Our Team
Haven Bourque
Principal
Haven has 18 years in communications, working with diverse organizations ranging from prestigious non-profits to small start-up businesses, large corporations and individuals working on food systems, health and wellness, sustainable seafood and social justice. In her early career, she spent 10 years honing her skills in corporate marketing at international computer companies, launching groundbreaking new technologies that enabled multimedia in Europe and Asia – a sea change from her upbringing on her family’s self-sustaining organic farm. On the family farm, she learned to pull weeds, harvest, cook and compost as a young agricultural laborer whose out-of-school hours were spent with her hands in the dirt. Cooking followed farming. Pots simmering on the stove and the pleasures of the community table remain her overwhelming passions today. Prior to founding HavenBMedia, she was Vice President and Partner at Straus Communications, where for six years she nurtured the business, growing it from a one-person shop to a serious resource for the sustainability community and major brands. At Straus she’s led Bon Appétit Management Company, Equator Coffees, Egg Innovations and many of the firm’s longstanding clients. She developed a media training program that built skills and confidence for CEOs, Executive Directors, and spokespersons at organizations from CCOF to CUESA to World of Good Foundation. She presented at the Ecological Farming Association annual conference, the annual meeting of Californians for Pesticide Reform, and the Center for Agroecology Sustainable Business Institute. She worked closely on communications initiatives with major national NGOs focused on food, farming and ocean conservation, including the Humane Society of the United States, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Environmental Defense, California Institute for Rural Studies and Natural Resources Defense Council. Prior to Straus, she was Director of Marketing and Communications for TransFair USA, the certification agency for Fair Trade products in the United States. There she fought for fair pay for farm workers in developing countries, working with both social justice advocates and mainstream corporate America, including Starbucks, Procter & Gamble and Dunkin’ Donuts to drive consumer awareness of the Fair Trade Certified label to an all-time high. Prior to TransFair, she was Director of Marketing for the San Francisco Symphony. Haven holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Kansai Daigaku of Osaka, Japan. She has worked and lived in Japan, Israel and Guatemala. She is a member of the Soul Food Farm CSA, San Francisco Professional Food Society and SLOW Food USA, and advises on communications strategy for the worker-owned green business cooperative WAGES. Weekends find her at the local farmers market, cooking for friends and family, swimming, hiking or scuba diving. She lives with her husband and three truly exceptional Maine Coon cats in Oakland California.
Beth Waitkus
Senior Associate
With more than 18 years of experience developing, managing, and implementing social marketing and strategic communications campaigns, Beth also brings to HavenBMedia her background in organization development (OD) to position clients for internal and external success.In facilitating a collaborative “discovery” process, she helps align strategy, structure, process and culture so organizations become more effective, sustainable, and responsible. As part of her deep commitment to community service, environmental issues, and sustainable food systems, Beth founded and continues to manage the Insight Garden Program at San Quentin Prison, a rehabilitative organic gardening program designed to re-connect men to themselves, their communities, and the natural environment. Aligned with Beth’s passion for providing healthy, affordable food to undeserved populations, IGP plans to launch an organic food reentry initiative so men who parole can help restore their communities through sustainable agriculture, community gardening, and “green” jobs. She has won accolades for her prison work as runner up for the Agape Foundation’s Peace Prize and has been cited in numerous print media articles. In 2011, she will be featured in a forthcoming book, Eco Amazons: 20 Women Who are Transforming the World. In the communications realm, Beth has worked with numerous organizations committed to social responsibility and environmental care, womens health, prisoner rehabilitation and prison reform, workforce development/educational initiatives and Native American issues. She has developed a large group facilitation process to develop effective messaging and positioning. In the change management realm, Beth provides organizational assessments; strategic planning and implementation; team building and stakeholder alignment; meeting design and facilitation; and mapping and alignment of internal and external networks. Beth’s unusual combination of communications and organization development skills helps clients receive a deeper, more holistic approach to achieving success from the inside out. She has worked with business leaders and management teams domestically and internationally (including Alaska, China, Mexico, and Canada) to support strategic change and organizational effectiveness. Her previous agency experience includes international technology account management and philanthropic outreach for Blanc & Otus Public Relations (a Hill & Knowlton company). She has also managed marketing programs for the U.S. Departments of Labor (Job Corps), Justice and Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. Beth holds a M.S. in Organization Development from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University. Her extensive travel to more than 25 countries has informed her ability to be an effective cross-cultural consultant. At home, she spends time playing in the waves and the woods to renew her spirit and refresh her soul. She believes the natural world teaches us everything we need to know.
Stace Brewer
Senior Associate
Stace brings over 25 years of marketing and business expertise in the organic products and lifestyle industries to the Haven B Media team. She specializes in helping businesses of all sizes to build their brands, massage their messages, and consciously communicate with their audiences. Her experience spans the gamut from multi-product launches with large creative teams to brand consults with small businesses and entrepreneurs. Additionally, her hands-on experience in product recalls deepens our approach to both crisis and reputation management. Currently, Stace is embarking on the third year of her journey to build Brewberry Farms, a four-season, no-till, certified organic vegetable operation in the north Georgia mountains. She loves being on the ingredient end of the food supply chain and farms with her husband, Robert. They are active members of Bioneers, Georgia Organics, Southern SAWG, and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. As Beginning Farmers with a NRCS-funded high tunnel greenhouse and a desire to cultivate organic food in the southern Appalachian region, they have an abiding commitment to Real Food and Regenerative Agriculture. Their mission is to farm profitably, draw down carbon, and savor every plant they grow. In addition to her farm life, Stace has spent the past 10 years as an on-call business adviser and go-to-market strategist for incubator brands in the organic dairy and fresh foods categories, as well as the animal behavior and online learning industries. Her favorite projects include concepting a regional organic frozen yogurt brand, launching an online animal training academy, and teaching social media skills to rural farmers. Previously, Stace was Director of Consumer Marketing for nSpired Natural Foods (acquired by the Hain-Celestial Group) where she managed nine brands and created new sustainability initiatives through the World Cocoa Foundation for nSpired’s family of chocolate brands. Prior to her time at nSpired, she was Director of Marketing and Brand Development for Trinity Springs, an upstart Idaho spring water that rocketed to category leadership as a mineral supplement in under 18 months. Stace’s formative brand building years were spent with the inhouse creative team at the Odwalla Juice Company (acquired by Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid division) where she orchestrated national product launches, trained as a team facilitator, and served as a communications specialist during the company’s highly publicized apple juice recall. Her earlier work experience focused on managing operations for natural food retailers and holistic healthcare practitioners in California and Hawaii. At present, Stace is a student in Dr. Elaine Ingham’s “Soil Food Web” program, a world class microbiology curriculum that empowers growers to monitor and rebuild any soil using basic microscope techniques plus create biologically active compost. She spends her free time tending her flock of heritage-breed laying hens, reading cookbooks, and fermenting her own Kombucha.