Who We Are

MOFGA’s staff, board of directors, and community members are working to drive systemic change towards a resilient, equitable, and thriving food system. Learn more about the people who make up MOFGA. 

Staff

Board

Community

Staff

MOFGA staff work across departments to support farmers, empower people to feed their communities, and advocate for an organic future. To reach out to a member of our staff, please reach out to [email protected]. Interested in career opportunities at MOFGA? View job openings here.

Buildings and Grounds

Joshua Pavese
Buildings and Grounds Assistant
About Joshua
Jason Tessier
Buildings and Grounds Director
About Jason

Common Ground Country Fair

For inquiries about the Common Ground Country Fair, reach out to [email protected].

For info on Fair merchandise and the Common Ground Country Store, contact [email protected].

April Boucher
Common Ground Country Fair Director
About April
Meg Gammon
Common Ground Country Fair Manager
About Meg
Deb Paredes
Common Kitchen Manager and Food Liaison
About Deb
Samantha Usavage
Common Ground Country Fair and Store Assistant
About Samantha

Communications and Outreach

For inquiries surrounding communications and outreach, contact [email protected].

For advertising in the Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener, email [email protected].

Holli Cederholm
Content Creator and Editor
About Holli
Jennifer Wilhelm
Communications and Outreach Director
About Jennifer

Community Education

For questions about events, contact [email protected].

For all things volunteer related, including the Common Ground Country Fair, events, and year-round volunteers, email [email protected].

For our Low-Impact Forestry program, email [email protected]. 

For inquiries about the Maine Heritage Orchard, contact [email protected]. 

Timothy Boston
Community Engagement Coordinator
About Timothy
Lauren Cormier
Orchard Specialist
About Lauren
Maddie Eberly
Low-Impact Forestry Specialist
About Maddie
Jack Kertesz
Landscape Coordinator
About Jack
Anna Libby
Community Education Director
About Anna
C.J. Walke
Orchard Program Manager
About C.J.
Madi Whaley
Educational Programs Coordinator
About Madi

Farmer Programs

Ryan Dennett
Programs Director
About Ryan
Bo Dennis
Beginning Farmer Programs Specialist
About Bo
Caleb Goossen
Organic Crop and Conservation Specialist
About Caleb
Nicolas Linholm
Organic Marketing and Business Specialist
About Nicolas
Meg Mitchell
Climate Smart and Organic Transition Specialist
About Meg
Anna Mueller
Farmer Programs Manager

About Anna
Jacki Martinez Perkins
Organic Dairy and Livestock Specialist
About Jacki

Membership and Development

For questions about membership, contact [email protected].

Joseph Nowak
Advancement Manager
About Joseph
Karen Stimpson
Grants Manager
About Karen
Mary Weitzman
Director of Membership and Development
About Mary
Marvis Zou
Membership and Development Manager
About Marvis

MOFGA Certification Services, LLC (MCS)

For questions about certification, contact [email protected].

Laurah Brown
Certification Specialist
About Laurah
Benjamin Clark
MCS Staff Inspector
About Benjamin
Hattie Cookson
MCS Operations and Administrative Assistant
About Hattie
Chris Grigsby
MCS Director
About Chris
Marta łaszkiewicz
MCS Operations Administrator and Inspection Program Manager
About Marta
Lily Macone
Staff Inspector
About Lily
Jacomijn Schravesande-Gardei
Associate Director of Crops

About Jacomijn
Julie Trudel
Material Reviewer

About Julie
Kristen
Certification Specialist: Maple Lead
About Kristen
John Welton
MCS Compliance and Quality Specialist
About John
Adele Wise
Staff Inspector
About Adele

Operations

Contact Sarah Alexander, Executive Director at [email protected].

Sarah Alexander
Executive Director
About Sarah
Jordan Andrews
Data Systems Manager
About Jordan
Angela Haiss
Operations Director
About Angela
Melissa McLaughlin
Office Manager
About Melissa
Jennifer Morton
Finance and Operations Coordinator
About Jennifer
Jessica Sheahan
HR and Employee Experience Director
Contact Jessica

Public Policy

Bill Pluecker
Public Policy Organizer
About Bill
Heather Spalding
Deputy Director and Senior Policy Director
About Heather

Board of Directors

Like most boards of nonprofit organizations, MOFGA’s board of directors sets the strategic direction, ensures the organization’s financial security, and supervises the work of the executive director.

A formal process exists for being nominated for election to the MOFGA board. Those interested in joining the board should discuss their interests with a current board member (see board profiles below) or indicate their interest by filling out this form. You can learn more about the nominations process here.

