Board of Directors

Jessica Berry

Founder/Executive Director

Jessica Berry has blended her passion for delicious coffee with her unwavering commitment to bear conservation and the preservation of their territories through founding Bear Grounds Coffee Co. With dwindling populations of the native species of bears across the world, she decided to make a difference for generations to come. Utilizing her combined experience of 6 years within the field of marketing and communication she set the groundwork and business plan for this 501(c)3. 

Jessica earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida in Communication and has since journeyed to being a serial entrepreneur. She founded her first business in 2021 to perform digital marketing services for businesses and has since worked across a wide variety of industries including fine jewelry, healthcare, medical spas, e-commerce brands and more. She has a developed skillset in product design & development, social media marketing, website design, branding, graphic design and more that she performs for the organization.

Sam Barnes

Founding Board Member

Sam has spent his life protecting others from the things in society that make us cringe. Mr. Barnes is a 27-year retired veteran of law enforcement, a graduate of FBI LEEDA leadership and command and recipient of the citation of valor and lifesaving commendation. Sam has dedicated not only his law enforcement career but his private protection career to his community and others. He has spent the last few years in executive protection around the world.

He is married, with all of his children in adulthood. He is a Christian man with a servant’s heart for life in any aspect. He believes God gave us our precious resources and they should never be abused. He is a patriot at heart and desires nothing more than to see others succeed and lead a God lead life. His true passion is seeing life “saved” in many different ways.

Believing in the preservation of life for all, he understands the necessity to stand firm on conservation efforts for the life we have around us.

“Without effort comes loss” – Sam Barnes

Megan Shields

Founding Board Member

Megan is a coffee expert with over 6 years experience. In that time she had become and sca certified barista, an sca certified roaster and Q arabica grader. She has worked many roles in coffee including, roasting, quality control manager, product development specialist and coffee consultant. 

Megan had a huge passion for learning especially in the field of coffee and continues to work to be on the cutting edge of innovation, coffee sustainability and making the best coffee possible. She continually works to expand her knowledge and coffee studies, as well as relationships across all industries. 

Outside of coffee Megan has a love for the outdoors especially hiking, back packing exploring and taking in nature has to offer. She has a passion for animals and greatly looks forward to being a part of a big difference to help the bears and their habitat. 

Kelli Klunder

Founding Board Member

Kelli brings a diverse background to the table, rooted in the food and beverage industry with a passion for launching products. Throughout her career, she has assumed multiple roles spanning product, sales, operations, supply chain, and manufacturing, thus gaining a holistic view of the diverse elements involved in product creation. 


Beyond her professional journey, her heart lies in animal welfare and conservation. This deep-rooted love for animals has shaped her perspective and commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Combining her expertise in food and beverage with her love for animal conservation, her goal is to not only create meaningful connections that nourish both people and our planet but also to raise awareness and support for bear conservation efforts. She is dedicated to leveraging her skills and network to bring more attention and funding to initiatives that ensure the survival and well-being of these amazing creatures.

Scott Tindall

Board Member/Treasurer

Stephanie is a senior growth strategy and sales leader at a sustainable business advisory firm based in Toronto, Canada. Prior to working in business and finance, Stephanie worked for many years in environmental science and consulting. Stephanie first started with Environment Canada while in university, and after graduation Stephanie worked in the private sector as an environmental consultant in northern Alberta and British Columbia.

Stephanie has done bear habitat assessments in the field, by helicopter, and by using aerial/satellite imagery to inform and guide environmental regulators and private sector industrial clients to ensure the bear habitat was not encroached upon as per environmental regulations. Stephanie has a broad range of scientific experience that has been used to inform and guide various government entities and industrial clients in order to protect various species of wildlife and protected habitat zones that cross between Canada and the United States. 

Stephanie holds a professional designation as a qualified independent board director through the Corporate Director Institute (CDI). Stephanie’s skills and subject matter expertise includes corporate governance, ESG and sustainability, financial analysis, revenue management, and growth strategy. 

Stephanie Wood

Board Member

Scott Tindall is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and a C-level financial executive with more than 35 years of experience managing treasury, financial reporting and operations primarily in the financial services sector (both domestic and international).

Mr. Tindall’s areas of expertise include: 

  • Financial accounting
  • Strategic & operations management
  • Treasury & cash management
  • Personnel management
  • Financial planning, forecasting & analysis
  • Capital structure and management
  • Risk management
  • Board of Director and Audit Committee oversight
  • Regulatory compliance and reporting 

Scott works with his clients to analyze and prepare complex financial statements with actionable recommendations for improving financial performance through recommending cost, pricing, and operational modifications.

Throughout his career, Scott has managed domestic treasury and back office operations for a $200 billion (assets) financial services corporation, created global treasury operations for a $1.5 billion (assets) microfinance bank operating in 23 countries, and served as chairman for numerous asset/liability committees across Eurasia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East that managed funding, deposit and lending pricing, FX hedging, lender relationships, and regulatory compliance.

Scott earned his MBA from The Ohio State University and his BA from Kenyon College.