About Live Culture
Live Culture Company has a strong track record of creating market-based change, overcoming challenges, and developing creative and viable business and program plans for values-driven food businesses and for businesses seeking to integrate quality food into their work.
Through its work, Live Culture and has emerged as a unique service provider at the intersection of artisan, sustainable and quality food. Through continued profitable growth and directed success of value driven food businesses, Live Culture works to make good food the standard for everyone and to engage people in food and agriculture. A subsidiary of Live Culture Company, Live Culture Productions was founded in 2009. Live Culture Productions manages the Eat Real Festival and is developing an Eat Real iPhone application and various other media projects. Live Culture Productions projects support the work of the Live Culture Company by engaging thousand of consumers in the issues and values of sustainable, quality food. Anya Fernald founded Live Culture Company in 2008 and currently directs the company.
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Team Biographies
Talia Dillman
Project Manager
Talia Dillman began her career in food working for Slow Food Nation, where she worked with teams of architects and food producers to design food display and merchandising spaces that best represented the unique characteristics of the products. At Live Culture, Talia manages all projects and serves as a liason to clients. Her specific expertise includes small-scale food production facility design and throughput.
Anya Fernald
Director
Anya has developed her expertise in sustainable food, business development, and innovation in food and agriculture with 13 years of hands-on experience in leadership roles in the sector. At Live Culture, Anya directs all consulting projects and serves in an advisory role on all Live Culture Productions projects.
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Read Anya's full bio »
Anya Fernald has worked for over a decade with small- and medium-scale food producers and chefs in business and market development and has worked on sustainable food projects in over 30 countries. Anya began her career in food developing and implementing a business and marketing plan for artisan cheesemakers in rural development in southeastern Sicily for the Consorzio Filiera Lattiero Casearia.
Anya then directed programs for the Slow Food Foundation in Italy, developing and implementing a micro-investment program that supported small-scale artisan food producers in over 30 countries as diverse as Madagascar, Sweden, Ecuador, and Bosnia. Anya returned to her home state of California to lead a Farm-to-School program, a social venture produce distribution company, and the California Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign for CAFF. Anya launched the inaugural edition of Slow Food Nation in San Francisco in 2007, serving as the organization's Executive Director.
Anya left Slow Food Nation in 2008 to found the Live Culture Company, which brings together the diverse aspects of Anya's background and training to advise and support the development of profitable, values-driven food businesses. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Anya spent a post-graduate year of study as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow studying traditional cheesemaking. She has co-authored two books with Slow Food, and has written for numerous publications. Anya is a regular judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America and a season judge on the 2009 season of The Next Iron Chef.
Photo credit: Terry McCarthy
Alessandra Ghini
Creative Advisor
Alessandra has over fifteen years experience in marketing and creative planning with an emphasis on corporate brand development, strategic marketing communications planning, product marketing, partner and programs marketing. Alessandra participates in many Live Culture consulting projects, managing creative sessions and refining creative concepts.
Ali Gibbs
Operations Manager
A graduate of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Ali received a masters degree in Food Culture and Communications in Colorno, Italy. Previously, Ali studied Mass Communications and English at UC Berkeley. At Live Culture, Ali manages day-to-day operations, is spearheading the Eat Real iPhone Application development, and supports consulting projects.
Bronwen Hanna-Korpi
Marketing and Research Associate
Bronwen Hanna-Korpi comes to Live Culture with a diverse background in the food sector, from specialty foods retail (cheese and fresh meat) to farming/agritourism development and event planning. With a background in digital marketing from way back when and a degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences Bronwen supports all range of projects at Live Culture focusing on marketing, agritourism education programing and all things meat. Bronwen's true love is proscuitto.
Matthew Runeare
Strategy and Research Associate
Born and raised in Northern California, Matthew started his food career in the U.K. where he trained for four years in the restaurant industry. After returning to the U.S., he focused on building his skills as a designer and art director. In the past two years he has returned to the world of food with the goal of integrating these two passions of food and design. He holds a Masters in Food Culture from L'Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche in Parma, Italy. He often visits his extended family in the mountain village of Sonnino in Lazio, where his family are butchers and olive oil producers.
Paul Sytsma
Director of Business Planning
Paul brings his background in marketing, strategy, and data analysis to guide the business planning, operations, and analysis initiatives of Live Culture clients. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Outside of work, he is usually found enjoying the outdoors with his family, or in his kitchen making bread.
