Mary Bacarella

Mary Bacarella has extensive experience in iconic top-tier attractions and organizations, hospitality, tourism, entertainment, arts and non-profits.

She was Managing Director of SIFF, The Seattle International Film Festival and year round cinema. During her tenure at SIFF, she negotiated the deal and secured funding to purchase the Uptown Theatre, a three venue theatre. At the same time, secured a lease on the Egyptian Theatre, another community venue bringing a total of 5 venues in operation. She was responsible for all financial, operations, fundraising and marketing for the organization and under her leadership, the film organization saw its highest revenue at that time. She streamlined the organization to produce higher ticket sales and donations, lowered expenses and oversaw a year-round staff of thirty-five. For the 25 day internationally known film festival, she oversaw the operation of 9 theatres, 400 film screenings, a staff of 125 and 700 volunteers.

She served 14 years at the iconic Space Needle where she was Vice President of Brand Management. She was responsible for the overall performance and care of the Space Needle brand and oversaw marketing, public relations, retail, sales and all partnerships and was the chief liaison to the local and tourism communities. She was responsible for increasing attendance and revenue for the landmark’s observation deck, restaurant, retail operation, group sales and banquet facility. She was hired for and played an instrumental role in the $24ml remodel and rebranding of the Space Needle and was a key member of the team that developed an entertainment system designed to interact with the view at the top of the icon. This was the first of it’s kind for any tower. She was a member of the executive team that oversaw the mission and vision of the icon, new product development and also spearheaded the Space Needle’s 50th Anniversary celebration.

Bacarella was the one who envisioned the conception of a Dale Chihuly exhibition on the Seattle Center grounds. As a member of the executive team, she was part of every aspect of implementation and critical path development of the project which included the negotiation with the city, the RFP process, construction to launch. She worked with the team to create and develop the mission and vision for the project and was responsible for community meetings and outreach, media strategy, the launch of the exhibition and oversaw branding, public relations, community relations, arts, local and tourism partnerships and retail.

She is now co-founder of a small boutique, marketing agency, Silver Scout Partners where she works with a variety of clients ranging from the arts, luxury brands, real estate and biotech among others. Client services focus on business development, strategic branding, public relations, marketing, attraction development and retail.

In her earlier life, she worked at Golin Harris, a national public relations firm where her chief client was Nintendo.

She has sat on the boards of Mary’s Place and Seattle Central College Foundation board.

And… in the early 90’s, as the business manager volunteer to Unexpected Productions, she cleaned gum off that gum wall twice until the PDA decided it fit in to the overall landscape and it became the quirkiest and most popular place to take a photo in the city of Seattle.

Jordan Boldt

Jordan Boldt currently serves as the Executive Director of the Vancouver Farmers Market Association where he exercises his passion for small business and building thriving environments where entrepreneurs and the community can come together to form strong connections and build a healthy city. He has worked to grow the organization from one location to three, serving different segments of the population and has spearheaded small business scholarship programs and development initiatives to assist the many businesses who make up the market and provide them as many channels as possible to grow and prosper. Additionally, Jordan has been part of growing the market’s role in providing assistance to under resourced members of the community through food access and nutrition education.

Growing up, Jordan was privileged to live in both Central Asia and Europe where he learned first hand the value of public markets and the vital role they play in creating vibrant and strong local economies in some of the world’s greatest cities. A 2006 graduate of Washington State University where he studied History and Business, Jordan started his career working with angel investors, providing businesses development services to the companies in their portfolios and working with many small businesses and entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality. During this time, Jordan also participated as a founder in a number of ventures where he learned first hand some of the challenges facing small business owners on a daily basis. When an opportunity arose to work in the public sector, he took a position with the City of Washougal, WA working on downtown revitalization efforts and community engagement where he was introduced once again to the role marketplaces play in creating active public spaces and economic vitality.

In addition to his business and public sector work, Jordan spent 15 years in the fire service. Beginning as a Firefighter/EMT in college and ending his time as a Lieutenant and president of his volunteer firefighter association. His experience in public safety gave him the opportunity to serve all facets of his community in a direct way, learning not just the technical skills associated with the job, but also the ability to lead decisively under uncertain and often changing conditions.

