Board of Trustees
Membership Committee
Council for Professional Standards – The Americas
Marketing Committee
Committee for Emerging Consultants
Allied Advisory Council
Conference Planning Committee
Ethics Committee
Download FCSI-TA By-laws here
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2023 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CHAIR
Christine Guyott, FCSI, RDN
Rippe Associates, Inc.
cguyott@rippeassociates.com
Christine Guyott is a registered dietitian who has worked in the foodservice industry for over 25 years. She leads the healthcare team as a Principal with Rippe Associates, Inc. While her primary area of expertise is healthcare, she has worked on a variety of project types since starting her career in 1985 and enjoys working with clients throughout the country. Christine enjoys speaking to dietetic and architectural classes on non-traditional dietetics and foodservice design. Currently, she is part of the AHF Industry Advisory Board and KState Dietetics Advisory Board.
CHAIR ELECT
Brent Hall, FCSI
Clevenger Associates
brent@clevengerassoc.com
Brent has over 28 years of foodservice experience which includes custom equipment design and manufacturing, installation, specifications, schematic design, design development, construction documents and project management. Complete project experience listings include a vast number of projects worldwide.
SECRETARY
Kristin Sedej, FCSI
S2O Consultants, Inc
kristin@s2oconsultants.net
As Principal & Owner, Kristin brings a strong operational background to S2O Consultants by drawing on her extensive hospitality experience as well as her in-depth knowledge of all facets of the food design service industry. She holds a BS in Hospitality Management from Roosevelt University and currently is a Professional member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International. In 2014, FE&S magazine awarded Kristin the Consultant Top Achiever of the year award.
Kristin’s key projects have included renovations to the New Orleans Superdome, starting in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina up to the current renovations slated for completion in 2025, LAFC-new soccer stadium in Los Angeles, working on the renovations to the United Center, home of her favorites, the Chicago Bulls and the Blackhawks and multiple projects at Churchill Downs, Home of the Kentucky Derby..
Kristin resides in the city of Chicago and is enjoying being an empty nester. She enjoys dining out and traveling with friends and her 2 adult children.
TREASURER
Joe Schumaker, FCSI
SCG FoodSpace
joe@scgfoodspace.com
After graduating with honors from the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, Joe co-founded Cosmopolitan Catering. After growing the business to over $15M in revenue he exited and began consulting full-time in 2015. Joe is an expert in foodservice management, food business growth and mentorship.
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Eric Norman, FCSI
Clevenger Associates
eric@clevengerassoc.com
Eric began his career in foodservice at the young age of 14 working at a local Dairy Queen which eventually progressed into bartending at age 19, where he worked his way through college until graduating with his BA in Business Management. Having interned at MVP Services Group since he was 18, Eric would go to work for the firm right out of college, staying there until MVP merged with Clevenger Associates in early 2017. Mentoring under his father Ed Norman, Eric’s consulting career has focused on proper foodservice design and quality documentation. While focusing heavily on Education, Eric has also completed many design projects in all segments in his 20+ years as a professional consultant.
Eric has been heavily involved with FCSI for the past 15 years. He has worked with the FCSI Worldwide Academy Task Force f the Young Member Forum (ICON) as Chair and Past Chair, the Bylaws & Governance Task Force, Conference Steering Committee, and the Conference Planning Committee. Eric most recently has served on the FCSI The Americas Board of Trustees as Trustee and Secretary from 2014 to 2018 and Chair of The America’s Board from 2020 to 2023.
TRUSTEES
At Large Trustee – Mike Berard, FCSI
Commercial Kitchen Consulting, LLC
mberard@ckc-llc.net
Mike is the founder and President of Commercial Kitchen Consulting, LLC. Mike served over 32 years of combined service in the USMC and US Navy Seabees. He retired in 2010 as a Chief Warrant Officer Four (CWO4). Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and an AAS in Construction Technology. Mike is a service disabled veteran and CKC is a registered Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) with New York State and CVE (Federal). Mike served as an active member of FCSI’s CPSTA committee (Council for Professional Standards).
