Current Board

The Board consists of four Board Officers and five Board Directors.  Three board seats are up for election annually and each have a three-year term.  Board Officers are elected by the Board during its May board meeting and each Officer serves as Chair of a board committee.  Board members may serve no more than three consecutive terms.

Sarita Parikh, President

Sarita Parikh is Board President for the Twin Cities Co-Op Partnership.

Although she grew up eating mostly Doritos and Dr. Pepper, as a young adult, she discovered the joys of healthy foods and the quest to support sustainable food systems. When moving to Minneapolis almost 20 years ago, she found the co-ops to be flourishing examples of businesses that do good and do well. They embody the principles of democracy and sustainability.

Sarita earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Electrical Engineering, with a second major in Economics from Rice University. She has filled a variety of engineering and business roles in education, healthcare, retail, finance, and technology. She brings her analytic background and deep leadership experience to the goal of helping Twin Cities Cooperative Partners thrive in the competitive natural food market.

Sarita enjoys yoga, reading, music, dance, and keeping up with her active family.

Lisa Fittipaldi, Vice President

Lisa has been on the TCCP Board since 2019 and is the Board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee.  She has been a TCCP member for over 25 years.  She earned a BA from Miami University in Ohio, a JD from Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), and an MBA from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.  Lisa has worked in both the food and health care industries holding leadership positions in product development and marketing.

Lisa is passionate about TCCP believing that we raise the bar for all Minnesota grocers by supporting local farmers & businesses that use sustainable practices, help keep our environment clean, reduce global warming and provide valuable tax dollars to the state.  She’s proud to be part of this inclusive co-op community that is a catalyst for the change needed in the world.

Mark Greene, Secretary

Mark joined the TCCP Board in 2022.  He and his wife Penelope are long-time Uptown residents and dedicated Wedge members.

Mark earned a BA from Amherst College and Ph.D in econometrics from University of Michigan. He recently retired from a distinguished financial services career, including CEO roles at credit score leader FICO and risk management software vendor OpenLink. He now serves on several Boards, including non-profit work at the Walker Art Center, East Isles Neighborhood Association, and Minneapolis Rowing Club. He is an aspiring triathlete, rower, and SUP enthusiast.

TCCP serves a vital role in providing fresh/organic locally-sourced food to the Twin Cites community, through its Wedge and Linden Hills stores and the Co-op Partners Warehouse. I seek to support this mission by continuing my work as Secretary of the Board and Chair of the Governance & Board Development Committee, focused on three priorities:

  • Use my business experience to apply fiscal discipline, ensuring that TCCP operates profitably for its owners  
  • Adopt sound co-op governance principles to harness the collective talents of the Board, supporting Management in operating TCCP efficiently  
  • Position TCCP for growth, including thoughtful expansion into under-resourced Twin Cities “food deserts” which lack inclusive access to fresh, nutritious food.
  • With my experience and dedication, I am eager to serve on the TCCP board. Together, let’s strengthen TCCP, enrich our close-knit community by upholding TCCP’s values, making it a truly special place for everyone. 

Yoshi Suzuki-Lambrecht, Treasurer

Yoshi is a husband, dog dad, long-time Minnesota transplant, part-time voice over artist, and a proud community member of TCCP.

Yoshi’s motto in life is to “make more and give more.” He has always been driven professionally to gain the knowledge, skills, and resources to make a greater impact in his community. He has a warm heart and cool head that are needed to balance the needs of customers, community members, and other stakeholders with fiscal, operational, and moral excellence.

With over 15 years of experience spanning corporate strategy, management consulting, digital marketing, and academia, Yoshi’s expertise is in helping companies and organizations grow by being valuable to their customers through solving human needs and pain points. He applies human-centered design principles, frameworks, and tools to identify areas where customers experience hiccups, frictions, and hardships, carefully select the problems a company or organization has the permission to solve, and solve them in the most profitable and impactful ways.

His educational background includes B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Gustavus Adolphus College, and M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota.

Christine Page, Director

Christine Page is a collaborative social impact leader with robust experience in program management, marketing and volunteer recruitment. Christine has a heart for working with people, encouraging inclusivity and inspiring action to strengthen our community. Christine spent 15 years as a corporate social responsibility leader at Faegre Drinker, a top 100 law firm. In this role, Christine worked with 21 offices across the country to engage firm personnel in activities to support local communities while fostering partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Christine has served on various boards and committees and is currently the Vice-President of the HandsOn Twin Cities Board. Through these experiences, Christine is aware of the role food security and nutrition has in creating a strong, vibrant and equitable community.  Christine enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two kids.