MOFGA members are welcome to attend board meetings. Please contact Sarah Alexander, MOFGA’s executive director, if you’d like information on attending. Read our governance and bylaws here.

Sikwani Dana
Vice President, Executive Committee
Lucy Flores
Emily Friedman
Margaret Hathaway
Executive Committee
Craig Hickman
Seth Kroeck
Treasurer, Executive Committee
Laura Lambert
Martha Leggat
Alessia McCobb
Abes Noyes
Executive Committee
Bradley Russell
Ellen Sabina
President, Executive Committee
Anna Shapley-Quinn
Secretary, Executive Committee
Ben Tettlebaum
Year 2 of final term
Ivonne Vazquez
Executive Committee
Stephan Wagner
Annie Watson
IMG_2774 (1)

Sikwani Dana

Vice President, Executive Committee
Year 1 of second term
(she/her/hers)

Rob Dumas

Executive Committee
Year 3 of first term, (he/him/his)

Margaret Hathaway

Executive Committee
Year 3 of first term
(she/her/hers)

Craig Hickman

Year 1 of second term
(he/him/his)

Our Community

Since the beginning of MOFGA, our work has been driven by our broad-based community of members, volunteers, farmers, farmworkers, producers, gardeners, advocates, and more! Read more about the communities that make up MOFGA.

Members

MOFGA’s community is shaped by our members’ commitment to sharing experiences, expertise, and resources. Help us transform the food system by becoming a member today!

Volunteers

MOFGA was founded by a group of dedicated volunteers, and we continue to rely on the support of almost 2,000 volunteers each year. The collective impact of MOFGA’s volunteer community is awe-inspiring. Learn more about MOFGA’s volunteers and how you can get involved. 

Farmers and Producers

MOFGA farmers, farmworkers, producers, and program members are essential to our vision of a future where local organic farming nourishes all people, and sustains thriving ecosystems, healthy communities, and fair economies.

To get to know some of our MOFGA-certified producers, click here.

To read more about our farmer programs, click here. 

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Joshua Pavese lends aid to buildings and grounds personnel by completing planned builds and finishing pre-existing projects, including carpentry, painting, or just lending a helping hand to the MOFGA team.

Contact Joshua

Jason Tessier manages the buildings, grounds, and equipment at MOFGA.

Contact Jason

April Boucher coordinates the Common Ground Country Fair, supervising Fair staff and working closely with the Fair planning team. She is responsible for Fair coordination; logistics; policies; guidelines; safety and emergency procedures; and budget.

Contact April

Meg Gammon coordinates all administrative tasks for the Common Ground Country Fair. She oversees the application process and works closely with accepted vendors and speakers, ensuring that they have completed all requirements for participation in the Fair.

Contact Meg

Deb Paredes tends to logistics around the Common Kitchen during the Common Ground Country Fair and throughout the year. They also work to build relationships with food vendors and steward donations.

Contact Deb

Samantha Usavage assists with Common Ground Country Fair vendor coordination, and also helps to manage the MOFGA’s Country Store online and at the Fair.

Contact Samantha

Holli Cederholm is the editor of MOFGA’s quarterly publication, The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, and MOFGA’s email newsletters. She also hosts MOFGA’s monthly radio program on organic agriculture, called Common Ground Radio, on WERU Community Radio.

Contact Holli

Jennifer Wilhelm manages media inquiries and press releases, as well as the advertising and classifieds for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener.

Contact Jennifer

Timothy Boston works with volunteers to facilitate events throughout the year, including the Common Ground Country Fair.

Contact Timothy

In addition to providing orchard care, Lauren Cormier locates and identifies Maine’s oldest pears for historic preservation in the Maine Heritage Orchard.

Contact Lauren

Maddie Eberly coordinates MOFGA’s low-impact forestry (LIF) program. In this role, they organize educational events and outreach, help manage our woodlots, and compile MOFGA’s LIF newsletter.

Contact Maddie

Jack Kertesz is responsible for maintaining the living plant collections on MOFGA’s main campus and presents structures and planting styles around the grounds to be of interest to the public. He also prepares educational material for MOFGA events and contributes articles to The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener as well as MOFGA’s Gardener Newsletter.

Contact Jack

Anna Libby serves as MOFGA’s community education director. The department focuses on education for gardeners, homesteaders, and eaters through educational events, demonstrations on the MOFGA campus, and more.

Contact Anna

C.J. Walke coordinates all of MOFGA’s orchard activities on the grounds in Unity, with a focus on maximizing the educational opportunities for visitors and Common Ground Country Fair attendees. He works with other MOFGA staff and key volunteers to manage the 10-acre educational and preservation-focused Maine Heritage Orchard, which is home to nearly 400 varieties of apples and pears historically grown in Maine.

