2025 Women of Influence

The Shelby-Griffin Report presents the 20th annual tribute to Women of Influence in the food industry. For 20 years, we’ve honored the outstanding women shaping the food industry—from executives and innovators to mentors and community leaders. This year’s nominees represent a diverse range of roles, backgrounds, and regions, each making a profound impact in their careers and beyond.

Explore their stories below, and join us in celebrating their achievements.

2025 Women of Influence

2025 Women of Influence

Leslie Coogan

Customer VP, Publix/H-E-B/Wakefern – Meals and Beverages, The Campbell's Company

Leslie Coogan handles the development and execution of strategic growth plans that drive more than $500 million in annual retail sales, leads three local sales teams and represents a portfolio of brands including Campbell's, Rao's, Prego, Pace, Swanson, Pacific Foods and V8.
She joined Campbell's 17 years ago as an intern, starting full time in brand management after finishing her MBA at Temple University. Throughout her tenure, Leslie has advanced through positions across brand management, internal sales strategy and strategic customer sales. Her cross-functional experience, combined with her passion to collaborate, enables her to shape strategic direction, cultivate senior-level relationships and lead her team to wins.
Leslie is a mentor through Campbell's Women's Inclusion Network, unofficially mentors numerous teammates and is a member of NextUp. In 2024, she oversaw the Meijer customer team, whose stellar performance landed them as a finalist for Campbell's Team of the Year Award. She was also a Campbell's Merit Award recipient in 2018, recognized for exceptional performance and leadership.
As a breast cancer survivor, Leslie is an advocate and supporter of cancer awareness. She's also participates in the Cystic Fibrosis community, dedicated to research and fundraising.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lilly Rocha

President and CEO, Latino Food Industry Association

Latino Restaurant Association\'s, President and CEO, Lilly Rocha\\\'s nomination is supported by her transformative leadership of the two associations. She\\\'s a pivotal advocate, driving growth and visibility for Latino-owned businesses within the food sector.

Lilly\\\'s strategic initiatives have fostered crucial networking, educational resources and legislative advocacy, addressing the challenges faced by these entrepreneurs. Her work has amplified their voices, securing vital support during economic downturns and policy shifts.
Lilly\\\'s dedication to empowering Latino businesses, coupled with her proven ability to build impactful alliances, makes her an exceptional candidate. Her impact is measurable through the increased access to capital, streamlined operational support and elevated industry representation she\\\'s facilitated.

Beyond her industry leadership, Lilly is also an ambassador for the American Heart Association. This commitment highlights her holistic approach to community well-being, recognizing the vital connection between food, health and cultural prosperity. She is a powerful force for equity and advancement in the food industry and a champion for healthy communities.

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2025 Women of Influence

Linda Hofmann

Area Business Consultant, Save A Lot

Linda Hofmann is an invaluable resource to her 14 retail partners and their 27 stores. In addition, many of her peers and the entire Save A Lot organization rely on Linda's expertise in retail operations throughout the year. When working with the support center teams, Linda shows up ready to learn or provide her opinion/feedback in a respectful, confident and clear manner. When approached with a new program, Linda ensures all her retail partners are informed and prepared by hosting weekly training calls and providing consistent communication. Linda is a major asset to the Save A Lot team and a superb leader in the grocery space. She is fully committed to ensuring her retail partners have all the information they need on a daily and weekly basis to grow and operate their business successfully. She is a systems expert on all operational processes and is a teaching and training resource for her region and all her retail partners. Her commitment and expertise have earned the respect of her retail partners. On a regular basis, they communicate how much they respect her experience and are grateful for her partnership and trust in helping them grow their businesses. They know she is on call and will respond to them every day of the week to help them meet their needs and goals. She also ensures her retail partners have the tools, resources and solutions with consistent follow-up, using a service spirit to all her stores.

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2025 Women of Influence

Linda Wakim

VP, Client Success, Birdzi Inc.

Linda Wakim is a large part of the client success at Birdzi, a company that employs artificial intelligence and data science to help grocers gain consumer insights and tailor personalized offers for their customer bases. The company still works with its first signed client and has never lost a customer.
Linda has more than two decades of experience on both aspects of the grocery industry – nine years on the retailer side with Giant Eagle and over a decade on the solution side. She is an established thought leader, co-authoring a white paper, titled "Customer Specific Retail," which focuses on AI-driven personalization in retail, unique shopper profiles, segmentation and AI automation.
Linda is recognized by retailers, suppliers and competitors for her extensive knowledge of grocery retail, loyalty, customer data and her ability to create actionable plans from insights and trends.
Outside the workplace, Linda is passionate about empowering women and girls to reach their goals and become financially independent. At Soroptimist International of the Americas, she sits on the board as treasurer, is chairperson of the keystone project "Live Your Dream" and volunteers as a mentor.
Linda has been a visiting instructor in the field of customer profiling and analytics at the University of Pittsburgh's business school, where she also has been a guest speaker and judged student competitions.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lisa Podesta-Coombs

Account Executive, JOH

Lisa Podesta-Coombs is a powerhouse in the Fresh Foods industry, embodying leadership, dedication and a deep commitment to mentorship. With over 20 years of experience, she has navigated every facet of the retail business, from Store Operations and Manufacturing to Sales, building a career defined by growth, innovation and lasting relationships.
As an integral part of the JOH Fresh Team, Lisa plays a pivotal role in managing the New York Metro market. The business has expanded in sales and talent as she continuously mentors and develops her team. Her ability to inspire, strategize and execute with excellence has made her an invaluable asset to JOH and a respected figure in the industry.
Lisa's infectious energy, relentless drive and commitment to Sell Right set her apart. She is a trailblazer who uplifts those around her, making a meaningful impact on her colleagues, clients and the industry as a whole.
Lisa Podesta-Coombs is more than deserving of this Women of Influence recognition as she continues to lead, inspire and shape the future of Fresh Foods.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lisa Silvia

