People
 

La Cocina staff has, cumulatively, nearly 100 years of food-industry experience in working with local businesses to strengthen business models, access below market rate capital, and create new jobs.

 
 
Executive Leadership
 

+ Leticia Landa, Executive Director

contact: leticia@lacocinasf.org

trilingual: Spanish + French

pronouns: she/her

Leticia learned about La Cocina by reading a newspaper article about El Huarache Loco (a graduate) when she was in college, studying Anthropology at Harvard. She joined La Cocina in early 2008 as the third staff member. Throughout her career at La Cocina, Leticia has relied on her experience being the daughter of Mexican immigrants who moved to the US and started a business, to fuel her strong belief that business ownership can be transformative, particularly for women, immigrants and people of color. She is passionate about food and cooking, particularly the way sharing food transmits memory. Fluent in Spanish and French, Leticia has loved learning from the 100+ entrepreneurs she's worked with about food traditions from all over the world. Now Executive Director of La Cocina, Leticia has worn almost every hat at the organization over the last decade: writing grants, developing the incubator program, working directly with business owners, managing volunteers, and consulting with other incubators. Leticia has provided vision and strategy for the organization's tremendous growth, which has led to the organization's international recognition. One of her favorite recent projects has been co-authoring We Are La Cocina, a cookbook published by Chronicle Books in 2019.

Favorite Foods: chilaquiles, quiche and the perfect brownie

 
 
 
 
Impact Team
 

+ Aniela Valtierra, Deputy Director of Impact

contact: aniela@lacocinasf.org

bilingual: Spanish

pronouns: she/her

At the age of fifteen and with much reluctance, Aniela had her first taste of the food and beverage industry while working after school and in the summers at her parents’ newly opened restaurant in Mexico. Over the years, she grew to enjoy the f&b operation, and it has, since, become a part of her life and career. Aniela values food for being the center of her fondest family memories, and she looks up to her family’s entrepreneurial spirit to share their love of food.

Aniela studied Hospitality Industry Management with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco, gaining professional event planning and f&b management experience in hotels, private clubs, and restaurants, with continued wine education from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. When Aniela learned about La Cocina and its mission, it felt much like home; she was inspired by the passion that the women-run businesses of La Cocina have for their native foods and their entrepreneurial drive to launch their food business, do what they love and share it with their communities.

Aniela joined La Cocina’s team in 2013 and brings her passion of food entrepreneurship and support of small business communities in her operations and events role. Committed to the success of La Cocina’s women entrepreneurs, Aniela facilitates the use of the facility’s program offerings and launches events that promote growth and community recognition for their businesses.

Favorite foods: tacos de papa, arrachera, french toast, and chocolate mousse pie

 
 
 
 
Incubator Program
 

+ Emiliana Puyana, Director of Incubator Program

contact: emiliana@lacocinasf.org

bilingual: Spanish

pronouns: she/her

Emiliana has always been in love with food and cooking. Early experiences in her family’s kitchen in Venezuela taught her that food has the extraordinary ability to bring and keep people together. She landed her first restaurant job at the age of fifteen in Caracas and has continued cooking ever since.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2002 she decided to make the move from New York to San Francisco. Her time in the Bay Area has seen her hold most positions in food industry from prep cook to chef de cuisine. She’s gained her battle scars behind the stoves of places like La Folie, Salt House and Marla Bakery. In 2011 she joined La Cocina’s incubator program and started her own pickling business, Jarred SF Brine. After three years of running her own food business she made the tough decision to pack it in and move on to the next food adventure.

She now finds herself back at La Cocina but at the other side of the table. She couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to give back to an organization and community that has given so much to her. She loves that a walk through La Cocina is like a mini UN general assembly where the only language spoken is food.

Favorite foods: arepas, platanos fritos, tequeños, kimchi, all things pickled, capers, capers, and more capers

+ Blake Kutner, Director of Entrepreneur Business Development

contact: blake@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: he/him

Blake Kutner has been cooking and working in professional kitchens since the Bill Clinton days (one of his heroes, Blake’s not Bill’s. Although they do share a birthday). He’s done pretty much everything in the back of the house world from dishwashing to fry station, kitchen managing to grade manger, Mexico to Spain, New Orleans to San Francisco.