At Large Trustee – Leonard Condenzio, FCSI
Ricca Design Studios
lcondenzio@ricca.com
Lenny is highly regarded as a culinary design expert and thought leader throughout the foodservice industry. He has gained 46 years experience in all aspects of dining services, including 26 years as an operator, notably catering (US House of Representatives), collegiate dining (Harvard University), restaurants and commissaries. Lenny possesses the vision, creativity, dedication and leadership it takes to transform a project from rough concepts to reality. Lenny is passionate about his clients as well as the design team, and most importantly values the collaboration process that occurs between all of them.
At Large Trustee – Juan Martinez, PhD, PE, FCSI
Profitality, LLC
juan@profitality.com
Juan Martinez is a 38-year foodservice industry veteran and Principal and Co-Founder of Profitality Labor Guru, an Industrial Engineering Consulting Company whose focus is to help multi-unit foodservice brands improve efficiency of operations and design to drive better “Unit Economics” that can fuel “Brand Growth”. Juan’s experience spans to over 100 different concepts (domestic and international) across all menu and service system offerings. Prior to consulting, Juan spend 17 years at Burger King and The Pillsbury Company restaurant group, as part of the team that pioneered the application of Industrial Engineering in foodservice. His last position at Burger King was as Director of Research and Development for Operations, Menu and Equipment Development. Juan has a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an MS and PhD degree in Engineering Management and Ergonomics from the University of Miami. He currently a Board of Trustee in the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI). As an industry “thought leader” Juan frequently speaks at industry gatherings, and has written over 100 articles in foodservice journals, including a regular column in Foodservice Equipment & Supplies. Juan is also a Fellow in “The Culinary Institute of America”.
At Large Trustee – Howard Stanford, FCSI
SSA, Inc.
howard@studiofs.com
Howard Stanford has been a member of the SSA team since 2002. Howard has been recognized as one of the top foodservice consultants/designers in the United States. His ever increasing focus on design excellence has resulted in outstanding guest experience while bringing more diversity to the foodservice consulting and design profession utilizing educational networks, organization involvement, innovative concepts and advanced technologies.
Canadian Trustee – Par Bain, FCSSmartDesign Group
pbain@smartdesigngroup.com
Par joined SmartDesign Group in 2005 and has progressed to his current role as Director of Hospitality, leading a team of talented designers working on all scales of projects from small micro kiosks to massive commissary operations. He has been able to offer his operational background, understanding of customer experience and an appreciation for the human element in every design solution.
Latin America Trustee – Juan Matamoros, FCSI
Food Gurus/Gastrotec S.p.A
juan@food-gurus.com
Juan earned a BA in Marketing from UJMD in San Salvador as well as an MBA in Strategic Planning and a Degree in Franchisee Development from Tec de Monterrey in Mexico. After graduation, Juan worked for YUM brands for 15 years and has been part of the RMC (Regional marketing Council) as a Director for 7 years in charge of 17 countries in Latin America. Juan began his career as a foodservice consultant in 2007 and has been an active member of FCSI since 2014. Juan resides in San Salvador with his wife and 5 children and enjoys playing tennis in his free time.
Allied Trustee – Jay Bravinder
Champion Industries
jbravinder@championindustries.com
Jay has spent over 28 years in the hospitality/foodservice industry and throughout this time he has served in several volunteer capacities always with the objective of improving the industry as a whole. Having worked alongside and providing educational content to foodservice consultants from across the nation, Jay is extremely passionate about supporting FCSI-The Americas and its consultant membership, as well as, elevating the partnership with the hundreds of Allied members that support FCSI. Jay has been an active member of FCSI for many years, most recently serving on the FCSI Allied Advisory Council and the FCSI Educational Foundation.
