Staff and Board

Staff

Sam Norris | Executive Director

  • Favorite Food: Pesto Education/Experience: B.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics, Concentrations in Business Management and Sustainability. Small-scale livestock farming and large-scale grain elevator management. Prior to COVID I was a Community Economic Development Facilitator for the U.S. Peace Corps in East Timor, where I worked with a local NGO to educate young adults on sustainable agriculture practices. 

Kelsey Iversen-Cartwright | Americorps VISTA

  • This year I am the Community Engagement Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA at the Food Bank. This is a year long position from September 2021 to 2022. During my time, I have been focused on building capacity at the food bank, from everything such as social media outreach to volunteer recruitment. I encourage positive nutrition options for clients, and help support dignity in our food bank through our grocery-style shopping model. I am also here to help our Executive Director, Sam Norris, with any tasks I can. I graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Political Science, with an interest in Public Administration and the Non-Profit sector. 
    My favorite food is all types of cheese!

Board of Directors

Paula Graham | President

Noelle Beecroft | Vice President

  • Noelle moved up to East Whatcom County from Texas in 2020 after college for a year long AmeriCorps position at the food bank. She decided to stick around and is now the Program Coordinator for WSU Whatcom County Extension SNAP-Ed where she teaches and supports nutrition education across the county. She has her B.S. in Food and Nutrition Science with a focus on Family and Childhood Development and has been involved in food bank work since high school. After growing up utilizing EBT/SNAP, she is passionate about healthy food access and believes that it is a right, not a privilege. When she isn’t working, she is out fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, or foraging with her dog Georgia. Her favorite food is mushrooms and peaches!
  • For SNAP-Ed/nutrition programing related questions email: Noelle.beecroft@wsu.edu

Cheryl Thompson | Treasurer

  • Cheryl was born and raised in Abbotsford, BC, but has made Whatcom County her home since 1984. She lives in Glacier Springs with her partner, Jim, their basset hound, Sarge and 2 cats, Smokey and Dasher. At her day job, Cheryl is the store manager at Crossroads Grocery in Maple Falls. She likes connecting people with good food.  A champion of local and sustainable food systems, Cheryl believes that all our Foothills residents deserve to eat healthy foods, every day, regardless of income level or life circumstances. 

Holly O’Neil | Secretary

  • Holly was a co-founder of the Foothills Community Food Partnership in 2013. Her favorite food is mashed potatoes. Holly has served as the facilitator for the Whatcom Anti Hunger Coalition for over two decades and resides in East Whatcom County.

Sean D’Agnolo | Board Member/Farmer Advocate

  • Sean’s favorite food is goat milk, he show up for meetings and occasionally answer emails, he has his B.S. in literature and he is an awesome local farmer, as of 2022 it is his 5th year on the board.