by Jarquita Brown

“The five things I live by in life: honesty, integrity, leading with curiosity, compassion, and that I’m intentional about the way I move through the world.”

 

Kerry White’s story reflects the power of aligning professional skills with personal values to create meaningful change. Growing up in West Seattle, she spent her days swimming competiti

vely for Cleveland High School along with playing other sports in Rainier Beach. “I loved being outside,” Kerry recalls. “Riding my bike wherever I wanted to go. The air smelled like sage, and I felt hopeful in a time where you’re in that adolescence and you feel very unsure of yourself, but also awkwardly confident about things. It felt like that.” Kerry immersed herself in community from an early age, but it was during undergrad at Central Washington University where she found herself being in “an agricultural belt.” After earning her undergrad degree, she transitioned into culinary arts, specializing in classical French training. She said, “This taught me about understanding systems and how jobs depend on each other and how people work together.” Kerry thrived as an executive chef and later as a chef proprietor and senior leader in the food industry. But over time, she recognized that her work and values were not aligned. She said, “That work stopped feeling like it was in alignment with my morals, values, and intention, and honestly, my energy.” She continued, “I decided that I needed to do something that wasn’t making white men more rich while I watched my team have less. It was a really heartbreaking experience. So, I don’t do that work anymore, but I certainly use the things that I learned being a chef and being a part of the food system.”

With many years of experience managing food systems, handling large-scale contracts, and
leading construction projects, she set out to find work that matched her vision and purpose. So during the pandemic, she obtained her master’s degree in Conscious Leadership.
“I learned to become a Trauma Informed Manager, and it aligns with the five things I live my life by: honesty, integrity, leading with curiosity, compassion, and intention,” she said. Kerry added, “I wanted to use my institutional knowledge and lived experience to be a part of an
organization that is wholeheartedly in the work that is dedicated to be system changers that put justice and sovereignty as a leading line principle.” All of this led Kerry to Rainier Beach Action Coalition (RBAC). How a Passion for Food Led to Community Impact
Kerry found herself at RBAC, starting as the Food Hub and Farm Stand Manager. She talked
about how her first week on the job set the tone for her journey. David Sauvion, cofounder of
RBAC, invited Kerry to many meetings within the organization her first week, but one particular meeting led her to join and eventually lead the MOD Squad.

The MOD Squad, a workgroup within RBAC, plays a significant role in collaborating with the architects to oversee the construction of the tenant improvements at the Food Innovation Center. Each meeting focuses on ensuring the design and construction process align with the overall vision for the facility. “David had me come to a MOD Squad meeting because I think he was trying to figure out what to do with me during my first week of work,” said Kerry. At the meeting, she reviewed the
design plans for Phase 1 of the Food Innovation Center. What she saw made her pause. The original design included an elevator taking up a huge portion of the building’s space, which did not sit right with her, so Kerry suggested a more efficient design. “I remember sitting there looking at the plans, and I was thinking about the projects that I’ve installed lifts on, and I knew that it did not need to take up all of the square footage upstairs and downstairs of the food innovation center,” Kerry said. “So, there was a moment where I was sitting there and I was like, ‘ok, you either have to say something or you have to never come to these meetings again’,” Kerry recalls, drawing on her previous experience with construction projects. “I had no intention of doing any building work or project management for RBAC, but then I realized that I am uniquely qualified, so I made some suggestions, and that’s how I ended up being a part of the project.” Now standing as the Director of Food Justice and Innovation, Kerry oversees all of the initiatives in RBAC’s Healthy Food for a Healthy Industry branch.

Empowering Youth through Food Sovereignty

Healthy Food for a Health Industry (HFHI) focuses on addressing issues of food insecurity in Rainier Beach. RBAC believes in a future where everyone has access to healthy, fresh, and culturally relevant produce that is sourced from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farms. A lot of this work is also led by the youth who are also residents of Rainier Beach. Within the HFHI branch lies the Farm Stand, the Community-Sourced Agriculture (CSA) program, and Seeds of Change (SOC) Network. These are all of the spaces where Rainier Beach young leaders learn and grow within the organization. “The Seeds of Change Network changed from the Food Policy Council, and the original intent was to figure out how to get Black and brown farmers a seat at the table where decisions were being made,” Kerry explains. She continues, “But we understand now that every time we pull up with another youth organization that creates collective power. When we go to another farm, somebody’s going to have a lived experience that connects with a young person in a way that we never could have anticipated, and so it is led with curiosity and compassion, and it is very intentional.” Through collective power and intentional partnerships, SOC Network connects young leaders of Rainier Beach with farmers and other organizations. Kerry said, “Our young folks have experiences that make them more resilient in the work, and when they are not actively working full days during the summer, and when hard things happen for them throughout the rest of the year, they can look back on an experience that went well for them. It’s about creating a container where they can really tolerate life as it comes, be resilient, and experience the beauty and the terror that comes with being a human.”

Kerry’s work at RBAC exemplifies the best that food can do: bring people together, foster connections, and create systems that prioritize justice and equity. Whether it’s reimagining how a building functions or empowering the next generation of leaders, her journey continues to be one of aligning action with intention and making sure there is a seat at the table for everyone. Kerry added, “I love how everything comes together here. There are things I am not good at, but my team is, and for the first time, I am a part of a team where we truly believe in a flat or circular leadership, and we all work in that direction.”

This interview has been edited and condensed. Learn more about Kerry and her role as Director of Food Justice and Innovation by visiting rbcoalition.org.

 

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