EFI adds marketing, monitoring staffers 

Equitable Food Initiative is welcoming two new employees who fill positions involving ethical program implementation and marketing.

Gabriela Lopez-Barry is the Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP) project manager while Alexandra Martinez joins as marketing and sales associate.

Lopez-Barry also recently began with EFI as the ECIP project manager, helping to implement a framework that creates a baseline for accountability and ensures people throughout the fresh produce and floral industries are treated with dignity and respect, according to a news release. Before joining EFI, she worked in the food industry and in food system analysis for a decade and has experience launching and managing international brands. Last year, Lopez-Barry participated in an intensive agroecology course, which included political theory, science-based learning and hands-on experience.

In her role as a bilingual marketing and sales associate, Martinez supports the team in a variety of marketing and sales outreach efforts with technical, communication and analytical skills. Martinez began her nonprofit journey volunteering for a children’s foundation as a marketing committee member and for a microfinance group where she was a business mentor. Passionate about the nonprofit sector, she became the marketing coordinator of the children’s foundation until she started her new role at EFI. Born and raised in Colombia, Martinez grew up surrounded by nature and considers herself an outdoor lover.

When not working, she enjoys mountain biking, hiking and climbing.
According to Lopez-Barry, “My background as a project manager in food systems and experience in managing food brands made working for EFI extremely appealing,” she said in the release. “I’m excited to work on ECIP which is poised to truly transform the industry around labor management systems.”

Asked about her new position, Martinez in the release said living in the U.S. helped her grasp “the importance of adopting sustainable practices and making ethical decisions in the industries we encounter as consumers, including, of course, the agricultural industry. EFI’s strategy of bringing everyone to the table for a more transparent industry is a change I want to be a part of.”

“EFI is excited about the experience and fresh perspectives Alexandra and Gaby add to the team,” LeAnne Ruzzamenti, EFI’s director of marketing and communications, said in the release. “Alexandra’s skills and passion provide us with the support we need in executing our sales and marketing strategies, and Gaby’s extensive knowledge of the industry will serve us well as she manages the development and launch of the Ethical Charter Implementation Program. Being driven to make improvements that make this industry more sustainable is a popular mindset throughout the workforce today, and our employees come to EFI to positively impact the food system.”

EFI is the capacity-building and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer groups.

EFI works with 29 grower-shipper companies on 80 farming operations. Through the EFI certification program, 4,000 farmworkers and managers have been trained in problem-solving, communication and conflict resolution practices that are improving labor, food safety and pest management standards for more than 59,000 workers.