For media requests, please contact Christine Hill
NOFA Vermont phone: (802) 434-4122
VOF phone: (802) 434-3821
For media requests, please contact Christine Hill
NOFA Vermont phone: (802) 434-4122
VOF phone: (802) 434-3821
Cheryl, along with her husband Marc and daughter Normandie, operates Meeting Place Pastures in Cornwall, VT. They manage a custom cattle grazing and a sheep enterprise on approximately 900 acres of certified organic pasture land. Cheryl is also a grazing specialist with UVM Extension in Middlebury. She has been involved with NOFA-VT since 2004, and worked for Vermont Organic Farmers, LLC for 8 years. She and Marc met at the NOFA winter conference in 2008!
Abbie farms with her parents, Leon and Linda, at The Corse Farm Dairy, the family’s 6th generation, 150 year-old dairy in the hills of very southern VT. She is cheered on in her efforts by husband Dave (a local builder) and their two children, Eli and Niko. With a background in the Arts, a degree in Journalism/Global Studies, and a love of photography Abbie is committed to being an active, engaged member building a sustainable and organic VT food system.
Maggie Donin is the Farmland Access Program Director at the Vermont Land Trust. Her work focuses on how to help new and existing farmers access affordable farmland that supports their business viability and supports a healthy and thriving environment. Before working at VLT, Maggie worked for six years at the Intervale Center providing business planning to beginning farmers. In her free time Maggie enjoys cooking for friends, practicing yoga, and being outside.
Peter and his partner, Helen Whybrow, run Knoll Farm, a diversified organic berry and sheep farm, learning center and community gathering spot in the Mad River watershed where they’ve raised their daughters and hosted people and organizations for two decades. Peter also helps communities in northern New England to resolve matters of consequence to their lives, most often about working across differences in culture, power and ideology. Peter runs two large land justice collaborations between Tribes and conservationists in Oregon and Maine.
Todd began a life with honey bees with his younger brother Tom on the top field of their family farm when he was 12. In that year, he came to Vermont and committed to a life of beekeeping here.
After graduating from Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a major in vegetable crops and a minor in entomology, he worked with longtime beekeepers in the Finger Lakes region for two years. He later worked as an Apiary Inspector in Northern Vermont to stop the spread of disease in honey bees spilling over from Vermont into New York State. He helped to bring this disease under control and develop record-keeping systems and efficiencies. With a committed team, he grew Honey Gardens Apiaries to 1,900 colonies throughout the Champlain Valley of Vermont and the St. Lawrence River Valley of Northern New York State, helping to bring raw honey back to the area after 60-years where it was mostly absent. In addition, at Honey Gardens Apiaries he developed a line of honey-based traditional plant medicines. During that time, he also started developing mead, leading to his co-creation of Barr Hill gin.
In 2015, Todd became the steward of Thornhill Farm in Greensboro and began to grow organic rye and barley for their Thornhill Farm rye whiskey. After six years of growing, cleaning, and marketing organic grain in Vermont to bakeries and Caledonia Spirits, he also encourages grain farmers as President of the Northern Grain Growers Association. He believes bread and whiskey taste better with organic grain and has seen the soil health of his farm improve over six years of utilizing organic practices. He is a proud parent of two children who are also involved with agriculture in Vermont.
Sophia is an attorney and assistant professor at Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS), where she directs the Food and Agriculture Clinic, which provides law and policy services to food system organizations and stakeholders. Sophia also oversees the Vermont Legal Food Hub, a program that connects Vermont farmers and food businesses with free legal services. Sophia enjoys trying to grow vegetables and raise a few chickens in her Burlington backyard with her husband, son, and rascally dog.
For the past 15 years, Carolina has combined her passion for growing nourishing food with opportunities to facilitate meaningful learning experiences for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. She currently works as the Garden Education Manager with the Vermont Garden Network, coordinating programming at numerous community-based gardens at senior residences, parent-child centers, affordable housing sites, and at a community farm for resettled refugees. Her work is rooted in food sovereignty and empowering individuals to grow food for themselves and their community.
Prior to moving to Vermont in 2015, Carolina gardened year-round in rooftops and urban community gardens in her native landscape of Mexico City, while facilitating hundreds of workshops on organic gardening and nutrition education for adults and children. Her 30+ years of living, working, and gardening in Mexico have shaped Carolina’s experience as a woman in the nonprofit world, a hands-on garden educator, and an immigrant raising a bicultural/bilingual son in Vermont.
