Derek Figueroa, Seattle Fish CEO & President, was featured on FOX31 broadcast news, sharing the news that our Larimer Points & Maroon Bells oysters are now available in local King Soopers and City Market grocery stores. Check out the segment below!
Kelly Phillips joined the Seattle Fish Human Resources team in May 2021, quickly acclimating to the role and becoming a pivotal member of our SFC family. In fact, if you’ve applied for a job at Seattle Fish in the last year, chances are one of the first people you interacted with was Kelly!
Originally from Maryland, Kelly moved to Denver in 2017 after earning her Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management from Towson University. She has worked in HR-related roles since 2015.
As Senior Human Resources Coordinator, Kelly’s main job responsibilities include encouraging employee retention, acting as the main point of contact for all employee benefit enrollment questions/concerns, conducting new employee orientation, recruiting for active role openings and handling any day-to-day HR responsibilities to best assist our employees and leadership at Seattle Fish.
In her first year in the role, Kelly’s most memorable project that she worked on was the organizational acquisition of SFC by Armand Agra. “This event required me to be involved in logistics to keep the department organized,” said Kelly. ”The most important item was to ensure that our employees were comfortable during the transition and that all their questions were answered. This ultimately gave me new opportunities to experience what an acquisition entails as well as work hands-on with responsibilities I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to.”
“We are so lucky to have Kelly on our HR team,” says Sarah Carfield, HR manager. “She is a warm and welcoming presence, and is always ready to support our team with a positive attitude. Our employees feel comfortable speaking to her about their benefits, work life, or just how their day is going. She’s great at working with people, which is something nearly impossible to teach. Though she already has a lot of responsibilities, she is always eager to learn and take on anything else she can. I can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes at SFC!”
What were you the most excited about joining the Seattle Fish team?
I immediately saw the opportunity to grow as an HR professional and expand on my occupational skills. SFC’s culture is a culture that I saw myself fitting into from day 1 and I have such a great respect for the sustainable mission that Seattle Fish carries in their business.
What are your favorite ways to unwind outside of work?
I love spending time outside with my husband Ryan and my dog Maverick. Some of the things that I enjoy doing in my free time are trying new breweries, attending concerts, and going on hikes.
You know we have to ask… What’s your favorite seafood? How do you like to prepare it?
I have always enjoyed seafood because I am from the east coast, but at the moment, my favorite seafood dish is a baked salmon with a caper and dill sauce (chef’s kiss).
Seattle Fish Company is pleased to announce that Sandra Rietkerk has been promoted to Purchasing Supervisor! At Seattle Fish, our purchasing team is responsible for connecting with our vendors to source the high-quality sustainable seafood and gourmet products that end up in our local restaurants, shops and retail stores.
Sandra joined the Seattle Fish family in December 2018, in the role of Retail Sales Support, assisting the sales team for Whole Foods Market and King Soopers. In October 2019, she moved into a full-time role in purchasing, supporting the buying for Whole Foods, as well as salmon, gulf snappers and pelagic fish. She was promoted to Purchasing Supervisor in November 2021.
Sandra was born and raised in southern California where her family owned a 10-acre wholesale greenhouse growing tropical indoor plants, teaching her from a young age the value of hard work. She studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. After having her daughter, she transitioned out of working in kitchens and worked as a buyer for West Central Produce, sourcing from small, family farms across California.
In 2015, Sandra moved to San Diego and began working for Catalina Offshore, where she offloaded tuna, learned a lot, and quickly fell in love with the seafood industry.
In her role as Purchasing Supervisor, Sandra’s main job responsibilities are sourcing high-quality seafood products, communicating with the sales team, supporting the purchasing department, building partnerships with vendors and in her words, “buying lots of dead fish!”.
What were you the most excited about joining the Seattle Fish team?
Our company values are at our core, and I knew I wanted to be part of the family.
You know we have to ask… What’s your favorite seafood? How do you like to prepare it?
For me, nothing beats crabbing off the coast of Oregon for dungies. Every summer we spent time on the Oregon coast catching crabs and having a beach BBQ with whole salmon.
Derek Figueroa, Seattle Fish CEO & President, was featured in this month’s Progressive Grocer magazine covering the topic of “Fishing for Dollars: Retaining Post-Pandemic Seafood Customers“, along with many other industry leaders.
“Consumers shop with their conscience,” notes Seattle Fish Co.’s Figueroa. “Distributors and retailers have an obligation to provide transparent, credible information about food so consumers can make their own personal choices that align with their values, goals and beliefs.”
Derek also served as 2021 Chair of the National Fisheries Institute.
To read the full article, view/download the PDF below or visit the Progressive Grocer website.
This year, Sea Pact has committed to publishing a quarterly newsletter to share information with its members, such as organizational updates, current projects the group is funding, and more. Sea Pact is a group of leading North American Seafood Companies dedicated to driving stewardship and continuous improvement of social, economic, and environmental responsibility throughout the global seafood supply chain.
As a founding member of Sea Pact, Seattle Fish Company is excited to share this newsletter with our customers, vendors and community, providing updates and transparency around the work we do within the group.
One of the current projects Sea Pact is funding is the Sustainable Eel Group. Seattle Fish Chief Operating & Sustainability Officer Hamish Walker says, “The Sustainable Eel Group have had success setting sustainability standards in Europe and coordinating efforts across countries and watersheds, and they have seen significant increases in eel numbers as a result. This project was an exciting opportunity to bring the lessons learned in Europe and try to build the same success in the US and give us confidence in a sustainable resource for years to come.”
Look for more information and updates on these projects in the year to come. If you’d like to sign up to receive Sea Pact’s quarterly newsletters, click here.