Our Team

Lina Arboleda

Publix Set Team

Lina Arboleda lived in Florida for about 17yrs. She has 3 children and used to be a flight attendant, but after her first child was born, she decided to be a stay home mom. When not at work, she enjoys being around people and doing outdoor activities.

Cheryl Ball

Territory Manager, Tampa Bay Area

Cheryl was born and raised in London, Canada. She worked in the transportation industry, with Canadian Pacific, which is where she met her husband, Norm.

Cheryl worked with the downtown business association for the City of London for 3 years. She promoted events and fundraisers using hot air balloons, and served on the Canadian Aviation Search and Rescue Association.

They moved to South Carolina in 1993 and she started working for Acosta in the Special Projects division, covering Albertsons, BI-LO, Walgreens, Eckerds, and CVS.

Cheryl & Norm moved to Brandon Florida in 2001, and worked for Natural Specialties Sales, starting on the Publix dedicated team, and also covering Albertsons, Wal-Mart, Sweet Bay and ABC liquor stores, then moved over to the Natural side, covering Whole foods and the natural Independent stores, working in Sales, and Infra

Norm and Cheryl have been married for 17 years and they both like going to concerts, classic cars and enjoying traveling to the beaches or cruising.

Steve Biase

Account Executive

We chose Steve because as a small business owner himself we knew he would respect the attention needed by our clients and he himself wanted to spend more time selling and less time handling paperwork. It was and is a good fit.

Born in Bronx, NY, Steve grew up in Yonkers, graduated from Stepinac High School in White Plains and furthered his education at Pace College.

His first experience in the food industry came in food preparation at a local hospital while still in New York. In 1974, he joined Lankor International, an import division of Universal Foods, Carlstadt, NJ, and worked his way up in the company to eventually head their customer service department. He joined the sales staff at the large food importer in 1980 and transferred, with the company, to Florida. He continued with the firm until starting his own specialty retail brokerage in 1986.

While the majority of his company was within the Food Service Industry, he definitely has no problem crossing over to the retail side. During the better part of 2004 and 2005 Steve worked along side Eli Seidman, getting to know the kosher business.

Steve has great respect for his customers and takes pride in everything he does. He will treat your business with the meticulous dedication required.

Steve and his wife Susan reside in Boca Raton.

Chelsea Burnett

Vice President of Operations

Chelsea officially began her career in the food business in early 2017, however she was born and raised in the industry. Daughter of Gary, and granddaughter of Eli, Chelsea has been attending food shows, helping with store checks, and taste-testing specialty foods as early as she can remember.

She attended the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. After college Chelsea stayed in Gainesville and worked in the multi-family housing industry, where she met her husband, Ryan Burnett. She spent 6 years in property management with Inland American Communities, during which time she was awarded several promotions. Chelsea started as Assistant Manager, grew to Property Manager where she achieved 100% occupancy at two student housing properties, and ultimately moved to Huntington Beach, California to become Regional Leasing Manager.

Chelsea then accepted a position with The Postal Solutions Companies, which gave her the opportunity to join Ryan in Chicago, Illinois. Now serving the multi-family housing industry as a vendor, Chelsea provided solutions for mail and package management as the Director of Client Services. Over the next 3 years she wore many hats from client and technical support, to accounting, to marketing, and found a passion for optimizing operations.

Chelsea and Ryan moved to South Florida in 2014 when Ryan began his career with Seidman Food. They were married in March 2015 and welcomed their son, James, in May 2016. In January 2017, Chelsea decided to honor what’s always been in her blood and joined the team at Seidman Food. Chelsea now manages the company’s internal operations and loves organizing events to get the team together.

Most recently, in 2019, Chelsea and Ryan welcomed another boy to their family, Eliot, named for her grandfather, Eli Seidman.

Ryan Burnett

President / Account Executive

Ryan graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Finance and a BA in Economic/ Business Geography.  In school he worked full time for the largest privately owned student housing real estate firm in the country, advancing from leasing specialist to leasing manager, then corporate marketing and leasing manager.

