Board of Directors and Staff

Board

Kedar Deshpande

Kedar joined the board in August of 2009, having been active with CAA since Fall of 2008. He is a vocal and prolific restaurant reviewer and leads CAA's Restaurant Outreach program which aims to increase vegan dining options in the Twin Cities. Born and raised in Illinois, Kedar graduated from Dartmouth College and was also a United States Fulbright scholar in India. He works as an independent climate change and carbon offset consultant.

Lisa Kimball

Lisa joined the board in February of 2009. Lisa has been active with Bridges of Respect for many years. She has also helped with fundraising and events.

Matt Mackall - President

Matt Mackall is a long-time activist for animal issues and a co-founder of CAA. He has served as both CAA's treasurer and president. He is a self-employed software developer of open source software, and serves on the Technical Advisory Board of The Linux Foundation.

Ivan Martino

Ivan joined the Board of Directors in October 2008, having been involved with CAA since Fall 2006, helping coordinate a multitude of events. He is currently a Psychology major and hopes to one day become a dentist.

Casey Nielsen

Casey joined the board in October of 2008. She is a student at the University of Minnesota, and has been involved with CAA since late 2007.

Dave Rolsky - Treasurer

Dave Rolsky is one of the co-founders of CAA, and currently serves as Treasurer. He created the VegGuide.Org site. He tries to keep the CAA computers working, as well as helping with fundraising. He has worked as a professional computer programmer since 1999.

Suzy Sorensen, RD - Secretary

Suzy joined the board in November of 2007. Suzy has also been active as a volunteer in various capacities, including help plan Their Lives, Our Voices. She has degrees in education and nutrition, and currently works as a registered dietitian.

Staff

Ben Kutschied, Director of Volunteer Programs

Ben joined the CAA staff in July of 2009. He received his B.A. in Theatre Arts from Hamline University in 2004 and has been active in the local theatre community ever since. Ben is a founding member of Upright Egg Theatre Company, a non-profit organization. He also enjoys vegan cooking, raw foods, traveling, being in the wilderness, gardening, and reading.

Unny Nambudiripad, Development Coordinator

A CAA co-founder, Unny oversees development and fundraising for the organization. He has worked and volunteered for more than twelve years at local non-profit advocacy organizations. He has extensive experience in volunteer leadership development, public outreach, event planning, and fundraising. Unny enjoys camping, juggling, and cooking food with friends.