VP Maisie Greenawalt Named Silicon Valley Woman of Influence
Advocate for farmworker rights joins heroines of technology, banking, healthcare, and more
Palo Alto, CA (April 25, 2012) – Bon Appétit Management Company is proud to announce that the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal has included Maisie Greenawalt on its annual Women of Influence list, recognizing 100 female executives who are making significant change in their industries and their communities.
As vice president of strategy for Bon Appétit, where she has worked since 1994, Maisie has been instrumental in creating and launching all of Bon Appétit’s many sustainability initiatives. Thanks in large part to her efforts, diners at dozens of Silicon Valley corporate cafés and colleges are able to enjoy fresh, locally grown produce, sustainable seafood, meat raised without antibiotics as a routine feed additive, and dairy from cows not injected with rBGH as part of their daily meals.
Additionally, Maisie has become a recognized leader in the movement for fair treatment for farmworkers, which she told the Journal is her primary focus for the next five years. In 2009, after a trip to Immokalee Florida to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and to see firsthand the difficult working conditions of tomato pickers in that region, Maisie and CEO Fedele Bauccio collaborated with the CIW to usher in a sweeping Code of Conduct for Bon Appétit’s Florida tomato suppliers. Maisie realized the need to explore what Bon Appétit’s role could be in facilitating fair labor practices throughout their entire supply chain. She was the driver in the 2011 release of the Inventory of Farmworker Rights and Protections in the United States, a comprehensive report about current laws and practices coauthored by the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation and United Farm Workers with support from Oxfam America. Last October, Maisie co-organized and hosted TEDxFruitvale, a special conference focused on farm labor.
“I’m very honored to be in the company of so many inspiring women,” said Maisie. “It’s amazing to read about the good work happening all around us here, in so many areas, including by a number of our clients and strategic partners!”
Maisie is joined on the list by Van Dang, deputy general counsel of Cisco; Terri L. Griffith, professor of management at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business; Charleen Hamel, supplier diversity manager at Brocade Communications Systems; Donna C. Morris, senior vice president of global human resources at Adobe Systems; Richelle Parham, chief marketing officer of eBay North America; Dawn Smith, senior vice president and general counsel for VMware; and Kristin Yetto, senior vice president of human resources at eBay Marketplaces.
In addition to the Bon Appétit clients above, Julie Packard, the executive director of Monterey Bay Aquarium, was also recognized. “Julie and the Aquarium have been vital partners to Bon Appétit for over a decade in our commitment to serve only seafood deemed sustainable under Seafood Watch guidelines,” said Maisie. “Their efforts have made a huge difference to our oceans.”
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal will honor the Women of Influence with a dinner and ceremony April 26 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.
About Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Company (www.bamco.com) is an on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, and specialty venues. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Bon Appétit has more than 400 cafés in 32 states, including eBay, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Getty Center. A pioneer in environmentally sound sourcing policies, Bon Appétit has developed programs addressing local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, the connection between food and climate change, and farmworker welfare. The company has received numerous awards for its work from organizations such as the James Beard Foundation, Chefs Collaborative, Natural Resources Defense Council, Seafood Choices Alliance, The Humane Society of the United States, and Food Alliance. Its dining operations at Wheaton College in Illinois were voted Best College Food by 122,000 college students surveyed by the Princeton Review in 2011.
Contact: Bonnie Azab Powell, [email protected], (650) 621-0871