Carolina holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Vassar College (‘04) and numerous certifications in garden-based learning, agroecology, permaculture, herbalism, and Waldorf education. She honors the lessons she has learned from her own garden as her greatest teacher.
Becky fell in love with Vermont and organic farming during a high school semester at the Mountain School in Vershire, VT. Two subsequent summers working there confirmed that she wanted to pursue farming as a lifelong career and she began working on farms everywhere she could. After graduating from college, she managed an urban CSA for Denver Urban Gardens, eventually returning to Vermont to the Intervale Community Farm where she farmed for ten years.
In 2014, she joined her partner, Scott, at Singing Cedars Farmstead in Orwell, Vermont, and in 2016 began to work for UVM Extension. Her focus with Extension is working with vegetable growers on soil health management with a participatory approach that highlights the innovations and incredible knowledge of farmers.
Her admiration for the brilliance and deep kindness of farmers fuels her work both on and off the farm. Becky also loves spending time skiing, biking, and hiking, especially in the good company of her friends and family
Mieko is a mompreneur, born and raised in New York City, and a fourth-generation Japanese and Chinese American. She is the owner of a small business called Radiance Studios LLC, a marketing firm offering website and content strategy, digital marketing and personal branding, project management, and event production for small businesses and individuals. She is also the co-founder of the Vermont Womenpreneurs, serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Vermont Farmers Market Association and as a Marketing and Direct Retail Commissioner for Governor Scott’s Future of Agriculture Commission, is a Board Member of the Intervale Community Farm, and recently joined Congressman Welch’s Business Advisory Council.
Formerly, Mieko was the Market Director of the Burlington Farmers Market, an Education Associate at Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, a Program Director at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and a Projects Coordinator at UVM's Office of Sustainability. With over 20 years of experiences in nonprofit education, environmental, and agricultural organizations, she brings a generalist and systems thinking perspective to the work she is involved in.
Mike is a 3rd generation Vermont farmer with a passion to see the farms in Northern New England survive and flourish. He graduated from VTC with a degree in Agribusiness Management, worked early on in the dairy feed business, then joined the family dairy and took over the farm in 1997. In 2000, Mike joined Morrison’s Custom Feeds and still works with farms all over Northern New England, from balancing rations, to pasture walks and improved forage management practices. He lives in Danville with his wife Julie, and enjoys snowshoeing, hiking, biking and kayaking.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7171
Katie, originally from Wisconsin, graduated from The Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) in 2006 with a B.S. in Plant Science & Ecology and an emphasis in Ecological Agriculture. Over the years, Katie has gained experience in managing both large and small specialty crop production systems, conducting agricultural research, and providing ag education and outreach services. She has worked for both public and private organizations, as well as previously running her own diversified farm. From these experiences, she has found she loves working with and supporting farmers, getting nerdy about soil health, and celebrating successes in sustainable food production. When she’s not at her desk, Katie can be found in her gardens, or cooking and preserving the harvest. She loves spending time outdoors exploring, camping, and getting out on the water with her family.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7172
Lindsey is a communicator and educator committed to justice movements. After studying environmental science and strategic communication at the University of Denver, she pursued work engaging youth in principles of environmental stewardship, science, and community connection. She worked as a communicator and marketer for a number of environmental and social nonprofits, including The Nature Conservancy and the Farm to Ballet Project. Returning to Vermont after growing up here, Lindsey is excited to support a just and thriving local food system. When not at work, she enjoys gardening, ski touring, and trying to transform old fabric into clothes on her sewing machine.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7148
Megan is a farmer, communicator, and community organizer whose interests, knowledge and passion center the continued viability of small-scale farming, and the redistribution of land, wealth and power to achieve a just and sustainable food system. Megan grew up in New York City, graduated from Colby College in Maine, and has spent the past ten years on farms around New England. She moved to Vermont in 2014 and was immediately taken with the strong agricultural community, so she stuck around! Among other things Megan enjoys cooking, eating, traveling, swimming, growing plants, and spreading love.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7152
Erin joined NOFA-VT’s team in 2011, overseeing NOFA-VT's direct marketing and community food security programs. She is also a part of NOFA-VT's Farm to Institution programs team. She has been working and volunteering in a variety of capacities on food systems and sustainable agriculture issues in Vermont since 2005, including building and managing community gardens and managing a farmers market. In 2011, Erin completed her master’s degree in Community Development and Applied Economics at The University of Vermont, focusing on farm-to-school programs’ effects on children’s fruit and vegetable consumption. While not at work, Erin enjoys living and working on her family's homestead; preserving, cooking and eating yummy local foods; and being crafty.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7154
