Simple Mission
Simple Mills began out of a necessity and a desire for a food that is simple, healthy, and delicious.
In her very own living room in North Carolina, Katlin made the very first Simple Mills muffin mixes one-by-one, using intentional ingredients that made her feel great.
Now based in Chicago, Simple Mills continues the tradition of baking with love. The brick walls, big windows and mini kitchen of our little office are still where our baking innovations come from. Occasionally, however, we’ll stop to laugh at the weird stuff, get excited about accomplishments big and small, or break out the kombucha and have a dance party.
Katlin Smith, Founder of Simple Mills
Our Team
Founder & CEO
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If it weren’t for Katlin, we would all still be making our favorite healthy baked goods from scratch, and let’s face it, that would make us very sad. Katlin is from Charlotte, North Carolina where she stayed until she graduated from UNC Chapel Hill. She attended Chicago Booth for a short time before starting the company. These days, when Katlin can find free time, she’ll either take to the slopes and go skiing or to the woods for a weekend of camping.
Chief of Staff
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Originally from Northwest Iowa, Amanda studied at University of Northern Iowa and was on the [National Championship] dance team. She is “fitness addicted” – she loves to experiment with different types of exercise and recount her findings to her dedicated Facebook following. Amanda is obsessed with her fur child – Mighty Simba the Doodle (seriously, we’ve seen pictures). She’s passionate about helping people connect the dots between fitness, nutrition and a healthier, happier, more balanced life.
Vice President of Sales
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Bobbie grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin in Park Falls - the Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World! Although she's been a permanent resident of Chicago for many years, she enjoys going back home to take a breather from the city. Bobbie loves all things active: biking, swimming, rollerblading...her newest obsession is paddleboard yoga. The newest addition to the family is baby Jordy, but there's also Woowoo, a 12-year-old Yorkie.
Director of Sales - Western Region
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Lory grew up and still resides in the Chicago suburbs. With her passion for vacationing in warm, exotic places, and travelling to the West for her sales role at Simple Mills, you’ll rarely find Lory at home. When Chicago finally has some decent weather in the summer, Lory prefers to bike, hike, play a little golf and hang out at outdoor patios with her husband, two grown daughters (and their hubbies), and three step daughters.
Eastern Region Sales Director
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Kathy is a Green Bay and, not surprisingly, a diehard Packer fan. Her alma matter is Notre Dame so you can consider her a huge Irish fan as well. Kathy has 2 dogs that have taken the place of her young ones that are now not-so-young. Her [grown-up] kids are spread across the US in places like Denver, LA and of course, Chicago, which makes being a traveling saleswoman more enjoyable from time to time. In her free time, Kathy likes to stay active with activities like tennis, golf, hiking, paddleboard and Pilates.
National Broker Manager
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With Beth's sincere love for the great outdoors, it only makes sense that she's from beautiful Golden, Colorado. If she's not working, you could find Beth rock climbing, kayaking, or hiking, and the list goes on. Beth has been involved in the natural food industry for over eight years, and she's loving every minute of it!
Territory Manager/Hiring Manager
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Based in Atlanta, GA, Jenna lays claim to being a Florida Gator. She earned her degree emphasizing health promotion and wellness at UF. Jenna is our resident self-proclaimed foodie and her life’s passion is real food, fitness and healthy living. You’ll find her spending time growing veggies, researching nutrition, working out and cooking in her kitchen. Oh, and she apparently cheers almost daily about how much she truly loves her job!
Vice President of Marketing
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Since Michelle attended both Michigan State for undergrad, and the Kellogg School of Management for business, she accordingly describes herself as equal parts cool and nerdy. She is a mom of three boys, so between working and keeping them alive, she doesn't quite remember what the words "outside hobbies" or "me-time" really mean - but she wouldn't change that for a thing! Michelle is passionate about healthy living.
Marketing Manager
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Katrina attended the University of Illinois (go Illini!), where she completed her undergrad degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. She's a Chicago native with a love for traveling - Katrina also studied in Australia & China. She's a big proponent of finding new, fun ways to stay active, from spin classes, to yoga, to kickboxing. If you find her outside of the Simple Mills office, you might catch her reading a book or hanging out on the Chicago lakefront (in the summer, of course).
Marketing Project Manager
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Austin attended the University of Illinois- Champaign and studied Human Nutrition (with Katrina!) and Chemistry. Bringing an extra dose of worldly views, she studied briefly in China. A true natural foodie, Austin has worked at various food startups in Chicago before landing at Simple Mills. Austin’s favorite things are diffusing essential oils, shopping and styling all things clothes, homes, & events, margaritas, yoga and barre classes, oh and her fiancé ;)
Digital Marketing Manager
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Although Margaret grew up in central Indiana, she always had her eyes on the Windy City. She studied Psychology and French at Indiana University, with a brief stint at the University of Aix-Marseille in Aix-en-Provence, France. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, organizing things, romanticizing things, and dead lifting 225 lbs. Just kidding, that only happened once.
Social Media Coordinator
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Addie recently graduated from Loyola University of Chicago, where she studied Public Relations and Marketing. Her passion for health and wellness began in her hometown of Cleveland, OH, at a young age. She has a self-described weakness for grain-free tacos and oat milk lattes, which you may have already known if you follow her personal food blog, Chickpea in the City. When she's not making something delicious out of our Pizza Dough or Pancake & Waffle Mix, you might find her taking a hot yoga or spin class somewhere around the city.
Operations Manager
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Megan grew up around southern Illinois and the St. Louis area - but she's all about Chicago these days. Megan recently completed a half Iron Man, and as an Iron Man in-training, she is freakishly strong for her size (but don't call her freakish!). In her free time, Megan loves traveling to off-the-beaten-path locations, and trying out new recipes that are only sometimes burnt.
Procurement Manager
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Emily recently moved to Chicago from Cincinnati, where she grew up. She studied Economics at George Mason and played catcher on their softball team. Up until moving to Chicago, she was a ballgirl for the Cincinnati Reds! Outside of sourcing ingredients and developing partnerships with our different suppliers, Emily enjoys cycling, yoga, and weightlifting, and walking her dog ‘Hank’ with her boyfriend. Emily was inspired to live a healthy, holistic lifestyle (and work for Simple Mills) after seeing how a nutrient-dense diet positively affected older sister’s autism. Thank goodness we have Emily on our team sourcing ingredients, because she is a self-proclaimed “ingredient/food nerd” who enjoys thoroughly reading product labels and reading about superfoods.
VP of Manufacturing
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Phil is a huge sports fan, and being originally from the Northside of Chicago, you probably could’ve guessed that that the (World Series Champs!) Cubs and Bulls are at the top of his list. At Simple Mills, Phil manages the manufacturing process of our products. He helps to ensure that our manufacturing partners are following our high standards, and that everything runs smoothly in the process. In his free time, Phil enjoys running, biking and golfing. Most recently, he has been testing out his green thumb, and is working on growing a full vegetable garden in his backyard.
Quality Assurance & Compliance Sr. Manager
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Before settling in Chicago, Ryan was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He attended Syracuse University where he studied Chemistry and met his fiancée. Ryan is a diehard “Orange” basketball fan and will spend countless hours during the season and into March Madness cheering his team on. He enjoys all things outdoors: hiking, camping, fishing and biking. Anything that involves nature and the mountains has Ryan’s name all over it.
Vice President of Finance
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In the not-so-distant past, Amy studied finance at Washington University. Her love for finance actually scares us sometimes, and she's also the best Excel teacher that we've ever met (besides Katlin). Amy loves to run and hike, she’s also our favorite vegetarian (and the only one on our team).