Ryan then accepted a position with a leading global market research firm working in accounting, financial planning, auditing, and eventually managing over $500 million in revenue for the firm’s North American Data and Analytics division.  His clients were industry leading multinational CPG firms including Coca Cola, Hershey, Kraft, Kimberly Clark, SC Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, and more.

As a bona fide foodie Ryan loves to eat and cook.  New food, comfort food, Michelin Star restaurants and food trucks – he loves it all.  Naturally he decided to pursue a career in the Specialty Food industry in 2014 and joined Seidman Food Brokerage.  He is a dedicated and detail oriented leader and his analytical background and positive demeanor have served him well at SFB.  Gary, Ryan, Chelsea, Victor and everyone at Seidman have built a truly special organization with a reputation second to none in Specialty Food in the Southeast. 

Ryan married Chelsea in 2015 and they settled in Pompano Beach, FL.  They have two crazy, funny, sweet, rambunctious boys who love going for a hike, playing in the sand at the beach, getting some ice cream, or just watching the trains go by.  They are all happiest when spending time with family and friends, eating and/or cooking of course.

Lou Campos

Territory Manager, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale

 Lou has lived all his life in Miami, Florida. He attended Miami-Dade College before leaving to better support his parents and family.

Michael Goolst

Territory Manager, Broward, Palm Beaches

Mike was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in South Florida but he certainly still Pahks his Cah…

He started in the Grocery Business in 2012 with the mindset of working a couple of years until he found a job in Sports Management. Unbeknownst to Mike he would find his career in Grocery. Starting with Acosta, Mike quickly learned how to read planograms and store layouts and within a year he became the team leader of the Coral Springs Publix wave team. Wanting another challenge, he applied and got promoted to the Publix Travel Team, which he was on for 5 years. During that time, he was very influential in helping setup over 20 new Publix stores from Key West, FL to Sebastian, FL. After 7 years on the Merchandising/Reset side, Mike is very grateful to now be working for Seidman Food Brokerage doing retail as a Territory Manager. SFB has phenomenal people and treats everyone like a family. He looks forward to continuing to grow in the business with Seidman.

Mike is a huge Boston sports fan, following all 4 sports teams. In his free time he enjoys going to concerts, movies and sporting events.

Lequishia Jimenez

Sales Support Specialis

Lequishia was born on the island of Puerto Rico and moved to New Jersey when she was only three months old. Her family settled in northern New Jersey in the city of Paterson.  After attending college, she obtained her associates degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on Humanities. Her strong work ethic has led her to 25 years of experience in retail and purchasing.

She met her husband in 2010 where her journey as a mother began. They have two beautiful children and love going to theme parks as well as attending church.

 Lequishia enjoys reading, cooking and watching movies; however her focus in the past few years has been watching her children grow up and witnessing their milestones along the way.

 She is excited and looking forward to being a part of the Seidman Food Brokerage family and feels she has a lot to offer with her developed customer service skills and interest in the industry.

Miriam Jimenez

Retail Specialist, Publix Set Tea

Miriam was born in Chicago Ill, but moved to Miami, FL in 1973. She graduated from Sunset High School.

She has been married to her husband for 27 years and they have triplets, two boys and one girl.

Miriam started the grocery business at the age of 16 with Food Value Supermarket. She also worked for Winn Dixie, Ross Laboratories, Helene Curtis, Walmart, PIA/SPAR, Action Retail Services, Acosta Sales, and Advanced Retail Merchandising which has given her over 30 years of experience in retail. She fully enjoys working in the industry.

Travis Kacsan

Account Manager / Territory Manager

Travis grew up in Clearwater, Florida and later moved to the Jacksonville area.

Growing up he spent his summers traveling on the road with his father, John. He learned the ins and outs of the health food industry before he was able to drive a car. During this time, he learned the importance of relationship building and a strong work ethic.

He officially started in the health food business at age 17 when he worked for a GNC Franchisee helping with remerchandising his 3 stores and later serving as assistant manager.

Travis worked for Advantage Sales and Marketing assisting with the implementation of the Greenwise Program within the Publix stores. He also spent a total of 11 years with Publix Supermarkets cross training in all departments but a focus on Dry Grocery and Perishables.

