2026 Women of Influence in the Food Industry

The Shelby-Griffin Report presents the 21st annual tribute to Women of Influence in the food industry. For 21 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.

2026 Women of Influence

2026 Women of Influence

Jessica Brown

CFO, Brookshire Brothers

Jessica Brown's promotion to her current role this year marked an historic milestone as the first female executive officer in the organization's history. She previously served as VP of accounting and treasury for 15 years.

Brown's journey within the company reflects both dedication and distinction, having advanced through a series of increasingly impactful leadership roles, including staff accountant, financial analyst, general ledger manager, assistant controller and controller.

With a depth of experience spanning the full spectrum of finance and accounting, Brown has cultivated a strong and steady foundation in financial leadership. Her expertise includes strategic planning, acquisitions, corporate refinancing and operational oversight, all guided by both her academic training and years of hands-on experience. Known for her thoughtful, measured leadership style and unwavering commitment to excellence, Brown brings a practical yet forward-thinking approach to financial management -- qualities that position her well in her new role as CFO.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Brown is a wife and mother of three. She treasures time spent with her family and remains connected to her community, embodying the same care and commitment in her personal life that she brings to her work.

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2026 Women of Influence

Jessica Ringena

SVP, Chief Revenue Officer, Hy-Vee

Jessica Ringena is using her unique skills to bridge the gap between finance and marketing -- two fields that traditionally have operated in parallel worlds. In her current role, Ringena leads Hy-Vee's finance, marketing and retail media teams. While her oversight is sizeable, her goal is to build synergies between these areas to drive more revenue, growth and efficiencies at Hy-Vee by blending creative direction with data-driven strategies. As a marketer, Ringena and her team are focused on optimizing the customer journey through personalized and relevant omnichannel experiences. Blending Hy-Vee's rich service model with data and targeted messaging, she aims to increase engagement and strengthen brand loyalty among customers across every touchpoint, both in-store and online. Ringena's goal is to not only solve problems for Hy-Vee's busy consumers but also for the retailer's store-level leaders. That's why her team has spent the past year streamlining internal tools to make everyday tasks easier and more efficient at retail. Under her leadership, Hy-Vee's finance team introduced advanced budgeting and forecasting reports to help store directors make faster and more informed decisions around their operations. In addition, the marketing team created a hub that allows store employees to crowdsource marketing assets in real time.

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2026 Women of Influence

Jody Rudh

Customer Manger, JOH

Jody Rudh is a tremendous leader in the Twin Cities and within JOH's North Central region, where she plays a key role in the continued success of the region. Her leadership not only strengthens JOH but also supports the clients who have entrusted the company with their business and the retailers who rely on the partnership to meet the evolving needs of today's consumers. Rudh brings a relentless drive to everything she does and raises the bar beyond what others believe is possible. She approaches her work with a selfless mindset, always putting the success and well-being of clients, customers, consumers and fellow JOH associates first. Her relationships with customers and clients are second to none. She is trusted for her insights, creativity and ability to bring forward new ideas that drive meaningful results. Throughout her career, Rudh has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence while also bringing energy, positivity and joy to those around her. We are grateful for the leadership, dedication and spirit she brings to our team every day. Rudh lives in the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities with her husband, Tim. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with friends and traveling.

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2026 Women of Influence

Jordan Carter

VP of Sales and Marketing, Leger & Son

A dynamic leader and dedicated advocate for the produce industry, Jordan Carter's impact spans business performance, industry leadership and community engagement. In her current role, she has driven growth and strengthened customer relationships through strategic marketing, market analysis and a deep understanding of the watermelon category.

Rising quickly through the organization -- from logistics to leading sales and marketing -- she exemplifies results-oriented leadership and a commitment to excellence.

Carter's influence extends far beyond her company. She made history as the first female president of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, serving six years and helping guide national marketing and research efforts for the industry.

Today, she continues to break barriers as just the second female president in the 111-year history of the National Watermelon Association, where she also contributes through leadership roles on key committees.

A passionate supporter of developing future leaders, Carter helped launch the first Women's Committee for the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and remains engaged across multiple industry boards and advisory groups. Her leadership is grounded in authenticity, purpose and a genuine commitment to agriculture.

Carter represents the very best of the industry -- innovative, collaborative and dedicated to strengthening the future of food.

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2026 Women of Influence

Kacy Springer

Creative Development Project Manager, Schraad Sales & Marketing

Kacy Springer is a collaborative leader who bridges the gap between sales and marketing to strengthen both creative execution and business growth. In her current role, she works across departments to elevate the quality and impact of the organization's creative work while ensuring projects remain aligned with strategic sales objectives. Her ability to bring teams together around a shared vision helps streamline complex projects and produce stronger results for clients and partners.

In addition to her marketing leadership, Springer also contributes as a business development manager, where she is known for her solutions-focused approach to gaining and maintaining distribution. By prioritizing clear communication and strong relationships, she helps clients navigate challenges and identify opportunities that drive long-term success from farm to shelf to table.

Springer's leadership style centers on collaboration, positivity and a strong focus on people. She works to create alignment between teams that may traditionally operate separately, helping ensure ideas move forward efficiently and with shared purpose.

