Staff

Phiala Deal 
Harvest & Programs Coordinator 

Originally from Virginia, Phiala is a recent graduate of the Environmental Studies program at University of Colorado Boulder where she focused on environmental justice and the effect of tourism on local food systems in Madagascar. She first learned about Community Fruit Rescue while interning for the organization during the 2024 harvest season and was drawn to how interconnected the organization's approach is. Phiala also has a background in working for organic fruit farms, whether it be on location or at farmers markets. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her pet rabbit, hiking, pilates, and making jewelry.

Alexandra Justesen
Harvest & Programs Manager

After graduating from Arizona State University, Alexandra made her way to Denver. At ASU, she focused on climate policy, environmental justice, urban sustainability, and food system resilience. After searching for the right way to put this education to practice, she was drawn to Community Fruit Rescue’s mission. CFR’s bottom-up approach to increase food system resilience and reconnect people with their food was exactly right. Her background in early childhood education, organizing at non-profits and canvassing within different communities has been a constant reminder that most things do take a village. In her free-time, Alexandra is aiming to put down roots in Colorado and explore a new ecosystem that is quite different from her desert beginnings.

Melanie Hill
Executive Director

Melanie has served as Community Fruit Rescue’s Executive Director since February 2023. She was first introduced to CFR while completing her Master’s thesis--now the Bears & People Project--and later joined the organization’s Board of Directors after a season as a Harvest Leader.

Melanie received her MA in Media & Public Engagement from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she focused on black bear coexistence in the region, and her BS in Photo-Illustration from Kent State University. Since 2018, she has served as the facilitator of the Boulder Bear Stakeholder Group, helping diverse organizations collectively share information & ideas toward the shared goal of minimizing human-bear conflicts throughout Boulder County.

Before joining CFR, Melanie spent a decade as Communications & Outreach Director at the WILD Foundation. Her work—both personal and professional—focuses on community-driven solutions that connect people with the environment, food systems, and wildlife.

When she’s not rescuing fruit or bearsitting (yes, you heard that right!), Melanie can be found outdoors with her husband, two young daughters, and dog—on foot, skis, or bike. At home, she tends to her fruit trees and grapevines, preserving applesauce, grape jelly, and other homemade treats to keep up with her fruit-loving kids.

Board of Directors

Blair Norman
Board President

Blair Norman co-founded Community Fruit Rescue in 2014 and serves as President of the Board. In 2014 she saw fruit rescue as a way to provide resources for the community as well as to reduce the attractiveness of our neighborhood apple trees to our local bears. She was a community garden volunteer leader in Boulder for 6 years and enjoys engaging volunteers to form community bonds. She works as the warehouse manager for a small bag manufacturing company in Boulder when she is not hiking, biking or camping in the Rocky Mountains.

Brian Ross

Brian Ross is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with over 25 years of experience in the natural and organic food and beverage industry. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Rise Imports, a company dedicated to bringing high-quality organic and natural products from around the world to the U.S. market. Brian also leads GROW, a sales consulting agency that supports emerging and established brands in the natural products space.

​Throughout his career, Brian has held leadership roles at several influential companies, including Made In Nature, Cheribundi, and Twist, and was a key figure in the growth of iconic brands like IZZE and Oregon Chai. His expertise spans innovation, brand development, sales, and sustainable business practices.
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Brian brings a passion for mission-driven business and a deep understanding of scaling purpose-led brands to his nonprofit board service.

Jamie Carioggia

Jamie moved to Colorado after graduating with her Master’s degree in mental health counseling in Florida. She has worked in the mental health field for 14 years and has grown very found of her community here in Colorado.  Jamie learned about Community Fruit rescue after volunteering for the organization for a summer and was drawn to the CFR mission and the impact is has on the community. Jamie has learned the impact each individual can have on the community while working in community mental health and wants to be a positive force. She spends her free time in her garden, hiking and getting a certification as a community herbalist. ​

Kelly Kenworthy

Kelly Elle Kenworthy is a yoga teacher, writer, and community-minded advocate who has called Colorado home for over a decade. Originally from Northern California, with formative years spent in South Texas, she brings a wide-ranging and heartfelt perspective to all of her work.

