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

Joshua Pavese

Buildings and Grounds Assistant

Team-Jason Tessier

Jason Tessier

Buildings and Grounds Director

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].

Team-April-Boucher

April Boucher

Common Ground Country Fair Director
(she/her)

Meg Nadeau

Meg Gammon

Common Ground Country Fair Manager
(she/her)

Meg Monahan

Meg Monahan

Common Ground Country Fair Kitchen Manager and Food Liaison
(she/her)

Jen White

Jen White

Common Ground Country Fair Logistics Coordinator

Communications and Outreach

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

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

Clare Boland

Clare Boland

Communications Coordinator
(she/her)

Holli Cederholm

Content Creator and Editor (she/her)

Jennifer Wilhelm

Jennifer Wilhelm

Communications and Outreach Director
(she/her)

Ruth Zumstein cropped

Ruth Zumstein

Online Store Manager
(she/her)

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]. 

Jun 6 2024 14 19 54 1

Timothy Boston

Community Engagement Coordinator
(he/him)

Lauren-Cormier

Lauren Cormier

Orchard Specialist
(she/her)

Maddie Eberly

Maddie Eberly

Low-Impact Forestry Specialist
(they/them)

Jack Kertesz

Jack Kertesz

Landscape Coordinator

Anna Libby

Community Education Director
(she/her)

C.J._Walke

C.J. Walke

Orchard Program Manager
(he/him)

Madi Whaley

Madi Whaley

Educational Programs Coordinator
(they/them)

Farmer Programs

Ryan Dennett

Programs Director
(she/her)

Bo Dennis Kelsey Kobik image

Bo Dennis

Beginning Farmer Programs Specialist
(he/him)

Caleb Goossen

Organic Crop and Conservation Specialist
(he/him)

Nicolas Lindholm 1

Nicolas Lindholm

Organic Marketing and Business Specialist
(he/him)

Meg Mitchell Chris Battaglia photo

Meg Mitchell

Climate Smart and Organic Transition Specialist
(she/they)

Anna Mueller

Farmer Programs Manager

Jacki Martinez Perkins

Organic Dairy and Livestock Specialist
(she/her)

Membership and Development

For questions about membership, contact [email protected].

Karen Stimpson

Grants Manager
(she/her)

Mary Weitzman

Mary Weitzman

Director of Membership and Development

MOFGA Certification Services, LLC (MCS)

For questions about certification, contact [email protected].

Laurah Brown

Certification Specialist
(she/her)

Benjamin Clark

Staff Inspector
(he/him)

Brittany Cooper

Brittany Cooper

Staff Inspector
(she/her)

Chris Grigsby

MCS Director
(he/him)

Grace Keown

Operations and Information Management Coordinator (she/her)

Marta Łaszkiewicz

Operations Administrator and Inspection Program Manager
(she/her)

JacoBioPicture

Jacomijn Schravesande-Gardei

Associate Director of Crops/MCS (she/her)

Julie Trudel

Materials Reviewer and MC3 Program Coordinator
(she/her)

A person wearing a black wide-brimmed sun hat takes a selfie in a farm field.

Kristen Walker

Staff Inspector
(she/her)

John Welton staff photo

John Welton

Certification and Quality Specialist
(he/him)

Operations

Sarah Alexander

Executive Director
(she/her)

Angela Haiss

Angela Haiss

Operations Director
(she/her)

Kaitlynn McGuire

Constituent Experience and Database Manager
(she/her)

Staff Melissa McLaughlin

Melissa McLaughlin

Office Manager
(she/her)

Jennifer Morton

Finance and Operations Coordinator
(she/her)

Public Policy

Bill Pluecker State Rep Campaign, Warren

Bill Pluecker

Public Policy Organizer
(he/him)

Heather Spalding

Deputy Director and Senior Policy Director
(she/her)

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.

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)

Seth Kroeck

Seth Kroeck

Treasurer, Executive Committee
Year 2 of first term

MOFGA board member, Martha Leggat, stands in front of a red barn.

Martha Leggat

Year 2 of first term

Abe Noyes

Abe Noyes

Year 2 of first term

Bradley Russell

Bradley Russell

Year 1 of first term
(she/her/hers)

BOD-Ellen Sabina

Ellen Sabina

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

Anna Shapley-Quinn

Secretary, Executive Committee
Year 3 of second term
(she/her/hers)

Jessie Spector

Year 1 of second term
(she/her/hers)

Ben Tettlebaum

Year 2 of final term
(he/him/his)

MOFGA board member Ivonne Vazquez

Ivonne Vazquez

Year 1 of first term
(she/her/ella)

Annie Watson

Year 2 of final term

Board Kessi Watters Kimball

Kessi Watters Kimball

Year 1 of first term

Patty Duffy

Patty Duffy

Treasurer, Executive Committee
Year 3 of first term

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. 

