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.