After graduating from Dartmouth in 1994, Blake thought he would go to medical school like most of his family had. While applying, he started working at the Copeland’s restaurant (a New Orleans based mid level chain) below his apartment, first as a waiter (think cheap fake tuxedo shirts and polyester bow ties) and then eventually as a fry cook in the all Nigerian kitchen. The swashbuckling life of the rowdy kitchen crew combined with the hand’s on gratification of taking a slimy raw product (like chicken or oysters) to glistening deep fried glory started his journey. The intellectual stimulation that cooking provided utilizing biology, physics, chemistry, history and culture has kept him doing it.

Blake is excited to be starting as our new kitchen manager at La Cocina. He believes that street food is secretly every chef’s favorite and makes up the fabric of any great city. He thinks he may have the greatest job in the world getting to learn from the true masters of cuisine and work with a bunch of bad-ass women.

If he had to pick some food favorites they’d be: boiled crawfish, oysters, barbecue and fermented things, but it feels wrong to not include South East Asian curries, fried chicken, tacos and pizza.

+ Walter Miros, Culinary Program & Facilities Manager

contact: walter@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: he/him

Walter's career in food began as a teenager, initially cooking helped pay for his philosophy degree, then grew into a passion that led him to fine dining. The thrill and adrenaline of cooking on the line got Walter hooked. But as he grew into a chef, nurturing talent became his favorite aspect. He's excited to bring his experience and skill to La Cocina.

+ Marie Michl, Incubator Program Manager

contact: marie@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Marie’s sweet tooth and love of food was cultivated from a young age thanks to her mom’s career as a pastry chef. Marie realized she was meant to be in the food world when her daily reading consisted of pouring over cookbooks and dreaming of bringing the recipes to life in her kitchen. She loves the stories that food tells and is excited to learn new stories through the food of La Cocina entrepreneurs.

As an educator, Marie’s work has always centered on entrepreneurship and teaching outside of the traditional classroom. She has worked with high school students building businesses around technology, middle school students using democracy to change their communities, and adults of all ages formalizing their small businesses. Marie is excited to combine her passions for entrepreneurship and food to collaborate with La Cocina’s emerging food entrepreneurs.

Favorite foods: salty caramel ice cream, summer strawberries, ceviche of any kind & al pastor tacos

 

+ Andrea Llosa, Program Manager of Business Development

contact: andrea@lacocinasf.org

bilingual: Spanish

pronouns: she/her

+ Karen Garcia, Incubator Program Coordinator

contact: karen@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Growing up in primarily low-income immigrant communities, Karen observed first-hand how difficult it was for family members and neighbors to access and navigate resources. This instilled in her a passion for supporting underserved communities and has led to an enriching career in the nonprofit world. She has worn many hats working with immigrants, individuals with disabilities, and BIPOC communities over the years.

Born and raised in South Central/Southeast Los Angeles, Karen is new to the Bay Area and excited to explore the many delicious foods the region has to offer. She believes that great food is not dictated by a price tag and is thrilled to work alongside La Cocina entrepreneurs as they create a more equitable food landscape in the Bay Area.

Her favorite foods are her mom's gorditas de chicharron prensado, dolsot bibimbap, pupusas de queso con loroco, Salvadoran panes con pollo, and plain old mac & cheese.

+ Miguel Castro, Maintenance Associate/Porter

pronouns: he/him

 
 
Communications & Innovation
 

+ Michelle Magat, Director of Communications and Innovation

contact: magat@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

At the age of eight, Michelle took to her sister’s manual typewriter to churn out weekly newspapers and cooking magazines, which she’d sell to her parents for a nickel a piece. This penchant for writing eventually earned her a master's in journalism from Indiana University, and her entrepreneurial spirit ultimately shaped a 20-year career in communications and marketing.

Michelle co-founded Current, a now global communications firm, ran her own consulting business, and co-founded a school communications software startup called HEARD. She has worked with two of the world’s leading communications agencies — Weber Shandwick and Edelman, and has advised brand teams at The Clorox Company, Burt's Bees, Samsung, Kraft, Nestle, and more.