Sign up for our Newsletter

Contact Us

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Mailing Address:
PO Box 170
Unity, ME 04988
Physical Address:
294 Crosby Brook Road
Unity, ME 04988

Media Inquiries:
Contact Jennifer Wilhelm [email protected]

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Joshua hails from Indiana, the home of the Indiana banana, otherwise known as the pawpaw. He was first introduced to organic food growing on the island of Kaua’i under the tutelage of Micheal Weiss, the “Garden Giant,” where he tended all sorts of varieties of fruit trees. As his passion for fruit grew he returned to the mainland where he and his partner acquired land and built their own home in a forest of trees here in Maine. He brings his knowledge of handyman work from the build of his own home and is excited to be part of MOFGA’s buildings and grounds team.

Joshua’s role is to lend aid to buildings and grounds personnel by completing planned builds, finishing pre-existing projects, whether carpentry, painting or just lending a helping hand to the MOFGA team.

Contact Joshua

Jason Tessier, his wife and two daughters have owned and operated a small family dairy farm in Skowhegan since 1999. It is a diversified operation, selling dairy, beef, pork, poultry, and maple products, along with an on-farm custom exempt meat processing facility. He previously worked as a construction supervisor for Sheridan Corp., where he managed employees and contractors; secured goods and services; scheduled; oversaw safety, quality control and design details; and reported daily to a project management team.

Jason manages the buildings, grounds and equipment at MOFGA.

Contact Jason

April Boucher started at MOFGA working on the Common Ground Country Fair in 2007 and became Fair director in 2013. Before coming to MOFGA, she was the South Beach coordinator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Other previous experiences include conducting wildlife research, working on farms, being a resident advisor, and being an area coordinator at StoryLand in Glen, New Hampshire. Her volunteer experiences range from supporting community events, such as the New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA), to having served on the Maine Association of Livestock Exhibitors board. Aprils holds a Bachelor of Arts in human ecology from the College of the Atlantic and is a continuous learner. She has participated in trainings by Wabanaki REACH, the National Center of Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), International Association of Fairs and Expos (IAFE), and EqualityMaine.

April 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; budget; and Fair diversity, equity, inclusion and justice work.

Contact April

Meg Gammon discovered her passion for sustainable business in her undergraduate program, which led her to pursue further education at the University of Vermont, where she earned her Master of Business Administration in sustainable innovation. She is happy that she has landed at MOFGA as the coordinator of the Common Ground Country Fair, working with an organization and in a position that closely aligns with her values and passions.

Meg 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

Meg Monahan’s background encompasses several decades of serving the community through various organizations, focusing on uplifting and supporting resource access for at-risk and vulnerable populations. Meg has had the honor of administering large social work-based programs, sitting on numerous boards, and organizing mutual aid fundraising-based projects for Maine’s communities. Her journey has included participating in various intentional community-based educational, artistic, and sustainable living focused organizations with her family. She lives in Southern Maine with her family, including her sons and their pup Pablo. On any given weekend, Meg can be found with her family: hiking, exploring the beauty of Maine, and cooking up a storm together.

Meg supports MOFGA’s Common Kitchen coordination through acting as point person for Common Ground Country Fair vendors, farmers, volunteers, and donors.

Contact Meg

Jennifer White, a New York City native, moved to coastal Maine in 2011. Having only been to Maine one other time, she fell in love with the landscape and the way of life here. Upon her second time visiting the state she purchased 63 acres to start an off-grid homestead, transported her custom self-built shipping container cabin to her new home, and started working as a farmhand at Happytown Farm in Orland. Building a life here has proven itself to be a rewarding experience rich in adventure, knowledge and new friendships. She feels that despite the low population partnered with the great vastness of the state there are actually wonderful opportunities everywhere in Maine — a land abundant with resources and resourceful people. A place where you can grow your own food, burn your own wood, trust your neighbors, sail, swim and hike is a place she proudly calls “home.” When she is not sailing, traveling, playing with animals or enjoying the gorgeous Maine-scape, she is either landscaping with her friends or often found creating art through a variety of mediums: as a digital illustrator, painter and sign maker. An honors graduate from New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology, she is a freelance artist who thoroughly enjoys working for herself on her own schedule, which gives her the freedom to participate in her role at the Common Ground Country Fair every year. She is honored to be part of the MOFGA team as fair logistics coordinator — a fun and high-speed task where she can meet new people and rally her urban pace in parallel with her deep appreciation of the longevity of local organic farming.

