Our Founder

Board Chair

Bella Katz

Bella is the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) Trade Commissioner and Consul-General for Melbourne. Prior to that, she helped New Zealand exporters grow and succeed in Australia as a business advisor for the consumer goods and food & beverage sector.

Before joining NZTE, Bella held senior marketing roles in Australia, Japan, UK and New Zealand, including a number of years in luxury automotive working on iconic marques such Audi, BMW, McLaren and Ferrari.

She is a freelance writer and had a regular business column in the NZ Herald and Stuff, as well as writing for Smart Company, Manufacturers Monthly and The Japan Times.

Bella is an Executive Committee Member of the Consular Corps Melbourne and was previously on the Board of Melbourne's iconic Prahran Market. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Auckland, a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing from Monash University, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Marketing and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Board Members

Daniel Briggs

Daniel is a commercial Barrister at the Victorian Bar and serves on the Board of the Sandro Demaio Foundation.

With a passion for helping create positive change in the community, Daniel brings to his role on the board both his legal expertise and extensive experience in leadership roles in charities such Make-A-Wish® Australia, St John’s Ambulance, Surf Live Saving Victoria and NCDFREE.

Daniel holds Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. He started his career as a lawyer at Arnold Bloch Leibler in 2009, before coming to the Bar in 2013.

In 2013, Daniel was elected President of the the Bayside Branch of Make-A-Wish® Australia, a role in which he served until 2016, before stepping down to serve as Vice President until 2017.  In 2015, Daniel became a director of NCDFREE, a crowdsourced global social movement dedicated to getting NCDs (non-communicable diseases) on the map of young people around the world. That year, Daniel was part of a small team which organised, produced and delivered the first iteration of festival21 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Building. Daniel currently serves on the Health and Wellbeing Committee of the Victorian Bar.

Dr Christina Zorbas

Dr Christina Zorbas is a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) and Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University.

Her extensive experience and leadership in mixed-methods research has helped to advance our knowledge of policy levers to reduce inequities in population nutrition. This has included streamlining food price and affordability monitoring systems and research programs focused on elevating the voices of people with diverse lived experiences in food policymaking processes. 

Christina has a PhD in Public Health Nutrition from Deakin University (2021) and a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours) from Monash University (2017). 

Receiving three competitive research fellowships from Deakin University, VicHealth and the Australian Research Council since completing her PhD, Christina has published more than 50 peer-reviewed research articles and her work has featured widely in mainstream media such as ABC radio, TV and print. She has been awarded grants totalling >$4 million, including UNICEF projects to advance nutrition amongst adolescent girls in South Asia, and work with the International Food Policy Research Institute to advance global commitments to ending hunger and achieving food security. 

Dr Liza Barbour

Liza is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, where she focuses on promoting healthy, equitable, and environmentally sustainable food systems.

An Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian (AdvAPD), Liza brings over 20 years of practical experience to her research, education and community activities. She has worked across Australia and internationally—including in the remote Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia, and at the Kingdom of Tonga’s Ministry of Health. She previously served as National Nutrition Programs Manager at SecondBite and remains an Australian Advisor to the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations (ICDA) sustainable food systems toolkit. Her PhD explored the role of local government policy in driving widespread adoption of healthy and sustainable diets, and Liza led the development of Dietitians Australia’s first position statement on this topic. In 2024, she completed the Climate Leadership Accelerator at Small Giants Academy to deepen her understanding of the systems creating our current climate crisis.

Liza is passionate about creative approaches to capacity-building, where we can reimagine and shape a food system for people and nature to thrive together. She was involved in Festival 21 as a food systems dialogue facilitator and has become increasingly involved in the Little Food Festival since then. Her children, Elliot and Heidi, proudly contribute as Little Food Researchers, while her husband, James, is also involved as co-founder of their family business, Dillicious pickles.

Thanh Truong

Thanh Truong, widely known as ‘The Fruit Nerd,’ is a produce expert, food educator, and passionate advocate for food systems literacy and sustainability.

A prolific content creator and television personality, Thanh's educational fruit and vegetable tip videos have garnered over 100 million views across social media platforms. He has appeared on numerous TV programs and created and hosted his own TV series, Field to Feast (ABC & SBS) and he is the author of Don't Buy Fruit & Veg Without Me!, a cookbook and produce guide. Since 2023, Thanh has served as MC for the Little Food Festival, the Sandro Demaio Foundation's flagship event.

Thanh holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Arts from Monash University and a Graduate Certificate in Gastronomy from William Angliss Institute. Thanh serves on the Fresh State Board, is Director of Aus Asia Produce, and served on Melbourne Market's Wholesalers Advisory Committee (2019-2022). 

Driven by his belief that "good food starts with good produce," Thanh is committed to preventing food waste, supporting sustainable agriculture, and empowering the next generation with the knowledge and skills to make healthier food choices.

Our Fundraising Subcommittee

Jo Hardy

Jo is General Manager at Arthur Street, where she helps organisations use strategy, communications and digital marketing to create meaningful impact. With almost 20 years’ experience across communications, operations, strategy and business leadership, Jo brings expertise in helping purpose-led organisations strengthen their storytelling, build capability and connect with communities.

Jo is passionate about the role business and marketing can play in creating positive change. She has worked across the not-for-profit, social impact and agency sectors, supporting organisations to translate complex ideas into clear, engaging and human-centred communications.

Based in Geelong, Jo is also a board member of Kids+ Foundation and is committed to supporting initiatives that improve community wellbeing, equity and access to opportunity.

Michelle Brownstein

Michelle Brownstein is a strategic leader with over 20 years' experience driving income growth, partnership development and organisational impact across the not-for-profit sector, having grown major donor income portfolios and secured significant new grant revenue through her work with national and international organisations.

She currently leads partnerships and revenue diversification at Farm My School, connecting food systems, education and community health, while also working as an independent consultant supporting purpose-driven organisations with funding strategy and income diversification, alongside running her own clinical nutrition practice.

Holding a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutritional Medicine) and a Bachelor of International Business, Michelle brings a rare combination of food systems expertise, clinical health knowledge and commercial acumen, underpinned by a deep commitment to systemic change in public health and community wellbeing.

Adele Parris

Adele is an experienced public health professional with almost 10 years of experience across local government, community health and academia. She specialises in health promotion, food systems, health equity, policy development and systems change, with a strong track record of designing and delivering evidence-based initiatives that improve community health outcomes.

Throughout her career, Adele has led diverse public health programs focused on strengthening communities and addressing health inequities. At Hume City Council, she played a key leadership role in the COVID-19 pandemic response, managing multidisciplinary teams and working alongside government agencies, healthcare providers and community organisations to improve health literacy, increase access to testing and vaccination, and support culturally diverse communities through recovery initiatives. She also contributed to the development of Hume's Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan and led research and evaluation projects that informed strategic decision-making.

In her current role as Health Projects Coordinator at the City of Melbourne, Adele leads strategic health promotion initiatives focused on food security, food literacy and equitable access to healthy food. She has contributed to the development of Melbourne's Food City 2024–34 strategy and is recognised for building strong cross-sector partnerships that translate evidence into practical action. She represented the City of Melbourne and Australia at the Partnerships for Healthy Cities Summit in Rio de Janeiro for her scoping project on unhealthy product advertising in major transportation hubs across the municipality.

Adele is also a Casual Academic at La Trobe University, teaching in both the public health and health promotion degrees. She is passionate about advancing health equity through collaborative leadership, community engagement and sustainable systems change, with a particular interest in creating healthier, more equitable food systems for Victorian communities. 

Allira

Lilith