Our Advisors

Hopland Band of Pomo Indians

Operations & Customer Relations Advisor

Brandy Reyes brings over a decade of experience in customer service, dispatch coordination, and administrative management to the Just Soup Advisory Board. Her strength lies in staying calm and effective under pressure, building trust through clear communication, and keeping operations organized and people supported even in complex or fast moving environments.

As a Sales Lending Associate, Brandy has balanced bookkeeping, multi-system computer work, and client support with precision and care. Her ability to connect with people from all walks of life, manage details, and uphold accountability makes her an essential bridge between community needs and organizational systems. Her coordination experience directly supports Just Soup's distributed kitchen network logistics and institutional partnership management.

Brandy's approach to leadership reflects the values at the heart of Just Soup teamwork, reliability, and service rooted in integrity. She believes that good systems are like good soup: built with patience, care, and the right balance of ingredients. Her lived experience and steady presence help strengthen our mission to create community-based food networks that nourish both people and purpose.

Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

Risk Management & Contractor Relations Expert | Commercial Accounts Specialist

Erin is a proud Ponca tribal member with over 22 years of experience in the insurance industry and 12 years specializing in commercial account management for contractors and construction-related businesses. As a seasoned Account Manager, she combines technical expertise in risk management with a deep commitment to supporting community resilience and Indigenous economic development.

Throughout her career, Erin has successfully managed diverse commercial portfolios, from small independent contractors to large-scale operations ensuring clients receive customized coverage, regulatory compliance, and proactive solutions that protect both people and infrastructure. She brings a deep understanding of the complex operational, financial, and safety challenges faced by community-driven enterprises skills that are invaluable as Just Soup expands its production capacity, develops facility infrastructure, and builds regional food sovereignty networks.

As a Ponca professional grounded in cultural values of accountability, reciprocity, and protection, Erin offers a unique bridge between modern business systems and community centered stewardship. On the Just Soup Advisory Board, she contributes critical insight into sustainable growth, liability management, and long term operational security helping ensure that the project's expansion honors both economic integrity and cultural responsibility.

Afro-Indigenous Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

Wellness & Energy Medicine Advisor | Holistic Healing Practitioner

Tere Lea is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, Certified Sound Therapist, and Tai Chi Instructor with over 15 years of experience in holistic healing and bodywork. Since 2009, she has dedicated her life to helping others restore balance through energy medicine, movement, and mindful touch.

As the founder of A Touch of Heaven Massage Therapy and Bodywork, Tere holds sacred space for personal transformation, guiding others through deep physical and energetic healing. Her integrative approach blends ancient and modern modalities reconnecting body, mind, and spirit through vibration, breath, and flow.

At Just Soup, Tere brings her gifts in energy alignment and somatic awareness to help bridge the relationship between food, healing, and wellness. She believes that nourishment begins not only in the gut but in the spirit and that when we honor the energy within our food and bodies, we return to balance with the Earth itself. Her perspective enriches Just Soup's understanding of food as medicine and supports the cultural wellness dimensions of our community health work.

Business & Operations Advisor | Former Owner, Mendocino Mustard®

Mike is a dedicated advocate for small business success and rural economic vitality. As the former owner of Mendocino Mustard®, he understands firsthand the challenges local entrepreneurs face from navigating regulations and building market access to securing capital and sustaining growth. His experience as a small business owner fuels his commitment to helping others turn vision into viable, community rooted enterprises.

With over two decades of leadership experience in operations management, business development, and organizational strategy, Mike brings both strategic insight and practical know-how to his advisory work. He has guided numerous small business owners through critical milestones helping them strengthen operations, improve financial readiness, and position their companies for long-term success.

Throughout his career, Mike has played a hands-on role in advancing local business ecosystems, championing collaboration, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurship in rural communities. His approach is grounded, empathetic, and results-oriented, empowering business owners to thrive while contributing to regional economic resilience.

Mike holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from St. Mary's College of California. At Just Soup, he offers strategic guidance on business development, operations, and long-term sustainability. His deep understanding of small-scale production and market growth helps shape our vision of community-based micro-factories and Indigenous-led food enterprises ensuring that our model for nourishment is as strong in spirit as it is in structure.

Food Systems Infrastructure Builder | Co-Founder, Good Farm Fund | Incubator Farm Director, School of Adaptive Agriculture | Co-Owner, Black Dog Farm & Catering

Caroline has been cultivating regenerative food systems in Mendocino County since 2003, building the infrastructure that connects small-scale producers to markets, resources, and communities. As Co-Owner of Black Dog Farm & Catering, she understands the practical realities of growing, processing, and distributing food at scale while maintaining quality and values. Her work demonstrates that sustainable food production can be both culturally meaningful and economically viable.

Through her role as Incubator Farm Director at the School of Adaptive Agriculture, Caroline provides hands-on technical assistance to emerging food entrepreneurs, specializing in food processing logistics, commercial kitchen operations, and regulatory compliance. She has guided numerous food-based businesses through the complex journey from kitchen table production to institutional scale, supporting entrepreneurs in navigating commercial kitchen access, food hub distribution networks, and workforce training development.

As Co-Founder of Good Farm Fund, Caroline has dedicated her career to creating support systems for values-based food enterprises, helping producers navigate the gap between mission-driven work and financial sustainability. Her approach is collaborative, practical, and deeply rooted in the belief that food infrastructure should serve communities, not extract from them. She understands that food sovereignty requires more than passion it demands systems, partnerships, and pathways that honor both tradition and economic reality.

At Just Soup, Caroline offers strategic guidance on distributed processing networks, institutional procurement strategies, and food safety compliance. Her two decades of experience building bridges between sustainable producers and institutional buyers directly informs our model of connecting Native producers to Tribal health programs. She ensures that our vision of Indigenous-led food sovereignty is grounded in operational excellence and market readiness.