Jen was hired in 2014 as logistics coordinator for the Common Ground Country Fair. As the years progressed she found new ways to have the Fair run smoother and more efficiently. She makes sure everything gets done right and done well. She is highly organized and knows the ins and outs of how the Fair operates.

Contact Jen

Clare Boland is from the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where she grew up surrounded by a robust community of farmers and fisherfolk. Living for many years on the grounds of an arboretum, she was raised with a love of plants and a reverence for nature.  She graduated from Cornell University in 2017 with a dual degree in English and media studies. In addition to her background in communications, Clare has worked as a farmer and gardener in a range of settings, including Martha’s Vineyard, Chicago and rural North Carolina. She is passionate about the power of community food systems to create meaningful change and is excited to learn from the growers and farmers of Maine.

Clare handles MOFGA’s digital presence and does publication design.

Contact Clare

Holli first apprenticed on a MOFGA-certified organic farm in 2005 while completing a bachelor’s degree in environmental writing at Unity College in Unity, Maine. Since then, she has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, as MOFGA’s farmer-in-residence, she founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former general manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic last home of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; an interim host of The Farm Report on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributing writer for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener (The MOF&G).

Holli writes for, assigns articles and edits MOFGA’s quarterly publication, The MOF&G, and manages MOFGA’s email newsletters. She also co-hosts MOFGA’s monthly radio program on organic agriculture, called Common Ground Radio, on WERU Community Radio.

Contact Holli

Jennifer Wilhelm began her career by teaching outdoor environmental education for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. She later worked as the sustainability coordinator for Phillips Exeter Academy, where she started a school garden, and spent summers learning about organic agriculture as a field assistant on farms in Maine and New Hampshire. Jennifer most recently worked as a research and network coordinator with the NH Food Alliance, focusing on food systems network development, research, grant writing and facilitative leadership. Jennifer lives in Madbury, New Hampshire, with her husband, where they manage Fat Peach Farm — a small-scale mixed production farm — and conduct research to explore regenerative agricultural practices. She holds a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire.

Jennifer manages media inquiries, press releases, MOF&G advertising and classifieds, and requests for MOFGA merchandise donations.

Contact Jennifer

After her very first camping trip to Acadia in 1980, Ruth Zumstein longed to live in Maine. In 2016 she happily moved to Harpswell and Brunswick. She enjoys photographing the natural beauty of the Maine coast.

Ruth began working with MOFGA’s The Maine Organic Marketplace in Freeport when it opened in July 2021. After the store closed in January 2023, she transitioned to working as MOFGA’s online store manager.

Contact Ruth

Timothy Boston got his first taste of organic farming and gardening down in Austin, Texas. There he volunteered with Urban Roots ATX and worked at a local, sustainable grocery store, where he got to sell the produce he helped to grow. Timothy’s family has been farming and gardening in Maine for generations, and he is proud to continue that legacy with MOFGA.

Timothy brings his experience in education and community organizing to his role as community engagement coordinator, in which he works with volunteers to facilitate events throughout the year, including the Common Ground Country Fair.

Contact Timothy

Lauren Cormier has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont. Since graduating she has been working professionally in horticulture, mostly ecological landscape gardening, field-grown nursery production, and organic orcharding.

Before Lauren began working in her current role at the Maine Heritage Orchard in spring 2022 she had assisted planting the orchard understory of native pollinator plants suited for gravel pit reclamation. In addition to orchard care she locates and identifies Maine’s oldest pears for historic preservation in the orchard.

Contact Lauren

Maddie Eberly graduated from the University of Maine in 2021 with dual degrees in forestry and botany. During their time in undergrad, they researched tree physiology with the Wason Lab and ecopaleontology with the BEAST Lab. Following graduation, they worked for the Maine Natural Areas Program monitoring and managing invasive terrestrial plants. In 2022, they began working for the Forest Stewards Guild and founded Seeing the Forest for the Queers, a community of LGBTQ+ forest stewards. They obtained their intern forester’s license in 2022.

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

Contact Maddie
Jack is a long-time MOFGA volunteer and contractor who came up with many of the creative horticultural demonstrations on our grounds. He also started and continues to coordinate the Maine Tree Crop Alliance.
Contact Jack

Anna Libby grew up on a small farm in Mt. Vernon, Maine, where her family raised sheep and chickens, and tended gardens and a small orchard. She attended the Common Ground Country Fair every year, and loved roaming through the woods near her home. After high school, she attended college in Pennsylvania where she earned a degree in sociology. Eager to return to Maine after graduating, Anna served with the AmeriCorps VISTA program and then worked as a volunteer coordinator at a Bangor area nonprofit. Her work with volunteers that lead her to work at MOFGA, where she started as the volunteer coordinator and then in the education department before she started working as the community education director. She now lives with her husband on the farm where she grew up. She and her family still tend their orchard and grow gardens there.