Community service has always been a personal passion. She has served as a museum guide for students at SFMOMA, created curriculum and taught kindergarten computer lab at a local public school, and — for a decade before joining — volunteered with La Cocina — from serving food at events to serving on its board.

Michelle is proud to share her work experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for service to support La Cocina entrepreneurs.

Favorite foods: Anything in pie form — from chocolate cream to chicken pot. Her mom’s Leche Flan, her husband’s wood-fired pizza, and her daughter’s ginger snap cookies.

+ Consuelo Reyes Lopez, Communications Manager

contact: consuelo@lacocinasf.org

bilingual: Spanish

pronouns: she/her

Consuelo’s relationship with food blossomed where her relationship with her mother and other women in her life blossomed as well- in the kitchen of family homes helping flip tortillas on a comal (yes, with your hands) and adding the finishing touches to Mexican dishes to host family, friends and strangers. Wanting to remain close to her family in Mountain View, Consuelo chose to attend the University of San Francisco where she pursued a Communication Studies Degree and minors in Public Relations and Chicanx/Latinx Studies.

A daughter of Mexican immigrants, Consuelo has been able to witness some of the challenges that come with language barrier, legal status, and overall lack of opportunity; she has also proudly witnessed a lot of her family’s successes. Seeing the highs and low of her parents experience as immigrants, combined with her academic background is what pushed Consuelo to pursue a full-time position at The Women’s Building after interning for 6 months. There, she worked as a Program Assistant wearing many hats (à la nonprofit) but focused on developing programs to combat food insecurity, increase tech literacy, and provide employment opportunities in the local mission community.

For Consuelo, working at La Cocina as a Communications Associate is the perfect marriage between her communication skills and passion for building community to create social change. She’s excited to connect with female entrepreneurs, listen to their stories, and find new ways to tell La Cocina’s story.

Favorite foods: Her mothers gordita’s de papa (especially as leftovers for breakfast…it really hits different), artichoke pizza on garlic herb crust, mac and cheese, and unfortunately, hot cheetos!

+ Naomi Maisel, Partnerships & Impact Manager

contact: naomi@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Raised on an eclectic mix of California burritos and her Bubbie’s Matzah Ball Soup, Naomi has always been excited to try new foods.

Moving from California to Georgia to study Anthropology at Emory University exposed Naomi to new foods, people, and cultures. Naomi scoured Atlanta for coffeeshop and restaurant gems, her greatest triumph achieving “regular” status at the best tofu house on Buford Highway (sorry, still a secret). Jarred by the juxtaposition of Atlanta’s burgeoning Fortune 500 scene with many historically black neighborhoods ignored and underserved, Naomi became passionate about food security and justice, and founded Food Chains, a food recovery group that collects, repurposes, and donates meals to local shelters.

After graduating, Naomi worked for a social enterprise that connected individuals experiencing homelessness and those with criminal backgrounds to employment. This experience deepened Naomi’s understanding of inequality within systems, as well as the complex challenges faced by those with barriers to employment and social mobility.

Hoping to move back into the food space with a greater understanding of global food systems, Naomi moved to Pollenzo, Italy and earned her Masters in Gastronomy at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Inspired by the resilience and strength constructed via food by communities throughout history’s most shameful moments, Naomi focused her Masters thesis on Tijuana, Mexico where she lived and studied how asylum seekers navigate their foodscapes to construct community and identity while waiting at the border.

Naomi is new to the Bay Area since returning from abroad and is proud to join the La Cocina team to support entrepreneurs and build connections with the Tenderloin community.

Favorite Foods: Anything savory and vegetarian, with a special fondness for all things cheese and potato. Extra veggies please.

+ Christopher Paguio, Senior Designer

christopher@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: he/they

Born and raised by immigrant Filipino parents in Los Angeles, Christopher grew up eating from the melting pot of LA cultures, thus developing a worldly appreciation for food. He moved to the Bay Area in 2013 to study graphic design at California College of the Arts (CCA) and instantly found home in the Bay Area’s beautiful landscapes, its rich history of counter-culture, queer liberation, activism, its ever-vibrant habitat of artists and designers, as well as the diverse population and the mouth-watering food that comes with it.

