ASHLEE BENNETT
Regional Manager: Rocky Mountain + Southwest
Ashlee was born and raised in Boulder, CO, where the natural beauty and culture of health and wellness helped to shape her world outlook and ultimately bring her to the Natural Foods Industry. She has a BA from Colorado University in International Affairs and earned her MS from Penn State, where she studied Geography with an emphasis on global food systems. Her passion for all things food easily translated to the broker world, where she has worked with Colorado-based natural retailers for the last four years. She has expertise calling on Natural Grocers, Whole Foods Market, Pharmaca, and Lucky's Market, and is always eager to expand her knowledge and build relationships with new retailers.
In her free time, Ashlee nurtures her obsession with food by working to deepen her knowledge and understanding of ethnic ingredients, techniques and flavor profiles. She also has a keen interest in helping things grow, keeping an outdoor garden and tending her indoor "garbage garden" composed of items often thrown away but with a little help can be productive again. Whether in rain, sunshine, or snow, she can also be found outside with her husband and her dog, Jack
BRANDON RICHARDSON
Territory Representative
Brandon was born in SLC, Utah. After high school, he joined the US Air Force and worked in Avionics. He mostly worked on the electronics and radar systems of F16s and F22s in CA, CO, TX, MN, VA, and Iraq.
After his time in the military, he studied Psychology and Sales / Business Management at Weber State University. He spent 10 years in the hospitality industry working for Hilton Worldwide. He then started working for KeHE as an independent sales representative in Park City and Heber valley before joining the Yin Yang Naturals team.
Brandon's free time is spent at the gym, in the mountains / national parks, and traveling the world. In 2022 Brandon entered a national fitness / physique competition, eliminated in the final round leading to the Top 3.
DANNY WELCH
Born in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs, raised on food from scratch with a healthy dose of his father‘s infamous salsa, it’s no wonder a life dedicated to food was in Danny's future. Danny jokingly says he has a doctorate in retail, with 20 years experience under his belt. Danny started at 18 in the produce department of a conventional grocery store where his hard work ethic, thirst for knowledge, and eye for trends swiftly moved him into multiple leadership roles throughout the store.
After almost a decade in the conventional world, Danny took a position at Whole Foods Market in Fort Collins as a produce team member. Within the first year, Danny moved into the produce buyer position where he continued his growth in the natural grocery world. Danny earned the nickname “double stuff" because of the enormous, eye-catching, photo worthy displays that he built. After a couple years in the produce department, Danny took a supervisor position on the grocery team and quickly moved up to the ATL position. In the grocery department, he continued his signature displays with one of them getting globally recognition within Whole Foods. In the last 3+ years, Danny has been with Lucky’s Market Fort Collins. As the grocery manager, he fine tuned much of his experience to curate the store to meet the needs and desires of the local community. It is now known as a hotspot for many phenomenal local items and a place for those that have fallen in love with quality food.
Danny comes from a family where he is the fourth out of five boys, and has a son of his own. He lives to be outside in any way, shape, or form. Danny loves to watch and play soccer, carries a Hakki sack in his backpack wherever he goes, enjoys frisbee golf, golf, swimming, as well as just taking off on his bike or feet to chase the sun. He likes to experiment with food by combining obscure ingredients and seeing how well they play together. He loves to play video games and doodle with his son and also thoroughly enjoys lengthy rabbit hole conversations with his partner!
DAYNA STERNBERG
Dayna was born and raised in the vast empty state of Wyoming, where she spent summers on her grandparent's ranch. She learned how to cook, bake and raise a garden from her grandmother. After receiving an Associates Degree in Fine Arts, she moved to Denver, Colorado to continue her education.
It was in Denver in 2000 that she started working at a Whole Foods Market and discovered her passion for organic and gourmet foods. She started on the Customer Service Team and worked her way around several departments, stores, and states before finally realizing her calling as a cheesemonger. Dayna is a Certified Cheese Professional through the ACS. She has been a Team Trainer, Buyer, Associate Team Leader and Team Leader. She loves merchandising and using her creativity, is passionate about food and loves sharing her knowledge with customers!
In her free time, Dayna can be found in the pottery studio making mugs, bowls, and other functional products. She enjoys concerts, museums, and spending time with her many pets. She also needs a certain amount of "ocean time" every year and her partner makes sure to plan vacations accordingly.
HANNAH DAUGHERTY
National Account Coordinator
Hannah was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana but has loved calling Colorado home since 2016. She started her career in sales and data management and made the shift to the CPG industry a few years ago. Hannah held key account coordinator positions at a national broker where she became well versed in Albertsons/Safeway and Sprouts grocery operations. She supported over 20 area representatives in 14 divisions in 33 different states for Albertsons/Safeway. For the Sprouts business, Hannah was responsible for trade planning, promo analysis, and handling of all new item, price change and promo contract submissions in DMS for over 150 brands. Hannah loves a challenge and problem solving to create more efficient processes.
Outside of work, Hannah enjoys snowboarding and hiking with her husband on the weekends.