Board Member Bios
Thomas Berryman – Director
Tom has extensive experience in bringing venture capital funded medical technology companies from initial startup through product commercialization, revenue growth and exit. Most recently he served as President and CEO of WaveTec Vision Systems from its initial venture funding in 2005 until September 2010. Prior to joining WaveTec, he was CEO of Genyx Medical, Inc., which he founded in 1997 and sold to C.R. Bard in 2005. Prior to founding Genyx, Tom served since 1985 as CFO in several other private and public medical technology companies in Orange County, and prior to there as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand. Tom serves on the Board of Glumetrics, Inc., a venture-funded startup device company, and the Board of OCTANe, a non-profit organization devoted to fueling growth of the high tech and biomedical ecosystem in Orange County. He received a BS degree from Cal Poly Pomona and a MBA with Honors from UC Irvine.
Dave Day – Director, Founder, Chief Planter
More than 20 years ago, Dave Day witnessed first hand the economic and social injustices that fell upon small coffee growers in Mexico. Dave, owner of a specialty coffee roasting company at the time, discovered that while coffee represent the largest cash crop and agricultural revenue stream in the world, small indigenous growers received a disproportional low percentage of that revenue. In 2000 Dave began addressing inequities and built the ministry and development models that came to be the foundation for Growers First traceability and transformation programs. Dave continues to serve as the guiding visionary for the organization and leverages his considerable coffee industry expertise and network on behalf of the poor rural farmer
Stephan Erkelens – Staff, Chief Grower
With more than twenty-five years of experience in the coffee industry, Stephan has worked in all phases of the business, from production and processing to export, import and trading. He has served on the boards of several coffee-exporting and trading firms in Central and South America and the U.S. as well as on the board of a regional investment bank in Latin America. In the 90’s he lead the acquisition and restructuring of one of the leading coffee and cocoa trading companies in New York where served as its Chairman until 1998.
Stephan also has over 10 years of active experience in the non-profit sector, participating on boards and holding key executive positions including Executive Director of THINK Together and Christ’s Hope USA. Married to his high-school sweetheart and father of three amazing men.
Scott Haug – Director
Scott Haug has over 20 years of strategy consulting, executive management, and business development experience working for some of the world’s most progressive companies to develop growth, acquisition, market entry, and value creation strategies. He is a Partner with Waterstone Management Group, a boutique strategy consulting firm focusing on the technology sector. Prior to joining Waterstone, Scott was an executive with MasterCard Worldwide. Before joining MasterCard, he was Partner with Ernst & Young Strategic Advisory Services, a Managing Principal with Cresap/Towers Perrin’s general management consulting practice, and led a joint venture with a Japanese strategy consulting firm (Corporate Directions - a BCG spin-off). Scott started his career with A.T. Kearney.
Scott holds an MBA in Finance & Marketing from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California Los Angeles. He received a BA in economics and a BA in international relations from the University of California Berkeley. He has extensive non-profit management experience, serving as pro-bono COO of the Pyramid Autism Center, and a Trustee for The Living Desert & Laguna Beach School Power.
John McKay – Director
John McKay is the Executive Director of the SAJE Foundation. He co-founded SAJE with his mother, Elaine, in 1999. In this capacity, John is able to pursue his passions of bringing good news to the poor, and pursuing mutual transformation for people and their resources globally and locally. He has been married to Christine since 1991 and they have been blessed with four amazing children – Sara, Jackson, Emma and Dylan. John also loves to engage in the beauty of God's Creation through surfing.
Shayne Moore – Director
Shayne is an author, speaker, mother of three, and outspoken advocate in the fight against extreme poverty and Global AIDS. Shayne is an original member of The ONE Campaign; The Campaign to Make Poverty History and is a ONE surrogate speaker, nationally and internationally, on their behalf. Shayne writes for ONE's blog, Christianity Today's Gifted for Leadership, pens a column in the women’s magazine, FullFill, and for her personal blog www.GlobalSoccerMom.com. Shayne is a member of Redbud Writers Guild. Look for Shayne’s book Global Soccer Mom; How I Learned I Can Change the World (January 2011).
