Meet Our Team
Sarah Adams
Director, Entrepreneurship & Economic Wellbeing, International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City
Email: Sarah
she/her/hers
Sarah assumed the position of Entrepreneurship and Economic Wellbeing Program Director in early 2023 and oversees a suite of services that support the business needs, economic mobility, and financial self-sufficiency of IRC's refugees and new American clients. Sarah has worked with IRC since 2016, and most recently served as the Program Manager for the IRC's New Roots in Salt Lake City program.
Sarah holds a B.A. in Peace & Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. Sarah has over a decade of experience in non-profit program management including working in food systems and supporting entrepreneurship programs for refugee and asylee communities. Sarah’s previous work prior to IRC includes conducting human rights research to support gender-based asylum claims, farming and food access work, and providing technical support and building a community of practice among farmers and ranchers in Northern California.
Emily Park
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Program Manager
Email: Emily
Phone: (385) 405-6556
she/her/hers
Emily Park was born and raised in Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Utah and beginning her career in film and photography, she decided to pursue her love of food and attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City. A classically trained chef with over 15 years of industry experience, Emily has worked at everything from five-star restaurants and resorts to small bakeries and cafés.
In 2015, she founded her own bakery and candy business, selling at farmer’s markets, grocery stores, and other retail locations. After this experience, and with a desire to help others start their own food businesses, she returned to the University of Utah to pursue her Master’s in Business Administration and Finance. She joined the IRC in 2020 as the Morgan Stanley Finance and Operations Fellow.
Sarah C. Adams
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Program Coordinator
Email: Sarah
Phone: (385) 224-9512
she/her/hers
Originally from Salt Lake City, Sarah moved to Texas at 16 and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Science in Nutrition and a certificate in Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits. After serving as an AmeriCorps Summer VISTA with the IRC SLC in 2017, she was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the office and join the Spice Kitchen Incubator team in 2021 as the Logistics Specialist.
Having worked in the food industry for the last 5 years, Sarah truly can’t get enough of food and loves being a part of the growing culinary arts community here in Salt Lake. With a background in Community Nutrition, Sarah is excited to increase client voice in the program and facilitate the incredible work of Spice Kitchen entrepreneurs.
Lesli Sommerdorf
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Program Coordinator
Email: Lesli
Phone: (385) 250-5972
she/her/hers
Lesli spent her formative years in Utah and then ventured to Colorado, France, Italy, and California before returning to Salt Lake City many years later. She earned a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an associate degree from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, CA.
Throughout her career, Lesli has worked in myriad positions involving food: cooking and cooking instruction, marketing brand ambassador for a local grocery chain, cookbook editor and proofreader, copy editor, food editor, restaurant reviewer, and yurt chef. She has also appeared on television in over 500 cooking segments. She thrives on learning about new cultures and foods and lives by the motto: Life is too short to eat bad food.
Jaycee Miller
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Program Coordinator
Email: Jaycee
Phone: (385) 315-6421
she/her/hers
Jaycee was born in Utah but was raised on a small farm in the rural periphery of Buffalo, New York. From hunting game with her stepdad, to spending long summer days in the garden with her mom, a strong connection to food was foundational to her life from an early age. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a BA in Political Science and French and a minor in Arabic. The part of her that cared deeply for food was awoken during a semester in Morocco, from which she returned set on pursuing a career in food systems.
Upon graduating, she returned to her early roots in Utah. She worked in emergency food response during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and later spent a year at the IRC SLC with the New Roots program, supporting local farmers and the markets team. Jaycee is so happy to be a part of a team that works with entrepreneurs who are making proactive changes in our local food system.
Elli Lavon
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Culinary and Events Specialist
Email: Elli
Phone:
she/her/hers
Elli, originally from Ohio, joined the Spice Kitchen Incubator as the Culinary and Events Specialist in the spring of 2022. With a degree in Communications, including minors in Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies, she moved to Salt Lake City during 2019 to experience life closer to the mountains. From a young age, sharing a meal around the table was a prioritized family tradition. Out of this ritual grew her love for cooking and community. Elli has 4 years of experience working in the industry and loves the energy of a kitchen and the dining experience with ferocity.
Incredibly excited to be a part of the Spice Kitchen team, Elli is eager to work with small business owners to bring their ideas to life as well as connect with them in our universal language: food.
Aidan G. Newton
Spice Kitchen Incubator: Program Specialist
Email: Aidan
Phone: (801) 388-4176
he/him/his
Aidan G. Newton was born and raised in Moab, Utah. In 2018, Aidan moved to Salt Lake City to further pursue his education at the University of Utah. While attending classes, Aidan also began his work with the SPICE Kitchen Incubator in a volunteer capacity. Aidan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology late in 2022, and joined the IRC as a SPICE Kitchen Incubator Specialist a few months later.
After nearly a decade of working in the food industry, Aidan was thrilled to bring his experience to the SPICE Kitchen and the IRC. Aidan has enjoyed exploring the food community of Salt Lake, and is eager to translate that passion into his work with our entrepreneurs.
