Meet Our 2022 Board of Directors
Ali Cole, Exec Board Chair
Ali is an entrepreneur and dreamer with experience in the natural foods and design industries. Most recently she was the founder and CEO of Farinata Project, an artisan food company that introduced and sold Italian chickpea flatbread to the American market. Prior to Farinata Project, Ali worked extensively with restauranteurs, designers and producers in art and design where she spent many years focused on branding, marketing, and PR. Inspired by recreating the old into new, she is often found rummaging through thrift shops, used books and old magazines seeking inspiration for the next creative twitch. Ali currently lives in Chicago with her two kids and Husky tripod.
Jackie DeSana, Exec Board Membership Chair
Jackie is an attorney in Chicago. Growing up in a big Armenian family, Jackie’s life has always been centered around good food and home cooking. She did not discover her own love for the act of cooking until she was in law school and decided to go vegetarian. After spending her weekends during law school brainstorming and executing ways to turn her favorite recipes into meatless masterpieces, cooking became an important stress release and creative outlet in her life. Jackie wants to help others find the empowerment that comes with cooking healthier, from scratch meals for themselves and starting a food blog, Almost Like Moms as a means to share her recipes. Jackie was previously a volunteer coordinator and recruiter for First Defense Legal Aid, an organization that provides legal advice to individuals in Chicago police custody. She is looking forward to using these skills in her position as Member Chair for Slow Food Chicago. In her spare time Jackie loved yoga, going to the park with her husband and dog, watching re-runs Always Sunny, and planning her next vacation!
Jennifer Norsworthy, Exec Board Food Justice + Policy
Jennifer, MPH, RDN, LDN is a nutrition expert, educator, and leader with 5 plus years of experience working in community and healthcare settings. She is an advocate of regenerative agricultural and food sovereignty. She currently works as the Community Food Access Manager for the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Chicago (CLOCC) and the Healthy Food Program Manager for West Side United (WSU) where she manages food access and nutrition education initiatives. Prior to joining the CLOCC and WSU teams, Jennifer worked as a clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) where she oversaw dietetic technicians and food service employees in acute and long term healthcare facilities.
Camille Veri, Exec Board Treasurer
Camille Veri joined the Slow Food Chicago Board of Directors as Treasurer in 2020. She brings an enthusiasm for good food both in her personal and professional life. After studying food policy in graduate school and working with Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, a community food resource center in Bloomington, Indiana, Camille became committed to the Slow Food values of good, clean, and fair food for all. She currently works as Grants Manager at Common Threads, a national cooking and nutrition education provider, and previously worked with Chicago’s Green City Market. Camille enjoys baking, devouring food-focused journalism and film, and exploring the restaurants and food traditions of Chicago and the cities she visits.
Brekke Bounds, preSERVE Garden + Events
Brekke first got excited about the role that food plays in our lives after working at a summer camp on a farm more than a decade ago. She became fascinated with the idea of locally and sustainably grown food and how food connects all of us. That led her to pursue a Masters in Sustainable Food Systems and to study permaculture. Brekke is an educator through several environmental and gardening/good food organizations in the Chicagoland area and is excited to dig into her new role on the board. Her hobbies include reading, playing outside, karaoke, studying herbalism, and growing as much of her own food as she can.
Chelsea Huson, Ark of Taste + Snail of Approval
Chelsea fell in love with the Slow Food movement while getting her Master's in Food Culture and Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, also known as the Slow Food University, in Pollenzo, Italy. After a year spent traveling, studying food and eating her weight in pasta and cheese (for the sake of research, of course!), she returned to the US to play a part in building a better food system. Throughout her career Chelsea has lived, learned, and worked around the world, expanding her food knowledge along the way. Most recently, she worked for the nonprofit FamilyFarmed, managing their Good Food Accelerator program and supporting emerging food entrepreneurs. In her spare time, Chelsea loves running around the city, wandering farmer's markets, cooking up curious concoctions with the best seasonal and local produce, and photographing/writing about farms, food and animals (mostly goats). You can follow her food adventures on instagram @chelscall.
Molly Schemper, Events
Molly Schemper is a co-founder of FIG Catering, a Pilsen-based boutique caterer, that provides seasonal hand-crafted menus, personal service, and event planning for intimate events. Growing up on a farm-to-table restaurant (before that was a term) in Southwest Michigan with “hippie” parents, Molly’s personal ethos informed the direction of FIG so sourcing the freshest food from local farmers was always a priority. Before venturing off on her own, Molly worked in marketing for a small advertising agency and as a personal chef/crew member aboard private yachts. Molly’s knowledge of marketing and optimizing productivity have served her well as FIG grows, but she still enjoys the busyness of working behind a bar, on the floor, or in the kitchen to make an event flow flawlessly. For over ten years, Molly has explored creative and sustainable approaches to catering and she is excited to be helping Slow Food Chicago curate awesome events.