While a student at CCA in 2013, he worked at La Cocina as a graphic design/web development intern. Post-internship, Christopher continued working with La Cocina over the years designing for events such as the San Francisco Street Food Festival, La Cocina’s Annual Galas, Voices from the Kitchen, Week of Women in Food, and more. For 7 years, Christopher also worked at Celery Design Collaborative, a design studio in Berkeley with a focus on sustainability and social impact related projects doing strategy, branding, designing reports, motion graphics, packaging, web design, and more. Some clients include UC Berkeley, the City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Food Institute, Impossible Foods, Planting Justice, The GLBT Historical Society, The Biomimicry Institute, East Bay Community Energy, Southern California Edison, Danone, Hasbro, Comcast, and Proctor & Gamble.

Christopher joined La Cocina full-time in October 2022, eager to use his experience to support La Cocina as well as immigrant families like his own.

His favorite food is home-cooked Filipino food, specifically Sinigang and Arroz Caldo, by his Mama.

 
Sales
 

+ Wanvisa “Boom” Wattanadumrong, Food & Beverage Sales Manager

contact: [boom@lacocinasf.org][0]

pronouns: she/her

Boom was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. Her fond memories with food began when she was little. As early as 7 years old, Boom was assigned to grocery shop for produce and herbs at a local market near her home and help her mom cook for the family. Boom was taught how to make chili paste from scratch, fry fish, and press fresh coconut milk from shredded coconut meat which she continues to use as survival skills later on in life.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts in Thailand, she worked for advertising agency McCann Erickson for one year. Some of her clients include Coca-Cola and Nestlé. Then she decided to come to San Francisco for further study in 2001. Her first year in the US started by waiting tables at 4 Thai restaurants concurrently. Later on, she attended San Francisco State University and earned her master's degree in Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages in 2006. Her additional educational backgrounds include travel and tourism, green and sustainable business, and massage and bodywork.

Boom has been in the restaurant industry for over 20 years wearing many hats including server, general manager, and managing director in multiple casual to upscale Thai and Japanese restaurants including Thep Phanom, Ozumo, Osha Thai, and Farmhouse Kitchen. She has experience in training teams regarding food, wine, service, and safety. Other areas include communications, marketing, and events. She joined La Cocina in December 2022 as an acting general manager to oversee the Municipal Marketplace operations, and in helping to find the next GM before transition into focusing on strategic planning of sales and operations for La Cocina. As an active learner, Boom believes that knowledge can be acquired from everywhere and at any age. She hopes to share her knowledge and experiences to help people in the community achieve their goals.

Her favorite foods: gluten-free Thai street food, spicy papaya salad, sushi, and Vietnamese.

+ Arielle Helffrich, Catering Sales and Event Coordinator

contact: arielle@lacocinasf.org

bilingual: Spanish

pronouns: she/they

Originally from Washington, D.C., Arielle grew up in a family of phenomenal home cooks with really big opinions - mostly about food, travels, art and music. They studied Community and International Development and Spanish at the University of Vermont, with a semester spent in Argentina. After graduating they moved directly to San Francisco, having always known it was the only (US) city for them. With a background in volunteer and event management she spent the next 10+ years working for different SF based non-profits, learning about her new city through the social services that exist and of course the delicious meals right around the corner from each of them. With an interest in education and the idea to live once again abroad she moved to Madrid to work as a teaching assistant in a bilingual elementary school and to eat all the tapas possible. As the pandemic halted most in-person events they shifted their professional focus to new roles in the restaurant industry. Immediately loving the energy, the people and absolutely everything about this, new to her world, she looked to bridge her experience in non-profits and events with her love for this new found community. La Cocina would be the perfect place and she is so excited to partner with such many amazing BIPOC entrepreneurs to enhance the catering program!

Favorite Foods: Anchovies point blank - since they were a kid. Put them on pizza, make pasta sauce out of them, eat them straight out of the can. You can’t go wrong. Really really good sourdough bread (the opinions come in strong here). The ever constant quest for the best dumplings in town, be it soup or not. Empanadas from any nationality - give her a meat pocket wrapped in dough and she is down. Tamales. They could and have lived off tamales as their main source of nutrition for a year and would do it again.

