A Kansas City area resident since 1998, Bernadette's passion for food and healthy eating began early on. After earning her B.S. degree in Nutrition and Food Science from Florida State University, that passion has continued to grow throughout her personal and professional life.

​

Bernadette joins the Yin Yang Naturals team with extensive sales and sales management experience. She was previously employed by The Hain Celestial Group and Blackford Brokerage as a business manager covering the Midwest region.  While with Hain Celestial she worked closely with Supervalu, UNFI, and AWG to increase sales. She also worked with several key retailers in the Midwest on promo planning, new item submissions, and program negotiations. In her tenure with Blackford she managed over 30 natural and specialty lines while working closely with Hy-Vee, and Fareway.

​

Bernadette loves cooking, volunteering at her favorite non-profit, and spending time with family and friends. Her treasured family includes her husband and two children.

Born and raised in the Chicago NW suburbs, Jose’s interest in food retail began in high school. Jose’s first job was at a local grocery store during his high school years and throughout college. Jose pursued a career in healthcare (radiology) and quickly learned that that was not his calling. From there, he decided to continue his career in the food industry and expand into the supply chain side of the business. 

​

Jose has come to Yin Yang with extensive management, leadership, and merchandising experience acquired through the grocery/retail industry. Jose has worked for Whole Foods Market for close to a decade. At Whole Foods Market, Jose started as a grocery stocker and because of his work performance and ethic, he quickly moved up the ladder to becoming a perishable buyer for the store, then associate team leader, and eventually the grocery team leader. During his time as a team leader/manager, he led his team to be part of the sales growth for the store, which is considered one of the highest volume stores in the MW region. Through his role, Jose worked closely with third party vendors. This has influenced his interest in continuing his career on the “other side of the business."

​

If Jose is not in a store building an impactful display, he can be found in one of two places: In his garage listening to music and working on a car or enjoying time with his family, who loves to travel. Jose’s family includes his wife, 2 kids, and a four year old siamese cat.å

A true Midwesterner, Judith’s interest in good food began as a child in her family’s backyard, where they and several other families from the neighborhood created and maintained a large community garden for many years. That sparked an appreciation and passion for real food that continues today.

​

Beginning on the retail side as General Manager for a long-standing co-op in Columbus Ohio, Judith’s desire to learn more about the actual food supply chain led her to the broker side of the Natural Industry, where she spent several years as a regional broker rep in the Midwest (OH, IN, KY, & WV) and then as the Eastern US Regional Manager for a national organic food broker. Rounding out her experience, she recently spent time as a Key Account Manager on the conventional side for a national distributor.

​

Until recently, Judith and her husband have spent the better part of a decade living on a 40-acre farm in rural Michigan. They have now moved back to the suburbs, where she hopes to continue her passion for gardening and landscaping, just on a much smaller level.

Raised in the snowy state of Minnesota, Kim’s interest in nutrition and healthy living began in high school when she was looking for a warming energy booster to aid her figure skating career. After extensively studying the health benefits of green tea, her interest quickly gained traction and she grew hungry to learn more about holistic health and wellness in any way possible. Kim spent 4 years at Whole Foods Market serving as the Supervisor & Buyer for the produce & floral departments. She has also experienced working as an aide alongside a dietitian to treat geriatric & memory care patients with special diets. Her passion for sustainable & indigenous food systems drives her to positively impact her community through both her professional career & personal projects.

 

Off-the-clock, Kim can be found hiking & camping along Lake Superior, rollerblading, hammocking with her Gameboy in hand, and exploring the world Chinese and Japanese tea.

Ryan Chada is a proud Chicagoan. Born and raised in an area rich with diversity, food, culture, music, and history. Ryan’s passion for the natural and organic food industry started in his 20’s as he loved to cook with fresh local ingredients. His interests and talents were nurtured when he began working at Whole Foods Market in 2006. There, he had the opportunity to flourish as a Buyer for the Coffee, Beer, Wine and Cheese departments. His keen sense for sales, marketing, and product knowledge was often called on for product setting and consumer education when launching new store openings. 

​

Ryan’s love for home brewing kombucha started in 2008 and expanded into beer brewing, where he gained employment as a Brewer with Two Brothers Brewing Company in 2011. After his daughter was born, he returned to WFM in a managerial position, where he was known for his merchandising and team-building skills. In 2017 he accepted the position of Midwest Sales Manager for Brew Dr. Kombucha. There he helped establish and popularize the brand throughout the Midwest by gaining new retail and distributor partnerships. 

​

Ryan and his family spend their free time hiking and exploring the local forest preserves with their three dogs, cultivating their 1000 sq. ft organic garden, playing music and enjoying the simple things life has to offer.