Seattle Chefs Collaborative Board
Zachary D. Lyons, President
Zachary D. Lyons is the President of the Seattle Chapter of Chefs Collaborative, a freelance writer specializing in food and agriculture, and a local food system event organizer. He has been published in numerous publications, including Growing For Market, NewFarm.org, Pacific Fishing, SeattleDining.com, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle Magazine, Seattle Weekly, Touch The Soil, and Wild Catch Magazine. He coauthored the Washington State Farmers Market Manual (Washington State University, 2008).
Lyons served as Executive Director of the Washington State Farmers Market Association from 1999-2005, and during his tenure, he served on the board of the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs and the board of the From the Heart of Washington Campaign, Washington's agriculture promotion campaign. He recruited Farm Aid to come to Seattle in 2004, and he served as the primary organizer and liaison for all local events surrounding that event. Since its inception in 2006, he has been the lead organizer of Washington State University's annual Seattle event that showcases what the University is doing for Washington's food and agriculture communities by pairing faculty with farmers with chefs.
Lyons is a veteran certified barbecue judge in both the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association and the Kansas City Barbecue Society. He has served on the board of the Seattle Chapter of Chefs Collaborative since 2000.
Roy Breiman, Vice President
A graduate of La Cordon Rouge Culinary School in Sausalito California, Chef Breiman began his career in 4-5 star restaurants both in San Francisco and New York City.
Drawn by centuries of history and culinary tradition Breiman moved to France for several years working for extended periods in Michelin starred restaurant such as La Trois Marche in Versailles, La Bourride in Caen, Normandy Le Chateau Eza in Eze Village and Restaurant Chantecler at Hotel Negreso in Nice, France.
Upon his return to the USA, Chef Breiman brought critical acclaim to Meadowood Napa Valley a Relais Chateaux property, traveling to Baden Baden, Germany, Beijing, China and Seoul, South Korea to promote Food & Wines from the Napa Valley.
In 2003, Breiman returned to the Pacific Northwest where, at Salish Lodge & Spa, he continued his passionate pursuit of promoting sustainable foods. In 2005, he and his team at Salish Lodge and Spa were recognized by Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards as the number #2 dining destination in the USA.
Chef Breiman's most recent endeavor has brought him back to the essence of cooking where he has become Culinary Director at Cedarbrook Lodge, a 17-acre, small luxury hotel located a few miles south of Seattle. Breiman's focus for this unique property is on Sustainable Food Concepts where onsite composting, water reclamation and development of unique onsite systems plans for the Cedarbrook farm are what he considers "A Labor of Love," highlighting the positive impact that sustainable practices can have on the environment and surrounding community.
Laurence Harris, Treasurer
Laurence Harris is the Treasurer of the Seattle Chapter of the Chefs Collaborative. He is a "confirmed foodie", and enjoys spending creative time in the kitchen. His present day-job has him doing Software Engineering for Embedded Controls, and he is currently involved in a Distributed Autonomous Agents Artificial Intelligence project for electric power distribution system control. This award winning AI software has enjoyed increasing acceptance in the power distribution industry over the last ten years.
In 1981, when he was working as a control systems engineer for a large confectionery manufacturer, Laurence was trained as a Sensory Evaluation Generalist, with additional specialized training and experience in chocolate flavor evaluation. Subsequently he spent over fifteen years managing a successful contract software engineering firm, and during this time also led the development and marketing of a profitable high-end image processing and statistics software package for support of Sensory Evaluation. The software was distributed world-wide, earning international recognition as best in its class.
Laurence is a graduate of Purdue University and has worked his entire career with computers and software with several different companies. He has continuing interests in economics, entrepreneurship, botany, chemistry and biochemistry and food production and processing, and also enjoys bicycling, sea kayaking and mountain hiking. Because Laurence has gluten intolerance he has studied the science, the food technology and the issues thoroughly, and created the website http://No-Gluten.Org to assist those who are interested in learning more about gluten-free living.
Nathan Hambley, Secretary
Nathan Hambley is an account supervisor at Frause, a Northwest communications agency. He has a diverse professional background that includes time as an aide in the U.S. Congress as well as time behind the line and in the front of the house at several of Seattle's notable restaurants (Rover's, Saleh al Lago, Mistral and Cafe Lago). He also spent a stint as an apprentice in the kitchen at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux. Nathan holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Washington and a master's in international affairs from The George Washington University.
Debbie Denekas
Debbie is the NW Regional Marketing Manager for Shepherd’s Grain, which is a group of local family farmers from the PNW, who are changing the way farmers are getting paid and who are sustaining our land by switching from conventional farming to a no till production process. She has been in this role for 3 years.