Emily Anderson, Director

 

Emily Anderson joined the Wedge Co-op board in 2013, and continues to serve on the Twin Cities Co-op Partners board since it was formed through merger in 2017.

Emily’s introduction to cooperative enterprise began in 1974 as a volunteer at Seward Grocery Co-op. Soon she was recruited as a purchaser/sales manager at Cheese Rustlers, then Roots & Fruits Cooperative Produce worker-owned co-op wholesale distributors to the many rapidly growing retail grocery co-ops in the Twin Cities and region. In 1988 she launched Northcountry Cooperative Development Services, leading a team that provided operational and governance consulting for expanding retail grocery co-ops. Returning to Roots and Fruits in 1995 she led her sales and marketing team to achieve consistent growth from 1998 through 2001, Emily worked with the Cooperativa Mercado Central development team and continues to provide development support for the Mercado and other local co-ops.

From 2000 through 2012, as a nonprofit development officer, Emily obtained grant funding from corporations and foundations for MacPhail Center for Music, Tree Trust and Courage Center. At Eureka recycling, she developed and led a commercial compost pilot project with a cohort of Minneapolis restaurants, including bilingual staff training. Her educational background includes a B.A. from St. Olaf College. She studied small business and nonprofit management at the University of St. Thomas, and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Currently, Emily works as a writer and editor, and studies Dakota Language at the U of M.

Bao Vang, Director

The co-op model is a foundational part of my DNA as my parents and their Hmong relatives created and operated a co-op back in the 1980s, first in Minneapolis and later in St. Paul. Their store offered familiar Asian products, produce and ingredients and served as a “connector” for a growing immigrant community.  

Currently, I am the Vice President of Communications for Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota where I serve as a senior leader and spokesperson for the largest professional association in the upper Midwest with almost 7,000 Accredited Business members. As a non-profit organization, BBB’s primary mission is to help businesses enhance their customer experiences by building trust and to assist consumers as an intermediary when business transactions don’t meet expectations. My team creates the communication strategies around the objectives of building trust, integrity, and transparency in the marketplace.  

My professional background also includes deep roots in media including roles as a news anchor and reporter at WSAW-TW in Wausau, Wisconsin and similarly at WBAY-TV in Green Bay. I am proud to be among the very first Hmong on-air contributors in the United States. My two degrees are from the University of St. Thomas; BA in Broadcast Journalism and Spanish and an MBA with an emphasis in business communications. 

Steve Share, Director

Steve has served on the TCCP Board since 2019.  He is a former board member of Prairie Foods Co-op in Northfield, MN and five-year resident and board member of Park Cooperative Apartments in Minneapolis, a self-managed, limited-equity cooperative. Since 2003, Steve has worked as the editor of the Minneapolis Labor Review, a union newspaper.

Steve and his family spend nearly 100 percent of their grocery budget at Linden Hills or Wedge, and are deeply invested in and committed to the co-op ideal.  With more choices in the natural foods’ marketplace, Steve believes it is important to use his food dollars to support a local, member-owned business which promotes sustainable food systems and which also provides good jobs.

As a member of the Board’s Ownership Committee, Steve works on spreading word to the community about how our stores are not just a place to buy food, but where you know the dollars spent are building a better future for our community and our planet.

Jobin Kadapurath, Director

Fifteen years ago, when I relocated to Minneapolis, my roommate, now best friend introduced me to Wedge. Throughout my single days and as I started a family, TCCP became the go-to store to discover ingredients for meals while creating cherished memories and getting to know our local community. 

Growing up in an agricultural family, I saw my grandparents cultivating various crops, raising animals, and selling their produce locally. Their loving and caring ways had a significant effect on me, making me realize the importance of local producers in feeding and supporting communities. Through my father’s job contributions with researchers dedicated to combating malnutrition through crop cultivation in semi-arid regions of the world, I was exposed to dedicated scientific efforts that go into bringing food from farm to the table and the contributions of local farming initiatives into communities. 

Food is of great importance to our family; my wife, a published food author and blogger with farming roots loves to experiment with ingredients. As a product manager specialized in retail and supply chain, I’ve contributed to the creation of patent-producing in the space. If entrusted with the board responsibility my personal goal is to utilize my capabilities to enhance TCCP’s services, contribute to membership growth and increase reach of TCCP’s quality food and experience across our community.