Outside of his role as Executive Director, Jordan serves on the board of Visit Vancouver USA, on multiple City of Vancouver committees supporting tourism and community development, as an instructor for the WSU-Extension small farm programs in Clark County, speaker to numerous agriculture and farmers market conferences and a long-time volunteer with Vancouver Public Schools as a lunch buddy.

He is enthusiastic about many things, but food and the outdoors are high on the list. From its great producers and chefs, to the ski slopes and hiking trails of the Cascade Range, Jordan has found the Pacific Northwest to be the perfect place to explore these passions.

Dan Carmody

Armed with wit and an appetite for hard work, blessed by good luck, and fueled by passion I have led local governments, small businesses, and non-profits in the work of making better places.

Sharpened by forty years of implementing ideas, E*I*E*I*O principles guide my work: Successful programs need to be entrepreneurial, inclusive, effective, incremental and organic.

I temper big picture thinking with street-smart know-how to hone and implement sound strategies. Informed by global experience in Northern England, Greece, and the Midwest of the US, I currently mine the intersection of city making and food systems to improve the equity, sustainability, and vitality of cities.

Presently, I proudly serve as President of Detroit’s Eastern Market Corporation. Where, since 2007, I lead the non-profit charged with transforming one of Detroit’s most venerable institutions into the nation’s most inclusive, convivial, resilient, and robust regional food hub.

EMC works with a wide variety of partners to make Detroit healthier, wealthier, and happier by increasing the consumption of healthy food, by creating and expanding ventures and employment throughout the food supply chain, and by fully utilizing the market’s role of bringing people together to celebrate good food and each other.

Key competencies include strategic planning and implementation, real estate development, partnership engagement, regional cooperation, and organizational capacity building.

Ted Spitzer

Ted Spitzer is a nationally recognized expert on food markets and alternative local food systems. For 30 years, he has helped communities throughout the country develop, revitalize, and improve their public markets and surrounding neighborhoods.

Ted began his career while a sophomore Urban Studies major at Columbia University in NYC, working at the nonprofit planning firm Project for Public Spaces. Upon graduation, he became the founding co-director of the Public Market Collaborative, a program at PPS that supports public markets nationwide.

In 1990, Ted co-founded Public Market Partners to expand his work with public markets. With Hilary Baum, he is the principal author of Public Markets and Community Revitalization (Urban Land Institute, 1995), which has been called the definitive guide to the field. Hilary and Ted established and managed open-air markets in New York’s low income communities while assisting markets nationwide.

After receiving a Master’s in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University in 1996, Ted moved to Portland, Maine to oversee the planning and creation of the Portland Public Market and then managed the Market as Executive Director for three years. Under his leadership, the Market received the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, the first HUD/AIA Community Building by Design Award, and numerous other awards. He created and led Farm to Market, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that operated several businesses in the Portland Public Market during its early years.

Since 2001, Ted has built his firm, Market Ventures, Inc., into a nationwide consulting practice focusing on three areas: historic public markets, new public markets, and local food systems. Among historic markets, he helped develop an award-winning master plan for the Rochester Public Market, developed a master plan for Baltimore’s Lexington Market, and provided strategic direction to Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market during its transfer of ownership to the Philadelphia Convention Center Authority. He also led planning teams at the Essex Street Market in NYC, the Hartford Regional Market, and the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers’ Market.

Among new public markets, Ted conducted the feasibility study and concept development plan for the Milwaukee Public Market (which opened in 2005) and the Grand Rapids Downtown Market (which opened in 2013). The Downtown Market incorporated numerous innovations, including rooftop greenhouses, the first hands-on teaching kitchen designed with adjustable height cooking surfaces to accommodate six year-olds to adults, and extensive event facilities. A Gold LEED facility, the Downtown Market was a winner of the 2015 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence and the American Planning Association’s Excellence in Economic Development Planning Award.

Ted and his wife Elena own and operate Maine’s Pantry, a high performing specialty food store that features Maine-made products. Ted is a board member of the National Association of Produce Market Managers and the Treasurer of Cultivating Community, a food justice organization that runs the nation’s largest new immigrant farmer training program.

Outside of work, Ted’s interests including cooking, choral singing, tennis, sailing, paddling, skiing, bicycling, and boat building, which he enjoys with his three young adult children and Truffle, his Chocolate Lab.