Our Team

Meet Our 2024 Board of Directors

Stephen Johnson

President & Treasurer

Stephen retired to Chicago in 2011 following careers in academia, public accounting, and manufacturing to live within 1/2 mile of his two sons and their families. He brings to the board experience in financial and managerial accounting, corporate governance, and strategic planning.

Stephen@wildonionmarket.com

Mary Meyer

Vice President & Founder

Mary is the co-op’s Founder. She brings a wealth of experience centered in community organizing in the Financial and International Fair-Trade sectors. Her passion for the co-op is unmatched as she turns out for every co-op event, and will happily meet any interested party for coffee to discuss Wild Onion Market at length. This passion is also expressed through her leadership on the Board.

Mary@wildonionmarket.com

Michelle Oxman

Secretary

Michelle is a retired attorney and writer who has worked at coops in Champaign-Urbana and Philadelphia. She was on the board of directors of Ever’man Food Coop in Pensacola in the late1980s. She and her husband have lived in Evanston since 2002. In addition to the coop, Michelle spends her time knitting, reading, and volunteering to maintain reproductive freedom, support people having abortions, and preserve democracy.

Michelle@wildonionmarket.com

Erica Williams

Board Member

Erica Williams, moved to Rogers Park in 2015 from her hometown of Cleveland, OH. She’s worked in a variety of roles in corporate & restaurants, been a small business owner, and currently a project manager in the non-profit sector. She’s an advocate for holistic health, plant based living, and good, healthy accessible food for all. In her free time you can find her walking her neighborhood, in the city with friends, gardening, practicing Pilates or sunbathing at the lake. One of her favorite honorable mentions is being a cat & plant mom to her chatty fur baby Honey, and over 15 green plant babies at home.

Erica@wildonionmarket.com

Joe Spevacek

Board Member

I am a lifelong resident of the Chicagoland area. I have lived in Chicago since 2013. I’ve been living in Rogers Park since May, 2022. As a teenager I was a bagger and stocker at a family owned grocery store. I’ve worked in manufacturing, education and now with the Federal government at the Department of Labor. I look forward to my term as a board member to assist in initiating the store opening and success.

Joe@wildonionmarket.com

Jill Liska

Board Member

Growing up in a farming community in Wisconsin, Jill is interested in bringing the community access to good, local food options. After waiting 10 years for the co-op to become a reality, Jill is dedicated to making it a success. She brings experience as a corporate attorney to the board and leads the Evaluation Committee. She lives in Rogers Park with her family, many pets, and beehives!

Jill@wildonionmarket.com

Schelly Murphy

Board Member

Schelly@wildonionmarket.com

David Oakes

Board Member

David@wildonionmarket.com

Helen Thompson

Board Member

Helen@wildonionmarket.com

Meet Our Staff Members

Teresa Meza

General Manager

Teresa comes to Wild Onion with 18 years of retail and non-profit management, where she specialized in growing small businesses. Her obsession with co-ops started in 2007, when she volunteered for the Olympia Food Co-op while in school. She has worked across departments for, and is an owner of both The Dill Pickle and Sugar Beet Food Co-op. She is strongly interested in food sovereignty and cooperative models of economics to achieve food justice. Teresa is thrilled to be “returning home” to co-ops and the Rogers Park community (where her mother was born and raised) and is excited to help lead Wild Onion Market into a wildly successful future!

GM@wildonionmarket.com

Ryan Whitney

Store Manager

Ryan@wildonionmarket.com

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