Download FCSI-TA By-laws here
Membership Committee
Tracy Taraski, FCSI – Leader | tracy@s2oconsultants.net | 816.365.1200 |
Tim Agosti, FCSI | tim.agosti@alaskan.com | 303.621.6327 |
Marco Amatti, FCSI | info@mapaassessoria.com | 55 11 3229 2907 |
Leonard Condenzio, FCSI – Board Liaison | lcondenzio@ricca.com | 303.621.6327 |
Emre Evren, FCSI | eevren@jdb.nyc | 917.536.2323 |
Council for Professional Standards – The Americas (CPSTA)
Mike Berard, FCSI | mberard@ckc-llc.net | 607.217.5389 |
Emmanuel Melo, FCSI | emmanuel@studioino.com.br | 55 11 99903 2374 |
Linda Roth, FCSI | l.roth@rothconsultinggroup.com | 716.433.5111 |
Raoni Saade, FCSI | projetos@mapaassessoria.com | 55 11 94738 2504 |
Tracy Taraski, FCSI (Chair) | tracy@s2oconsultants.net | 816.365.1200 |
Marketing Committee
Erik Haviland | erik@thefuze.net | 833.843.3893 |
Kathleen Held, CPSM | kheld@cnilittle.com | 240.454.7773 |
Karen Malody, FCSI MSW | karen@culinaryoptions.com | 206.283.6740 |
Juan Matamoros, FCSI | juan@food-gurus.com | 503 79103154 |
John Reed CEC CCA AAC | john@customizedculinarysolutions.com | 847.287.3604 |
Joe Schumaker, FCSI | joe@scgfoodspace.com | 408.916.6368 |
Arelene Spiegal, FCSI | arlene@arlenespiegal.com | 917.539.9469 |
Chris Tripoli, FCSI (EM) | chris@christripoli.com | 281.293.0077 |
Steve Young, FCSI | syoung@wcandpartners.com | 303.649.1600 |
Committee for Emerging Consultants (C4EC)
Anja Kuechenmeister – Past Leader | anjak@camachousa.com | 770.582.1144 |
Shelby Wurscher – Past Leader | swurscher@rippeassociates.com | 952.933.0313 |
Sojo Alex | salex@envstrategies.com | 720.458.6485 |
Raoni Saade, FCSI | projetos@mapaassessoria.com | 55 11 3229 2907 |
Joe Schumaker, FCSI | joe@scgfoodspace.com | 408.916.6368 |
Stephanie Ward | sward@fcsassociate.net | 770.582.1144 |
Allied Advisory Council
Jack Scott- Leader | jacks@alto-shaam.com | 760.747.5100 |
Jay Bravinder | jbravinder@championindustries.com | 336.661.155 |
Rob Geile | rgeile@aligroup.com | 314.378.2339 |
Keven Hass | keven.hass@.comgaylordventilation | 971.223.1274 |
Kevin Kochman | kevin@kclcad.com | 630.898.8117 |
Katharine Mizla | katharine.mizla@kitchenstogo. |
331.300.1034 |
Shayne Varnum | shayne.varnum@hobartcorp.com | 774.222.2334 |
John Wojcik | jwojcik@vollrathco.com | 414.902.6750 |
Conference Planning Committee
Tarah Schroeder, FCSI – Chair | tschroeder@ricca.com | 303.928.1344 |
Kristin Sedej, FCSI – Board Liaison | kristin@s2oconsultants.net | 224.717.1999 |
Sojo Alex | salex@envstrategies.com | 720.458.6485 |
Peg Galie, FCSI | peg@s2oconsultants.net | 847.309.1163 |
Eric Goodrich | egoodrich@rippeassociates.com | 952.955.8056 |
Kathleen Held | kheld@cinilittle.com | 240.454.7773 |
Kevin Kochman | kevin@kclcad.com | 301.528.9700 |
Danielle Mason | dmason@middleby.com | 601.918.9034 |
Craig Volcovici | cvolcovici@truemfg.com | 636.240.2400 |
Patrick Watt, FCSI | wattadil@nbnet.nb.ca | 506.3653.8482 |