2022 Board Candidates

Cindy Bolton

Cindy Bolton has been a PCC Trustee since 2019 and serves as Board Vice Chair and on the Audit and Finance Committee and DEI sub-committee. Since 2016, Ms. Bolton has been the Chief Financial Officer of Seattle Art Museum, where she oversees finance, HR, legal, real estate, facilities, retail operations, venue experiences, and foodservice. She worked for two technology startups prior to SAM as Head of Finance and VP of Finance and Sales Operations respectively, and for Microsoft for the 10 years prior to that as Senior Finance Director in the enterprise software business group and global sales organization. Before Microsoft, Ms. Bolton worked at Unilever, and in IT and strategy consulting before and after business school. Her qualifications as a trustee include 25-plus years of dynamic leadership integrating strategy, finance and operations in global organizations, startups and nonprofits. She is known as a dot connector, servant leader, and truth teller.

Statement

PCC has been a part of my life since we moved here almost 20 years ago. We were fortunate to settle near the old Seward Park PCC location and became co-op members shortly thereafter. What I love about PCC is that everything is pre-vetted and represents the healthiest choices available. My kids have now outgrown the free fruit but when they were little, they took advantage of it on every trip. I appreciate PCC’s curated selection and the fact that I don’t have to worry about anything my kids pick up — thought and care have gone into everything that is on the shelves, which gives me great peace of mind as a mom.

I am very grateful to have PCC in my community, and to have been a member for almost two decades. I have been honored to serve PCC these past three years as a Trustee. The past two years, especially, were really hard at times — for our community, our country and the world. It has been heartening and humbling to see our staff pull together time and time again and meet the new challenges of the day. I have appreciated this as a Trustee but also as a member shopping in our stores, witnessing the care and creativity that went into ensuring that shelves were kept well stocked and that the store environment felt safe for shoppers and staff alike.

The Board approves the annual budget, but the day to day running of PCC is led by co-op and store leadership teams, with every employee playing an integral role in delivering on PCC’s mission to ensure that good food nourishes the communities we serve. In many ways, this seems more important now than ever, and it is inspiring to see. I have been honored to play a role in ensuring that PCC is set up to continue to deliver against its triple bottom line (financial, environmental and social) for the long-term. I bring 25-plus years of dynamic leadership experience in integrating finance, strategy and operations, creative and collaborative problem-solving skills, and the ability to view things through an equity (DEI) lens. I would be honored to be considered to serve for another term.

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Brad Brown

Brad Brown served as a PCC Trustee from 2017 to 2021. He served as interim CEO for PCC from May to December 2020 and more recently from August 2021 to January 2022. He was prior chair of the Board’s Audit and Finance Committee. Mr. Brown is a retired Senior Vice President, Digital Retail, of REI where he had responsibility for the cooperative’s digital businesses from 2006 to 2016. From 1998 to 2006, he was REI’s VP of Information Services, and from 1995 to 1998 he was VP of Information Systems at regional grocer Quality Food Centers (QFC). He currently serves on the boards of the UW Medical Center (chair), East Seattle Partners, and the Asheville Farmstead School. From 2011 to 2016, he served on the board of the National Retail Federation. Mr. Brown’s individual qualifications and skills as a trustee include his leadership experience as a senior executive at the nation’s largest retail co-op, his understanding of how to scale a retail business, and his ability to lead teams through complex challenges and constant change. He’s been a PCC member since 2016.

Statement

I love PCC. I believe in the co-op’s vision, mission and values; and most importantly, our people. Serving as a Trustee from 2017 to 2021, I’ve provided input and oversight of PCC’s rebranding, the opening of five stores and revising our member benefit to provide one more compelling reason to join PCC. In the four years that I’ve had the honor of serving as a Trustee, we’ve welcomed more than 31,000 co-op members.

The most exciting — and humbling — experience I had with PCC was the opportunity to serve as your interim CEO on two different occasions: one from June to December of 2020, the second from August 2021 to January 2022. I’m extremely proud of how PCC faced the new, ongoing and dynamic challenges the pandemic presented. Staff gave their best every day for each other and their community, and leadership worked quickly to execute changes necessary to protect staff and members while nourishing the communities we serve. This role provided me the unique opportunity to gain an even deeper understanding of PCC.

Our foundation is strong as we look to the future. Membership is growing and we’re looking for communities who will benefit from a PCC store as we strive to fulfill our mission. This foundation allows your board to wrestle with our most challenging issue: How to balance the needs of people, planet and profit? There is always tension amongst these elements, requiring careful deliberation, well-articulated discussion and ultimately, decision. I revel in this work and have years of relevant executive experience, and from my interim CEO role, in-depth experience operating a fleet of grocery stores. I feel strongly that I am uniquely qualified to serve as a Trustee, bringing the right knowledge and skills to meetings, conversations and decisions. I look forward to continuing my service to PCC as a Trustee should you honor me with your vote.

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Angela Owen

Angela Owen has been a PCC Trustee since 2019 and serves as chair of the Management Development and Compensation Committee. Ms. Owen is a consultant for retail and CPG companies specializing in strategy, category management, customer experience and operations to drive growth, innovation and profit. She has 30 years of specialty retail experience, including merchandising and marketing executive leadership of the REI Co-op and startup companies in the e-commerce and pet care industries. She has a track record of developing new product categories, customer segments and brands. She currently serves on the board of Destination Pet, where she is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and has previous experience leading a nonprofit as Chair of the Conservation Alliance. Ms. Owen’s individual qualifications and skills as a Trustee include her retail leadership in mission-driven companies, knowledge of the cooperative business model, and ability to balance strategy and vision with execution to achieve company goals.

Statement

I am honored to stand for re-election to the PCC Board of Trustees. If elected, I am committed to being an accountable Trustee and working with the rest of the Board to represent the members and employees, run a successful co-op, plan for the future and make decisions that support PCC’s mission and values.

As an avid home cook, I have shopped at Kirkland PCC for more than 20 years and I am thrilled about the new location in my neighborhood. I strongly believe in PCC’s mission to ensure there is access to good food that nourishes the communities we serve while cultivating vibrant, local, organic food systems. The key to giving more people in our communities access to healthy food, supporting local producers, protecting the environment and creating opportunities for our employees is to run a strong business.

As a co-op, PCC operates with a longer-term view and success is measured by more than just the bottom-line profit, but also includes the impact on members and employees, the environment and community. PCC is a trusted brand that has grown significantly, is operating in a challenging economic environment, facing new competition, and changing consumer-shopping habits. I would like to serve on the Board of Trustees to help navigate these challenges and ensure that PCC continues to thrive into the future. I bring my passion for PCC, experience as a retail leader and understanding of the unique qualities of a cooperative business to the Board.

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