Prior to Shepherd’s Grain, Debbie worked for Nordstrom for 14 years. During her tenure at Nordstrom, she focused in the cosmetic and fragrance department and had the opportunity to open the Lynnwood store as the Department Manager. Her last 4 years, she was a Marketing Buyer and enjoyed the opportunity to travel to New York on a regular basis.
Debbie has always had an interest in eating healthy and knowing where her food comes from. Being acquainted to co-founder of SG, Karl Kupers and growing up in a farming community, she has had an interest in the importance of supporting local farmers, who grow their crops in an environmentally and sustainable manner. Now, she enjoys being an advocate of getting others more involved in buying local and the importance of knowing where their food comes from and the farmers who grew it.
She does love to cook and entertain when time permits. She also enjoys being part of the Chefs Collaborative where they provide educational opportunities for the chefs and producers through our Meet and Greet events.
Nicole Capizzi
Nicole is a farmer and entrepreneur who founded Amaranth Urban Farm, a commercial farm in Seattle that produces organic vegetables and honey in the city and markets through CSA and direct sales. She has developed urban farm businesses in Seattle and Milwaukee, Wisconsin and worked as a program director, researcher and educator for Washington State University Extension, University of Wisconsin Extension, and the Prairie Crossing Farm to demonstrate intensive small scale farm business development and organic production techniques.
She is excited to be a part of the Seattle Chef's Collaborative and the thriving food community in Seattle and also is active with the King County Agriculture Commission, Tilth Producers of Washington, and a variety of food systems and integrated urban agriculture projects. When she's not hoeing a hard row, Nicole is on a road or mountain bike with her husband, Kyle, or enjoying the company of her family (canine and human) and friends in town over a walk and a great meal.
Michelle Clair
"The kitchen, the garden...my most formative imprints early in life. I watched the best ingredients get plucked from the garden, go straight to the kitchen and then on to the table, our table of sharing and warm conversation.
Both my grandmothers put me to work on a stool in the kitchen when I was young. Margo, my grandmother in San Francisco had a small garden of lettuce and salad ingredients all year 'round (and let's not foret the rhubarb and chard!!). Raised on a farm in Iowa, Margo was accustomed to everything used in the kitchen coming from the family land. She made the best apple pie and silver dollar pancakes in the world. Then there was Gramma Vera...she lived on top of a great big mountain surrounded by a vineyard in Calistoga. I just remember a garden of huge flowers, huge vegetables, towering fruit trees and full vines. The chickens were an added bonus! Her dinner parties were known to last well into the night.
Both my grandmothers instilled in me the importance of fresh creative food, how to set a table with class, how to enjoy it with friends and loved ones, and how to take joy in the simple things in life...I am forever grateful.
As a Catering Director for Bon Appetit Management Company, I have been able to strike a balance in my personal & work life. Bon Appetit promotes at a national level my years-long philosophy at a personal level..."Food Service for a Sustainable Future." Now, as the Secretary for Seattle Chefs Collaborative, I'm honored to share my philosophy with others by educating them that to get back to the local land is not only the better tasting thing to do, but also the most socially responsible way to live our lives. I'm a fortunate woman to have something fun and valuable to me also be my profession!"
Gregory Heller
Since 2005 Gregory Heller has worked with dozens of nonprofit organizations, foundations and socially responsible businesses to deploy Internet strategies, websites and social media strategies through CivicActions, a company he has helped to build and is current part owner of. In that time, the company has grown from 7 people, to 39. Gregory has served CivicActions as Director of Marketing, as well as serving clients as a strategist, trainer, and website architect and engineer.
Before his work with CivicActions, Gregory worked for the New York State Senate and New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, numerous political campaigns in New York City and State, and worked for the NYI Program Office coordinating all-university student events. Gregory also served on New York City Community Board 3 for 6 years where he chaired the Economic Development Committee and sat on the State Liquor Authority Task Force Committee.
Gregory holds a BA and MPA (Public Administration and Nonprofit Management) from New York University College of Arts and Science and Wagner School Of Public Service (respectively) he is also a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). He has served on the Board of the College Alumni Association at NYU. For 4 years while living in NYC, Gregory prepared gourmet recipes and served his food to hungry people in Tompkins Square Park. As a cater waiter during that same time he would bring leftover meals to hungry people in his neighborhood.
Gregory is passionate about food, ethical and local sourcing, cooking and educating others about good food. You can follow his tweets about these topics at @HungrySeattle.
Jess Dowdell
Since the age of 14, Jess has worked in every aspect of the restaurant industry from coast to coast. Currently the Chef a ca'buni (Cafe in the Woods) at Mukilteo Roasters on Whidbey Island, Chef Cjess works closely with many local farmers to source local and organic ingredients. Her passion for the culinary arts and her commitment to local and sustainable sourcing have made her a fantastic member of the Chefs Collaborative, and a great asset to the Seattle Chefs Collaborative board.