Mamta Valderrama

board chair

With over 20 years of leadership experience, Mamta Jain Valderrama has a proven track record in managing global operations and implementing impactful strategies. She is the former Global Senior Vice President of Operations at Mercy For Animals and operations leader at healthcare organizations including DaVita Dialysis and Wellpoint. Mamta is also an avid traveler who embraces her passion for vegan advocacy wherever she goes. From Mexico and India to the Maldives, Egypt, Japan, and beyond, she connects with head chefs at restaurants, hotels, and tour companies to request vegan meals. Most are excited to meet the challenge, and Mamta likes to think she leaves those establishments better prepared to delight their next vegan clients. A dedicated advocate for animal welfare and social justice, Mamta draws inspiration from the Jain principle of ahimsa, or non-violence. She is an Amazon bestselling author of A Girl In Traffick, a novel that sheds light on human kidney trafficking. Mamta resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband and daughter.

Kristie Middleton

board member

Kristie Middleton is the VP, Head of Foodservice Sales for Eat Just. Prior to that, she served as Chief Relationship Officer at Rebellyous Foods, where she led business development, sales, and strategic partnerships, helping to scale the company’s plant-based chicken products nationally, particularly in the K-12 school food sector. Middleton is the author of MEATLESS: Transform the Way You Eat and Live – One Meal at a Time. Earlier in her career, she worked with some of the nation’s largest school districts, including Los Angeles Unified School District, Detroit Public Schools, and Boston Public Schools, to implement Meatless Monday. She completed a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies in August 2014.

Naomi Sachs

board treasurer

Naomi Sachs spent the last 25 years leading operations, strategy, and finance for both small and large companies. She is currently the CFO at Oobli, a sweet protein technology platform company focused on replacing sugar in food and beverages.  Previously, Naomi was the President and COO at Sittercity.  Prior to joining Sittercity, she ran a strategy and operations group at Tribune Co and worked for several years in investment banking.

In addition to Vegan Hospitality, Naomi serves on the board of New Roots Institute, a nonprofit empowering the next generation with knowledge and training to end factory farming.  Naomi graduated from Yale University and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Hayley Cooper

board secretary

Hayley Cooper is a Certified Vegan Hospitality Consultant and Industry Leader with 25 years of professional experience in hospitality management. She is based in Greater Kruger in South Africa where she co-manages a luxury 5 star safari lodge. As the first certified vegan hospitality consultant in Africa, she has pioneered the Vegan Hospitality movement across the continent and helped Africa become one of the first destinations with Vegan Hospitality Certified lodges and guest houses.

Hayley is frequently featured in the media both in print and on podcasts sharing her expertise about hospitality, tourism and veganism. She has authored and created several courses and e-books on topics relevant to both hospitality and veganism. Her enthusiasm for veganism and sustainability stems from a love for rehabilitating wild animals, which is how she made the connection to this way of life. She prides herself on providing a professional and personalized service in everything that she does and loves sharing her passion with others.

Bonnie Brown

board member

Bonnie Brown is a CPA and senior level executive and entrepreneur with several years of experience in finance and accounting, management, information systems, and business leadership. She is the co-founder and CEO of New Earth Partners, providing outsourced CFO and accounting services to companies working to take animals out of the supply chain. Previously, Bonnie was CAO and CFO of Tecogen Inc. Prior to joining Tecogen, Bonnie was a partner at Sullivan Bille PC for 15 years, where she provided financial, accounting, audit, tax, and business consulting services for start-up to mid-sized companies. Bonnie has a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Bentley University and a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from Boston University.