Our Board
If you are interested in becoming a part of the Locavore board, please email info@centraloregonlocavore.org.
Meet Our Board
NICOLLE (NIKI) TIMM-BRANCH
President and Founder
Niki is the founder of Central Oregon Locavore and a Bend native who grew up eating fresh seasonal produce from her mother’s garden and enjoying fresh raw milk from the local co-op, as well as various local foods of all kinds.
After earning a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University in Ashland, Nicolle moved to Denver where she worked as a labor and delivery nurse in a large, high-profile hospital. It didn’t take long for her to become disillusioned with city life and she soon found herself working part-time on a raw milk dairy near Boulder where she became reacquainted with the local food scene.
Since Nicolle’s return to Bend, she has made many good friends among the farmers and local-food advocates of Central Oregon. Seeing a need to support the local economy and food movement, Nicolle assisted in forming a small food co-op, which transformed and evolved into the current nonprofit, Central Oregon Locavore.
Nicolle is a firm believer that we have to be the change we want to see in the world and is actively trying to take steps to create a more balanced, loving, sustainable and earth-friendly society. In addition to founding Central Oregon Locavore, Nicolle currently works at St Charles Medical Center in Bend and Redmond as a labor and delivery nurse. Nicolle recently became a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and is now part of the lactation team at SCMC, which is headed by her mother!
Nicolle’s dream is to bring the local food movement to the forefront and reconnect everyone with the importance of local food.
After earning a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University in Ashland, Nicolle moved to Denver where she worked as a labor and delivery nurse in a large, high-profile hospital. It didn’t take long for her to become disillusioned with city life and she soon found herself working part-time on a raw milk dairy near Boulder where she became reacquainted with the local food scene.
Since Nicolle’s return to Bend, she has made many good friends among the farmers and local-food advocates of Central Oregon. Seeing a need to support the local economy and food movement, Nicolle assisted in forming a small food co-op, which transformed and evolved into the current nonprofit, Central Oregon Locavore.
Nicolle is a firm believer that we have to be the change we want to see in the world and is actively trying to take steps to create a more balanced, loving, sustainable and earth-friendly society. In addition to founding Central Oregon Locavore, Nicolle currently works at St Charles Medical Center in Bend and Redmond as a labor and delivery nurse. Nicolle recently became a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and is now part of the lactation team at SCMC, which is headed by her mother!
Nicolle’s dream is to bring the local food movement to the forefront and reconnect everyone with the importance of local food.
Alexandra Lustig
Board Member
I'm Alex! 👋🏼 I'm new to Bend. We love it so far and one of the main reasons is that we've been able to shrink the circle of where our food comes from. I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver in 2020 and it solidified my increasing desire to eat locally. My family has always eaten organic and paid attention to what we are putting into our bodies but it wasn't until that book that I truly understood the carbon footprint of "what's in your fridge." I believe that eating locally is good for our bodies, our immediate community, and ultimately for the planet. The mission of the Locavore aligns with my values wonderfully.
I am an entrepreneur - my business partner and I own a company called Learn Grant Writing, where we teach people how to build careers in grant writing. If a grant writing class had a baby with an MBA, that would be our program. I believe the skills that I have acquired through entrepreneurship would lend well to serving as a board member.
I am an entrepreneur - my business partner and I own a company called Learn Grant Writing, where we teach people how to build careers in grant writing. If a grant writing class had a baby with an MBA, that would be our program. I believe the skills that I have acquired through entrepreneurship would lend well to serving as a board member.
KAREN SHEPARD
Board Member
Karen comes to us with 30+ years experience in the non-profit healthcare financial sector, most recently serving as the CFO of St. Charles Bend. After retirement, Karen returned to school and obtained a degree in nutrition through the Nutritional Therapy Association and provides nutritional consultation services.
Karen is a long time Locavore member, supporter, and avid shopper at the marketplace. Karen's passion for local food, experience with non profit financial management, and keen discernment make us feel like we just won the board member lottery.
Karen is a long time Locavore member, supporter, and avid shopper at the marketplace. Karen's passion for local food, experience with non profit financial management, and keen discernment make us feel like we just won the board member lottery.