Kelly spent 14 years as the Founder and Owner of The Little Yoga Studio in Boulder, where she fostered an inclusive and grounded space for students to explore yoga and self-inquiry. Though the studio has since closed, her dedication to teaching continues through online classes, workshops, retreats, and transformative programs such as Embodied Eight, a deep dive into the eight-limbed path of yoga, and Soul Study, a individual-centered exploration of self, spirit, and inner alignment.

​Her work is deeply informed by a love of the natural world and a commitment to living inight relationship with land and community. Kelly has served as Treasurer and Director on the boards of both the Four Mile Fire Protection District and the Boulder Watershed Collective, where she focused on issues related to the Wildland Urban Interface, ecological stewardship, and local resilience.

She is also a devoted writer, exploring themes of queerness, belonging, grief, and personal transformation through memoir, storytelling, and her Substack publication under The Little Yoga Studio Within. 

Kelly is honored to join the board of Community Fruit Rescue and is inspired by the intersection of food justice, environmental care, and community collaboration that defines its mission.

Kelly Nix
​Secretary

As the Managing Director of Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, Kelly Nix fervently advocates for farmed animals, blending over 15 years of public education experience to enhance Community Fruit Rescue's educational and outreach efforts. With a Master's in Educational Leadership and Special Education and nearing completion of her Master's in Humane Education from Antioch University, Kelly seamlessly intertwines her profession with her passions. Away from Luvin Arms, she enjoys family activities, vegan recipe trials, treasure hunting at thrift stores, and local community events. She cherishes moments with her four beloved dogs, embodying her deep-seated love for animals and humane education principles.

Micah Parkin
​Treasurer

Micah Parkin co-founded Community Fruit Rescue in 2014 and serves on the Board as the treasurer. In addition, she is a founder and Executive Director of 350 Colorado. She has 20+ years of experience as a climate and clean energy advocate, community leader and organizer, and nonprofit director. Micah serves on the City of Boulder's Clean Energy Technical Team, as well as the RenewablesYES and Empower Our Future teams. She serves on the steering committee for the Coloradans Against Fracking coalition and the board of Colorado Rising as well as on "The Shed" – Making Local Food Work coalition. She created the Boulder Edible Landscapes Coalition to promote local food growing and access for all community members. Micah is the mother of two daughters who fuel her passion to build a powerful climate and clean energy movement, create resilient communities and transition to a sustainable future.

Advisory Council

Erin Hauer

Erin Hauer is a designer at a local landscape architecture firm that works closely with community, ecology, and water resources. She is involved in growing Fruit Rescue's tree care program, bringing insight from her master’s studies abroad on participatory design and management as well as her research experience with the European Forum on Urban Forestry. Her first harvest memories in Boulder were made while gathering fallen apples from a community lawn and baking them into pies with her grandmother.

Eric Johnson

Eric is the co-founder of Widespread Malus, an initiative that aims to plant, manage, and harvest apple trees throughout Boulder County. He has 30+ years experience with plant propagation, gardening, orchards, composting and soil improvement. He has been a science and math teacher in the Boulder Valley schools, helped to develop garden-based science curricula, and taught horticulture in the Boulder area. Boulder County has been his home for nearly 60 years. He lives in north Boulder with his wife and daughter.

Ethan Welty

Ethan Welty is a research scientist turned urban forager. With technology and big data, he champions the overlooked but abundant food growing in cities, hoping to convince even the most diehard urbanite that cities can be a source of fresh and free food. He is a co-founder of Falling Fruit (fallingfruit.org) – a collaborative global urban foraging map – and co-founded Community Fruit Rescue in 2014, where he serves on the Steering Committee as a technology consultant extraordinaire. All the while balancing his photography career with research on glaciers for a Ph.D. at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research.