Meet the Board
Jade Miles - President and Events
Recently a finalist in the Agrifutures Victorian Rural woman of the year, Jade Miles has been recognised for her work in local food system development in North East Victoria and beyond.
Jade Miles has an abundantly high energy approach to capturing peoples imagination and taking them on the journey with her. She is collaborative by nature and has a preference for beginning with whole system thinking before drilling down to intimate solutions.
Bec Sacco - Secretary
I live locally and am passionate about sustainability and living lightly. I’ve been a member of the Beechworth Food Co-op since the beginning and love the community it creates.
Dean Cleave-Smith - Treasurer
Dean is a digital mastermind and wine maker, and also has extensive experience in leadership and management. Dean brings financial acumen to the Beechworth Co-Op and hopes to enhance the current systems to take the Co-Op to the next level. He is passionate about contributing to his community and has an appetite to learn about local and ethical food production.
Fiona Wigg - Community
Fiona brings a diverse range of skills to the Food Co-op including research, project management, communications and strategy development. Her specialist knowledge in viticulture was developed over many years in the wine industry with a recent focus on climate adaptation in agriculture and local government. She is currently employed as a viticulture curriculum writer and trainer with GOTAFE Wangaratta.
Fiona’s community experience includes general board member of the North East Valleys Wine Group and President of the Beechworth Montessori Children’s Group. She has lived in Beechworth for 15 years with her husband Ross and children Meg and Tas. Her favourite hobby is producing drinkable wine from her much loved vineyard and sharing good food with friends.
Penelope McGufficke - Marketing
Penelope is off the land and is passionate about sustainable holistic agriculture, native regeneration and supporting local producers. She is an experienced marketing and digital media professional and is excited to bring those skills to the Co-Op.