Upcoming Workshops:
- Grass Valley, CA – September 15-17, 2026
- Buffalo, NY – October 6-8, 2026
- Sign up below to get notified when registration opens for these workshops
- Meet your presenters
What to expect: 3 days of hands-on leadership training. Get practical tools that you’ll use the day you get back to your store.
Group discounts available for teams of 6.
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Meet Your Presenters
Danielle Scallin
HR Training & Administrative Coordinator
Danielle has spent 15 years in hospitality management. Along the way, she learned a thing or two about people. She’s built teams, hired staff, and designed systems that work—first as an assistant manager, then as an event coordinator, and later as a marketing manager. And for Danielle, service has always meant more than good customer experiences. It’s about how we show up for one another. That idea drives everything she does. Today, she is the Training Coordinator at BriarPatch Food Co-op where she creates practical training programs that help teams work with clarity and purpose.
People do their best with the ideas and tools they know. I create a space where they can experiment with new skills, explore new ideas, and workshop with their peers – leaving inspired to do better work in the days ahead.”
Mike McCary
BriarPatch Grass Valley Store Ops Manager
Mike has worked in the cooperative world for 16 years holding multiple roles. He was a front end manager, assistant store operations and customer service manager and is now Senior Store Operations Manager at BriarPatch Food Co-op. He has also been a front end systems consultant. Prior to working with cooperatives, he owned his own masonry business. He has “mastered” the art of staff relations starting with hiring for fit, training for understanding, setting expectations, creating an environment of collaboration, and empowering staff to own their roles.
People are messy, self-included, when we accept people for who they are and where they are at we create an open space where we can all work, collaborate and grow. Be curious and assume we have the best intentions and understand we all want to do a good job.
Allen Seidner
Consultant, owner of Thought for Food Consulting
Allen spent a decade working in and managing restaurants and then another decade managing grocery delis before becoming a regional director, store owner and consultant to natural foods operators. He’s been exclusively committed to working with organic and natural foods operations for 35 years. These days, most of his work is in the design and development of grocery delis — but his heart is always still with the cooks, staff and managers who make it happen every day.
“None of us are perfect, and we don’t need to be. We’re all just working on becoming our next better selves. But what’s even more gratifying than seeing our own development, is knowing we’ve helped grow or improve someone else’s life or career.”
Mark Mulcahy
Consultant, Owner of Organic Options
Mark started as a produce clerk, learned to buy at the San Francisco Market, managed the first all organic produce department in the Bay area, launched Organic Options Consulting and co-created Rising Stars. He’s also served as interim general manager and operations manager at co-ops and independent natural foods stores across the country.
Even with 40 years of experience, I am still a work in progress. I begin with passion and curiosity in everything I do. I meet people where they are and start with listening. This opens the door for new ideas, mutual accountability, and the discovery of what’s possible beyond the retail norms.“