Food Business Center

Staci Emm

Professor – Extension - Reno, NV

Staci Emm is a Professor with the University of Nevada, Reno Extension, and leads the Nevada Food Business Center project under the Southwest Business Center. Staci has over 20 years’ experience developing and teaching agricultural programming in Nevada: she created the Nevada Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program called "Herds & Harvest", co-created the Nevada Risk Management Education program, and expanded Nevada Extension tribal programs. She is experienced in business management and entrepreneurship, marketing, Indian land tenure, agricultural water rights, and land-use planning. Areas of expertise include business planning and feasibility, and financial management.

CONTACT STACI

Kelli Kelly

Advisor - Nevada Small Business Development Center - Fallon, NV

Kelli Kelly is the food systems and agriculture business advisor with the Nevada Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Before joining the Nevada SBDC, Kelli ran a non-profit food hub that aggregated, stored, sold, and distributed agricultural products in west-central Nevada. She is experienced in small business ownership, non-profit management, business and strategic planning, and food systems advocacy. Her areas of expertise are business planning, strategic planning, operational management, culinary, and non-profit.

Contact Kelli

Shiva Kittusamy

Coordinator - Extension - Las Vegas, NV

Shiva is the Small Business Education Coordinator with University of Nevada, Reno, Extension. He provides education to entrepreneurs of all ages and is helping launch the Food Business Center in Nevada by offering support to food businesses. Shiva recently graduated from UNR with a degree in finance and a minor in economics and entrepreneurship. During his time there, he founded AYCE Delivery, a coffee and tea delivery service for college campuses. As both an educator and entrepreneur, Shiva is passionate about helping others build successful businesses. Shiva possess extensive expertise in business and strategic planning, along with a profound understanding of venture capital investments.

COntact Shiva

Sabina Malik

Assistant Professor - Extension - Las Vegas, NV

Sabina Malik is an Assistant Professor for Healthy Food Systems with the University of Nevada, Reno, Extension. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Health in 2017, currently chairs the Southern Nevada Food Council and serves on the board of the Governor's Council on Food Security. Sabina leads various nutrition education and program evaluation initiatives and has conducted research on food system needs assessments for Southern Nevada. Her expertise encompasses food access, food systems, policy advocacy, health, nutrition education, community engagement, and consumer education.

Contact Sabina

Lindsay M Chichester

4-H Program Leader and Associate Professor - Extension - Reno, NV

Lindsay Chichester is the State 4-H Program Leader for Nevada and an Associate Professor with the University of Nevada, Reno Extension. She earned an M.A. in speech with an emphasis in crisis communication, an M.A. in animal science, and a Ph.D. in Systems Agriculture with an emphasis in meat science. Lindsay has worked in Extension for 14 years, with expertise in animal well-being, agriculture systems, meat science and consumerism, beekeeping, and youth development.

CONTACT LINDSaY

Jordan Hosmer-Henner

Manager - Desert Farming Initiative - Reno, NV

Jordan Hosmer-Henner is the Food Systems Program Manager at the Desert Farming Initiative where he supports programs to develop local agricultural producer capacity and profitability, SNAP-ED farmers market promotion and university academic coordination. His experience in the Nevada Governor's Office with a policy portfolio covering agriculture, energy and public lands as well as work as Urban Economist for the City of Reno uniquely position him with the expertise to effectively coordinate food chain enhancement efforts.

Contact Jordan

Jill Moe

Director- Desert Farming Initiative - Reno, NV

Jill Moe is the Director of the Desert Farming Initiative and holds a Master degree in environmental policy from the University of Washington, a Master certificate in sustainable agriculture from Washington State University’s global campus, and has 20 years of experience in her fields of study. Jill comes from a family with agricultural roots in the Midwest and became interested in desert farming as a US Peace Corps agroforestry volunteer in West Africa. She has managed large scale watershed planning and regional natural resource management projects, has hands-on experience in market farming in the US and Europe, and enjoys working directly with landowners and growers. Her key interests are in advancing climate smart farming and food sovereignty in the region, and building healthy and resilient food systems.

Contact Jill

Navleen Khera

Outreach Coordinator - Extension - Reno, NV

Navleen Khera is the Social and Digital Media Outreach Coordinator for the Nevada Food Business Center. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in May 2024, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing, with a minor in Data Analytics. Navleen has experience working with student startups, helping them build their social media presence, and creating marketing material for the Nevada Career Studio. Her areas of expertise include social media management, graphic design, and content creation.

Contact Navleen

Marikate Lewis Ratliff

Educator - Nevada Department of Agriculture – Sparks, NV

Marikate Lewis Ratliff is the Program Outreach Educator with the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA). She works closely with industry professionals and USDA to help create strategic plans to expand their capacity and help reach food-insecure populations in urban, tribal, and rural areas. In addition, she provides outreach to industry professionals, and local, tribal, and state government agencies to identify solutions for Nevada producers. Marikate has experience in federal grants across multiple areas, event/conference management, animal and plant agriculture, consumer education, and food safety. Her areas of expertise are Meat and Poultry, Agriculture Literacy, and Grant Management. 

cONTACT marikate

Shayda Sanjideh

Project Manager - Nevada Department of Agriculture – Sparks, NV

Shayda Sanjideh is the Meat & Poultry Inspection Project Manager for the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA). She has been with the NDA since 2020 and developed the State Meat & Poultry Inspection Program. In addition, she also leads the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program for Nevada. She is experienced in meat processing, food safety, risk management, grant management, and regulatory compliance. Her areas of expertise are project planning and development, the meat and poultry industry, and navigating State and Federal regulations.

ConTACT SHAYDA

Allison Moreno

Project Manager- Extension - Reno, NV

Allison Moreno is a Project Manager with the University of Nevada, Reno Extension, and works directly with program leaders to manage grant-funded projects, document project evaluation and reporting, and create and build project partnerships. Moreno has financial and case management experience with the State of Nevada. Areas of expertise include grants management, reporting; budgeting, and financial management.

contact ALLISON

Daniel Coen

Coordinator - Extension Tribal Programs - Reno, NV

Daniel Coen joined Extension as the project mentor for the Tribal Students Program, offering support, resources, and advice to scholarship recipients. He holds an M.A.T. and a B.A. in History from Georgia State University and retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Senior Chief Petty Officer (E8) in 2020. He now coordinates statewide Tribal programs, collaborating with grant teams and tribal communities to identify funding opportunities and leading various Native Program initiatives, including the hoop house project and reservation-based Extension programs. His areas of expertise are tribal agriculture education and training, design and implementation of student programming and hoop house projects, and on-reservation extension programming.

Contact Daniel

Alisa Townsell-Gilbert

Compliance Support Specialist - Nevada Department of Agriculture - Sparks

Alisa Townsell assists in developing, implementing, and maintaining the State Meat and Poultry Inspection Program at the Nevada Department of Agriculture. She works with industry on meat and poultry inspection readiness, environmental plans, and safety plans. Alisa has previous experience planning and coordinating program based educational programs. With dual degrees in Agricultural Science and Secondary Education from The University of Nevada-Reno, she has prioritized ag literacy and specializes in compliance. Her areas of expertise are meat and poultry, grant management, and food safety.

Contact Alisa

Meet the food business center team