Anna Aspenson
Identifying Stakeholders and Building Partnerships
Wednesday November 8 9:45 - 11:00 AM
Associate
Croatan Institute
Anna Aspenson is an Associate at Croatan Institute, where her work focuses on place-based agricultural solutions to rebuilding healthy ecosystems and communities. Before joining Croatan Institute, Aspenson worked as a program associate for Food System Policy at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, where she authored, “‘True’ Costs For Food System Reform: An Overview Of True Cost Accounting Literature And Initiatives” and co-authored, “Essential and in Crisis: A Review of the Public Health Threats Facing Farmworkers in the US.” Her work has also focused on agricultural research and development with ICARDA (CGIAR), as well as project management for community-driven food security initiatives in the highlands of Guatemala. Aspenson holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a BA from American University. She is based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Angela Blatt
Welcome & Overview
Wednesday November 8 9:00 - 9:15 AM
Director, Research & Technical Assistance
Council of Development Finance Agencies
As Director of Research & Technical Assistance with the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), Angela focuses on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded initiative “Defining the Food System Asset Class,” whereby CDFA explores opportunities for the advancement of local and regional food systems using development finance tools. Through this initiative, Angela collaborates with communities across the country providing technical assistance and producing strategic plans for development finance strategies that meet infrastructure, agriculture, and small business needs to support equitable, local food economies. Angela leads CDFA’s Food Systems Finance Advisory Council, joining both the food and finance industries, administers CDFA’s Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, connecting food-related businesses and projects with development finance agencies, and manages the Food and Agriculture Finance Update monthly newsletter. In 2021, she gained certification as a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) through the CDFA Training Institute.
A Navy Veteran, Angela holds two degrees from The Ohio State University: a Master of Public Administration with a focus on Food Policy from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, and a Bachelor of Science from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Rachel Bridenstine
Federal Financing Programs
Wednesday November 8 2:45 - 4:00 PM
Vice President
Development Finance Authority of Summit County
Rachel Bridenstine manages two mission driven 501(c)(3) organizations (staffed and supported by Development Finance Authority of Summit County) that are focused on access to capital for distressed areas and disadvantaged businesses in Northeast Ohio. Through these entities, Rachel manages investments of over $150M, resulting in over a thousand permanent quality jobs to distressed communities. She is responsible for both organizations’ financial and business processes as well as oversees all investments and their outcome tracking, program compliance monitoring, fiscal compliance monitoring and program reporting. She works closely with borrowers, investors, other CDFIs, and government, business, and community agencies. Rachel also prepares and disseminates information and training to communities and businesses – specifically regarding finance tools for Low Income Communities and disadvantaged businesses. She is a frequent speaker for seminars hosted by the Council for Development Finance Agencies, and recently was a consultant and presenter for New Growth Innovation Network who performed research on economic and community development occurring in small and mid-size cities for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Within her tenure, Rachel has worked to structure and manage multiple programs for the Greater Akron Community including: The Akron Community Revitalization Fund, The Minority Contractors Capital Access Program, The Summit County Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and The Akron Resiliency Fund, bringing unique financing tools to Summit County.
Rachel has 10+ years of experience in accounting, community/economic finance (including tax credits, bond financing, small business lending, and other federal funding programs), management, development, and marketing. She has worked in the non-profit sector and other community outreach organizations in the Akron area. Rachel currently serves on the board of the Akron Civic Theatre, The Well CDC, Greater Akron Chamber’s Equity and Inclusion Committee & MBE/WBE Subcommittee, volunteers as a Middlebury Neighborhood Network Member, and Children’s Choir director and musician at her church. She was recently one of the recipients of the 30 for the Future awards through the Greater Akron Chamber.
Rachel graduated from Hiram College with additional coursework completed at The University of Akron and resides in Akron with her family.
Joseph Bute
Identifying Stakeholders and Building Partnerships
Wednesday November 8 9:45 - 11:00 AM
President
Food21
Joe has over forty years’ experience in both direct organization and business management as well as an investor in small and lower market businesses throughout the United States.
He began his professional career as the Director of Community Services for the American Friends Service Committee in Chicago where he learned how to design and develop innovative programs that were responsive to the neighborhood challenges across the Midwest Region. During his tenure he developed programs to address public welfare reform, public education, criminal justice, rural economic development and youth employment. He was a senior manager for urban programs for the YMCA in both Chicago and Oakland, California; led one of the largest neighborhood organizations in Chicago and came to Pittsburgh to turnaround the largest community development corporation in the city.
