bill seretta
Executive Director
Bill is a serial social entrepreneur with over 50 years of experience in launching new enterprises and rebuilding old ones in the profit and non-profit sectors.
Bill is founder and President of the Sustainability Lab which created and hosted the New England Food System Innovation Challenge. In October of 2018 the Sustainability Lab took over operations of Fork Food Lab. Under Bill’s leadership Fork has grown from 24 members to 50 today. Currently Bill is navigating Fork through the COVID-19 crisis with an eye towards moving Fork to a larger facility within the next year.
Bill loves to cook in his well-equipped kitchen or over an open fire at a remote campsite on the West Branch of the Penobscot River while fly fishing for Landlock Salmon.
corinne tompkins
General Manager
Raised between Hoboken, New Jersey and Dixfield, Maine, Corinne grew up immersed in two completely different worlds. It is no surprise that food became the medium in which she communicates with the community and world around her. She enjoys traveling to strange places, eating weird food, and listening to the stories of the people she meets along the way.
While attending college, Corinne explored entrepreneurial endeavors. Largely focused on plant based menus, she has spent time as a Personal and Executive Raw Food Chef in New York City and Portland, OR, launched a brick and mortar restaurant in Jersey City, NJ, offered affordable and nutritious alternatives to school lunch programs in Northern New Jersey, and explored the world of consumer packaged goods with a raw dessert pie product in the Pacific Northwest. Corinne graduated from the Art Institute of Portland, Oregon with a degree in Sustainable Food Systems and Management in 2013.
As Fork Food Lab’s General Manager, Corinne oversees daily operations and supports both staff and members. She is committed to promoting sustainable economic growth for the future of Maine's food community and she looks forward to working with you.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Before joining Fork Food Lab in September of 2021, Jillian honed her myriad of skills in various roles both inside and adjacent to kitchens. She finished her Culinary Arts education in 2010 in St. Louis, and spent the following decade wearing different hats in natural foods co-ops. She has done everything from running a from-scratch production bakery, to overseeing a busy produce department, to (her favorite) marketing and design. Fork Food Lab is a wonderful fit for her, offering the unique opportunity to blend all of these experiences in her current role. Her favorite thing about her role at Fork Food Lab is getting to tell the world about the amazing things that the Fork Food Lab members are up to.
Outside of Fork, Jillian follows her love of art working as an illustrator with her own small biz called okay jillian, and can often be found drawing, painting exploring color palettes, brewing kombucha, or smiling at dogs. She moved to Maine in 2016 from her hometown of Ithaca, NY, and has lived in Portland since 2018 with her own dog, Cooper.
BUSINESS MANAGER
A Maine native, Alan grew up in the Bangor area and started cooking in restaurants at the age of 15. He continued working in a variety of food establishments through his college years. Alan then went to law school and practiced law in Portland for nearly 40 years — often representing small startup businesses.
At the end of his legal career, Alan pivoted back to his food and beverage roots by working several years as the Chief Operating Officer for a Portland business owning a wine store and a liquor store. Alan was drawn to Fork Food Lab for its mission as a non-profit food business incubator supporting local entrepreneurs. In his current position as Business Manager, he is passionate about the opportunity to help new businesses in their organization, planning and growth stages.
When not at work, Alan enjoys baking bread, making all types of breakfasts, playing basketball, reading and playing the piano. His favorite dessert is a Lobster Tail (Sfogliatella) from Mike’s Pastry in Boston’s North End.
BROOKS ROBERTS
OPERATIONS MANAGER
For most of his career, Brooks was an Executive Chef who worked in almost every area of hospitality, from restaurants and hotels to healthcare. Brooks has both traveled and lived all over the country and through his experience he has built the skills it takes to run a kitchen smoothly. Now that he’s out from behind the line, Brooks likes to spend his free time fishing, hiking, and going on any other adventures he can convince his two sons to come along for. Brooks is excited to look forward to this new chapter and hopes to help everyone at Fork Food Lab be able to work and grow together.
PETER HAZLETT
OPERATIONS STAFF
Peter was born in Maine and spent much of his childhood developing a love of food through spending days with his parents, instilling in him an early love of food. He started as a dishwasher, moved up to a server, and eventually found his way to the line. After attending SMCC’s Culinary Arts Program, Peter continued to work his way up the ranks at various fine dining restaurants around the region, eventually finding himself in charge of the kitchen at a few popular establishments. Through the kitchens he was spending time in, he connected with his now business partner, Will, and together the duo started Smokey & Brines, a mobile food unit specializing in smoked and pickled foods.