Bill recently joined the team at NOFA-VT after working in livestock and meat value-added production. His background includes working on pastured livestock farms, retail and custom butchery, and most recently, business planning assistance for Vermont food makers at the Mad River Food Hub. He is excited to join the team at NOFA and be a part of the great work being done to support farmers statewide. Bill lives in Granville with his wife and young son, and spends his time gardening, making cider, and rounding up wayward chickens.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7155
Nicole first came to Vermont in the summer of 1995 to work at the farm at the Mountain School in Vershire. After graduating from the University of Montana in 1997, Nicole returned to the Green Mountain State to receive her teaching certificate from the post baccalaureate program at the University of Vermont. During the summers she worked at Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Orchards, combining her interests in education and agriculture. A winding road brought Nicole from teaching 3rd grade in Guatemala to placing high school students on farms with Vermont Farm Youth Core to working for the certification program at NOFA Vermont. She started working at NOFA Vermont in May 2003, and has been here ever since.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7162
Originally from southeast Pennsylvania, Johanna grew her love for all things food in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and now Vermont. From working on small, organic diversified vegetable farms to supporting local producers through community-based non-profits, Johanna developed a passion for thinking radically and working collaboratively to build a just, equitable food system. She pursued a Master's in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy at the Vermont Law School to learn about the policies that shape our food system and is excited to work towards greater food access and sovereignty in Vermont and beyond. She spends her free time baking and consuming pastries, musing over her plants, and trying to burn off her dog Reya's inexhaustible energy.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7186
Cailey grew up in a small town in central Vermont, where her family tended a large garden and raised chickens, and her first job after college was as a farm educator. She is excited to be joining the NOFA-VT team to strengthen the intersection between food systems, community health, and ecological sustainability. Most recently, she managed fundraising and partnership efforts at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in the San Francisco Bay Area, helping connect people to parks. Prior to that, she worked for domestic and international public health projects, including stints in Mali and Nepal. Cailey graduated from Carleton College and has a Master of Public Health degree from UC Berkeley. She loves time spent outdoors with her husband and daughter, whether that's hiking and camping, river rafting, skiing or digging in her backyard garden.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7165
Andrew grew up in Pennsylvania attending a Waldorf school. After he finished high school, his family moved (back) to Vermont, where he studied Community & International Development at UVM. After a year with AmeriCorps VISTA doing poverty remediation work in Vermont and three years at an urban farm co-op in Portland, Oregon, Andrew attended Antioch University New England where he earned a degree focused on the food system and climate change. Most recently, Andrew spent three years as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA), where he managed the incredible volunteer community that helps put on the Common Ground Country Fair. Andrew loves to cook and do all things related to food, including growing and processing it. His values include localism, thriftiness, and sharing resources. He currently lives in Washington County.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7180
Aaron Guman previously served as the Program Coordinator at VHCB's Farm and Forest Viability Team, managing VHCB’s grant programs for farmers and helping coordinate the Food Hub Collaborative, as well as contract and financial management. Prior to VHCB, Aaron worked in affordable housing, grew grass-fed beef, and ran an edible landscape services company. He holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Naropa University, where his favorite classes were African dance, permaculture design, and Jungian dream psychology. Aaron lives in East Calais with partner Monica and grey tabby Moona (or "Bob"), is passionate about perennial and regenerative food systems, enjoys cooking and exploring the woods, fields and waterways of Vermont.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7156
Bay joined the NOFA team in July of 2019 after a 25-year stint of owning and managing Doolittle Farm and a 6-year stint managing Green Mountain College Campus Farm. She grew up on a family farm, studied Nutrition at Broward College and Holistic Health at Johnson State College. Bay is the Material Review Specialist and Staff Inspector in the VOF office and is excited to be part of the NOFA-VT team. In her spare time, she enjoys her garden, helping her kids with their farm ventures, and entertaining her 5 grandchildren.
Email: [email protected]
Christine is a natural communicator and storyteller about the things she's passionate about, which are the people, movements, and organizations changing the world. She's thrilled to work in service to the farm and food workers who sustain her and her community! Christine has extensive experience working with community-based non-profit organizations in Vermont and using design, digital media, and traditional media to engage and delight their audiences. She lives in Burlington with her cat and her many bicycles. On summer weekends you'll likely find them on the road in their '87 Westfalia headed to one of their favorite campsites.
