country, where he continues to serve on the Book People Board of Directors. Philip was also the director of Multimedia, a business unit of Whole Foods Market’s Wholepeople.com and importer of indigenous arts and crafts from the developing world. In the international development arena, Philip managed community development projects in Latin America for the Peace Corps and USAID and in Afghanistan for a non-governmental organization.

In the 1970s as a subsistence agricultural cooperative specialist, Philip worked for seven years with small subsistence farmers in Latin America and more recently in Afghanistan to encourage farmers to choose alternatives to the opium poppy cultivation. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras where he worked with the Misquito Indians for almost three years on the Patuca River in La Mosquitia, and in Paraguay for four years helping to start agricultural cooperatives.

Philip has a BBA from Texas Tech University, is conversant in Spanish and can exchange basic pleasantries in Guarani and Misquito. Philip is a firm believer in the power of free markets, honest yet limited government and “conscious capitalism” to create prosperity and individual dignity. Philip also serves as chairman of the UK and Canada Boards of Directors for Whole Planet Foundation.

Board Member

Rob Twyman

Rob began his natural foods career in 1983, working at Bread & Circus in Wellesley, MA, as a summer job.  Several years after graduating from Indiana University, he opened a fast natural-foods restaurant, Kinetic Lunch in San Francisco which he ran for a couple of years before joining Whole Foods Market as a prepared foods team member in Mill Valley, CA in 1993.

Over the subsequent 22 years, Rob held various leadership positions at Whole Foods Market including Store Team Leader at seven stores – three of which were New York City’s highest-volume stores. He became the Northeast Regional Vice President in 2007 and Regional President for the NorCal & Reno Region in 2012.

Rob’s credits his passion for food to his year of study in France where he developed his appreciation for; quality, authenticity and terroir. Rob is an avid cyclist and enjoys cooking at home with his wife (and former WFM TM) Sonya and their twin boys, Bernave and Cristian.