MEET THE TEAM
NIKKI COSSIO
FOUNDER & CEO
Founder and CEO of Measure to Improve, LLC (MTI), whose mission is to help agricultural companies measure, improve, and credibly promote their sustainability efforts. Part of a long-standing California farming family, I understand what sustainability means across four generations. I have always taken the initiative to build synergy between the three crucial aspects of a thriving agriculture business – people, planet, and profit. This initiative and farming heritage are what have driven me to found MTI. MTI has a proven track record of supporting clients in setting ambitious but attainable sustainability goals. Areas of expertise include water, energy, waste, greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable packaging, and sustainability certifications. Clients include produce growers, packers, shippers, and industry associations across the United States. Please link to my LinkedIn
LEEANNE FRENCH
STRATEGIC ADVISOR
LeeAnne French is Strategic Advisor to MTI. LeeAnne helps MTI clients strategically minimize their risks and optimize their opportunities in sustainability. She has a Masters in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at University of California, Santa Barbara where she helped develop the sustainability program for one of the largest onion producers including zero waste, energy, water and greenhouse gas inventory reporting. LeeAnne has an extensive background in managing large scale strategic programs and partnerships in both the private and public sectors. With more than 20 years of communications and marketing experience, LeeAnne abhors greenwashing. She works with MTI’s clients to ensure that all sustainability claims are grounded in reality and data.
JENNIFER NORFOLK
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Jennifer Norfolk is the Vice President of Operations and joined MTI in 2022. Jennifer leads the MTI staff in delivering high quality sustainability programming and building the organization's systems as it grows. She is passionate about finding win-win solutions for clients and the planet and has worked in dozens of countries on a range of sustainability and climate challenges. She loves working alongside the MTI team members, experts, and our clients to identify and ensure that evidence-based recommendations are actionable and user-friendly. She is highly skilled in identifying broader policy and industry trends and positioning the company to adapt and grow their offerings. She has a Master of Arts in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Please see LinkedIn profile here.
KIERAN FICKEN
DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS
An MTI team member since 2017, Kieran supports clients in building programs that meet third-party standards and buyer requirements. With a knack for training and communication, Kieran helps the MTI team turn complex sustainability topics into step-by-step guides and other training resources. Her dedication to scalable solutions allows clients to expand pilots into company-wide initiatives. While always up for a new challenge, her recent projects include supply chain-oriented sustainability programs, on-farm certification projects, and greenhouse gas emissions inventories. She holds an MBA in Global Impact Management and an MA in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies; her undergraduate degree is from the University of Vermont. Kieran’s academic work includes research on sustainability in the global soy and coffee supply chains, as well as agricultural development in Russia’s Far East.
CORINNE VAN DYKE
SENIOR SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM MANAGER
Corinne Van Dyke has worked with MTI since 2018. She is focused on reducing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of resource consumption and disposal in the agricultural industry. She works with a variety of agricultural operations, including on-farm operations, packing and processing facilities, and corporate offices to drive positive, sustainable change. Corinne is a Certified TRUE Advisor and supports clients in accomplishing TRUE Zero Waste Certifications by achieving a 90% diversion rate of materials from landfill. She collaborates with cross-functional teams to identify areas to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible. Her focus also extends into the quickly evolving sustainable packaging arena. She guides clients in establishing and working towards sustainable packaging goals that align with consumer demands and improve sustainability efforts. She is a firm believer that data serves as the underlying foundation for any sustainability program. Corinne enjoys creating simple, manageable ways to help clients track, measure, improve, and report their sustainability progress and accomplishments.
LOUIS DEMASO
SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM MANAGER
Louis DeMaso joined MTI in 2021. He is passionate about our environment and helping businesses understand the footprint of their impacts. Through studying Environmental Science and Sustainability at the University of Maryland, he has developed a broad skill set for evaluating environmental risks and opportunities. Drawing on years of experience working in tomato and fresh vegetable production, Louis understands the unique needs of produce growers, packers, processors, and distributors as they strive to meet evolving standards for increased sustainability and transparency. Louis is also a data wiz. He enjoys setting up efficient processes for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to draw conclusions and support continuous improvement. Louis believes that, at the intersection of sustainability and business management, there is potential to make a substantial positive impact on the world. His mission is to drive meaningful change that makes life better for people and contributes to a healthier planet.