# Geronimo Carlo Ramos III > Building Better Food Systems | Ex-Full Harvest, Nava PBC & Outdoorsy Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/geronimo Sustainable is the floor, not the goal. I help food service institutions move beyond doing less harm, toward regenerative practices that actively improve the food system. Most organizations don't know there's a gap. That gap is where I work. I'm a professional chef, product designer, and regenerative food systems educator whose content has reached 20M+ people across platforms. My work spans the entire food system arc: from agricultural food waste reduction to regenerative aquaculture to institutional kitchen operations. A perspective that exists nowhere else in this industry. For food tech companies, that depth matters. I've shipped product and stood in professional kitchens. I understand the operator's workflow, the chef's constraints, and the user's real behavior. Not just the persona on a whiteboard. I've trained institutional chefs at companies like Sodexo and Restaurant Associates to incorporate bivalves, sea vegetables, and regenerative seafood into their menus, connecting them to where ingredients come from, why they matter ecologically, and how to execute them at scale without sacrificing margin. In the kitchen, I've managed three kitchens and a brigade of 40 chefs feeding 4,000 guests at Tiger Woods' Hero Golf Tournament in the Bahamas. I've been featured in The Washington Post, trained at MAD Academy in Copenhagen, and partner with Patagonia Provisions and Seatopia to advance sustainable/regenerative seafood. My product design work helped companies like Scale AI, Chime, Full Harvest, and Outdoorsy raise over $700M. I now apply that same systems thinking to transforming how institutions source, teach, and cook food. Regenerative food systems start with a chef understanding why an oyster is the most powerful tool on the planet. πŸ“© DM me. Whether you're media, a food tech company that needs someone who knows both sides, or an institution ready to go beyond sustainable. 🎬 Watch: youtube.com/@geronimocramos 🍽️ Recipes: geronimocooks.com 🌱 Work with me: rootedtable.co ## Work Experience ### Founder @ Rooted Table Jan 2017 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Rooted Table is a consultancy specializing in design strategy and culinary services focused on creating resilient food systems and regenerative solutions. ◾️ Product & Design Consultancy: We partner with organizations transforming food systems, healthcare delivery, and civic infrastructure. Our expertise in design and product strategy helps clients harness technology for positive impactβ€”from regenerative agriculture and ocean conservation to healthcare access and government services. Our approach drives measurable business growth while advancing sustainability goals. ◾️ Culinary Consulting: Drawing on professional kitchen experience, we enhance culinary operations and develop sustainable menu concepts. We help food and beverage companies create recipes and marketing content that boosts customer engagement and revenue while authentically communicating their sustainability and regenerative commitments. Founded as a cultural food marketplace (Y Combinator Startup School 2018), Rooted Table has evolved while maintaining our commitment to empowering underrepresented communities and advancing sustainable systems that benefit people, planet, and profit. ### Product, Design, & Marketing Career Coach/Mentor @ MentorCruise Jan 2023 – Present I help creatives navigate career growth and transitions, aligning their paths with their core values. My mentees have landed dream jobs at top companies such as Airbnb, Kith, IDEO, and Civic-tech organizations, as well as impactful roles in the climate sector. Key Highlights: - Mentored individuals to secure roles at leading companies like Airbnb, Kith, IDEO, and various Civic-tech and climate-focused organizations. - Developed a holistic, tailored, and collaborative mentorship approach/system. - Provided actionable career assessments, guides/playbooks, and structured plans. ### Senior Designer & Researcher | Program Lead, Cook Aquatic Foods Program @ Food for Climate League Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 Leading culinary innovation programs that integrate sea vegetables, mussels, and clams into institutional foodservice menus to drive sustainable food system transformation. β–ͺ️ Piloting behavior change program with 2 major foodservice companies, impacting 10,000+ meals through chef workshops and menu integration strategies β–ͺ️ Designed comprehensive program strategy including workshop facilitation, culinary consulting, menu analysis, and operational guidance for sustainable aquatic adoption β–ͺ️ Developed evidence-based content using human-centered research to overcome chef barriers and scale sea vegetable and bivalve integration across institutional kitchens ### Culinary Ambassador @ Food for Climate League Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 I'm helping co-create a chef-led training program promoting sustainable aquatic foods like bivalves and sea vegetables. Our goal is to inspire chefs to incorporate these eco-friendly ingredients into their menus, educate guests and consumers about their benefits, and foster a positive impact on ocean health and ecosystems. We are driving a movement toward a more sustainable and regenerative culinary future. ### Culinary Research Consultant @ Food for Climate League Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 Co-leading efforts to help institutional dining, food service teams adopt plant-based meal defaults by developing a research-driven toolkit and workshop. Conducting stakeholder interviews, observational research, and data analysis to create actionable strategies, fostering sustainable dining practices and reducing environmental impact. ### Sous Chef / Cook @ Unknown Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 Versatile culinary professional crafting memorable dining experiences across high-profile events, private dinners, and innovative pop-ups. Proven track record scaling from intimate chef's tables to 4000+ guest international festivals. Skilled in both back-of-house operations and front-of-house excellence. Key collaborations include signature events with acclaimed chefs Phil Saneski (Future of Food/Farming Hope), Harold Villarosa (Tiger Woods Hero World Challenge Bahamas), and Michelle Minori, specializing in: β€’ Sustainable fine dining concept