Portland Food Co-op
Board of Directors

The Portland Food Co-op is owned by people in the community – over 6,500 in total!  Obviously, having that many Member-Owners trying to directly manage a business would be impossible. Instead, the Member-Owners elect a Board of Directors to govern the organization on their behalf.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall governance of the Co-op. Directors are elected every spring and serve three-year terms. The Board meets once a month, and Board meetings are open to all Member-Owners. Those interested in running for the Board are strongly advised to attend at least one Board meeting to learn more about leadership within the Co-op.

An important role of the Board is to hire and oversee the General Manager, who runs the day-to-day operations of the retail store.  The Board is also responsible for the long-term vision of the Co-op.  While the current retail store is the most tangible product of the organization, the Board is always seeking ways to expand the positive impacts of the Co-op on our Member-Owners and the community.

Board meetings are generally held on the fourth Tuesday of each month, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Updated information is always available on the Co-op calendar. Meetings are open to all Member-Owners. If you would like to attend a board meeting, please email board@portlandfood.coop.

CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS

HEATHER FLOR CRON (SHE/THEY) 2027

Heather Flor is an artist, farmer, and community organizer of Andean and European descent. She grew up in poverty in Portland, Maine, and has witnessed the city become increasingly inhospitable to communities living on the margins. Heather Flor learned from her mother, Abuelita, and sister the power food has in building strong communities.

She works and organizes with Presente! Maine, a grassroots organization that works to empower displaced Indigenous and Afro-Latinx peoples in Maine through survival programs, community power building, cultural celebration, and transformative healing practice. There she co-lead the Food Brigade project, a food survival program and the Cuidado Colectivo Program, a youth recreation day program. She serves as a Land Steward on the Presente Farm which grows food using ancestral practices with her community. Heather Flor wants to celebrate life and plant seeds for futures where Black and Indigenous people are centered and celebrated. When they aren’t working for Food and Land Sovereignty, she enjoys making tinctures, playing with their niblings, dancing, and eating at Công Tử Bột.

george giese (he/him) 2027

George Giese is an environmental consultant for AECOM, a global publicly traded ecological and engineering company. He resides in Yarmouth, but he was previously a Portland, Maine resident from 1991 to 2000. His office is at the Pierce Attwood building on Commercial Street in Portland. He and his wife, Jayne Georgia, raised their two children in Yarmouth. Their daughter, who is 24 years old, currently lives and works in Manhattan, NY, while their son, Will, is in his 4th year of college in Boston, MA.

Aside from his professional work, George also volunteers on a community board with the Town of Yarmouth and at the Catholic Diocese of Portland. He grew up in New Jersey, where his family owned a small supermarket and butcher store. As a child, he developed his love for food preparation and customer service by making house calls to deliver food to their local neighbor customers. Their store sourced many of its products locally.

With his 33 years of experience as a professional consultant, his knowledge of small business operations, and his community involvement, George believes he can add value to the PFC Board. He is excited about the opportunity to be considered as a board member for the PFC.

Martha Lefebvre (SHE/HER) 2026

Board Secretary

Martha Lefebvre is a lifelong advocate for social and economic equity. Her experience building a local food recovery program near Seattle led her to pursue a Masters in Policy, Planning, and Management and a Certificate of Graduate Study in Food Studies at USM's Muskie School of Public Policy. Martha hopes to use her degree to strengthen Maine's local food system and build food and land equity throughout the state.

She is particularly interested in food and land sovereignty, the global food system’s environmental impact, and the intersection of feminism and veganism. Currently, Martha is working with Friends of Woodfords Corner to establish a new farmers market in Portland which will serve the Woodford community and beyond. She recently became employed at Good Shepherd Food Bank in the Community Initiatives team.

ROBIN LORE (she/HER) 2027

Robin Lore is a huge fan of the Portland Food Co-op. She loves cooking and eating, and she's also an amateur herbalist and organic gardener. Robin has yet to meet a mushroom she doesn't like, and she enjoys learning new ways to prepare food. She also enjoys exchanging culinary adventures with other enthusiasts.

amy morse (SHE/HER) 2025

Board Vice President

Amy is a passionate member of the PFC and visits multiple times per week.

She desires involvement in the Portland community, teamwork, and connecting with like-minded people, especially now that she is retired with more time. She feels that the professional experience and skills that she developed in healthcare, including leadership, boards, listening campaigns, marketing, strategic planning, policy systems, and program analysis/development will lend themselves well to the work with the Co-op Board.

She appreciates and misses the cultural environments that she experienced for 3 years in New Zealand with the Maori and 3 years in Kunming, China. She looks forward to opportunities to help in some way with Portland’s diverse community.

The co-op model of business, including the consensus model, aligns perfectly with her values and beliefs. She is excited about the potential opportunity to learn about the world of co-ops, groceries, collaboration with local farms, and wellness education.

Sonya Raab (she/Her) 2025

Sonya is originally from Jamaica Plain, MA. For the last 10 years, she lived out west in Denver and Jackson, WY. Her and her fiancé relocated to Portland in June! In 2017, she graduated from the University of Denver with a BSBA in business and a major in hospitality. While being furloughed during the beginning of the pandemic and recovering from a major ski injury, Sonya taught her how to make sourdough. In May of 2020 she decided she would fulfill a lifelong dream and join a farmer’s market. Very quickly, my business, Bread and Blossom, was developed. After feeling like she was at a bit of a dead end in Jackson, they decided to make the move to Maine! Sonya works in two restaurants in Portland as a chef, events coordinator, server, and bartender. Her goal in life is to do whatever she can to fix our broken food system. She is excited to serve on the board to assist our community in having access to locally grown/produced food made by small businesses!