We want you to serve on our board!
Our Board of Directors is elected by the membership at our annual meeting to act on behalf of the membership at large. The board facilitates the strategic initiatives of the organization including long range planning. Members of the board are elected for a 3 year term and also serve on committees such as the Finance, Marketing and Outreach, and Strategic Planning.
Yelm Food Co-op Board
Jeevan Anandasakaran
President
Jeevan Anandasakaran brings over 20 years of cutting edge engineering skills and management experience to bear. Jeevan brings his start-up and non-profit experience to a growing organization to meet its mission and discover new opportunities.
Beginning his career in 1998 at Amazon.com, Jeevan quickly emerged as a powerful asset and was responsible for forming many systems and processes for managing systems for a company experiencing record breaking growth. Finally taking personal management of technical staff at the Georgia distribution center.
After Amazon.com, Jeevan made a transition into software development as a user interface developer for Epic Edge Inc. Here Jeevan called on both his technical background and graphic design skills to create a seamless development environment for both graphic (UI) artists and java development staff. During this time Jeevan has created interfaces for such organizations as Sun Microsystems, State of Washington, State of Tennessee and State of Alaska.
Since 1996, Jeevan has been involved hands on with internet technologies. Founding President of Wave Networks (www.WaveNetworks.com) in 2001, an internet hosting and Application Development Company, Jeevan has constantly explored the leading edge of leveraging enterprise quality infrastructure design and open source technology to provide Internet Companies with the most cost effective solutions for starting and scaling Internet Businesses.
Currently Jeevan is a Senior Web Developer for UW Medicine working specifically in research IT supporting medical research at the UW.
Returning to the area in 2007 Jeevan has been a supporter of local businesses and non-profits supporting the Yelm community directly. Jeevan sees business like the co-op as essential to keeping Yelm dollars in Yelm as much as possible.
Valentin Fyrst
Vice President
Valentin Fyrst moved to Yelm from Europe in 1997. He lived here while completing a BA in French Literature and BSc in Psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, before earning an MBA with Honors from Saint Martin’s University in 2000.
In 2002, adventure called. Valentin and his wife Nadine moved to Australia for a decade, followed by a couple of years in Malaysia, before returning stateside to spend 18 months in Silicon Valley on their way back to Yelm in mid-2016.
Shortly after their return, he started a digital marketing agency dedicated to promote local small businesses and help achieve sustainable growth, while telling compelling stories.
Valentin loves helping people and brings over 20 years of international business experience with him. He thrives on getting into the nuts and bolts of organizations to figure out how to improve them. He also enjoys direct community involvement to help inspire positivity, creativity, and a spirit of paying it forward.
In 2020, his Spread the Community #love campaign helped highlight local businesses while encouraging community support. As a result, he was deeply honored to be awarded Best Volunteer and Best Young Professional of Nisqually.
Valentin’s vision for our Co-op is to help position it as a community hub, a local destination for the community …by the community.
Liz Axe
Treasurer
1978 where she became department manager and buyer. During this time she also won a
nationwide window dressing competition.
In 1990 she moved to Yelm with her husband Michael and their three children. She has gained
great life experience through a series of diverse occupations including planting organic gardens
tor clients, being administrator tor a small private school, working tor three separate locally
owned online retail stores, managing The U Wellness from start up in 2015 and most recently
becoming a certified Pilates Instructor.
Elizabeth and her husband have grown a large organic vegetable garden for the past 43 years,
learning to be as self sufficient as possible and living in balance with nature.
She joined the board of the Yelm Food Coop because she believes in the importance of
supporting small locally owned businesses, especially those that are aligned with her own core
values.
Carlo Giorno
Board Member
Carlo’s first job out of school was as a trainee manager for a supermarket chain. He was the youngest to be appointed manager of his first store in Bicester (outskirts of Oxford). After a re-merchandising over haul the store was very successful.
Deciding to travel the world Carlo worked in the service industry and in construction on 3 different continents. More recently he spent several years in the local restaurant trade, followed by 3 years as a volunteer at the Olympia food Co-op. Carlo graduated from the Yoga College of India in 1995 after a 6 month internship, and has been actively teaching students and leading training programs ever since.
With more than a keen interest in all aspects of healthy living Carlo sees an opportunity to suggest and assist in positive changes for our Co-op, the customers, it’s staff and the community. He has been a local gardner for many years bringing good quality food from the soil to the table. It seems like second nature to him.
His motto is “Let food be thy medicine”
Mike Axe
Board Member
Jane Agren
Board Member
Miro Bouchakian
Board Member
Miro Bouchakian brings over 25 years of experience in the Fintech industry, having held leadership roles in sales training, sales management, and account management at companies such as U.S. Bank, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and Fiserv. In 2003, he relocated to the Pacific Northwest to serve as the Northwest Regional Sales Manager for TeleCheck Inc.
In addition to his Fintech career, Miro is a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of several startups across the food service, sporting goods, real estate, and toy industries. He currently manages partner relationships for community financial institutions at Fiserv and serves as President of Rival Flyer Inc., a company focused on creating innovative sports toys.
Miro holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University and is an active board member of the Yelm Food Co-op, where he is proud to support community-driven food initiatives.
