KTC Archive

Irene Li of Mei Mei and Prepshift and Anica Wu of Bonjerk each set out to run
consumer-goods businesses that aligned with their values and fed their communities.
In their second chat together, they returned to questions of food, culture, and identity —
alongside entrepreneurship, the relationships between producers and vendors, and the
financial realities of running restaurants and CPG companies.

• Anica Wu — Whole-animal butcher and founder of Bonjerk, an East Asian–spiced jerky
  company in San Francisco. bonjerk.com ·
  @anicawu
• Irene Li — Founder of Mei Mei and Prepshift; James Beard Foundation Leadership Award
  winner and six-time Rising Star Chef nominee.
  linktr.ee/ireneshiangli ·
  @ireneshiangli

Hannah and Nora brought a beginner's perspective to the table — two Latina women entering
a field where they rarely saw themselves represented. Pushed by the discomforts of a
broken food system, they explored how food-making, creativity, and community weave through
the ranching life, and what it takes to build the spaces you want to inhabit.

• Nora El Hassouni — The first in her family to ranch outside of Mexico; runs Masa
  Ruda, a food project in Texas centered on locally sourced dinners and pastry popups.
  @masa.ruda
• Hannah Luz Rice — Aspiring rancher and Ranch Educator + Ag Stewardship Outreach
  Specialist with the University of Arizona Extension Program.
  @hannahluzz

Both standing 5'4", Anna and Marena excel on the kill and cutting floor. They talked about
navigating and reshaping the culture of slaughter and processing, how each found her place
there, and the awareness of physicality and mortality the work brought them.

• Anna Borgman — Slaughterwoman, butcher, and cook in Southwest Montana; founder of
  Forage Fed, teaching butchery, fermentation, and food-systems policy.
  linktr.ee/AnnaBorgman ·
  @annaborgman
• Marena Gray — Asian American butcher from Hillsboro, Oregon, with a decade devoted to
  the craft. meatingplacepdx.com ·
  @breaking_brisket

Chiara and Trina explored what it means to tell stories ethically, and the role of
reciprocity in their work. Both inspired by the voices of women and of nature, they've
built careers uplifting marginalized stories in land stewardship, food sovereignty, and
wildlife conservation — and the barriers to bringing those stories to light.

• Trina Moyles — Author, journalist, and creative producer; author of Women Who Dig
  and Lookout. trinamoyles.com ·
  @trinariannemoyles
• Chiara Hollender — Iranian American filmmaker and storyteller based in New England,
  with documentary work screened at DOC NYC, Wild & Scenic, and DCEFF.
  @chiarahollender

Where and who do you come from, and how does that shape what you do now? Cole and Diane
shared their "breadcrumb stories" — how urban and peri-urban backgrounds drew them toward
a deeper connection to food, and how that informs their queer, women-led work at
Shepherdess Land & Livestock.

• Cole Bush — Modern-day shepherdess and owner-operator of Shepherdess Land & Livestock
  Co. and Shepherdess Holistic Hides, working in prescribed grazing across California.
  linktr.ee/Shepherdess ·
  @bcbshepherdess
• Diane Anastasio — Weaver and shepherd with Shepherdess Land & Livestock, exemplifying
  the full circle of wool production from pasture to finished piece.
  dianeanastasio.com ·
  @dianeanastasio

Gina and Carlin discussed the assumptions and barriers they faced breaking into a
male-dominated industry as beginners, and their work to make shearing a healthy,
sustainable career while prioritizing mental and physical health, family, and motherhood.

• Gina Gouveia — Founder of Moonrise Shearing, shearing herds and flocks from the
  Midwest to the West Coast out of northern New Mexico.
  moonriseshearing.com ·
  @moonrise.shearing
• Carlin Briner — Sheep shearer and farmer in Western Washington, co-owner of a
  small-scale pasture-based livestock farm.
  @carlinbee