The current Dill Pickle Board of Directors. Directors serve for a 3-year term.
Gajus Miknaitis | gajus.miknaitis@dillpickle.coop | President
3rd year
Gajus was a member of Seattle's Central Co-op and enjoyed its extensive selection of organic and natural foods while studying physics in graduate school at the University of Washington. Upon returning to his native Chicago to begin a postdoctoral position with the Experimental Astrophysics Group at Fermilab, he was disappointed at the absence of any similar food co-ops in the area. Excited to learn of the Dill Pickle Food Co-op's nascent effort, he became involved immediately and now serves on the membership, space and business committees, as well as being recently elected to the board of directors. Gajus joined the Board in 2007.
Kasia Paprocki | kasia.paprocki@dillpickle.coop | Vice President
3rd year
Kasia has been a member-owner of two co-ops in her life prior to the Dill Pickle, including The Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis, the largest grocery co-op in the country. Upon moving to Chicago in 2007, Kasia was horrified to find no co-ops in the area, and got involved with the Dill Pickle right away, as a member of the Storefront and Product Selection Committees. Outside the co-op, Kasia is the Research and Program Manager for the Goldin Institute, where she focuses on research and writing on microfinance and other issues related to development in the Global South. She joined the Board in 2009 by filling a seat that had been vacated early.
Payton Chung | payton.chung@dillpickle.coop | Treasurer
3rd year
Payton has recent experience working as a research coordinator for the Congress for the New Urbanism, a Chicago-based association of urban planners and architects. He has been active in several community organizations, including a current appointment to the executive committee of the Wicker Park-Bucktown Commission, prior board membership for the Bucktown Community Organization and Friends of Downtown, and a long-standing involvement with the Greenhouse community garden in Wicker Park. He joined the Board in 2007.
Kevin Monahan | kevin.monahan@dillpickle.coop | Secretary
2nd Year
For five years prior to joining the board, Kevin was an active member of a local food buying club co-op. With a graduate degree in computer science and a resume spanning Arthur Andersen to Old Town School of Folk Music, Kevin brings a variety of experiences to the board. In the kitchen, Kevin enjoys stirring up new variations on old entrées. He joined the Board in 2008.
Jessica Weisbach | jessica.weisbach@dillpickle.coop
1st Year
Jessica became an active member of the Dill Pickle in the 2008. She began her involvement as the volunteer coordinator and has successfully connected many current committee members/volunteers to tasks and responsibilities necessary for the opening of our co-op. Jessica organized the first meeting of the outreach committee and continues to be an active member of this group by working at the farmers' market, participating in our Latino outreach subcommittee, and a variety of other activities that promote membership and awareness to members of our community. During the day, Jessica works as the school social worker at a local charter high school focusing on building community within the school, developing positive communication skills with both students, staff and parents, and promoting effective conflict management. She also leads the Eco-Action club at her school and looks forward to finding ways for her students to contribute to the DPFC. She joined the Board in 2009.
Kath Duffy | kath.duffy@dillpickle.coop
1st Year (re-elected in 2009)
Kath founded the organizing efforts of the Dill Pickle Food Coop in late 2005 with an email to 40 friends that resulted in over 300 responses. She served as the first President of the Board of Directors. Kath earns her keep as the Communications Organizer for the Campaign for Better Health Care, is a member of the concert production staff of the Old Town School of Folk Music, and is a co-founder of the public art group Anti Gravity Surprise. In 2009, Kath was re-elected to serve the Board for another three years.
Billy Burdett | billy.burdett@dillpickle.coop
1st Year (re-elected in 2009)
Billy was a member of the original Board of Directors, which was elected in 2006. Prior to then, he served on the co-op's steering committee for roughly a year. Currently, Billy works with the Finance and Storefront committees and has helped organize four successful fund-raising concerts for the Co-op. Billy has significant co-op and grassroots organizing experience, having co-founded the Oregon Wildlife Federation's Activist Collective and worked as a Hands-On-Owner at People's Food Coop in Portland, Oregon, for several years. In 2009, Billy was re-elected to serve the Board for another three years.