development β€’ Large-scale festival culinary operations β€’ Private dining experiences and pop-up innovations β€’ Corporate culinary education and team building β€’ Cultural celebration galas and VIP service Notable projects span Outside Lands Festival, Oakland Asian Cultural Center Gala, SoulPhil Brunch Pop-up, and the POC Food & Wine Festival, consistently delivering elevated dining experiences that blend technical precision with warm hospitality. ### Founder, President @ Elite Home Care Services Jan 2015 – Jan 2023 | Greater Los Angeles Area Elite is a fast and friendly way to find in-home care for seniors. A family-owned and operated business. ### Sous Chef @ Albany, Bahamas Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | New Providence, The Bahamas In my role under Executive Chef Harold Villarosa at Albany Bahamas, I successfully led a team of 30-40 cooks across three kitchens. Highlights include: β€’ Orchestrating four major dinners, serving over 4,000 guests for the Tiger Woods Hero World Challenge Golf Tournament. β€’ Streamlining kitchen operations for efficiency and excellence. β€’ Collaborating on menu development, emphasizing creativity and quality. β€’ Fostering team growth and maintaining high culinary standards. This experience honed my leadership and culinary expertise in a high-volume, dynamic setting. ### Head of Product Design @ Full Harvest Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area Managed 3 designers and built out design ops/systems. ### Lead Product Designer @ Full Harvest Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area Full Harvest is solving the $2.6 trillion global food waste problem through technology and innovation. We run the only B2B online marketplace connecting farmers with commercial produce buyers where they can purchase imperfect and surplus produce.Β This mission helps reduce climate change by lowering CO2 emissions and water use and delivers incremental revenue to farmers. A win-win-win for farmers, food companies, and the planet.Β  I'm helping shape and define the foundation of the Full Harvest platform. Wearing Product and Design hats – redesigned the core product experience from a discovery marketplace to an RFQ experience to better match user mental models. Working to build out a more flexible and responsive design system and team. ### Lead Designer / Researcher @ Nava Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 | San Francisco Bay Area Joined the team at Nava Public Benefit Corporation to radically improve critical government services for over 50 million Americans πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Currently, I'm working with the state of Nebraska to design an integrated benefits application MVP. I'm also working with the Department of Justice to improve the experience of their Civil Rights complaint portal. Previously I worked with the Department of Veterans' Affairs on the Caseflow product team. We’re on a mission to empower Veterans Affairs employees with technology to increase timely, accurate appeals decisions and improve the Veteran experience. Leading end-to-end product design for new functionality to add to Caseflow's product suite while working alongside a geographically distributed and cross-functional team. ### Product and UX/UI Design Consultant @ Unknown Jan 2016 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area I specialize in human-centered design, seamlessly integrating user needs with business objectives to create impactful, meaningful user experiences. My expertise includes: β€’ Strategic Product Design Consulting: Defining project visions, timelines, and operations with clients for successful outcomes. β€’ Human-Centered Research & Design: Conducting in-depth UX research and usability testing to guide user-friendly product development. β€’ Design Leadership: Leading teams in crafting wireframes, prototypes, and design systems; mentoring/coaching designers at various career stages. Portfolio provided upon request. Through strategic, human-centered design, I'm committed to transforming ideas into tangible solutions that resonate with both clients and users. ### UX / Web Designer @ Acumen Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area Helped the +Acumen team in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation design and develop a global Social Innovation Challenge Platform for university students. ### Contractor @ Scale AI Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 Helped accelerate the development of AI applications by helping computer vision teams generate high-quality ground truth data. Our advanced LiDAR, video, and image annotation APIs allow self-driving, drone, and robotics teams at companies like OpenAI, Lyft, Zoox, Pinterest, and Airbnb focus on building differentiated models vs. labeling data. ### Lead Product Designer @ Outdoorsy Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area Outdoorsy is the world's first, true peer-to-peer marketplace for RVs. I led design for our B2B product Wheelbase. See more at wheelbasepro.com Product: β€’ Designed feedback loop systems between Customer Support and Product team β€’ Designed products and flows from end-to-end to improve the online/offline experience for customers that meet business objectives: booking flows, listings flows, our iOS mobile application to launch, a revenue management system for Wheelbase β€’ Built out brand and style guidelines for our B2B product Wheelbase β€’ Experimented with systems to track key points of friction and incentivize feature implementation Customer Experience: β€’ Supported thousands of customers in booking changes, refunds, disputes, payment issues, etc. over phone, Intercom, and Zendesk β€’ Built out help center using Intercom's Operator + Educate features to reduce full-resolution time β€’ Managed and built a system to effectively resolve payment disputes between owners/renters -saved the company $30,000+ over lost disputes ### Lead Product Designer @ Feastly Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area ### Product Designer @ Stroll Health Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area ### Product Designer @ Chime - Mobile Banking Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area ### Photographer @ InnovatorsBox Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Washington D.C. Metro Area InnovatorsBox is a community and space for professionals to deepen their creativity. Through various educational services, coaching, and supportive