He went on to engage in business assistance and development starting with developing a nationally recognizeddistressed business program for the state of Pennsylvania before joining with the first of three business investment companies – American Capital Strategies, Gladstone Capital and FNB Capital Partners. During his private sector investing career he evaluated well over 500 business opportunities, invested over $200 million in debt and equity and participated in the oversight of a twenty company portfolio during this period. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco with an undergraduate degree in Public Management. He has lived and worked in the Pittsburgh area since 1989.
Carmel Deane
Lunch Session: Sources of Capital for Food Systems
Wednesday November 8 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Senior Loan Officer
PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation)
Carmel Deane joined PIDC in 2018 and has over 13 years of experience in finance and economic development. PIDC is Philadelphia’s public private economic development corporation and has financing resources to serve the unique needs of businesses, nonprofits, and real estate developers, including those that are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), women-, veteran-, immigrant-, disabled-, and LGBTQ+ owned and operated. As Senior Loan Officer on the Business Lending Team, Carmel is responsible for leading PIDC’s underwriting of loans to small and midsize commercial businesses in Philadelphia. Her portfolio consists of business and economic development loans ranging from $50,000 to $2 million. Over the last five years, Carmel has underwritten more than 100 loans totaling more than $20 million in financing. Carmel has special expertise in delivering flexible financing to small businesses within Philadelphia’s food sectors. She has underwritten $5 million in financing to restaurants, food co-ops, grocers, and food manufacturers. She holds a Degree in Finance from University College Cork in Ireland.
Linda Jo Doctor
Foundations and Program Related Investments
Wednesday November 8 1:45 - 2:45 PM
Program Officer
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Linda Jo Doctor is a program officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, she develops programming priorities, manages a portfolio of active grants, and designs and implements national programming. She co- leads the Foundation’s efforts to promote equitable, sustainable, and resilient food systems. Previously, Ms. Doctor was deputy director for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Program Office housed at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She also directed the Division of Prevention at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Ms. Doctor received her Master of Public Health degree from Boston University School of Public Health and a Masters of Philanthropic Studies from the Lily Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. She previously served as a board member of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders.
Jen Faigel
Innovative Financing Strategies for Food Systems
Wednesday November 8 11:15 - 12:00 PM
Executive Director
CommonWealth Kitchen
Jen Faigel is co-founder and Executive Director of CommonWealth Kitchen, Greater Boston’s non-profit food business incubator and food business development center. CWK provides shared-use kitchens combined with wrap-around business and technical support, and coordinated market access to more than 50 diverse food companies annually. CWK also operates its own small-batch manufacturing operation, working with emerging brands to help scale production, providing on-demand processing for farms, and producing a range of custom products for institutional customers.
Under Jen’s leadership, CWK was named Best Incubator by Boston Magazine, and a Game-Changer by The Boston Globe. Jen was recognized by The Globe as a nonprofit leader to watch, and is a 2019 Barr Foundation Fellow.
Before joining CWK, Jen worked for 20+ years doing mission-based real estate development. Jen helped develop or stabilize more than 1,000 affordable homes, and developed over 250,000 SF of commercial space. Jen’s motto in life is that it’s not about how high you climb or how fast you run, but how well you bounce!
Samantha Gibb
What is a Food System?
Wednesday November 8 9:15 - 9:45 AM
Senior Associate
The Food Trust
Samantha Gibb works with The Food Trust as the Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Farm to School Network - a collaborative working to ensure every child in Pennsylvania is meaningfully connected to and nourished by thriving and resilient community food systems. Samantha coordinates with a variety of stakeholders throughout PA including state agency staff, food policy councils, child nutrition program directors and operators, farmers, producers and community members to increase farm to school activities. Farm to school includes procuring PA-grown produce to serve to kids, providing food and agriculture education, and managing school gardens. Samantha has 15 years of community organizing experience working on a variety of environmental, public health, and democracy-related grassroots campaigns. Samantha grew up in Wisconsin surrounded by farms and fresh produce and eating delicious food cooked by her father - a professional chef. She now lives in Philadelphia where she continues a family tradition of scratch cooking with farm fresh food!
