Board directors are elected for three-year terms. The first year in each listing is the year the Board director was elected.
Ceci Lopez | 2016–2023 | Board Chair | Board Development Committee Chair
As a long-term Bellingham resident, I continue to see the Food Co-op as a key institution in our county and this continues to inspire my involvement with the Board. As a first-generation immigrant to this country, I bring a multi-cultural perspective to the board. My professional training as a lawyer (UW ’11 & ’12) and my scholarly work in critical legal theory are assets that help me ground my contributions and understanding of the work the Board does and how it is done. I have gained a tremendous understanding of Board governance from my time on the Board, especially in my role as chair. My hope is to continue growing with the Co-op and adapting to the changing needs of our community in ways that represent the membership and the community at large.
I appreciate and support the continuous efforts of the Co-op to provide clean, just, and sustainable sources of food in a way that works with the earth and maximizes our human values.
James Erb | 2021–2024 | Board Vice Chair | Board Development Committee
I really enjoy serving on the Board and the Board Development Committee. My family has been members of the Co-op since we relocated to Bellingham. We share the Co-op’s vision to create a just and livable world with a sustainable economy founded on informed choice and cooperative values. We also enjoy the great selection of quality products offered by the Co-op, including the many delicious gluten-free items. The GF Tiramisu from the bakery is incomparable.
While I am now a public service lawyer currently working in the Bellingham City Attorney’s Office, I worked numerous jobs in the service and hospitality industries before and during college and law school. I have great appreciation and respect for the management team at the Co-op as well as the staff that works hard every day to serve members. I am glad to be a part of the team.
Joseph Correa | 2022–2023 | Board Development Committee
I come to the Co-op board with experience as a member of several boards and advisory committees around the country and having worked with international organizations on community development in several countries. I earned a PhD from the University of Washington and have several other advanced degrees in disciplines related to business and organizational development. As a retired professor, I continue to actively serve my community, contributing what I have learned from many years of teaching courses in business management, strategic management, diversity management, board development, and organizational development.
I recognize that a member-owned organization has to balance fiduciary responsibilities, membership preferences, customer need for healthy affordable products, survival in a competitive grocery market, just and fair dealings with suppliers, and a supportive relationship with the community, and I will strive to ensure the Co-op maintains this balance.
Adrienne Renz | 2022–2025 | Board Development Committee
One of my first introductions to Bellingham in 1996 was meeting someone for lunch at the Co-op Deli (aka. Swan Cafe). Since that first lunch, the Co-op has been an anchor point for me through work and home life and I am so happy to continue this connection by serving on the Board of Directors. I have had the pleasure of working at the Co-op for 10 years, first as the Marketing and Outreach Manager and then as the General Manager. I am a big picture thinker at heart and put my skills and passion into action by looking toward the future of our Community Food Co-op while striving to maintain what makes it uniquely different.
Outside of my Co-op role, one can most often find me with my family, one of our dogs, or working in the garden watching the changing of the seasons. Full disclosure, as a Colorado native I still have not fully learned to appreciate the wet winters of Bellingham so much of my summer is spent soaking up every moment of sun and warmth that can be found.
RJ Halloran | 2021–2024 | MAC Chair | Member Affairs Committee
I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, but I knew from the moment I took Exit 252 to tour Western Washington University that I wanted to make Bellingham my home. I graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology in 2017 and spent time after graduating traveling to Southeast Asia, the UK, and Ireland before eventually returning to Bellingham in 2020.
My friendly disposition, as well as my experience connecting folks from all walks of life is an asset to the Member Affairs Committee, where I support ongoing efforts to engage with the Co-op membership and the community. As a professional dumpling slinger at Pel’meni, I get to interact with a wide variety of downtown shoppers, and since I’m usually eating lunch from the Co-Op Deli, I often find myself preaching the benefits of a great local grocery store. I love starting my day with a Yam & Roasted Red Pepper Burrito, and organic Yerba Mate and coffee have fueled many double shifts and outdoor adventures. Whether on a SUP or snowboard, I love getting out and about in Whatcom County and utilizing our trails and waterways to their fullest!
