TEAM
Martha Garcia; Program Director, Education
Born and raised in Mexico City, Chef Martha began her culinary journey in her family's kitchen, eventually following her passion for Hospitality and Culinary Arts to Washington DC. From Prep Cook to Corporate Regional Chef, Martha honed her skills, drawing inspiration from her rich heritage and influential mentors. She seamlessly integrated the Farm-to-Table and Slow Food philosophies into her culinary career.
Breaking free from corporate constraints, Martha founded Zoma Culinary, showcasing her entrepreneurship and creativity. Her humble upbringing led her deep into the nonprofit sector, where she became a fervent advocate for food justice. Martha serves as a Culinary and Nutrition Instructor for Common Threads, advocates for sustainable practices as a member of the Austin/Travis County Food Consumption and Access Issue Area Group and has served as the Culinary Director for Sunday Lunch Box. Martha embodies resilience, continuous learning, and an unwavering desire to assist those seeking a better life. Her journey demonstrates the transformative power of dedication and passion in creating a more just and compassionate society.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS & FOUNDERS
Jaya Srivastava, PhD; Director & Co-founder
Jaya is a cancer biologist and Medical Affairs professional where her current responsibilities include translational and clinical development of targeted therapeutics and diagnostics in Hematology and Oncology. In her professional and volunteer pursuits, Jaya is driven by problem solving to best provide opportunity to groups with limited-resources. She has over 10 years of experience volunteering with non-profit organizations that focus on professional development and community engagement. Previous volunteer experience includes serving on the Board of Directors for Regarding Cancer, Events Committee Co-Chair for the Austin-Area Women in Bio Chapter, serving on the Associate Member Council Fundraising Committee for the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) to raise funds for cancer research and promote awareness of cancer research, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and serving as a tutor and mentor with the Austin Sunshine Camps.
Angela Smoller, cPA; Director
As early as childhood, Angela had dreams of running a company. She started her journey toward achieving this goal by earning her MSA and BSA in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and becoming a CPA. Over the course of her career, she has maintained a continuous upward trajectory in scope and responsibility and has operational as well as finance and accounting expertise. She is now a CFO with diversified experience in small private companies and Fortune 500 corporations across various industries. Angela has a proven track record of integrating corporate strategy into operational execution, including driving organizational change in support of critical business initiatives.
Angela continues to dream and set new goals as quickly as she achieves them. One of these new goals has been to join the board of a non-profit with a powerful mission statement. Combining her passion for food, love of education, and years of executive leadership experience, Angela is thrilled to be a part of The Nourish Foundation to help make a difference in the Austin community.
dawn foster; Director
Dawn Foster is an unapologetic marketing and brand nerd who looks at the world through a marketing lens -- reading shapes and colors before words, and reading past the message to see what is really being said.
For more than 15 years, she has worked with and lead both large and small branding and marketing teams. By partnering with C-Suite operations, marketing, information technology, and financial officers to build brands and marketing strategies across the United States, she has fostered a community of business owners, all with the goal of growing their business. As the owner of D. Foster Marketing Consulting, she is supporting solopreneurs and small business owners by providing smart and strategic marketing and branding solutions to help them take their business to the next level.
olivia hernandez; co-founder
Raised in and around her mother’s mobile catering business, “Chef OH” spent years avoiding her fate in the family business by pursuing just about any and every career. First in the printing and bindery industry, she advanced from packing boxes, to production manager, to lead project estimator. Her love of technology led her to spearhead the design of custom estimating software and workflow tracking modules. She then received formal culinary training and worked in designing, planning, and executing catered events and high-profile dinners at CAA. She moved to large-scale corporate, government, and hospital facilities management. Chef Oh’s successes across multiple industries did not come without drive, passion, and organization. These achievements are a testament to what can be done with limited resources, a high school degree, and the desire to help others be the best version of themselves.
siria contreras; co-founder
Siria is a creative and innovative powerhouse. An entertainment marketing professional with 15 years of experience in bringing Fortune 500 entertainment companies (Variety, NBC, CBS, AT&T/DIRECTV) further into the digital world. Siria was an integral part of the launch of industry-changing CBS All Access, the first subscription streaming service by an American Broadcasting Company. She currently lends her expertise to Live Nation’s House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, her work can be seen all over the world on any given day. Aside from her own past creative endeavors including an arts & lifestyle online publication and founding one of L.A.’s first online radio stations, Siria is also an avid Philanthropist working with organizations such as Autism Speaks, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Beyond Baroque, and aside from co-founding the Nourish Foundation is a founding and executive team member of the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls Los Angeles, a non-profit organization focused on empowering girls through music education now in its 9th year.
Past Members
Dawn Foster - Board of Directors
Sareta Davis - Board of Directors
Susana Kaufmann - Board of Directors and Co-Founder
Shelby Sorrel - Board of Directors