Nutrition Services Leaders - Conscious Kitchen

Systems change would not be possible without bold leaders taking a stance to provide better for their communities. At Conscious Kitchen, we are honored to work with and support these amazing Food Service Leaders as they strive to procure local organic food of the highest quality for the students at each of their unique school districts. Without their leadership and determination, our work for advance the organic farm-to-school movement would not be possible.

Barbara Jellison

Executive Director – Food Services, West Contra Costa Unified School District

Barbara leads a team of over 240 food service professionals in serving 27,500 students across 54 sites in a high needs district where 67% qualify for free and reduced meals. Barbara is a motivated, results-driven food service professional who most recently took on the challenges of the pandemic to test and bring organic products into the food service program. She has since continued to procure roughly 50% of food for the district from organic supplies, prioritizing CA fresh and minimally processed foods. Barbara has led her team in achieving equipment, training, and sourcing changes that are allowing them to increase the amount of fresh, organic, scratch-cooked menu items that they make in the central kitchen for service across the district. Having served the district for 22 years, Barbara’s experience extends back to culinary school and restaurant management and she continues to work to improve the food service quality and experience for students across her district. Barbara has successfully worked with both CDFA and USDA grants to help set goals for the district, link farm to school educational opportunities to the food service programming, and achieve procurement and recipe changes that incorporate fresh, local, organic products into school meals.

Michael Jochner

Director – Student Nutrition, Morgan Hill Unified School District

Michael has been the Director of Student Nutrition at MHUSD for the past five years, where he has championed efforts to bring fresh and nutritious meals to students. In 2021, he encouraged the school district to purchase a one container hydroponic farm from Freight Farms, and they have since purchased a second farm. He has worked in past roles as the Bon Appetit Executive Chef at Google, Executive Chef at La Rinconada Country Club, and as a Sous Chef for Bistro Elan. He also held an intern position at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco.

Micha James

Nutrition Services Director, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District

Micha has served as the Director of Nutrition Services at MPUSD since 2017. With a background in Nutrition Psychology and Dietetics, she is passionate about student health and nutrition, and has conducted research spanning mental health disparities, nutrition in adults, body image disorders, child development, and more. Micha is an advocate for the profound connection between nutrition and academic success, dedicated to fostering positive, long-term healthy eating habits among the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District community. Committed to providing the best for her students, she champions the sourcing and creation of fresh, scratch-cooked meals made with local and organic ingredients. Micha’s commitment extends to supporting local farmers, embodying a vision of sustainable, healthier, and environmentally conscious food practices. Her dedication to the organic farm-to-school movement is underscored by a personal ethos: “If I wouldn’t eat it, I won’t serve it to my students.”

Guillaume Pfahl

Director of Food Services, Sausalito Marin City School District

Born and raised in San Francisco, Guillaume brings his passion for our local food culture and community to his role as Director of Food and Nutrition at Sausalito Marin City School District. He also supports Conscious Kitchen as Executive Chef, with strategic planning and growth, menu, recipe, ordering and supply chain development. Prior to joining CK, Guillaume worked in numerous culinary positions including catering, private clubs, hotels, restaurants and helped open a farm-to-table restaurant in Sausalito. He sees food as the common denominator between people, and is inspired to create community for children centered around food and nutrition.

Conscious Kitchen advances climate-smart school food based on five foundational values: fresh, local, organic, seasonal, nutritious. We believe that school-supported agriculture s a powerful tool to address climate change and model climate action to promote human and environmental health.