Being the youngest member of the Board, I feel I have a duty to represent WWU students and recent alumni, especially those who live within walking distance of the Co-op. I firmly believe in the Co-op’s strategic goal of “Access to Healthy Food” and feel that everyone has the right to nutritious, affordable sustenance; regardless of age, mobility, housing status, or income level. As a wise man once said, everybody eats!
Margaret Gerard | 2016–2025 | Member Affairs Committee
As one of the longest-standing Board directors, I am committed to contributing to a thriving local food system. What we eat has a huge impact on all life. I strive to facilitate eating that has a positive impact on the consumer, the grower, and the earth. I have worked toward this goal by being an organic farmer for 13 years, a member of the Whatcom County Food System Committee, and a farmers market board member. As a Board director, I work to preserve and strengthen the Co-op’s focus on food and farming issues.
The local food system development goal interests me most. As a health promoter of people and the planet, I see that the two are inextricably connected. Food grown in a manner that feeds the soil, and that is grown close to home, is what makes our bodies and our environment thrive. A vibrant local food system is a necessary component of that picture. I enjoy applying my knowledge of the local food system to contribute to the Co‐op’s goal of strengthening this system.
Randy Rydel | 2018–2024 | Finance Committee Chair
As a longtime Community Food Co-op member, I am thrilled by the current strategic plan and excited to serve on the Board of Directors working to implement the organization's long term goals. I am a Certified Public Accountant and thrive on numbers, so I enjoy the challenge of balancing the Co-op’s goals of providing healthy food access to all while still maintaining its economic resiliency.
On a workday, you will find me sitting in front of a computer, managing the finances of the Whatcom County Public Works department. When I am not computer-bound, I may be found with my family riding the trails up at Galbraith, enjoying the cool waters of Lake Whatcom, or exploring our National Parks, most likely with an organic apple in hand.
Laura Weiss | 2019–2025 | Finance Committee
My favorite thing about the Co-op? The bulk section! I am a waste-conscious shopper so buying in bulk and using my own containers means our household creates less trash!
I am recently retired but spent most of my career working on environmental policy and advocacy in the non-profit and government sectors. Before retiring, I started and ran a mission-driven business in Portland to reduce waste from single-use take-out containers.
I have served on the Finance Committee for the last 3 years, which has given me an appreciation for what it takes for a grocery store like the Co-op to successfully manage its financial health.
I believe the Co-op plays an increasingly important role in providing local, healthy food while supporting a sustainable environment and economy. I am looking forward to working with the Board on a new Strategic Plan that will guide us into the next 5-10 years. I hope we can continue to play a leadership role in promoting the growth of sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, waste reduction and resource conservation.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking, biking, taking yoga and ballet classes, and spending time in my garden.
TQ Nguyen (Staff Director) | 2020–2023 | Finance Committee
I started shopping at the Co-op in the late '80s. A newcomer to American life, my experiences with inclusivity and acceptance at the Co-op informed my education about the organized power of consumer-led ethical businesses to support the occasionally conflicting needs of individuals and communities and at the same time foster sustainable, responsible economic growth.
I have worked in several U.S. cities and in Vietnam, where I co-managed several entrepreneurial businesses. Working for corporate businesses, nonprofits, activist groups, and independent film ventures, I gained insight into how some organizations accomplished and demonstrated actual good, while others intended good work but were not effective. Through smaller business ventures and anti-poverty and environmental advocacy work, I learned that well-targeted, assistance-focused organizing strategies and smart policies could do much to lift individual circumstances and build capacity for organizations. Currently, I am a member of the Co-op’s Pricing Team.
My approach is nuts-and-bolts because I love the creative challenge of realizing passionate ideals for a just world. I am a pragmatic dreamer; capacity building, inclusive problem solving, and inspired efficiencies excite me!
