Food Justice Northwest Aurora Welcomes its First Board of Directors

In January 2025, FJNWA welcomed its first Board of Directors. For the first two and a half years of FJNWA's history, a founding steering committee guided and governed the organization. Since the earliest days, the steering committee listened intently to residents and community leaders and made key decisions to shape the organization, including a commitment to explicitly collaborate with and serve the northwest Aurora community and center food sovereignty in the organization’s mission and vision.

An enormous thank you to the incomparable group of people that served as FJNWA’s founding steering committee: ~sistaotey, Erika Cervantes, Salvador Gonzalez, James Grevious, Patti Iwasaki, Mikhaela Mullins, Crystal Murillo, and Sydney Quynn.

Last year, these founding members voted to transition from a working steering committee to a governing board of directors in order to best support the growing organization and its evolving needs. The board of directors will serve in a voluntary capacity, and together, they are responsible for making big decisions, setting goals, ensuring financial health, and helping to raise funds. 

FJNWA is thrilled to welcome six new board members, including two of the founding steering committee members: Patti Iwasaki (Board Chair), Olive Hinnant (Board Vice Chair), Salvador González (Board Treasurer), Jen O'Neal (Board Secretary), Jesús Calderón (Director), and Thai Nguyen (Director). This group of talented individuals with diverse identities and life experiences is dedicated to advancing food justice and food sovereignty in northwest Aurora.

Further, these directors are tenacious advocates for food, racial, environmental, and economic justice. They have lived and worked in northwest Aurora, and they specialize in community organizing, food assistance, public health, gardening, nonprofit and faith leadership, strategic planning, food supply chains, communications, cooperative economics, and fundraising.