Members of the Specialty Food Association and others in the trade nominate individuals for the Leadership Awards. A panel
of judges composed of industry experts and inf luencers selected the six honorees from dozens of nominees across the three cat-
egories. A special thanks to the 2017 judges: Erin Alston, City Harvest; Linda Appel Lipsius, Teatulia; Cathy Cochran Lewis,
Whole Foods Market; Meg Escoba, SVN; Kimberly Jung, Rumi Spice; John Raiche, UNFI; and Bill Ward, Boston University.
T
he Specialty Food Association and Specialty Food Magazine present
the winners of the fifth annual Leadership Awards, honoring industry
frontrunners in the realms of Business Leadership, Citizenship, and Vision.
These leaders' efforts range from spearheading the organic milk move-
ment in the U.S. to supporting sustainable rice farming around the globe.
BY JULIE BESONEN
THE AWARDS
Winners were chosen in three categories:
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
For advancing best
practices in the food
industry across the spectrum
of workforce issues to benefit
food industry personnel
CITIZENSHIP
For improving the lives of
people and communities by
advancing environmental and
social sustainability knowledge
and practices
VISION
For pioneering new
approaches, innovative
products, and business models
that have set in motion positive
change and progress
OUTSTANDING
LEADERS
LEADERSHIP
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22 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com
THE YEAR'S