Travis went down to the University of Central Florida where he studied Business, Communications, and Hospitality Management. He used this knowledge to become the Guest Services Manager and later the Senior Sales Manager for the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Orlando. He had a significant impact on the success of the hotel by increasing the total sales revenue by an additional $2 million dollars.

Travis applies his sales experience and merchandising skills at the stores he visits to ensure that the store and the brands represented are both successful.

Travis enjoys running in races on the weekend, which fuels his competitive spirit.

Travis is excited to bring his passion and focus to our team.

Danielle Keen

Account Executive

Before leaving Lakeland, FL and moving to South Florida in 2008, Danielle spent 8 years working for Publix Supermarkets. She started out as a clerical in the Dry Grocery Department and worked her way up to become a Supply Chain Replenisher in the Logistics Department. Since becoming an Account Executive with SFB Danielle recently relocated to Palm Coast, FL. Danielle works closely with John Kacsan and the natural team.

In her down time Danielle loves spending time with her family and traveling.

“I am grateful to be a part of the SFB family and look forward to many wonderful years with them.”

Bob Kroll

Director of Retail, Territory Manager, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beache

Bob joined Seidman Food Brokers in May 2013 as a Retail Specialist. His area of responsibility is North Broward to Vero Beach.

Bob had been employed by Publix Supermarkets since 2010. Prior to working at Publix, Bob was employed by KeHE Distributions, first as a sales associate and also worked with the reset team. He was promoted to supervisor and created the first Winn Dixie super route increasing sales by 42%. Bob also held the position as store manager with Winn Dixie Supermarkets.

Bob has over 48 years experience in the retail industry with a strong knowledge in creating sales. He attended Rutgers University after being Honorably discharged from the United States Navy.

Jessica Nin

Commissions Analyst

Jessica was born in Miami Beach, Florida. She grew up in a diverse, spicy, Latin community filled with “tostadas y cortaditos.” As a result of being raised in this florescent city around beautiful beaches with colorful and vibrant coral reefs, Jessica developed an interest in marine biology. While attending Miami Dade College she then became more intrigued with her mathematical courses and learned she had the passion for numbers. Her focus from there led her towards financing, which she later graduated with a degree in. Upon graduation she got an opportunity to work for Bayview Asset Management in Coral Gables, where she gained further experience in Accounting.

Jessica met her husband in 2008 and relocated to Tamarac when they bought their first home in 2017. From there, she took her time seeking out the right team to be a part of and grow with. In April of 2018 Jessica found herself to be the perfect addition to the Seidman Food Brokerage family.

In her spare time, Jessica enjoys remodeling her new home as well as spending time with family and friends. Among other things, she also enjoys traveling with her husband and completing DIY projects.

Victor Rancel

Senior Vice President / Senior Account Executive

Along with a vast amount of experience, Victor brings to Seidman Food Brokerage a great deal of excitement fueled by ever growing optimism, initiative, and an intuitive mind. His journey began at the age of 19, when he was fresh out of high school, where he became Pantry Pride’s youngest grocery manager. At 21, he transitioned into outside sales. His experience and responsibilities grew as an account manager for Budd Mayer Food Brokerage. From there, he went on to work for Campbell Soups as an area manager and later Delmonte Foods as a territory manager. In both jobs Victor exemplified his talents by increasing distribution on all items in his region and attended all major resets for Publix and Winn Dixie.

In his early thirties Victor worked for Tree of Life. During his sixteen years with Tree, Victor worked his way from a Merchandiser, to a Sales Supervisor, and finally to a Regional Sales Manager. With each of these steps his industry experience and skill sets grew. Due to this vast experience, he was recognized by Explorers Bounty, who hired Victor into the position of Vice President of Sales. His responsibilities included managing a food broker network and making headquarters calls on accounts throughout the country. For the three years prior to coming to Seidman Food Brokerage, Victor rounded off his skill set working in the logistics field.

When Victor isn’t enthralled in the grocery business he spends time with his loving wife and five children, four girls and one boy, ages 17-29. His hobbies include hunting, golfing, and spending quality time with his family.

Mark Risley

Publix Travel Set Team

Mark Risley has been working in the grocery business since 1996. He really enjoy doing resets and merchandising.