Glenn Parrish – Advisor, Board Developer
Glenn Parrish brings more than 20 years of leadership experience working with businesses and philanthropy to make a lasting social impact through innovative and economically sustainable approaches.
Specializing in start-ups he has pioneered entrepreneurial social enterprises such as the Rising Tide. Through the purchase and management of tax-exempt bond financed affordable housing the Rising Tide has created a thriving business which provides both housing and the net operating income to support a cutting-edge program for former foster youth which empowers them to become self-sufficient, responsible, caring adults.
He provides leadership to major corporations such as Golden State Foods and United Stationers to create employee mobilizing corporate foundations that unleash the power of businesses, through their employees, to make a difference in the lives of those in need. He helps these businesses thrive by becoming recognized community partners that attract and keep great employees and are able to compete in a marketplace that demands corporate social responsibility.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the Sacred Harvest Foundation. Sacred Harvest is a grant making foundation engaged in sustainable community transformation locally and internationally with substantial investments in the Philippines.
Michael Shepard – Director
Mike graduated from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, Kansas in 1969, but decided to continue the automotive sales career that he had begun part time while still in college. In 1975 Mike, his wife, their three year old son and soon to be born daughter moved to California. After short career changes to real estate, then insurance, he returned to the car business, ultimately purchasing a struggling Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Santa Ana, California in 1987.
Mike retired from the automobile business after selling Santa Ana Chrysler Jeep and Santa Ana Isuzu Hyundai in 2002. He has served on numerous local, state, and national industry and business boards, the California State Republican Central Committee, the Lincoln Club of Orange County Board, the BIOLA Board of Trustees, and the international Board of Directors of Christ's Hope International.
Mike and Linda have been married forty two years and are blessed with two grown children and six grandchildren, all of whom live close to their home in Laguna Beach, California
Michael Sloan – Director, Chief Steward Mexico
After a lifetime of experience in the construction industry, Michael retired to serve those in need. Married with six children, 12 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. During the 1980’s he led Kirkwood Electric Service Corp. as President and co-owner where he managed the acquisition, growth and ultimate sale of the company to KDC, Inc. staying on until his retirement in 1999. During his 40-year career in the construction industry he invested himself in active support of a large array of industry associations in several capacities from active member to several Chair and Co-chair responsibilities, continuing his active involvement to date. He is currently Co-chair for the California Electrician Certification Advisory Committee (CECAC) for last ten and half years.
Mike has been a member of the Board of Directors of Growers First for the past seven years. In 2009 took the responsibility for all operations in Oaxaca, Mexico. Over the last few years has led several outreach ministry teams to Mexico, Central America and Africa where they provided a wide variety basic services to the poor.
Mike is also involved with Cargo of Dreams since 2006 providing his construction knowledge and contacts to further the effort of providing safe and secure Day Care Centers for South African children growing up in poverty
Jeff Tacklin – Director, Chaplain
Jeff is the Co-Lead Pastor in charge of teaching and ministry oversight at Church by the Sea where he has served for the past nine years. Previous to that, Jeff was a youth pastor at EV Free Fullerton for six years. Jeff has a MA in Philosophy from Talbot Seminary, and a DMin from George Fox Seminary with an emphasis in semiotics and future studies.
David Vanderveen – Director
David Vanderveen is a managing partner and co-founder of XS Worldwide, LLC., an energy drink brand that has lead the development of great tasting flavors of sugar free energy drinks and unique online distribution for beverages. David is a recognized innovator in the energy drink marketplace and has a history of success developing emerging brands and ideas.
David has a long commitment to social capital politically, ideologically, religiously and for humanitarian causes. He has served the Director of Public Relations at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Executive Director of Americans for Limited Terms, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, Western States Organizer for US Term Limits, Board Member of Americans for Limited Government, Western Regional Board Member for The Heritage Foundation, Vestry member for Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena, California, and among the first Board Members for Growers First.