Nonprofit certification organization EFI adds new employees

Nonprofit certification and skill-building organization Equitable Food Initiative has added two new employees.

Joining EFI are Gabriela Lopez-Barry as the Ethical Charter Implementation Program project manager and Alexandra Martinez as marketing and sales associate.

EFI seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers by partnering with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer groups.

Lopez-Barry will implement a framework that helps ensure people throughout the fresh produce and floral industries are treated with dignity and respect, according to a news release.

Before joining EFI, she worked in the high-quality food industry and in food system analysis for a decade and has experience launching and managing international brands in the U.S. market.

Last year, Lopez-Barry participated in an intensive agroecology course in Puerto Rico, which included political theory, science-based learning and hands-on experience.

“My background as a project manager in food systems and experience in managing food brands made working for EFI extremely appealing,” Lopez-Barry said in the release. “I’m excited to work on ECIP, which is poised to truly transform the industry around labor management systems.”

In her role as a bilingual marketing and sales associate, Martinez supports marketing and sales outreach efforts. Martinez previously volunteered for a children’s foundation as a marketing committee member and for a microfinance group as a business mentor.

“Living in the United States helped me grasp the importance of adopting sustainable practices and making ethical decisions in the industries we encounter as consumers, including, of course, the agricultural industry,” said Martinez, a native of Colombia.

“EFI’s strategy of bringing everyone to the table for a more transparent industry is a change I want to be a part of.”

EFI works with 29 grower-shipper companies on 80 farming operations.

Through its certification program, 4,000 farmworkers and managers have been trained in problem-solving, communication and conflict resolution practices, according to the release.