Ambassadors
Team and advisors | Ambassadors
Jesse Cool, Ambassador
Jesse Ziff Cool has been dedicated to sustainable agriculture and cuisine for over 4 decades as a writer, restaurateur, spokesperson and consultant for eco-conscious food service. Jesse is the author of seven cookbooks and through the years has written for dozens of publications.
She founded five restaurants, starting in 1976 with the first organic restaurant in the country, Late for the Train and currently operates the legendary 40 Flea St. Cafe in Menlo Park (1980) and Cantors Arts at Stanford University (2000).
Cool's current focus is directed towards equality and justice for restaurant workers. During the recent Pandemic, she implemented an innovative way of fair wage for all hourly workers in her restaurants called Heart of House. All hourly workers including dishwashers, cooks, servers, bussers and bar tenders are respectfully paid an equal part of the tip pool. This revolutionary direction has eliminateed a formerly dysfunctional and inequitable pay disparity between the FOH and BOH.
Cool continues to work at her restaurants supported by an amazing venerable staff. She also spends time hiking, gardening, eating and drinking as much as possible with her family and friends.
Barbara Faxon, Ambassador
Barbara Faxon is a seasoned leader with more than 15 years of initiating and delivering sustained results in the technology industry. She is currently an Executive Business Partner to the CEO at Lattice Semiconductor in San Jose, CA.
She can be credited with positive contributions to managing critical affairs, overseeing process improvement, and fostering internal & external collaboration. Faxon's passion to drive her life and career with integrity, truth and kindness has helped her to easily adapt to changing environments. With her passion for sharing knowledge, she has become a mentor for people coming into the administrative space and helping them improve as assistants.
Faxon earned a Master's degree in International Marketing/Finance concentration at San Jose State University where she concentrated on leadership communications, developing and managing people, and financial management. She holds a Microsoft 365 certification which highlights her knowledge of cloud service and fluency in SaaS solutions. In her spare time, Faxon enjoys spending time with her fur-babies Metta & Helios, creating art, and traveling.
Una Hrnjak-Hadziahmetovic, Ambassador
Una Hrnjak is a passionate sustainability professional. She recently joined ALDI to help make sustainability affordable for all. Prior to ALDI, she was the Head of Sustainability Strategy at Starbucks. This included work on climate change adaptation and mitigation and water stewardship efforts, engagement and partnership with key global organizations on achieving these targets, and advising commodity teams at Starbucks on climate and water smart ag practices and collective action opportunities. As a refugee, she is passionate about creating a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Prior to Starbucks, Hrnjak was a Senior Manager on the Gap Inc. Global Sustainability team. She was responsible for implementing several key programs focusing on environmental impact and human rights in Gap Inc.'s supply chain.
Of note, Hrnjak served as the Deputy & Acting Chief of Party of the Gap Inc. and USAID Women + Water Alliance. She has been recognized for her contributions with a GreenBiz 30 Under 30 Recognition as a Rising Leader in 2018.
Hrnjak holds a MA from American University’s School of International Service and a BA in Foreign Affairs from Miami University. Outside of work, she supports Women for Women International, the Jericho Foundation, and serves as an advisor to Forested.