Outside of her professional role, Springer is committed to serving her community. She volunteers preparing and serving meals for first responders through her church, coaches girls' volleyball and softball and helps organize youth track meets. Through her work and community involvement, Springer consistently brings people together and inspires those around her.

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2026 Women of Influence

Kaela Canzoneri

Store Director, Brookshire Grocery Co.

Kaela Canzoneri exemplifies BGC's core value of competitive grit. Amid staffing challenges, she successfully led and opened a new store, building a strong, motivated team through consistent communication, clear expectations and hands-on leadership.

Canzoneri is equally committed to developing others. She leads by example, investing in training and mentorship that has resulted in six assistant store managers being promoted to store director from her store. She ensures her leadership team understands inventory performance and profitability drivers, empowering them to take ownership of results.

Her results speak for themselves. Under Canzoneri's direction, her store has ranked in the top three companywide for chocolate strawberry sales for three consecutive years and has led the company in King Cake sales during that same period. She quickly surpassed initial financial projections and continues to drive strong sales growth through disciplined execution and high merchandising standards.

Canzoneri's customer focus is unwavering. She creates meaningful connections, responds to concerns within 24 hours and fosters a culture where no customer is overlooked. She knows many customers by name and sets the tone for service excellence throughout her store.

Beyond the business, Canzoneri supports her community through involvement with a local food bank, Boys & Girls Club, Red River Revel, Barksdale Air Show and other initiatives. She is a proven leader whose impact extends far beyond her store walls.

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2026 Women of Influence

Kara O'Malley

Distribution Manager, Merchants Distributors (MDI)

Kara O'Malley plays an important role in strengthening the operational performance that supports independent grocers across the Merchants Distributors network. Through her leadership in warehouse operations, she has helped build a culture centered on engagement, accountability and continuous improvement.

O'Malley has been instrumental in improving employee retention by fostering an environment where employees feel supported, valued and connected to the organization's mission. She emphasizes communication, development and recognition so employees understand how their work contributes to serving retailers and their customers.

O'Malley also has helped drive improvements in warehouse efficiency by working with her team to identify opportunities to improve processes and increase productivity while maintaining a strong focus on safety, reliability and service.

Committed to developing her team, O'Malley encourages employees to expand their skills and pursue opportunities for growth within the organization. Through her focus on engagement, operational discipline and employee development, she continues to strengthen the teams that keep the supply chain moving and support the retailers MDI serves each day.

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2026 Women of Influence

Karin Humanik

Senior Director of Produce Merchandising, Harris Teeter

Karin Humanik joined Harris Teeter in 1998 as a category manager and worked her way up to her current position. In this role, she organizes and controls an assigned group of categories to optimize profit and meet marketing, financial and corporate growth objectives.

Humanik aids senior staff in formulating and administering top-level organization plans to support and ensure the success of these initiatives. She leads her team as they question every aspect of the produce department to bring forward ideas and opportunities to make improvements that will resonate with customers and deliver the freshest product in the market.

Humanik leads the End to End Produce Initiative, which is centered on improving the quality of product procured, delivered and sold in-store to be the freshest in the market. The Initiative also focuses on improving the quality of overall shopping experience, point of differentiation and value for produce as rated by our customers.

Humanik sits on the Harris Teeter Women's Empowerment Group Committee, the International Fresh Produce Association Retail Council and is president of her local Homeowner's Association Board.

She has coordinated and sponsored "In the Cup for Iris- Putting Contest", part of the Sandra Ray Invitational golf fundraiser to support the fight against Alzheimer's.

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2026 Women of Influence

Karla Gonzalez

Customer Experience Specialist, Northgate González Markets

Karla Gonzalez is a passionate, results-oriented leader. She brings energy and enthusiasm to her work, with a natural ability to rally teams and collaborate effectively with those around her.

Authentic and approachable, Gonzalez builds strong connections and fosters a high-performing environment. She leads with compassion while demonstrating the strength and resilience to achieve ambitious goals.

Grounded in her values, Gonzalez maintains a strong focus on performance, results, team development and operational excellence.

Recognized by her organization as a high-potential leader, she was selected to attend the Food Industry Management program at the University of Southern California, an investment in her continued growth and future leadership impact. She represents a rising leader who is expanding her influence and helping shape the future of the food industry.

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2026 Women of Influence

Karol Moorman

Deli-Bakery Field Merchandiser, Ralphs

Karol Moorman has served in her current role since 2020, making a strong impact on merchandising execution, program growth and team development. She created schematics for both departments, significantly improving sales through consistent merchandising.

Moorman's leadership has contributed to significant growth in key areas, including the addition of 55 Starbucks and 43 Murray's Cheese locations. She prioritizes adding new items and maintaining relevant assortments to create an exciting, inclusive shopping experience.

Moorman is committed to team development, mentoring associates and strengthening the bench for future growth. Through coaching, skill development and leadership guidance, she works to build a strong pipeline of talent to support continued success. One especially meaningful area to her is mentoring three high-potential women within the deli-bakery department. She provides honest feedback and helps them think through opportunities and challenges as they grow, developing their leadership skills and preparing them for the future.

Moorman also dedicates time to charitable organizations such as City of Hope and Olive Crest, championing efforts that strengthen communities and support others in need. She also supports German Shepherd rescue and adoption, reflecting her compassion for animal welfare. These efforts highlight her inherent sense of service and desire to positively impact her company and community.

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