Mark enjoys spending time with his son AJ, and in his spare time, he likes to work on his project truck and go to concerts.

Olivia Blankenship

Retail Specialist/Territory Manager, Georgia

Olivia was raised in Atlanta, GA.  She graduated from Eastside High School in Covington, GA.  Olivia then attended Swuannee Tech College. 

Stan Rodriguez

Retail Specialist/Territory Manager, Florida

Stan was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but moved to Miami, Florida at the age of 2 years old. He graduated from Miami Carol High School in 1974. He’s been married to his wife, Belinda, for over 40 years. He has two daughters, Jennifer and Amy, and five grandchildren. He moved to Central Florida area in 1981.

Stan started in the grocery retail business at 16 years old with Publix Supermarkets. He also worked for Winn Dixie, Pepsi Cola, Coca-Cola and then was hired by Specialty Foods in 1988 (which then became Tree of Life). There, he spent 22 years of his professional life, beginning as a sales rep and working his way up as a sales supervisor.

In his spare time he enjoys playing softball, basketball and golf.

Mike Seithel

Territory Manager, Tennessee, North Alabama

Mike was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Pattonville High School in 1971 and then joined the US Air Force where he served ten years. After his tour of duty was finished he started working as a stock person for Publix Supermarkets and quickly worked his way up to Third Man and then Assistant Store Manager. He spent the majority of his thirteen-year career with Publix Supermarkets in management.

Mike embarked on his career in the brokerage business in 1995 starting out as a Retail Salesman for Bud Suarez. He watched it transition from Bud Suarez to Specialty Partners and then to Natural Specialty Sales, which it is known as today. His skills and talents did not go unnoticed and he quickly advanced to Central and South Florida Division Supervisor. In September 2007 he was promoted to the position of Retail Sales Manager for the SE region, which included Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.

When Mike is not working he enjoys spending time with his wife of 33 years, Debra and their family. They have five children along with six grandchildren and looking forward to more of them. They love to vacation at the beach or in the mountains. Mike is a golfer and Debra is a quilter so while he is checking out the local golf course she is visiting the quilting stores.

We are excited to have Mike join the Seidman Food Brokerage team and look forward to the experience and knowledge he brings with him.

Leroy McLymont

Publix Set Team

Loves God, family, and friends.  I was born in Kingston, Jamaica.  My wife and I love to cruise and listen to music.

Sue Strauss

Regional Account Manager, North Carolina, South Carolina

Sue Strauss was raised in Plantation, Florida. She attended Nova Senior High School, after that took a six-month long vacation to explore Europe. Upon her return, Sue spent a brief time attending Broward Community College in Davie, Florida but could not narrow down a specific major, so she decided to try the food service industry. Sue has spent the last 16 years in the food service and retail world in many different capacities, and has loved the opportunity to learn and grow at SFB.

Sue now lives in North Carolina taking care of natural, independent and mass stores located in North Carolina and South Carolina. Sue spends her free time tending to her vegetable and fruit garden, and loves spoiling her pet cats and dog.

Tom Loos

Account Executive

Tom has spent 40 years in the grocery industry.  His first job was a bagger at Kash N’ Karry in 1978.  He moved up the ladder as front end manager, stock crew, then into store management, rising up to assistant store manager. He left Kash N’ Karry in 1988, and got his start in the food brokerage business with Richards/Labry.

He started as a retail sales person, then moved into merchandising and retail supervision.  In 1996, he was promoted to account executive for the specialty side of the business. Back in 1996, the major specialty food distributors in Florida were: Specialty Foods in Plant City, Fine Distributing in Miami and Jacksonville, Paskert in Tampa and C.G. Suarez in Tampa and Longwood.

Tom was born and raised in the Tampa area, where he currently resides with his wife Rhonda.  They have 3 children: Kaitlyn, Jason and Natalie.  Football season is always a fun time for rivalry between the kids, because Kaitlyn graduated from Florida State, Jason from Florida Atlantic and Natalie from Florida. 

In his spare time, Tom likes to ride his bike, walk and fish.  His book choices include books about Florida, history and trivia.