Angela Switzer
Board Member
With her husband Aaron, Angela Switzer owns the Source Weekly, Central Oregon’s independent weekly newspaper, as well as the community events company, Lay It Out Events,
producer of Winterfest, Summerfest, Fall Fest and several local races. For the past 26 years she has served as controller of the companies, as well as editor of the offshoot publication, Bend Nest parenting magazine.
Angela comes to the board with a love of fresh and local foods, a passion for sustainable farming practices and a desire to support humane practices regarding meat and egg production. In her spare time, Angela can be found living the healthy Oregon lifestyle, spending
time with her family and fur buddies in the great outdoors, concocting in the kitchen and puttering in her garden.
producer of Winterfest, Summerfest, Fall Fest and several local races. For the past 26 years she has served as controller of the companies, as well as editor of the offshoot publication, Bend Nest parenting magazine.
Angela comes to the board with a love of fresh and local foods, a passion for sustainable farming practices and a desire to support humane practices regarding meat and egg production. In her spare time, Angela can be found living the healthy Oregon lifestyle, spending
time with her family and fur buddies in the great outdoors, concocting in the kitchen and puttering in her garden.
Matt Siegel
Board Member
My background is in business development and large scale event production, and I became incredibly passionate about food system redesign while living abroad for most of 8 years. For the last 6 years, I have been working with unique small farm properties seeking to integrate regenerative practices. As an initial layer, I help farms diversify their revenue streams by incorporating farm-hospitality activity and scaling vertically up the supply chain. I also work on development strategy and fundraising for some unique ag properties that are working on more complicated models like "agrihoods" and education centers.
Matt is a land project developer with a focus and long history in regenerative hospitality & experience design. He is currently collaborating with mission aligned property owners, helping across multiple stages of development including building out diverse market ready revenue streams. He is experienced in fundraising strategy and diligence, and has helped close over $15M in funds, both for his own projects and as a strategy consultant.
Matt has over a decade of expertise in experiential event production and regenerative hospitality. He is a founder of The Mushroom Farm, an experiential farm in Pescadero, CA, where he led its development strategy, as well as the launch of its resident non-profit program, Rhize. Most notably, he co-founded Envision Festival in Costa Rica where he served as CEO and led its growth to an 8,000+ person annual event with attendees from over 50 countries. Matt has designed and launched 'experiential farm' event-hospitality businesses at both The Mushroom Farm in California, and Common Ground Kauai. He also produces and co-hosts an annual regenerative leadership summit on Kaua'i - www.Join-ICWF.com
Matt has over a decade of expertise in experiential event production and regenerative hospitality. He is a founder of The Mushroom Farm, an experiential farm in Pescadero, CA, where he led its development strategy, as well as the launch of its resident non-profit program, Rhize. Most notably, he co-founded Envision Festival in Costa Rica where he served as CEO and led its growth to an 8,000+ person annual event with attendees from over 50 countries. Matt has designed and launched 'experiential farm' event-hospitality businesses at both The Mushroom Farm in California, and Common Ground Kauai. He also produces and co-hosts an annual regenerative leadership summit on Kaua'i - www.Join-ICWF.com
COLLEEN MILLER
Board Member
Colleen has been involved in the community both professionally and through volunteer efforts since moving to Bend in 2004.
Colleen works with a talented team of data analysts at the City of Bend - a position that has allowed her to become intimately familiar with many of the challenges and opportunities in our community. She's an avid gardener who believes that eating locally-produced, sustainable food is not only good for our health but good for our environment and community as a whole.
When she's not tending to her veggie garden, you'll find Colleen out on the trails or at a local learning or networking event.
Colleen works with a talented team of data analysts at the City of Bend - a position that has allowed her to become intimately familiar with many of the challenges and opportunities in our community. She's an avid gardener who believes that eating locally-produced, sustainable food is not only good for our health but good for our environment and community as a whole.
When she's not tending to her veggie garden, you'll find Colleen out on the trails or at a local learning or networking event.
Wolfgang
Board Member
Wolfgang came to Bend after several years living in Arizona and brings to the board his background in project management and execution. An avid cook and local food enthusiast, he first discovered Locavore in search of some quality meats and has been smitten ever since. Wolfgang is excited to see Locavore continue to expand the understanding, availability, and viability of the local food ecosystem to build a more resilient and healthy community. When not shopping at Locavore, you can find him in his art studio or rock climbing out at Smith Rock.