Store Manager, Stop & Shop

Lisa Silvia is an exceptional leader who cares about her associates, customers and community. With 15 years of experience as a store manager, she has driven positive results and fostered a strong sense of community in every store she has led.
In 2024, Lisa was instrumental in supporting the development of associates, serving as a training store for new assistant store managers. Her dedication to mentoring has resulted in numerous promotions and enhanced knowledge for her store teams. She has also focused on union associate development, creating pathways for career growth within her store.
Lisa is committed to community involvement, leading her store to No. 1 ranking in fundraising efforts for several initiatives. Her store was tops in the district for Cure Childhood Cancer, raising $9,280, and also ranked first in the district – and the brand – for Food for Friends, contributing $5,658.
She led efforts for Stop & Shop's partnership with Rhode Island Pancan, organizing volunteers and food donations for the annual walk, which helped raise $265,399 for pancreatic cancer research.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Lisa supports local organizations such as Jonny Cake Center and the Warm Center of Westerly. With more than 30 years at Stop & Shop, she exemplifies dedication to developing associates, supporting community initiatives and fostering a positive culture.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lisa Stowater

SVP, Distribution, Cherokee Distribution Center, Hy-Vee

Lisa Stowater oversees operations for the 665,000-square-foot warehouse, which serves as a central storage and dry distribution facility for the Midwestern grocery chain. She began her Hy-Vee career in 1991 as a part-time record keeper. During her early years with the company, she worked in a variety of roles, gaining experience in both warehouse and office functions. Prior to her current position, Lisa led Cherokee\'s transportation and human resources departments, where she developed a passion for employee training and development. As a leader in supply chain, her top priority is serving Hy-Vee\'s more than 300 retail stores. Her focus is centered around fostering a safe workplace environment for her employees while also efficiently delivering quality goods to Hy-Vee\'s stores. She and her team remain focused on continuous improvement across warehouse operations. Most recently, Lisa helped prepare for the opening of Hy-Vee\'s newest Lomar Distribution Center, located in Cumming, Iowa. She was instrumental in the go-live process, ensuring all operational procedures and staffing were in place. She also is a champion for environmental stewardship. Under her leadership, the Cherokee Distribution Center has maintained the Green Business Council\'s TRUE Zero Waste Platinum-Level certification, diverting millions of pounds of solid waste from landfills each year.

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2025 Women of Influence

Liz Bleakley

Strategic Director of Global PR and Communications, St Pierre Bakery

Liz Bleakley is working to raise the profile of the business and brand with trade, consumer and B2B audiences. Liz analyses data, commissions research and develops news content that will resonate with relevant audiences in multiple markets. In addition, Liz manages all trade media advertising, controlling media spend, planning and placement across UK and US media channels. Liz also leads on the development of its CSR commitments – both within St Pierre and as part of Grupo Bimbo. Liz is a senior marketing leader within St Pierre's business, having joined the company in 2020. As such, her sphere of influence is broad, working cross-collaboratively with the brand marketing teams and sales teams in the UK, US, UAE and Spain to support the delivery of impressive brand growth year-on-year, leading initiatives through PR and communications – both external and internal, including the recent launch of its "Eat Avec Respect" campaigns in the UK and USA. Liz is influential with multiple stakeholders, leading and/or consulting on communications with suppliers, customers, consumers, community initiatives and colleagues alike. As the lead on CSR and ESG at St Pierre Groupe, 2024 was the company's most successful year, with the team volunteering more than 300 hours to community causes.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lizette Gomez

Director of Marketing, Vallarta Supermarkets

Lizette Gomez is a dynamic leader and visionary in marketing and branding. With a proven track record in strategic planning, public relations and creative direction, she has dedicated her career to building impactful campaigns that drive results, elevate brands and foster community engagement. Lizette has spearheaded the creation of cohesive and memorable brand identities, leading in-house teams and external partners to deliver visually compelling campaigns across digital and traditional channels. Lizette excels in coordinating high-profile corporate events and product launches, crafting narratives that resonate with stakeholders and the media. A collaborative leader, she works with executives, operations, IT and buying teams to integrate marketing strategies into broader business operations. Through her work, Lizette enhances the customer experience while leading weekly executive and buyers' meetings to align sales strategies, resolve challenges and plan initiatives. Overseeing corporate social responsibility programs that reflect Vallarta's commitment to community support and philanthropy, Lizette believes in the power of storytelling and strategic thinking to inspire connections between brands and their audiences. By fostering a collaborative and data-driven culture within her teams, she ensures that every campaign is innovative and impactful.

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2025 Women of Influence

Lorena Holley

VP and General Counsel, Florida Retail Federation

Lorena Holley joined the Florida Retail Federation as general counsel and VP in March 2018. Prior to FRF, she served as general counsel of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam. Prior to her time at the department, Lorena spent several years with the Florida Public Service Commission, where she served in several positions advising on legal and policy issues related to the economic regulation of Florida's electric, gas, telecommunications and water and wastewater utility industries. Lorena grew up in Texas but is now proud to call Florida home.

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