Anna 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 began working with MOFGA in 2006 as landscape coordinator, which included managing the original north and south orchards on MOFGA’s campus in Unity. He’s held various roles along the way but always had a focus on providing education and technical services around organic orcharding. He started his current role as orchard program manager in May of 2023 and is excited to be back in MOFGA’s orchards and working with an amazing group of dedicated orchard folks.

C.J. 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.

Madi Whaley has worked on, and with, organic farms since 2017. In 2023, they earned their master’s degree in gender and women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where their teaching and research focused on LGBTQ+ studies, farming and food justice, environmental studies, and the intersections therein. Having spent many years coordinating educational events in food, LGBTQ+ and higher education contexts, Madi is excited to bolster food, farm and garden learning opportunities for folks interested in growing their existing knowledge and reskilling themselves and their communities.

As the educational programs coordinator, Madi 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 has worked for MOFGA since 2016. She has a Bachelor of Science in sustainable agriculture and an Master of Science in plant and soil nutrition from the University of Maine. She is a MOFGA Journeyperson alum and operates Crescent Run Farm.

Ryan directly supervises MOFGA’s farmer programs. She also supports directors of our 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 has been farming since 2008 and working at MOFGA since 2019. In addition to working at MOFGA, he manages Dandy Ram Farm, a queer and trans community flower and seed farm based in Monroe. He is passionate about supporting equitable access to hands on farming education especially for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers who have been marginalized in our agricultural community.

Bo 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, the apprenticeship program, and generally connecting beginning farmers to resources.

Photo by Kelsey Kobik

Contact Bo

Caleb Goossen has a bachelor’s degree in plant biology and sustainable agriculture from Hampshire College, and a doctorate from the University of Vermont, where he studied the fatty acid content of forage crops. He farmed organic vegetables in Vermont for nine years before graduate school.

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

Photo by Robert Nickelsberg

Contact Caleb

Nicolas Lindholm’s involvement with MOFGA started with a farm apprenticeship in 1987, and includes working on several certified organic farms along with serving on the board of directors and moonlighting as a certification inspector through the 1990s. He and his wife started an organic vegetable and wild blueberry farm in the Blue Hill area in 1997, which transitioned into Blue Hill Berry Co. in 2010, where they manage about 50 acres of MOFGA-certified organic wild blueberries.

Nicolas 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 began as an apprentice on an organic vegetable farm in 2005 and has been raising produce ever since, working with local markets, planning for financial and climate resilience as well as participating in a network of mutual aid organizations. She is well-versed in the shifting challenges faced by producers in our state and is using her skills and experience to assist farmers in making data-driven plans to achieve their climate resiliency goals.

Meg works to connect farmers with technical support and funding for climate-smart practices and transitioning to organic. Removing barriers to access for communities historically underserved by MOFGA is central to their work as is as integrating emotional resilience into outreach and technical support.

Photo by Chris Battaglia for Belfast Community Co-Op

Contact Meg

Anna Mueller has helped run Murphy Family Farm in Freedom, Maine, alongside Sean Murphy since 2013 and has worked at MOFGA since 2012.

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

Contact Anna

As MOFGA’s Organic Dairy and Livestock Specialist, Jacki Martinez Perkins has a strong background, as well as a formal education, in commercial dairy production. Having grown up in Central Maine on an 80-cow organic dairy, with a mother who is the only certified veterinary homeopath for large animals in the state, she followed a familial passion, and received an associate degree in dairy farm management from Vermont Technical College. She has spent many years in the industry working on machinery and on several dairy farms. She has also been a herd manager for a large Maine dairy operation and artificially inseminated cows for Genex. Her own passion for integrated pasture systems led her to raise many different species of livestock and experiment on her own with sustainable grazing practices.

Jacki 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

Karen Stimpson has been an executive director of three organizations, including the Maine Island Trail Association and the Midcoast Humane Society. She joined MOFGA in 2018 as the grants manager doing what she loves most — writing. She has a bachelor’s degree in graphic and communicating arts from Simmons College and a U.S. Coast Guard third mate’s license, and comes from a Maine farming family. She has lived on a 1920 classic wooden power boat in Portland Harbor since anyone can remember and brings a flavor of coastal culture to the bucolic farmland of Unity.