+ Carrie Sullivan, Catering Sales and Event Coordinator

contact: carrie@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Carrie’s upbringing didn’t really set her up for a career in the culinary world (think canned soup casseroles and bottled salad dressings), but her exposure in college to organic farming led her to the world of delicious, fresh, and healthy foods. Carrie has worked in a variety of settings in the food world, including coordinating meal preparation on behalf of World Central Kitchen, running culinary programs and fundraising events for CUESA, and managing catering for Bi-Rite Market. Carrie relocated to San Francisco from the East Coast more than 25 years ago and has never looked back.

Carrie loves to travel and generally builds her itineraries around the food of the area, expanding her knowledge while developing an appreciation for other cultures. She hopes to explore more of Mexico and Central America in the near future.

+ Lisa Murray, Catering Intake Coordinator

contact: lisa@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Born in Philadelphia, Lisa has spent most of her life on the East Coast–living in Bermuda, Washington DC, and New Jersey before moving to the Bay Area in August 2013.

Lisa has worked in the hospitality industry since college. What’s a young impressionable girl to do when she finds a space that would combine her appreciation for the artistry of cooking (outside of her mama and nonna) with meeting folks eager to teach her about all things food, wine, grappa and single malt scotch? That and her penchant to strike up conversations with strangers was really all she needed! She was hooked.

Lisa’s vast experience covers almost every aspect of restaurant operations with an emphasis on fine dining, customer service and training. Lisa worked at the famed Chef Tell's, in Radnor, PA, as the banquet manager where she had the pleasure of meeting and forming a friendship with Dr. Claus and Ute Riedel (of Riedel crystal glass fame) whose son attended school close by. She has worked as a for independent property owners and large restaurant groups in Philadelphia and DC and has taken lessons from each owner and manager she’s worked alongside and feels that’s what guides her today, still.

After many years working in the food and beverage world, Lisa wanted to find something that would fulfill her need to make a difference, and where her experience would benefit a community. Enter La Cocina. It’s given her a chance to view this industry from a different, and very delicious perspective.

Lisa’s favorite food is her mother’s meatballs, but she’s always craving chilaquiles, NY style pizza, and oysters. She’ll order almost anything that is prepared with fennel, leeks, or ginger! And regardless of what she’s eating, she’ll never turn down a chance to drink a Rhone wine.

 
Finance & Operations
 

+ Laura Ambroseno, Chief Financial Officer

pronouns: she/her

contact: cfo@lacocinasf.org

Laura Ambroseno's formal training in Urban Economics and Finance has led to a varied career that started and has returned to microeconomics and urban development, with a detour through global capital markets. Laura started her career at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY with a focus on Community Reinvestment and was soon attracted to global financial crises and their impact on currency markets. She has managed fixed income assets and foreign exchange interventions for the Federal Reserve and quantitative foreign exchange strategies for Morgan Stanley, Capitalia, and State Street Bank in London and Rome.

Since landing in San Francisco in 2009, Laura has been involved with La Cocina first a Board member, Finance Chair and Board Chair and now as the Chief Financial Officer. Laura holds and MBA in International Finance from Columbia Business School, magna cum laude, and a BA in Urban Economics from Barnard College of Columbia University.

+ Sarah Lau, Director of People + Culture

pronouns: she/her

contact: sarah@lacocinasf.org

Sarah was first introduced to La Cocina in 2010. She was attending culinary and hospitality school at City College of San Francisco and learned of volunteer opportunities with La Cocina. She volunteered over a few years at La Cocina's Street Food Festivals and has loved and followed the organization ever since. After finishing school, Sarah started to work in some of the best restaurants in San Francisco, including Nopa, Nopalito, Liholiho Yacht Club, Dear Inga and Good Good Culture Club. She's worn many hats within those businesses, from being in the kitchen, then transitioning into the dining room to host, bus, run, bartend, serve and manage.

Sarah eventually transitioned into an operations role, supporting all of the restaurants with everything from payroll, R&M, to accounts payable. She then noticed that these restaurants, like most restaurants, lacked any formal HR support system, and advocated to learn how to do it for them. She was the inaugural HR person and held that role for many years right up until she joined La Cocina in August of 2022, supporting the restaurants and the people working in them who really make the restaurants great - working alongside the owners to continuously improve working conditions, benefits packages, and to incorporate equity and inclusion in their employee recruitment, hiring, compensation and retention practices.

