Our Community
Annie Simmons, CEO/Co-Founder/Board Secretary
Annie is a west coast native, chef-instructor and entrepreneur. She grew up in coastal Oregon and began cooking from a young age, expressing her love for family and friends through food. After earning her journalism degree in Oregon she served three years in the US Air Force. She was deployed six months in Mogadishu, Somalia, where she witnessed the effects of famine, malnutrition and severe food instability up close. She completed her Culinary Arts degree in Vermont and trained at fine establishments in Tokyo, Puerto Rico, Miami and Boston. She moved back to the North Bay area where she started her family and a successful restaurant. Annie began volunteering at Ceres Community Project in 2019 and immediately fell in love with its mission of empowerment and compassion, life-saving nutrition through healing foods, and education, particularly youth education and mentorship. She has been grateful to contribute to and participate in an organization that impacts lives in such a kind, positive and meaningful way, and is overjoyed to bring this mission to her beloved PNW.
When not at work, Annie enjoys travel, time with friends and family, hiking, yoga, baking at home and building her extensive book collection.
JanRose Ottaway Martin, Board President
JanRose Ottaway Martin has been working with nonprofits for 20+ years. She has an employment history that includes working with people who are HIV+, have a history of homelessness, have a history of mental illness and/or drug addiction, are elderly with physical health issues, and many more specialty populations. She currently works in the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). She specializes in strategic planning, financial oversight and budgeting, contractual language, and non-profit development including governance, management, and program planning.
In her free time, JanRose has a passion for travel and has spent a significant amount of time living in other countries (Denmark and Guinea Conakry). She travels internationally whenever she can. She enjoys outside activities like snowshoeing, hiking, and volleyball. JanRose has three dogs and can often be found reading a book with one an Australian Cattle Dog or a retriever-mix cuddled up next to her or on her lap.
