Meet the Board
Fiona Wigg - President
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.
Elsa Gladigau - Secretary
Elsa lives locally and works in the medical field. She is passionate about food and its connection to our health and wellbeing. Elsa grew up on a sheep and crop farm and loves to grow her own food. Promoting farming practices that minimise chemical use, maximise nutrient density of food and support a healthy environment is important to her. Seeing community come together around this is even better!
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.
Alison Lloyd - Volunteer Co-ordination, Marketing
Alison feels very fortunate that the food co-op started in Beechworth at the very same time as she moved here with her young family, six years ago. A co-op member since the start, she has appreciated the opportunity to meet like-minded people, and get to know producers and production methods. Professionally, Alison works as a marketing consultant in food, wine and tourism. She is passionate about seeing the towns and people of our region thrive.
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.
Jenny McKenzie - Volunteer Co-ordination
Jenny brings a diverse background to her role, through 28 years of experience across leadership, management, group facilitation, community-based work and holistic healing. Growing up on the land, Jenny is committed to deepening her knowledge and understanding of sustainable food systems and her role within this as a part of the broader community. Being a member of the Board, Jenny hopes to actively contribute to the capacity, capability and sustainability of the co-op.
Michelle Ellis - Communication
Michelle is a Stanley-based teacher and parent, and an enthusiastic supporter of local, sustainable lifestyle choices. Her forays into vegetable gardening have deepened her profound appreciation for the wonderful people who grow our food. It's hard! As someone who loves to eat good food, Michelle feels keenly the importance of supporting local producers. She is keen to play a role in building small, local food systems. She also loves a chat when she shops at the Hub, so she feels that the co-op is a great match for her!