Board of Trustees

Carolyn Moore Khourie, PhD, RD, has a long professional career in nutrition.  Her research areas of interest have included food insecurity among college students, obesity in adults and children, and health benefits of vitamin D. Carolyn was an associate professor of nutrition and food sciences at Texas Woman’s University in Houston.  She also worked with the Minute Maid Company, developing healthy beverages, and was the clinical nutrition manager at Houston Methodist, a large cardiovascular hospital in Houston.  Carolyn has published more than 60 research papers and lay books, including a heart health cookbook for adults and a children’s nutrition guide and cookbook. Her years of community outreach efforts have included serving on the boards of the Houston Food Bank and Chairing the Program Committee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. She received her Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s and bachelor’s degree in nutrition from the University of California Berkeley. 

Bill began his career in the food business working as a private label Food Broker to Grocery Store chains in California. In a span of five years Bill created more than 250 items for sale to five large retailers.

In 1981 Bill met Sol Price at FedMart stores in Southern California. Sol had just opened a chain of warehouse clubs that he named “Price Club” and they were growing exponentially. Bill and a partner left their jobs and created a brokerage firm named “Monterey Marketing”. Within seven years this company exceeded $100MM in annual sales.

Bill has been a member of the Board of Directors for thirteen years, served as Treasurer and Secretary during the planning and building of the new facility and is currently a member of the Budget and Audit committees.

De Ann Davis, PhD, DABT is currently the Senior Vice President, Science at Western Growers Association. Dr. Davis has more than 25 years of experience in the development and execution of technical global programs, including food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.

Following an impressive run in consumer products safety, with leadership roles at companies such Alberto Culver, Kimberly-Clark, Henkel and Procter & Gamble, she transitioned to packaged and fresh produce safety nearly a decade ago. She most recently served as Food Safety Director for Commercial Food Sanitation, a provider of strategic consulting services, expertise and training that addresses food safety and sanitation challenges for food processing plants.

Previously, she served as Vice President of Food Safety and Quality for both Church Brothers Farms and Earthbound Farm, as well as Chief Food Safety Office for Kraft Foods Group, where she was engaged in the development of the regulatory framework for Food Safety Modernization Act.

Dr. Davis earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Chemistry from Point Loma Nazarene University and her PhD in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University. She is also a certified Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology, where she has served since 1996.

Dr. Davis holds several committee appointments within the produce industry, including having recently served as the Chair of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia. In 2018, Davis was appointed to the USDA National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food.

Laura is a branding, communications, and sustainability executive who for the past 30 years has successfully led interdisciplinary creative teams to deliver award winning marketing ideas/campaigns/events across all media platforms from the client, agency, and nonprofit perspective. Laura has worked with some of the world’s most successful companies and brands, including Procter & Gamble (Chicago), Ogilvy (New York City), The Walt Disney Company (Los Angeles) and Conservation International (Washington, DC), where she served as Chief Marketing Officer.

Laura has a deep passion for the social causes she believes in. She oversees a successful consulting business, based in Carmel, that focuses on branding, strategic communications, and development for environmental nonprofits and social impact corporate clients. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she earned her B.S.B.A with a double major in Marketing and Advertising.

Tama Bistrian, CPA is a dynamic business professional with over 30 years of financial accounting experience working in various industries with outstanding leadership, communication and interpersonal skills. She is currently the Chief Accounting Officer at Taylor Fresh Foods, a multi-national agriculture manufacturer with over 20 subsidiaries. Prior to Taylor, she spent 7 years as Director of Accounting at the not-for-profit Monterey Bay Aquarium, 8 years as Controller of homebuilder Monterey Development Group, and 4 years in various financial roles for San Diego homebuilder The Corky McMillin Companies.   Tama has a strong GAAP accounting background from her tenure at KPMG as an auditor.

To augment her passion for healthy living and not-for-profit work, Tama serves on the board of Central Coast YMCA as chairman of the board and audit committee. She also serves as audit committee chair for the Center for Produce Safety, a board member of Food Bank For Monterey County, and a mentor in the Pay-it-Forward program at California State University, Monterey Bay.