Fact: Nearly half of California children eat fast food on any given day

Our Team - Southern California

Carl Cade, Regional Vice President Southern California. With a career that has continuously spanned Education Reform, Real Estate Development and Finance, Carl has spent a decade leading initiatives which prove that with the right resources all children can learn.
As Sr. Deputy to LA School Board President Caprice Young, Carl led the construction of over 35 district schools. He went on to found and run the lending practice of the California Charter School Association financing the dramatic growth of dozens of high quality charters across the state. More recently he has served actively on the board of Larchmont Schools, which currently operates four high achieving racially and economically diverse campuses.
In the private sector, Carl delivered highly complex mixed-use urban real estate projects centered on signature retail destinations as a developer for Westfield LLC.
Carl is the President of the Westside Urban Forum. He holds an AB in Urban Studies and Political Science from Vassar College and an MBA from Harvard University.

David Woodard (Southern California Director of Operations) has served in operations management and multi-unit operations in excess of 20 years. Being in food service since high school and through college, Dave has trained with and been partnered in some of the nations most dynamic growth companies including McDonalds and The Advantica Group where he was instrumental in developing and implementing operational procedures, financial discipline and talent development. Becoming interested in a better, more healthful diet, his search led him to be recruited by Eaturna, LLC whose mission was creating natural and organic meals aimed at a large market at an affordable price point. He operates with the concept of team building and people development being the most valuable asset a company can possess. Being active in social politics from an early age he has actively supported social change for the betterment of all persons. He states “working at Revolution Foods has afforded me the opportunity to create change at the most basic level, childhood nutrition, while developing a strong and diverse work force that can grow as far as their talents and ability dictate……what could be better?”

Ben Wilson, SCA Culinary Manager, began working in restaurants at 15 years old in his hometown just outside of Boston, MA. He brings over 12 years of management experience in the areas of operations, administration, human resources, loss prevention, training, and food safety. After moving to Los Angeles in 2007, Ben began working in the health food industry where he learned about the importance of organic and natural foods. Ben also recently co-founded a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing homeless dogs from high-kill shelters, abusive situations, and owners who can no longer care for them. The organization then provides loving care and training for each dog until they are able to be placed into a permanent home.

Jess Andre, Director of School Partnerships. Jess joined Revolution Foods October 2008. Jess most recently served as an Operations Support Coach in the Oakland Unified School District, supporting ten elementary schools on all things operational. Previously, Jess worked in both communications and finance at Edison Schools, a for-profit manager of public schools, before serving as a crewmember and Co-Director of Curriculum for Reach the World, a non-profit that promotes increased literacy and integration of technology in schools through the development of curricular resources based on the global circumnavigation of a 43-foot sailboat. Jess has a BA in Anthropology from Dartmouth College and a Master's in Education from the Stanford University School of Education.

Aly Jensen School Account Manager. Prior to joining the Revolution Foods team, Alyson proudly served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters Los Angeles. There, she organized and facilitated nutrition-based healthy cooking classes for children and families in Los Angeles County with the help of an outstanding volunteer team of culinary and nutrition professionals. She is excited to merge her interest in a culinary approach to nutrition education with the Revolution Foods mission to provide healthy and delicious food to schoolchildren everywhere. Most recently, she spent an academic year teaching in several elementary schools in a suburb of Paris, France, where she never met a pastry she didn’t like. In her spare time she enjoys volunteering at the farmers market, running, trying new vegetables, talking about her dog and collecting stamps in her passport. Alyson holds a BA in English Literature and Political Science from UCLA.

Noah Lopez, School Account Manager, joined the Revolution Foods team in July of 2009. Noah Graduated from San Diego State University with a Political Science and Spanish BA. Throughout college he studied in Madrid, Spain and Cuernavaca, Mexico. He enjoys running, hiking, listening to music, and working with kids. He joins our Rev Foods team to further our mission in helping kids eat better food. He is passionate about getting as much fresh, healthy food as we can to as many students as possible and eager to get the word out. His goals are to use his Spanish and customer service background to build relationships and awareness to parents, teachers, students, and other community members around the importance of eating better.

Ana Gutierrez, Office Manager, is a graduate from University of Phoenix where she received a B.S in Business Management. She has several years of Customer Service experience, with a diverse background working in the retail industry. She also brings a history of working with schools; first with Los Feliz Elementary where she had the opportunity to work first hand with students as a Teaching Aid, and previously with Cal/West Educators where she played a key role in finding great educators for Independent, Private and Charter Schools. She has now found her calling in Revolution foods by bringing nutritional and healthy eating habits to the children in our community. Ana enjoys reading any form of mystery book, and will often be caught singing a catchy tune!

Alexa Gozali, School Account Manager, is a 2008 USC graduate with a B.A. in Communication and has an extreme passion for nutrition and community health. As a health advocate, Alexa is a firm believer that a healthy body leads to a happy and healthy life. Before joining Revolution Foods, Alexa has spent the past few years studying the natural sciences at Chapman University and has worked as a clinical neuro-oncology researcher at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she has published and presented her research on pediatric brain tumors. She has also worked as an autism aide and therapist, working with children on the autism spectrum. Alexa is an avid traveler and has volunteered in many developing countries around the world in hopes to understand the disparities in public health. Alexa loves to keep active through yoga, running and hiking and loves eating and cooking healthy food. She is excited to be a part of Revolution Foods and hopes to positively influence the health of the growing generation of children and their communities.

Cristina Samarripa, School Account Manager, is an army brat who grew up everywhere. She moved to California in 2005 where she met and married her best friend and began a family. She spent the last five years working at a charter school where her passion for educating families on the importance of healthy eating habits began. She had the opportunity to begin a parent organization, help start up a School Site Council, and much more. Cristina is excited to work for Revolution Foods and hopes her passion will be contagious as she meets new people.

Heather Wilson, School Account Manager for the San Diego area of SCA, joined Revolution Foods in May 2011. In 2010, she received a Masters in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico where she did extensive research on social determinants of health and the importance of access to healthy food options for elementary school age children. While living in New Mexico, Heather worked for an insurance brokerage firm that insured all charter schools and various public school districts throughout New Mexico. Prior to graduate school, Heather was a legislative advocate for 22 northern California county governments. She successfully lobbied over 800 pieces of legislation relating to everything from health and human services issues to rural road development. Since graduating from Pitzer College with her bachelor’s in Organizational Studies, Heather brings valuable work experience from the private, public and non-profit sectors. She is very active, loves baking, traveling, and exercise…always on the go!

Luis (Louie) Diaz-Infante, Production Manager, grew up in the Salinas Valley of California and became involved in all aspects of the produce industry at an early age. He lived out in the countryside until the age of 11, living in farm homes located amongst the vast farm fields of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes and other vegetables. As a commitment to the community and environment, he has been involved with numerous organizations that are committed to sustainably grown or produced food products and those who strive to preserve our environment. On a voluntary basis, Louie assisted in establishing business for ALBA Organics in Salinas, Ca. - a non-profit farm based organization, which provides educational and business opportunities for farm workers and aspiring farmers to grow and sell crops grown on two organic farms in Monterey County, California. Louie is currently working with his sister to develop a platform which will bring awareness to the epidemic obesity/overweight problem that is faced by the Latino community. Louie has been in the martial arts for over 33 years and is a member of Bojuka Ryu in Marina Ca. He has been a self-defense instructor for 30 years, teaching both children and adults. Louie lives in Montebello, Ca. & has five daughters, four of whom live in the Bay Area.