As MOFGA’s grants manager, Karen 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 has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising and marketing, specializing in cultural, environmental, and educational organizations. She is passionate about the arts and the outdoors and has dedicated her career to advocating for these causes. She was deputy director at Friends of Baxter State Park and worked at Wave Hill in the Bronx, a public garden known for its influential role in garden conservancy nationwide. Mary has represented the arts and the environment on many committees, including New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the Bronx Borough President’s Office, and NYC & Company. In the aftermath of September 11, she was appointed to the executive committee for rebuilding Lower Manhattan and spearheaded a $4.6 million marketing campaign for the arts. She earned a bachelor of fine arts in painting from Boston University and a master of arts in arts administration from Columbia University. Mary resides in Waterville with her husband, Michael, and their daughter.

Contact Mary

Laurah Brown joined MOFGA staff in 2014.The daughter of a veterinarian, born and raised in Belfast, she grew up spending time at her father’s office, going on farm calls and later working on his dairy farm in Vassalboro. Before joining MOFGA’s staff, Laurah created an organic value-added gift line for pets, a business she ran for 20 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Thomas College and resides in Vassalboro. As a certification specialist, she works with dairy, livestock, crops and processing.

As a certification specialist, Laurah 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

Benjamin Clark grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts, and his passion for organic agriculture was sparked after answering a Craigslist ad for help at a local farm. Over the next decade, Benjamin worked on a variety of operations in the Northeast and completed several apprenticeships on vegetable, dairy, and livestock operations. He then went on to complete four years working for a dry land organic grain/cattle operation on the plains of Montana.

After moving back to New England, Benjamin knew Maine was the right location — a return to the forests of his childhood — but he was ready for a new role in the agriculture community. After many years working in production agriculture, Benjamin is excited to bring his experience and passion for organic farming to the role of staff inspector for MCS.

Contact Benjamin

Brittany (Bee) Cooper grew up on North Haven Island off the coast of Maine as a part of her family’s 11th generation of islanders. After graduating from the College of the Atlantic she decided to stay on the mainland to continue building her farming skills. She worked on, and managed, multiple small organic farms in Maine for over a decade until moving into her role as a staff inspector with MOFGA Certification Services (MCS). She is thrilled to be a part of the certification team at MOFGA and is looking forward to building her skills as an organic inspector in order to serve her community and contribute to the ever-evolving world of sustainable food production.

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

Contact Brittany

Born and raised in Maine, Chris Grigsby settled back in his home state after college and began managing food production and distribution businesses. For seven years he was the general manager at the Belfast Co-op, Maine’s oldest and largest retail cooperative. He is an active member of the organic community, and currently serves as vice chair of the OMRI board of directors. He and his family homestead in Appleton, producing wild blueberries, cut flowers, vegetables and maple syrup.

Chris is currently the certification director for MOFGA Certification Services (MCS), holding the position since 2016. He oversees MOFGA’s certification programs, and is the point person for MCS’ accreditation with USDA’s National Organic Program. Chris is a strong advocate for local and regional food systems, as well as the integrity of MOFGA certified organic and the USDA organic standards.

Contact Chris

Grace Keown has many years of work experience in administrative and IT settings and has been with MOFGA and MOFGA Certification Services on a full-time basis since 2013. She has a Bachelor of Arts in studio art and art history from Stony Brook University and a Master of Business Administration from Dowling College. She has been a homesteader since moving to Maine in 2004, and is also a practicing fine artist.

Grace oversees the annual update process of the certification cycle, manages the MCS proprietary database and federal reimbursement cycle, maintains the MCS website, coordinates and designs the bi-annual Organic Sprout newsletter, and provides administrative support for a variety of tasks.

Contact Grace

Marta Łaszkiewicz grew up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania. Her desire to learn led her to College of the Atlantic, where she immersed herself in natural horsemanship, languages and sustainable energy. Her passion for the environment then led her to New Hampshire, where she managed a small farm. When she moved to Waldo County, she began working at Chase Farm. You might have met Marta at the Common Ground Country Fair, where she was the Livestock Gate coordinator! She’s excited to work at MOFGA because she is passionate about the environment, local food and farming. She loves animals, especially her two horses, two cats and one dog.

Marta 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

Jacomijn, or for short Jaco, grew up in the Netherlands. After obtaining her master’s in forestry at Wageningen University, she moved to Belfast, Maine, in 2006 to be with her husband. That summer she worked at the Chase farm and discovered her love for farming. After attending her first Common Ground Country Fair that year, she was excited to be hired as the certification assistant and has been at MOFGA since! Jaco and her husband have two children.

Jacomijn 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 has been farming and homesteading organically since the late 1980s. She served as the operations manager of a state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary for four years. Her formal education includes a Bachelor of Science in biology with specializations in botany, environmental toxicology and biomedical.

