Meet the Joint Venture Team

Robin Franz Martin

Executive Director, Food Recovery Initiative

Robin Franz Martin came to Joint Venture’s Food Recovery Initiative in 2017 to head the award-winning A La Carte pilot program, bringing 20 years of experience in public health and community team building. During her tenure at Joint Venture, she founded the Silicon Valley Food Recovery Council, the Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program on behalf of all jurisdictions in Santa Clara County, and authored numerous seminal reports. She speaks publicly on a regular basis about the importance of safe and nutritious food recovery and waste prevention. Robin serves as a board member for the Santa Clara County Food System Alliance. She leads as the state-wide Chair of the Best Practices and Protocols Subcommittee of the Edible Food Recovery Technical Council of the California Resource Recovery Association.

Before joining the Joint Venture staff, Robin worked on volunteer building projects for LifeMoves, Bay Area, an organization committed to ending the cycle of homelessness in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Robin started her career with the NAACP working on urban environmental health issues, later working in Boston at the Education Development Center on national and international public health issues, and as Executive Director of the Central Square Business Association. She also founded a summer camp program for at-risk middle school students, fostering personal and social change through exposure to sustainable agriculture and healthy food options.

In 2007, Robin began work in emergency preparedness in Central Ohio, developing and directing the Medical Reserve Corps of Franklin County as a coordinated emergency response team serving the 1.2 million residents during power outages, severe storms, and disease outbreaks. She holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan.

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