Deb Wilkinson

Operations Manager

 

Prior to managing internal operations with New Venture Advisors, Deb was a recruiter for Accenture, focusing on behavioral interviews for experienced candidates globally. She was previously the Recruiting Operations Leader for Mercer where she oversaw operations and processes for the U.S. recruiting team and worked with all international locations to ensure global consistency in recruiting processes and systems. Prior to that, Deb was back at Accenture/Andersen Consulting in recruiting and consulting roles.

Deb graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Management. She later earned an Associate Degree from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, IL. This experience drove her to start a personal chef delivery business in Chicago focusing on healthy foods for busy families.

 Whatcom County Food System Plan

New Venture Advisors supported Whatcom County staff and the Food System Committee in developing the Whatcom County Food System Plan, a 10-year roadmap for a more equitable and resilient food system. NVA led plan development, community engagement, and cross-sector strategy, integrating agriculture, fisheries and marine harvest, processing, distribution, and access to strengthen the regional food economy. (2023)

 Whatcom Local Food Campus

Whatcom Community Foundation continues to partner with New Venture Advisors to guide the development of the Kitchens@Millworks —a bold project uniting health, equity, and market access. Building on previous work with the Farm to Freezer program, the team developed an operational model, financial analysis, and partner strategy. NVA is evaluating expansion of farm-to-institution efforts and their potential relocation to the new campus. Advanced financial models support a multi-operator facility encompassing production, aggregation, retail, and community programs. (2026)