Jared Grissinger
Lunch Session: Sources of Capital for Food Systems
Wednesday November 8 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Project Manager
Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development
Jared has 19 years of professional experience with the Commonwealth, joining the Department of Community and Economic Development in 2016 as a project manager with the Pennsylvania Governor’s Action Team, a group of high-level economic development professionals working on the front line of Pennsylvania’s business attraction and retention activities. He previously headed the economic development division at the PA Department of Agriculture working with farms and agribusinesses through business development, loans, grants and business transition assistance. Jared attended the Pennsylvania State University. He is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Gray Harris
Federal Financing Programs
Wednesday November 8 2:45 - 4:00 PM
Senior Advisor, Food System Finance
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Gray Harris is the senior adviser for food system finance at Rural Business–Cooperative Service at USDA RD, where she helps to develop and oversees food supply chain programs and the overall food system strategy at the Agency. Prior to this role, Gray developed and led the agriculture and food system finance and business strategy for a rural Community Development Financial Institution in Maine, growing a portfolio from $200,000 to over $45 million in loans and investments in over 140 farm and food businesses in Maine and the New England region. This included establishing the Catalyst Fund, an early-stage place-based equity fund for emerging food businesses that sourced from Maine sustainable agricultural and seafood producers, and invested $2 million in 13 Maine and New England food companies, accounting for 160 jobs. In addition, Gray created impact programs providing Federal Covid-19 relief funding to Maine farmers and food supply chain businesses in partnership with public and private partners. Gray has contributed strategic leadership on many boards to build a strong and resilient local food economy that benefits farmers, supply chain businesses and consumers.
Molly Hartman
Lunch Session: Sources of Capital for Food Systems
Wednesday November 8 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Program Director, Healthy Food Financing Initiative
Reinvestment Fund
Molly Hartman (she/her) is Senior Program Director for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. She provides senior leadership and oversight for the national HFFI program and other national, regional, and local food systems programs at Reinvestment Fund. With over 15 years of experience in community development and food systems, she has worked as a Senior Advisor for Food Policy in the Office of the Mayor of New York City, at a national public health organization, and for a community development intermediary and mission-driven lender. Molly serves on the Advisory Board for the Rural Grocery Initiative. She has a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Southern California and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
Vince Mangini
Identifying Stakeholders and Building Partnerships
Wednesday November 8 9:45 - 11:00 AM
Capital Development
Food21
Working with Food21 has allowed Vince Mangini’s life to come full circle and back to where he spent his formidable days working on his family’s farm as well as their restaurant. Prior to Food21 he was Managing Director/Partner in AGSM Ventures, a venture capital firm based out of State College, PA. His primary responsibilities there included nurturing relationships with current and prospective high net worth investors and institutional capital resources as well as sourcing, qualifying, negotiating and closing new venture capital opportunities.
Before venturing into private equity Vince managed a number of family owned businesses. He was President of Crabtree Oil Company, a privately held fuel oil and gas distribution business, Carbone's Restaurant, an 80 year old landmark restaurant and the Carbone Farm.
His work as the Value Chain Coordinator for Food21’s Ag Group will allow him to tap into his extensive business and social network and use some of the people skills he honed touring the country as a stand-up comedian working with the likes of Drew Carey, Norm MacDonald, Dana Gould and Ray Romano. He was a contributing writer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Dennis Miller Show and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
He also served as an advertising consultant for humorous ad campaigns and penned over 100 television commercial scripts. Vince is also credited with ghostwriting two books and acting as the head writer of the documentaries CRUDE: The story of Pithole, PA and The Allegheny River.
Vince is an honors graduate of Bethany College with a B. A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Economics, Psychology and Communications. He resides in the bucolic hamlet of Crabtree, PA. He enjoys spending his free time coaching lacrosse at Saint Vincent College.
Rita Ouimet
What is a Food System?
Wednesday November 8 9:15 - 9:45 AM
Project Coordinator
The Food Trust
Rita Ouimet (she/her) is a Project Coordinator on the Healthy Food Financing Initiatives team at The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit. She currently helps to facilitate the financing of independent food retailers - with grants and loans to grocers in underserved, low income neighborhoods - through programs like the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (PA FFFI) and other HFFIs in Kansas and Massachusetts. As an application evaluator, Rita conducts location-based quantitative and qualitative data analyses and has developed a nuanced understanding of food insecurity in under-resourced communities. She is passionate about community-centered development and public policy solutions that promote access, affordability and education around healthy food. Rita has 11 years of experience in the food industry and has a BA in Sociology and Sustainability from SUNY University at Albany.