Jaden Hill grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where she spent her time exploring the surrounding rivers, fields, and forests with her family. She recently graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Conservation Biology (Biology and Environmental Studies). Everything she does orbits around interconnectedness, whether that be farming, studying ecology, making art, or participating in community organizing. Now that she’s finished school, she’s excited to play with kids, hike, bike, canoe, cook, and, of course, meet new people, starting with folks at NOFA-VT!
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7163
Laura has worked for NOFA-VT's organic certification program in a variety of roles since May of 2010, taking a brief hiatus during 2016. In 2001, she earned her degree in Landscape Development and Ornamental Horticulture from Vermont Technical College. She lives in Williston where she loves to focus her energy on raising a family and studying traditional nutrition and wellness.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7157
After growing up in Vermont, Maddie lived out West for several years before returning to her home state in 2013 and joining the wonderful team here at NOFA-VT. She has worked in various capacities in outdoor education, agriculture, and food policy in Utah, Colorado, and here in Vermont. In 2014, Maddie worked with the VT Right to Know GMOs Coalition to help pass Vermont’s GMO labeling law. She is passionate about advocating for positive food and farm policy change and thrilled to be doing so here at NOFA-VT. Maddie has a BS in Environmental Studies from UVM and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, children, and two dogs.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7153
Zea is a community builder and steward of the earth. She grew up on a farm and her background includes zero waste work & local food systems. She has coordinated farm-to-school and Buy Fresh Buy Local programs, managed an educational farm, a Master Composter program, and more. Most recently, she managed various programs and events for Vermont Fresh Network (& DigInVT). She has a degree in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and completed an Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems program. Zea currently serves on the board of her local food cooperative and lives in an eco-village. Contact her about on-farm workshops, pizza socials, Agricultural Literacy Week, the Abenaki Land Link project, and our Winter Conference.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7188
Jenn grew up in Addison County with two younger sisters and a menagerie of chickens, ducks, ponies, dogs, and cats. After a year abroad in Brazil as a high school student, she realized that her previous choice of college to become a veterinary nurse would not be the end, but a path to a master’s in wildlife biology and conservation. After living and working both as a refuge manager and biologist for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for 12 years in Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts, she returned to Vermont to farm on a small piece of land in Royalton. Now in the 23rd year, Fat Rooster Farm is home for her, four indoor cats, a beloved dog, Freyja, and once again, a menagerie of heritage breed turkeys, chickens, guinea hens, peacocks, and organic vegetables and fruits. Her enthusiasm for finding solutions to food insecurity through sustainable agricultural practices is what excites her about being part of the team at NOFA-VT and VOF.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7159
After a couple of seasons farming in California and Massachusetts, Jen came to Vermont in 2007 and spent the next five years working on and managing farms in the Intervale, growing diversified vegetables, pigs, and broiler chickens. Jen also spent time at the Intervale Food Hub, coordinating the subscription program and managing membership. In 2014, Jen completed their masters’ degree in Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont with a focus on USDA conservation programs and agricultural best management practices. After a few years providing business planning and educational services to beginning farmers in southern Vermont (an area which they now love), Jen joined the NOFA team in 2016, excited to work statewide with farmers of all experience levels.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7164
Grace is passionate about making change through community building. She most recently served as Executive Director at Ohavi Zedek Synagogue + Community Center, where she founded an early education center and developed the community's focus on social justice organizing and community impact. Before coming to Vermont, she founded and directed Dig In Farm, a working farm and educational center for aspiring young women farmers, focused on the intersection of social and environmental justice in western Massachusetts. Grace previously worked on the education team of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Early in her career Grace built a new holistic farm-to-table program at the Woolman Semester School in Nevada City, CA, and worked on large-scale organic vegetable farm. She received her degree from Yale University, where she also managed a student farm and fell in love with growing and sharing food. She lives in Burlington, VT with her husband and three children.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7150
Kyla graduated from UVM in 2008 with a B.S in Environmental Science, focusing on Conservation Biology. After graduating she apprenticed on an organic vegetable farm which sparked her passion for sustainable agriculture. Afterward, she worked for an organic dairy in Addison County and fell in love with cows and dairying. Kyla has spent the last 5 years in California working for a large organic dairy and smaller family-owned farms as a farmer, administrative assistant, and event planner.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7183
Katie was born and raised in Warren, VT surrounded by farms and ski mountains. Her interest in community development was sparked during a gap year program spent in Thailand and India learning about sustainable agriculture and international development. After that, she moved to Burlington and went on to obtain a BS & MS in Community Development & Applied Economics at UVM. In addition to food systems and agriculture, Katie is interested in gender equity and the economic empowerment of women and girls. Outside of work you can find her camping, enjoying coffee with friends downtown, working on a puzzle, or finding a concert to go to!