Julie conducts reviews of material inputs, including commercial compost production, to determine approval status for use in organic production. Additionally, she coordinates the Certified Clean Cannabis by MOFGA (MC3) program. She can also be found inspecting farms and processing facilities.

Contact Julie

Kristen Walker grew up in Cumberland, Maine, and spent much of her childhood hiking, camping, and gardening, igniting a love for the outdoors and food. She secured her first restaurant position while attending the University of Maine, accumulating nearly 15 years of experience in the field. In 2018, Kristen transitioned her career trajectory, embarking on a new path in farming as a MOFGA apprentice. Since then, Kristen has worked on and managed vegetable and fruit farms. Recognizing the importance of connecting people with their food sources, she is dedicated to developing spaces for community engagement, education, and fostering resilient agriculture systems.

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

Contact Kristen

John Welton has worked with MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) since 2018 as an inspector and specialist.

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

Contact John

Sarah Alexander began working as MOFGA’s executive director on August 13, 2018. She has over 20 years of experience advocating for sustainable, local and fair food systems. A native of rural Ohio, she attended Northwestern University, where she became interested in fixing our food systems, protecting the environment, and in fighting for the rights of Indigenous people. It was there that she began working with the White Earth Land Recovery project, first leading a trip of students to work in the maple sugar bush during spring break. After college she completed a year-long environmental organizing fellowship with Green Corps, working on campaigns in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Chicago. When she completed that program, she moved up to the White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, where she spent three years continuing her work with the White Earth Land Recovery Project, helping to restore traditional food systems and stopping the genetic engineering of wild rice. Next she headed to Columbus, Ohio, to work as a farm apprentice at Shepherd’s Corner Farm and then helped to grow the urban agriculture program at the American Community Garden Association. From there she went to Washington, D.C., and spent nearly 10 years at Food & Water Watch, where she worked to protect organic standards, strengthen consumer labeling and fight for genetically engineered food labeling. She moved to Maine in 2015, and just prior to starting as executive director of MOFGA she worked as a senior strategist at M+R Strategic Services.

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

Contact Sarah

Angela Haiss grew up in Maine, and earned her undergraduate degree in bio-resource engineering from the University of Maine and her master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. After school she returned to Maine and spent 16 years working in operations. She became interested in organic gardening and has spent the last 10 years learning about the topic and growing an increasing number and variety of plants. Haiss and her family have a little homestead where they enjoy growing vegetables, annual and perennial cut flowers and herbs, and a small flock of chickens and ducks. She enjoys learning about herbalism and making natural remedies for family and friends. 

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

Contact Angela

Kaitlynn McGuire focused on digital arts and data modeling at College of the Atlantic and then fell into farming and programming. She apprenticed on a few MOFGA-certified organic farms and managed a farm in New Hampshire before returning to data and programming. She is now enjoying having her own little homestead.

Kaitlynn manages MOFGA’s database system and works with MOFGA teams to manage other systems to ensure everything is working effectively and all systems are connected and working together. She works with MOFGA programs to make sure they have the support and data they need to operate effectively and efficiently.

Contact Kaitlynn

Melissa McLaughlin grew up with a deep love of the outdoors through hiking, camping and canoeing in Pennsylvania. She loved spending long days building forts in the woods and swimming in the nearby creek. In 2019, Melissa completed her undergraduate degree in biology at Haverford College, where she focused her studies on estuarine ecology and climate change science. She developed a deep passion for social justice, which led her to complete a service year in Philadelphia before working with the service year program for several years. Melissa moved to Maine in 2023 to join MOFGA as the office manager and is expanding her horizons by exploring new rivers and trails throughout the state. She also enjoys riding horses, playing guitar, arts and crafts, and helping out on her sister’s nearby farm.

As the office manager, Melissa 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

Jennifer has worked in various office settings in customer service and administrative/operations positions for most of her career.

As the finance and operations coordinator, she 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.

Photo by Molly Haley

Contact Bill

Heather Spalding has worked as an environmental activist since the mid-1980s. Prior to her work with MOFGA, which began in 1997, she spent 10 years in Washington, D.C., working for the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace International, where she served as publications coordinator for the International Toxics Campaign. Heather’s introduction to MOFGA came during a summer 1996 sabbatical from Greenpeace, when she volunteered as an apprentice on MOFGA-certified New Leaf Farm in Durham. Wanting to settle in her home state of Maine, Heather then accepted a job offer to coordinate the Common Ground Country Fair. After several years focusing on the Fair, Heather changed her focus and worked on MOFGA’s organizational administration and development. Coming full circle, she now works primarily on coordinating MOFGA’s public policy initiatives.

