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Our Team

Big Green is a small team with an outsized mission. Every person on this team believes the same thing: that the people closest to the problem are already solving it. Our job is to make sure they have what they need to go further.

  • Megan O'Neil

    Vice President of Development

  • Parker Dome Rechsteiner

    Director of Strategic Initiatives and Events

  • Rob Gray

    Director Of Programs

  • Laura Orland

    Director of Marketing

    Laura is the head of Marketing and Communications for Big Green. She brings a diverse background of experience across the media landscape, starting her career at NBC News' TODAY Show where she produced live segments for the 8am hour of the show, focused on the TODAY Food vertical. She went on to work in public relations and strategic marketing for food & beverage brands before starting her MBA at CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business where she ultimately launched her own agency focused on early stage and scale-up ventures in front range of Colorado.

  • Jasmine Trujillo

    Assistant Director of Finance and Grants

  • Kelsie Contreras

    Marketing Manager

    Kelsie works in all aspects of marketing, from social media management to communications, design, and branding. A proud Penn State alum with a degree in Agricultural Business, she brings strategic knowledge and creativity to her passion for food accessibility and sustainability.

  • Stephanie Morris

    Operations Manager

Board of Directors

  • Wendy Lea

    Board Chair

    Wendy Lea has spent her career building entrepreneurial ecosystems from the ground up, connecting founders, corporations, and government to turn big ideas into thriving local economies. She co-founded Energize Colorado and served as its CEO before becoming Board Chair, and was named one of Colorado's Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2024.

  • Michael Tang

    Finance Committee Chair

    Michael Tang is Chairman of Tang Industries and CEO of National Material L.P., holding companies with over 40 operating facilities spanning aerospace, automotive, biosciences, and metals manufacturing. He has also served on the boards of the Field Museum, the University of Chicago Medical Center, and the National Defense University.

  • Courtney Walsh

    Nominating Committee Chair

    Courtney Walsh spent nearly two decades as communications director and head of special projects for The Kitchen Restaurant Group, Nova Sky Stories and Big Green. She has since founded Oxford Comma Ink, a media and reputation advisory firm for CEOs and entrepreneurs.

  • Patrick Drake

    Director

    Patrick Drake co-founded HelloFresh in the UK, scaling the business from its earliest stages into a company that now delivers a billion meals annually across 18 countries. He is the also the founder of autonomy, a drinks brand on a mission to replace pod coffee and artificial creamers with something better for humans and the planet.

  • Kasey Kumaran-Stark

    Director

    Kasey Kumaran-Stark is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and operator passionate about AI, blockchain, and food systems. She is Co-Founder & CEO of Wisy, an AI-native platform transforming retail execution for food and beverage brands. She believes that the most impactful companies are built at the intersection of emerging technology and real-world problems.

  • Don Degnan

    Director

    Don Degnan was a partner at Holland & Hart and chaired its intellectual property practice group. He then moved into corporate operations acting as President of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, among other things. He currently serves as Global Strategy and Chief Legal Officer at Nova Sky Stories, an international entertainment and drone light show company focused on creating stories in the sky.