Contact C.J.

As the educational programs coordinator, Madi Whaley works with MOFGA staff, partners, and volunteers to organize community education events. Among these are the orcharding workshops series, Seed Swap & Scion Exchange, and gardening webinars. They also manage the CSA (community supported agriculture) portion of the Maine Harvest Bucks Program.

Contact Madi

Ryan Dennett directly supervises MOFGA’s farmer programs. She also supports directors of MOFGA’s community education and Common Ground Country Fair teams in an effort to have all MOFGA programs working cohesively towards our mission of a healthy and fair food system.

Contact Ryan

Bo Dennis manages MOFGA’s programs for beginning farmers. He supports farmworkers and people starting farm businesses up to five years in production. This work includes the Journeyperson Program and connecting beginning farmers to resources.

Contact Bo

Caleb Goossen creates educational materials and provides technical assistance relating to organic growing for commercial and non-commercial audiences.

Contact Caleb

Nicolas Lindholm works with the farmer programs team to address farmers’ needs and questions around farm financial, business, and marketing concerns. He is available to work directly one-on-one with farms, as well as connect farms with other service providers and resources. He administers MOFGA’s Organic Farmer Loan Fund and the Technical Assistance Grant program, in addition to compiling and editing the Farmer Programs Newsletter. He works collaboratively with other state organization staff to compile both the Maine Produce Market Report and the Maine Farmers Market Price Report, and assists with the Bumper Crop program.

Contact Nicolas

Meg Mitchell works to connect farmers with technical support and funding for climate-smart practices and transitioning to organic.

Contact Meg

Anna Mueller leads MOFGA’s programming for established farmers including grant programs, events, and conferences. She also manages the farmworker job page on MOFGA’s website.

Contact Anna

Jacki Martinez Perkins provides technical assistance and educational content on organic livestock care and production. She also helps to administer MOFGA’s Shared Use Farm Equipment Program.

Contact Jacki

Joseph Nowak manages MOFGA’s growing major gifts program. He works closely with our incredible community of major donors — helping to grow support for MOFGA’s mission today and for the future.

Contact Joseph

As MOFGA’s grants manager, Karen Stimpson researches grant opportunities; writes proposals and reports; tracks all grant income, invoices, and deadlines; and maintains all grant files and calendars.

Contact Karen

Mary Weitzman is responsible for meeting MOFGA’s yearly fundraising goals and supervises all activities in the membership and development department.

Contact Mary

Marvis Zou manages MOFGA’s growing membership and annual donor program.

Contact Marvis

As a certification specialist, Laurah Brown provides friendly and efficient customer service to certified organic clients, applicants, and interested producers. She works collaboratively with other certification specialists and inspectors.

Contact Laurah

As a staff inspector with MOFGA Certification Services, Benjamin Clark works with local farmers to schedule and conduct organic inspections and sends inspection reports to the MCS team for review.

Contact Benjamin

Hattie Cookson is the administrative contact for MOFGA Certification Services. She helps with database management, organization, and answering client questions.

Contact Hattie

As the certification director for MOFGA Certification Services (MCS), Chris Grigsby oversees MOFGA’s certification programs and is the point person for MCS’ accreditation with USDA’s National Organic Program.

Contact Chris

Marta Łaszkiewicz is the point of contact for the public-facing phone and email for MOFGA Certification Services, Monday through Friday. Marta is also in charge of inspection coordination for MCS.

Contact Marta

Lily Macone works with the MOFGA Certification Services team to visit and inspect farms who want to maintain organic certification or become certified.

Contact Lily

Jacomijn Schravesande-Gardei works with certified organic crop farms on all aspects of the certification process. She reviews plans and inspection reports that are submitted; assesses and determines compliance of each operation with the organic regulations; and answers a lot of questions regarding the National Organic Program rules.

Contact Jaco

Julie Trudel conducts reviews of material inputs, including commercial compost production, to determine approval status for use in organic production. She can also be found inspecting farms and processing facilities.

Contact Julie

Kristen works with maple producers throughout the organic certification process and organizes the annual maple inspection trip for MOFGA Certification Services. She also performs annual inspections during the growing season.

Contact Kristen

John Welton works with certified organic producers throughout the organic certification process. He also helps to train and evaluate organic inspectors working with MOFGA Certification Services.

Contact John
As a staff inspector with MCS, Adele Wise travels to local farms to conduct organic inspections to maintain and improve their certification status.
 