Heather works primarily 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.

Seth Kroeck has been an organic grower for 25 years and has been certified by MOFGA at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, where he lives with his wife Maura and their two children Leila and Griffin, for the last 19. The farm’s primary crops are carrots, Brussels sprouts and wild blueberries sold to wholesale markets, schools and hunger relief organizations in Maine. Kroeck is an active member of the Organic Farmers Association, Real Organic Project and the Maine Grain Alliance, and is committed to supporting and building regional food systems. MOFGA has been a central part of the success of Crystal Spring over the last two decades. Certification, the apprenticeship program and technical services have all been invaluable sources of support to him as a grower.

Martha Leggat has lived in North Yarmouth, Maine, for 23 years. A former teacher, more recently she has dedicated her time to volunteer pursuits, serving as a member and chair of her local MSAD #51 school board, tutoring New Mainers in language and citizenship at Portland Adult Education, and leading social justice and education ministries at the Congregational Church in Cumberland. She and her husband have three children, and are fortunate to live on a property that allows for a big vegetable garden, an orchard and beehives. Leggat currently works part-time at a local organic vegetable farm in Durham, and runs a granola business called Martha’s Maine Mix, selling small-batch granola (made with her honey!) to local natural food stores. She joined MOFGA as a lifetime member the first year she moved to Maine, and has been involved in different ways since then. Leggat is passionate about MOFGA’s mission, in particular regarding farmer training, promoting local and organic food, engaging in food and agricultural policy, and addressing climate change. Hobbies that Leggat is most engaged in include gardening, writing, political advocacy, outdoor pursuits and tutoring.

Abe Noyes was born and raised in Southwest Harbor. Noyes is an experienced organic gardener and was brought up growing vegetables as a way of life and has continued that tradition and practice into adulthood. Noyes’ involvement with MOFGA has mainly come through being a long-time Common Ground Country Fair attendee. At 29 years old, Noyes has been to at least 20 fairs!

Bradley Russell is the sustainable agriculture and food systems program director at Coastal Enterprises Inc., where she works to grow the resilience and profitability of Maine and regional agricultural and food businesses while supporting sustainable agriculture production, processing, marketing, and retail systems helping create access to safe, affordable locally produced foods. Russell’s roots both in her experience and education are at the heart of sustainability in food and agriculture systems. Prior to joining CEI, Russell worked with Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Oke USA Fruit Co., a fresh produce subsidiary of Equal Exchange, and High Mowing Organic Seeds Company. Russell is a member of the Leadership Maine, Casco Class 2022; she holds a master’s of business administration in sustainable business and entrepreneurship from the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business, and a bachelor’s of arts in anthropology and Spanish from Colby College. Russell’s love of gardening and baking is not deterred by her lack of skill. She has attended the Common Ground Country Fair, off and on, for more than 25 years.

Sabina serves as outreach and communications director at Maine Farmland Trust (MFT). After graduating from Bates College with a degree in history, and with several summers of farming and fisheries work under her belt, Sabina spent years away from Maine, working for food- and farm-related businesses and nonprofits in Vermont and Washington. She moved back to her home state in 2013 to work with MFT and lives in the small town of Morrill. When not amplifying the stories of MFT’s work and of Maine farms, Sabina can be found in the garden, exploring Maine’s mountains and coastlines, or in the fields of the tiny flower farm she co-owns, Half Hitch Flowers.

Anna Shapley-Quinn is a farmer, mother and lifelong environmental and social justice activist. She was born and raised in central North Carolina and has been farming since the age of 16. From her first farm internship in high school with NC’s organic farming association, to work on farms and academic study of sustainable agriculture in college, to full-fledged commercial farming, Anna was drawn to farming by a deep love for the outdoors, food, manual labor and communal work. In 2009, Anna co-founded North Branch Farm, a MOFGA-certified organic farm in Monroe, Maine (Waldo county) with Seth and Tyler Yentes. Currently, they produce nursery stock, fruit, hay, grass-fed beef and forest products. Anna believes that MOFGA and its members have important roles to play in the face of the climate crisis: to lead in building rural, agrarian unity and resilience as well as modeling how organic farms can act as carbon sinks and centers of ecological renewal. She thrives on working to re-stabilize the planet so that humans, plants and animals can all live good, full lives.
120 Stream Rd
Monroe, ME

Spector lives on a small farm in Jefferson with her husband and baby. She works as a fundraiser and donor organizer at Thousand Currents, a small foundation supporting work at the intersections of climate justice, food sovereignty and building alternative economies. Prior to moving to Maine, Jessie was the executive director at a national non-profit focused on racial and economic justice and continues to serve as a consultant for organizations working to integrate a stronger framework and practice of equity and justice. She has served on the boards of Jewish Voice for Peace and the Markham-Nathan Fund for Justice.

