Our Team
Interested in volunteering or making a donation, please visit our take action page to find out more.
Executive director & GLEANING COORDINATOR
Eli Deitz
Eli grew up on Green Bluff, a small farming community nestled in the foothills of Mt. Spokane. He draws on his deep roots in agriculture – having worked in the garden, fields, and orchards alongside his family throughout childhood and in his twenties partnered with his parents in building up their small farm business. Eli’s passion for field-ripe fruit bursting with flavor is well-aligned with our mission at SETP. He envisions a future where everyone in our community has access to the very best fruits and vegetables that our local food system has to offer. Eli worked as a commercial farm partner with SETP from 2020-2023 and joined our team as our first Executive Director & Gleaning Coordinator in April of 2024.
board of directors
Dante Jester, President
Dante Jester was born and raised in an apple and cherry orchard in central Washington. Growing up in tune with the land and sky while witnessing the struggles of migrant farmworkers led them to the career they have in climate justice today. After over six years of life in Spokane, joining SETP in 2024 was a natural transition that perfectly combines their love for the land and their community. They have a BA in Peace Studies from Whitworth University and an MSc in Climate Change and Development from the University of London. For their day job, they manage climate resilience work at the Gonzaga Climate Institute. When they're not researching or implementing climate change projects for the Inland Northwest, Dante enjoys visiting local libraries and art shows, chill dinner parties with friends, and long bike rides on Fish Lake Trail.
Camlynne Scott, Vice President
Cami has called Spokane home since 2014. Originally from Pennsylvania, Cami moved to Washington for college and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. She joined the SETP board in 2016, inspired to contribute to the community and share Spokane’s abundant resources with people in need. She has contributed to SETP's development goals through grant writing and fundraising. After working in the e-commerce and creative services industries, Cami is now home full-time with her 4 young daughters. She loves trips to the library, working in the garden, and exploring Spokane with her husband Alex, their girls, and two small dogs.
Christy Watson, Secretary
Christy Watson is a Northwest native who has called Spokane home since 2007. Christy is a Research Scientist and Laboratory Manager at WSU-Spokane in the department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Professionally, she has a Master’s Degree in Botany and Molecular Biology; personally, she is an avid gardener, lover of nature, and mother to three teenagers, one dog, and seven chickens. SETP is her first foray into the arena of nonprofits, and she is excited to be a part of such a fantastic locally-focused organization.
Cara Blodgett, Treasurer
Cara Blodgett is an EWU graduate and branch manager at First Interstate Bank. A Spokane native, her passions include gardening, snowboarding, hot yoga, mushroom hunting, cooking, and playing fetch with her cat, Lasairfhiona Skye. She enjoys fundraising and volunteering with several organizations in the community. She was introduced to SETP in 2019 and joined the board in 2020. Cara is excited to be part of SETP and looks forward to sharing in their vision of combating hunger, reducing food waste, and educating our local community.
Dawn Keig
Dawn joined the SETP Board in 2018. By day, she is a business professor at Whitworth University and brings 30 years of experience in management consulting to her "final" career in academia. Dawn and her husband Steve moved to Spokane from Georgia in 2014. They share a fruit tree-filled acreage in the foothills above Peone Prairie with an assortment of dogs and cats, several dozen chickens, and two very spoiled miniature donkeys. Steve and Dawn also have two Southern-raised children: Montana, a clinical counselor living in Atlanta, and Colton, a deputy sheriff in Nashville. Dawn is excited about helping contribute to the realization of the SETP long-term vision as a member of the Development Committee.
Pranav Nawani
Pranav relocated to the PNW more than eight years ago after living in Michigan, Oklahoma, New York, and India and immediately fell in love with the natural beauty. He loves to be in nature doing outdoor activities such as hiking, water sports, camping etc.
He originally hails from the mountain state of Uttarakhand in India where his family has owned farmlands for generations— which are now used by the community for cultivation. His passion and inspiration for farming for community, hunger eradication, and sustainable agriculture is derived from his native place. He has served with various non-profit organizations over the past 20 years primarily focusing on education and economic development.-
He started volunteering and gleaning with Spokane Edible Tree Project (SETP) in 2020 and since his very first glean, knew he wanted to be part of this wonderful community and the food access programs. At Spokane Edible Tree Project, he has been an active volunteer on gleans and joined the Board in 2022 to further his contribution towards SETP’s vision.
Professionally, Pranav is a Research Associate Professor at WSU-Spokane, and his research focuses on sustainable, biodegradable, and green materials. He has a PhD in Chemistry and an MBA in Marketing and desires to use his experience and knowledge towards various activities, program development, fundraising, and events for SETP. He firmly believes and lives by the motto, "No one should sleep hungry, and food should never go to waste.”
Michelle Townshend
Coming soon…