Contact Adele

As the executive director of MOFGA, Sarah Alexander oversees all strategic program implementation.

Contact Sarah

Jordan Andrews is responsible for ensuring that MOFGA’s data systems run smoothly and that staff can use use them effectively.

Contact Jordan

As operations director, Angela Haiss is responsible for supporting finance, IT, and human resource activities.

Contact Angela

As MOFGA’s office manager, Melissa McLaughlin is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Unity offices. She answers the main phone line and email account, processes daily mail, manages office systems like supply ordering and cleaning, and ensures IT equipment is managed well.

Contact Melissa

As the finance and operations coordinator, Jennifer Morton processes checks, reconciles various avenues of income, and runs monthly reports.

Contact Jennifer

Bill Pluecker has been farming commercially since 2005. During most of those years his operation was certified organic and operated a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program partnered with the Maine Harvest Bucks. He currently runs Begin Again Farm, a small vegetable operation selling primarily wholesale to local groceries and the Mainers Feeding Mainers program. Bill has served in the Maine Legislature since 2018. He represents House District 44 (the towns of Hope, Union, and Warren) and serves as House Chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. He has two kids of whom he is very proud.

Bill works to engage and energize the MOFGA community to take action to support clean soil and water, with emphasis on addressing PFAS contamination of farmland and building awareness and advocacy on this topic across the country. Helping to leverage MOFGA’s broad political power, Bill develops our advocacy communication channels and ensures that members understand priorities in MOFGA’s policy platform.

Contact Bill

Heather Spalding works on public policy initiatives at the local, state, and national level.

Contact Heather

Sikwani Dana is a high school science teacher and, with Nathan Dana, is creating the Dana Homestead in rural Maine. In 2018 Sikwani and Nathan purchased a hunting cabin in the woods, and they have been working to turn it into an off-grid homestead. Their house is completely run by solar power and heated by wood in the winter. They are building the soil in their garden and keeping bees. Sikwani is Penobscot, a tribe that is part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Many of the rural living skills that Sikwani and Nathan use at their homestead they learned from Sikwani’s parents, Barry and Lori. “It is because of them I have made my life as environmentally friendly and sustainable [as possible]”, says Sikwani. Sikwani’s father, Barry Dana, is a former chief of the Penobscot Tribe. “My dad has done an incredible amount of work towards educating the Wabanaki people of Maine about why to have a garden, how to have a garden, food sovereignty and the knowledge that has been passed down from our ancestors.”

Rob Dumas is the food science innovation coordinator and facility manager for the School of Food and Agriculture based at the University of Maine’s Orono campus in Hitchner Hall. Dumas has a split appointment with the School of Food and Agriculture (SFA) and the Office of Innovation and Economic Development (OIED). In his role with SFA, he oversees the research and instruction that occurs in the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant and the commercial kitchen. In his role with OIED, he works as a food system expert with connectivity to all aspects of Maine’s food system, from agriculture to food processing and retail foodservice. Dumas also leverages the pilot plant to serve industry in Maine by providing expertise in product development, process efficiency and capturing food waste. He is currently certified as an executive chef with the American Culinary Federation and serves as the chapter president for the Downeast region. 

Margaret Hathaway is a farmer, writer, and mother. She is the author of six books on food and farming, including the memoir, The Year of the Goat, which chronicles her journey from young adulthood in New York City to a family farm in Maine. A native of Kansas and a graduate of Wellesley College, since 2005 Margaret has lived with her husband, Karl Schatz, on Ten Apple Farm, their homestead and agritourism business in Gray. There, they raise three daughters, a small herd of dairy goats, pigs, miniature horses, and assorted poultry, tend a large garden and small orchard, lead goat hikes, teach workshops on basic homesteading skills, and operate a guest house. For the past two decades, Margaret has used her work to advocate for small scale, diversified agriculture, and for a return to life rooted in the land.

Ten Apple Farm, 241 Yarmouth Road, Gray, 04039 

Hickman is an organic farmer, small business owner, chef, poet and author. He is wrapping up his fourth term in the Maine Legislature where he has served as house chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. In his service as an elected official he has championed food sovereignty, food security, food freedom, food processing infrastructure investments and other efforts to protect Maine’s small family farms and promote rural economic development. Hickman has also served on numerous community organizations and, in 2011, received the Spirit of America Foundation Award for Community Service. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hickman moved to New England to attend Harvard University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in government. He and his spouse, Jop Blom, live in Winthrop, where they own and operate Annabessacook Farm, a sustainable farm raising organic produce, dairy and livestock. They also host the Winthrop Community Gardens and a fresh food bank for anyone in need.

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