Ben grew up on a small farm in central Missouri. They raised beef cattle and grew corn and soybeans. That hilly, forested land of brush and trouble instilled in him a lifelong love of the outdoors. Currently, Ben works as senior staff attorney for The Wilderness Society and also runs a boutique law practice specializing in risk management. Formerly, he practiced law at the Maine Advocacy Center of the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) focusing on agriculture, climate change, and clean energy policy and litigation. He launched CLF’s Legal Food Hub in Maine in 2015 offering pro bono legal assistance to income-eligible farmers, food entrepreneurs, and food-related organizations and hosting dozens of legal workshops for the agricultural community. As he has for the past 20+ years, Ben stays connected to the field of experiential education, teaching emergency medical courses for remote environments with NOLS Wilderness Medicine. He lives in New Gloucester, serves on several nonprofit boards around Maine, and is humbled to work with the dedicated people at MOFGA.

Ivonne Vazquez (she/her/ella) is passionate about native plants, herbs, pollinators, DIY, sustainability, the environment, the outdoors and sharing gardening knowledge. With years of gardening, outdoor education and volunteer experience, she is most often found using her skills as a former Master Gardener Volunteer, current Licensed Registered Maine Guide/Recreation, Basic Gardening Instructor at Bangor (Maine) Adult Community Education, small acreage diversified farmer and native plant grower. She recently earned a certificate in sustainable landscaping & garden management and another in permaculture design.

Vazquez and her husband own Bas Rouge Farm & Forge in Orono, Maine, which was established in 2022. Transitioning from a decade-old homestead to a farm business, the primary enterprise is a native plant nursery. They are participants in the MOFGA Journeyperson program (2023-24). In addition to growing and selling native plants at several local farmers’ markets in Orono and Bangor and native plant sales, she is a freelance writer of gardening articles, which appear in The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, and an avid photographer whose main subjects are native plants and pollinators. She travels throughout Maine speaking and presenting workshops on gardening topics to a variety of audiences. Vazquez is Spanish/English bi-lingual, of Puerto Rican descent and has lived in Maine since 1989.

Annie Watson and her husband Michael Moody are co-owners of Sheepscot Valley Farm, a MOFGA certified organic dairy farm located on the beautiful Townhouse Road in Whitefield. She is a 2005 graduate of Brown University, where she received her B.A. in Theater Arts. When she isn’t covered in cow manure, Annie is also owner and operator of A. Watson Design, a boutique event design firm. She and Michael live on the farm with their one-year old son, Oliver, their tiny farm-dog, Otis, and their herd of Holstein ladies.
Sheepscot Valley Farm
163 Townhouse Road, Whitefield, ME 04353

Kessi Watters Kimball is a Mi’kmaq food and medicine producer who descends from the Listuguj First Nation. She is a community organizer and foundation builder with Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective as well as the food sovereignty director for Bomazeen Land Trust. She started Mawiomi Garden in 2020 with her children, nephews and little cousins. They are now in the fourth year and have grown to support five Indigenous youth apprentices and expanded their poultry and butchering operation. They currently cultivate 5 acres in the unceded Wabanaki homelands on the Sandy River in Starks, Maine. Watters Kimball also serves on the Farmer Advisory Board for FRSAN-NE/Cultivemos and is a 2022 Braiding Seeds Fellow. They create innovative collaborations across organizations to practice radical food justice and inspire young folks to restore/rebuild traditional food systems.

Patty lives in Belfast and has over 30 years of agricultural lending experience working with a wide range of farms. She moved to Maine in 2019 to assist in the creation Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union, the first credit union dedicated to financing farmers and food producers. Patty is an experienced ox teamster, operated a micro dairy & diversified livestock farms in VT and continues managing Vermont forestland she’s owned for 34 years. Finance work has been in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. Other experiences include founding Board Member of VT CAN! (Low cost spay/neuter program), Excellence in Veterinary Nursing Award, Adjunct Professor at Vermont Technical College for agribusiness and veterinary technology, member of Vermont Meat Processing Task Force, Advisory Board member of The Carrot Project, Cornell Extension Service Clinton County Board Member and Treasurer and most recently Maine Beginning Farmer Advisory Council.  Passions include Reid State Park, the ocean, rowing on the Penobscot Bay in Cornish Pilot Gig Boats and wooden Dories, Maine seafood, local food, cooking, and traveling adventures with her dog Mia.

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