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7166
Helen leads our Food Access team, seeking to make local and organic food accessible to all Vermonters in both institutional and consumer settings. She serves as a Project Co-Director of Vermont FEED, a nationally recognized farm to school partnership program of NOFA-VT and Shelburne Farms. Helen also coordinates the Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network. She works closely with school nutrition and institutional food service professionals, farmers, and other stakeholders across Vermont to support values-based local food purchasing in schools and institutions, and to forge strong connections between the cafeteria, the classroom, and the community.
Prior to joining NOFA-VT, she served as the Executive Director at KidsGardening, working to advance the school and youth gardening movement across the country. She was also part of the founding team at Food Connects in Brattleboro, Vermont where she helped to establish and grow farm to school programs in southern Vermont with a strong focus on school nutrition programs and local purchasing. Helen is a graduate of St. Olaf College and holds an M.A. in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute. She can often be found daydreaming about her next overseas adventure and lives with her husband in the Old North End of Burlington, Vermont.
Winston worked at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters / Keurig for 24 years, starting out as a part-time barista in the Factory Outlet in Waterbury, VT and ending as the Farmer Relations Manager, working with coffee farmers all over the world. He has a BA in French from Davidson College and ended up living two years in France—one as a student and one as a high school teacher. With his wife and two young kids, they have a small farm in Duxbury with a sprawling garden, sheep, apple trees, and blueberries.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7168
Nick grew up idolizing his dairy farmer grandparents and dreamed of working their farm. The development of his family’s land changed his trajectory, however, and Nick pursued a career in environmental science. After working as an ecologist for a decade, he revived his childhood dreams and began working on farms in Vermont and Massachusetts. Nick has experience in food safety, vegetable production, dairy, hemp, and maple. He currently co-owns a small maple sugaring operation in the Northeast Kingdom. Nick is committed to honoring our region’s agricultural legacy while also promoting innovative, equitable, and sustainable farming practices.
Email: [email protected]ermontorganic.org
Extension: 7173
Alice graduated from Green Mountain College with a BA in environmental studies focusing on environmental education. She worked as staff at summer camps in northern Vermont during and after college. She spent time at Vermont Soap doing various jobs and projects, including submitting their organic certification application. Alice is on the organizing board for two Contra Dances in northern Vermont, and is learning how to teach and call dances.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7175
Gregg earned a BS in Biology from the University of New Hampshire and earned his teaching certificate after completion of a post baccalaureate program at Rhode Island College. He taught high school science in Rhode Island for eight years before moving to Vermont in 2003. Gregg completed an apprenticeship program at Cedar Circle Farm in East Thetford, and most recently was the farm manager at Merck Forest and Farmland Center in Rupert, VT.
Email: [email protected]
Extension: 7176
Kayla brings a background in child nutrition programs, education, and agriculture to her role as the Farm to School Coordinator at NOFA-VT and team member of Vermont FEED (a Farm to School Collaboration between NOFA-VT and Shelburne Farms.) Before moving back to Vermont in 2018, Kayla managed a school nutrition and farm to school program for a K-8 school in Hawaii where she helped to break down barriers to accessing nutritious and affordable food by providing families with resources such as federal funding for school meals, education and creating institutional collaboration with local growers. She has also taught various topics such as garden education, nutrition, and art and has worked on several organic farms over the years. In her current role, Kayla works with Farm to School Teams, supervisory unions, and local farmers to support local food purchasing in schools, and to strengthen connections between the 3Cs of Farm to School (the classroom, the cafeteria, and the community.)
Email: [email protected]
Becca has been at NOFA-VT since 2002 and has helped out with the Farm Share Program, membership, the Apprentice Directory, the annual Winter Conference, organic certification, and the Food Education Every Day (VT FEED) program. Becca has an MFA in studio art and has worked in both her own studio and in environmental education since 1990. She has three grown children and a wonderful husband who share her love for gardening and nature.