CUESA Boss Lisa Capozzi Fires up Farmers’ Market Educational Programs

How do you make the move from corporate America to running a regional farmers’ market organization in the Bay Area, the cultural hub of California cuisine and all things organic? Lisa Capozzi is no stranger to overcoming the odds, something she first accomplished while a student at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

“My classmates and I used to call it ‘Paris Island’,” Ms. Capozzi says, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the rigorous discipline instilled there in the young chefs-to-be. The similarities between the South Carolina boot camp for the U.S. Marines did not end there, either. “And I was one of only three women in my class,” says Ms. Capozzi.

After graduating from the CIA, Ms. Capozzi went on to open the Blue Goose catering company in Pittsburgh, PA, her home state. From there, her next job was in corporate America. After several years in Chicago, she landed in California with the Bon Appétit Management Company, as Director of Recruiting. But after five years in this demanding position, Ms. Capozzi was worn out from being on the road all the time, and was looking for a more self-fulfilling career. When she interviewed for the position of executive director at CUESA: the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, she knew what she wanted. “I was drawn to CUESA because of its mission,” she says, which is the promotion of regional sustainable agriculture through the operation of farmers’ markets and educational programs.

And now Ms. Capozzi lives with the dual satisfaction of connecting urban dwellers with the sources of the food they eat and giving small, family-run farms the opportunity to make a livable wage.