community, members build creative confidence and strengthen their creative insights. I served as the photographer for Mindful Mondays. ### Design + Talent Strategist, Special Projects Manager @ Ashoka Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Washington D.C. Metro Area On the Ashoka Global Search team, I led project engagements and strategy across various talent programs. My role was one part intrapreneur, one part experience and engagement designer, and one part communication architect. β€’ Established and coordinated an official partnership between IDEO and Ashoka Changemakers in adopting the OI engine platform. β€’ Managed and redesigned the summer internship program into the Ashoka Summer Associate Program (ASAP). Learn more here: www.ashokasummerassociateprogram.strikingly.com β€’ Built and maintained critical talent pipelines of social designers and self-identified creatives to improve the innovative culture of Ashoka. β€’ Managed staff candidate sourcing program with key Ashoka U partners. β€’ Served as the main videographer to the CEO, Bill Drayton. ### Design Strategist + Creative @ Global Opportunity (GO) Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Panama Partnered with the Panamanian government body, Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (SENACYT), in consulting and developing entrepreneurial initiatives across the country. β€’ Managed a project team conducting design research for a one-stop-shop, entrepreneur web platform leveraging design thinking principles and innovation strategy. β€’ Coached and developed design thinking strategy sessions for various groups including: Peace Corps volunteers and kid entrepreneurs. β€’ Managed and recruited a group of volunteers from a local university for the ExD Panama Festival '15. β€’ Worked collaboratively with entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and federal government entities to transform their organizations. β€’ Co-founded Entrepreneurs for Development. Learn more at www.exdpanama.com/en/ ### Product Designer @ MEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Pacoima, California Design research project in collaboration with the USC Marshall Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab and Art Center College of Design. Conducted user research and testing to explore physical and mental health challenges in the Pacoima, CA community. β€’ Identified and crafted innovative design strategies and prototypes for clients based on analysis of user experience, human behavior, technology trends, market research, and contextual primary and secondary research. β€’ Utilized personas, storyboards, and use-case scenarios to highlight user behaviors, needs, and product interaction. β€’ Synthesized, compiled, and presented findings to team members and clients through data visualizations, presentations, and detailed reports to guide final product design. ### Co-Founder, Creative Director @ Design for America USC Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Los Angeles, California We are a design studio of interdisciplinary project teams using human-centered design to develop innovative solutions to the social challenges of South (Central) Los Angeles. We hold various workshops and events to inspire a culture of social innovation, expose students to hand-on experience, support students with design mentorship, and connect like-minded individuals within the community. β€’ Founded human-centered design studio tackling community issues (i.e. food inequity, mental health) for scalable, sustainable social impact β€’ Mentored and managed ten project teams by sourcing industry and nonprofit partners, designing curriculum, coordinating site visits, and overseeing operations β€’ Featured as workshop facilitator and guest speaker, promoting design thinking at pitch competitions and social entrepreneurship events Learn more at www.uscdesignforamerica.xyz ### Advocate, Caseworker @ LIFT - Los Angeles Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Los Angeles, California Planned holistic goal plans with clients applying a human-centered approach to lift them out of poverty for good and facilitated opportunities with local constituent groups to form strategic, community partnerships. ### Summer Associate, Experience Designer @ Ashoka Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Washington D.C. Metro Area Conducted user research to help develop design strategies for the Changemakers website. Coordinated design research to create a collaborative work space (Synapse Central) as part of the change in organizational strategy. ### Caregiver @ Department of Public Social Services (IHSS) Jan 2011 – Jan 2013 | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Provided in-home support for the daily life of an elderly couple with disabilities. Accompanied couple to the market and medical appointments. Assisted with ambulation, activities of daily living, meal preparation, and domestic housework. Educated computer skills in Skype and email to allow sophisticated communication to relatives. ### Design Lead @ ThinkImpact Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | Birini, Coast, Kenya ThinkImpact builds cross-cultural social enterprises through asset-based community development and immersive collaboration. ​ β€’ Assimilated into life in a rural village through a full immersion process to gain a better understanding of community challenges and resources. β€’ Learned to conversationally speak in the local language (Kigiriama) to allow for smoother communication. β€’ Utilized the human-centered design process with a design team of 4 local community members to develop sustainable, asset-based business concepts. β€’ Prototyped a farming service business model that increased farming profits by up to 1,800% for clients to address poverty alleviation initially, later opening avenues to unemployment, hunger, and education. ## Education ### Bachelors of Science in Business Administration USC Marshall School of Business ### Art Center at Night in Product Design ArtCenter College of Design ### Exchange Semester in International Business, Spanish University of Navarra ### Pasadena City College ### Arcadia High School ### Tradecraft Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/geronimocramos - Portfolio: http://www.geronimocramos.com/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/geronimo JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/geronimo/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-25