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Candidates
Rick Brown
Currently serving as the co-op board’s vice president, Rick is a committed environmentalist and sustainable foods advocate. Rick’s passions run the gamut from cycling to reading to playing guitar. A former designer of electronic circuits/systems, he now focuses his attention on renewable energy as the owner of Solshine Energy, an electrical and solar contracting company, specializing in designing and installing solar electric systems for home and business. He is a long-time coop owner having met his wife, Christy, at the Concord Food Coop in Concord, NH. Rick and Christy live in a 316 sq foot solar-powered home in rural Floyd County that they designed and built.
Chanelle Henderson
Chanelle is just like many of you – a mom of four children, a neighbor on Westover, and a local supporter of the many nonprofits who benefit from what the co-op offers. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the co-founder of A Tree Planted Collective, a mental health nonprofit with a focus on removing barriers to care in creative ways for those around us. Chanelle’s husband, Mat, is the owner of Roanoke Pediatrics right here in Grandin Village. They both believe that healthcare is rooted in a healthy community, and that a healthy community is one where local members take care of each other well. With this in mind, Chanelle’s hope is to support equitable access to healthy food, a just working environment, and represent members who may not have the ability to attend themselves. Her goal is to amplify the mission and values that make a cooperative model better for us all. It is with great honor that she submits her name for consideration.
Jeffrey White
Since moving to the area from Portland, Oregon, Jeffrey has appreciated just how much Roanoke Co+op is a vital local institution that enhances quality of life in our region. Professionally, he is an avid generalist, seasoned educator, and program leader who builds strong partnerships, grows sustainable programs, and strengthens organizational operations. He has served as executive director of community-based nonprofits, working closely with governing boards to ensure sound financial stewardship, thoughtful strategy, and long-term stability. Through his work in higher education, nonprofit leadership, and the private sector, Jeffrey brings a practical, business-minded approach grounded in communication and collaboration. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, reading, writing, gardening, and walking in the Grandin neighborhood (often to and from the Co+op). A handful of other biographical facts: Jeffrey speaks German, having studied and worked in Germany for nearly four years. He loves to play table tennis. A former preschool teacher trained in emergent and arts-based teaching—Jeffrey still loves pre-K culture. And he’s very nerdy about visual collaboration.
The co-op’s support of local agriculture and local nonprofits, commitment to healthy food, and strong customer service culture contribute meaningfully to the character of Grandin Village and the city. As a leader who values building social thriving, he’s committed to sustaining the co-op’s operational strength while supporting the culture and community spirit its staff creates every day.
Maureen McNamara Best
Maureen loves food -- thinking about food, growing food, eating food, cooking food, and, of course, buying local food at the Roanoke Co+op and LEAP markets. Maureen has worked with food, agriculture, and community since the early 2000s. Her work and professional experience is wide-ranging and includes teaching high school agriculture in Raleigh, NC, working with migrant farmworkers in eastern NC and in the Colorado plains, doing food safety inspections in Boulder CO, and studying the economic viability of the local food system in Northern Colorado. Since 2013, Maureen has served as the Executive Director of LEAP (Local Environmental Agriculture Project) and transitioned LEAP from a start-up, volunteer non-profit to the thriving organization it is today. LEAP programs include two farmers markets, a mobile market, a farm share, a food hub, a retail store, a processing kitchen, three community gardens, and robust food access programs (leapforlocalfood.org). LEAP co-founded and serves as the fiscal sponsor for Roanoke Foodshed Network (roanokefoodshednetwork.org) and Virginia Fresh Match (virginiafreshmatch.org).
Maureen has an MA in Anthropology from Colorado State University and undergraduate degrees in Agriculture Education, Spanish, and Anthropology from North Carolina State University. Maureen recently completed her Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Fellow where she studied the intersection of food systems, community, and health. Maureen, her spouse, two young kids, and pup all love Roanoke and are happy to call Southwestern Virginia home.
Lynn Barlow
Lynn is excited to run for Roanoke Co+op’s Board Director position! She wants to serve on the Board because she values shopping at and supporting an organization selling high quality food and natural products and whose selections she trusts; she has seen and appreciates the co-op’s support of community and local agriculture; she has professional experience that can benefit the work of the Board; and she recently retired, so she can make the time commitment with confidence.
Lynn moved to Roanoke in 2025 from Portland, Oregon. She has worked in conservation, natural resources management, and habitat restoration for the past 30 years in several government organizations – US Peace Corps (Cameroon), City of Portland, State of Oregon, and a Soil and Water Conservation District. Over the course of her career she has developed deep experience in environmental stewardship, budget oversight, and working across diverse communities to achieve shared goals. Lynn’s experience in ecological restoration gives her a strong commitment to the sustainable food systems that co-ops champion.
In retirement, she hikes mountain trails, walks and bikes the greenways, supports local restaurants, and gets involved in her new community in meaningful ways. Lynn lives within walking distance of the co-op! Other community organizations she belongs to are the Roanoke Valley Master Naturalists (in current training cohort), Wild Ones (promote the use of plants native to Southwest Virginia), and she volunteers with LEAP (Local Environmental Agriculture Program).
This is the third food cooperative Lynn has been a member of. In Portland, Oregon She was a member of the Alberta Food Cooperative. Years ago, she was a member of the Davis Food Co-op when living in Davis, California during graduate school. Lynn feels good that she has the time now to get more involved by serving on the co-op board.
She’s committed to helping Roanoke Co+op serve our community. She would be honored to earn your vote.