Meet Our Team
Carolina Terrazas
Economic Empowerment Program Manager
Email: Carolina
she/her/hers
Carolina is the Economic Empowerment Program Manager at the IRC Utah office. She grew up in both Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California. She works to promote financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and integration for refugee and immigrant families through financial capability interventions and small business development initiatives. Carolina has more than nine years of experience in humanitarian efforts focusing on personal economic empowerment and business development in Benin, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Mexico. At the IRC SLC office, she supports new Americans from the beginning of their journey towards lasting economic independence, building businesses, setting goals, taking key steps, and celebrating victories!
When Carolina isn't at the office, she enjoys writing short stories, going on long walks, and discovering the best donut spots in Utah!
Carolina speaks English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, ASL, and Bariba.
Sarah C. Adams
Spice Kitchen Incubator Program Coordinator
Email: Sarah
Phone: (385) 405-6040
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 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 9 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.