She's very proud of the work she and the leadership team at the restaurants put in to make the restaurant industry a better, healthier place to work - and wanted to extend that to La Cocina and all of the women of color-led businesses incubated through it, with hopes of combining her love of the food and beverage industry with her passion for social, economic and racial justice.

Fav foods: Sushi all day everyday - Sarah will throw down for a really special omakase and will eat a chirashi bowl for lunch everyday if she could. In general, Asian food from all of its vast diaspora is comforting to her, and she will always want rice, noodles, or soup - especially Korean food.

+ Stephanie Goss, Operations Manager

contact: stephanie@lacocinasf.org

trilingual: Spanish & French

pronouns: she/ella/elle

+ Valerie Ng, Operations Associate

contact: valerie@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Valerie Ng’s interest in food began during stints abroad during and after college, eating halloumi and tandoori chicken in London, tortilla española and paella in Madrid, and crepes, croissants, and couscous in Paris. Several years after those seminal experiences, a trip through China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, where she learned to cook local specialties, inspired her to pursue a career in the food world. Back home in the Bay Area, she began volunteering for La Cocina’s Street Food Festival, attracted to its mission in amplifying immigrant, women, and POC food entrepreneurs.

An enthusiastic home cook, she has volunteered for over a decade as a kitchen assistant at various Bay Area cooking schools, helping students as they learn new skills and techniques in the kitchen, and cooks occasional pop-up dinners at 18 Reasons, inspired by her travels and interest in food history.

Favorite foods: kouign amann (especially from Arsicault Bakery), chow fun, and duck confit.

 
Development
 

+ Lauren Adams, Interim Development Director

contact: lauren@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

+ Grace Bon, Development Coordinator

contact: grace@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Grace grew up in Sonoma, California, in a household that revered food and the rituals that surround growing, cooking, and eating. Her most beloved childhood memories are those attached to food - late night taco truck runs with her dad, family trips to the city for dim sum, and gathering around her granny’s special-occasion sticky toffee pudding.

Grace studied political science and policy in Washington, DC, where she primarily focused on food policy. She eventually became interested in immigration work, which led to a job in immigration law after graduation. After six years in DC, Grace was forced to admit that she is very much a California girl at heart - she missed the ocean and mountains and unmatched produce of her home state, and decided it was time to come home. She settled in San Francisco, where she continued to work on green card programs, DACA renewals, and asylum cases.

During the pandemic, Grace decided to leave her corporate law firm position and explore a career in the food and hospitality world. In the two years that followed, she worked a range of jobs in production and service, from bread baker to wine tasting host, and helped launch an agritourism startup at a nearby regenerative farm.

She is thrilled to settle at La Cocina and to be a part of such a dedicated, hard-working team. She is excited to leverage her wide-ranging experience in immigration law, food service, and member relations to further the reach of La Cocina’s programs and to help build a more equitable food ecosystem in her community and beyond.

Favorite foods: Almond croissants, Ethiopian food, plátanos maduros, and anything with a big pile of fresh herbs.

+ Katherine Sundt, Development Manager

contact: (202) 253-9138, sundt@lacocinasf.org

pronouns: she/her

Originally hailing from Washington, DC, Katherine has since had the pleasure of living in and tasting the flavors of New Orleans, Quito, Los Angeles, and now San Francisco. She has bussed tables and hosted in restaurants from Capitol Hill to Venice Beach. Most recently, she worked at Yelp, partnering with locally-owned restaurants in the Bay Area. Aside from enjoying the tasty perks of working with food entrepreneurs, Katherine is in constant awe of their extreme passion, grit, and relentless energy.

Katherine started out as a volunteer with La Cocina, managing the intake of volunteers and matching them with projects. As a volunteer, she saw what a supportive, driven, and all-around kick-ass group of people this was, and decided to go all in. She’s thrilled to be with the organization full-time now and is excited to make supporting La Cocina an engaging and unforgettable experience for donors and sponsors.

Katherine is always planning her next meal, which would ideally consist of a massive amount of carbs in any number of acceptable forms, including: tamales, fried yucca, homemade gnocchi, a New York bagel, garlic mashed potatoes.