2022-2023 Network Leadership Institute Participants

Steph Cesario-DeBiasi coordinates Maine Farm & Sea to School Network, Maine Farm to Institution, & the Maine Food Convergence, based at Healthy Communities of the Capital Area. With a degree in food systems from the University of Vermont, she convenes organizations around local procurement, social & racial justice, garden education, & agroecology. She stewards a half-acre of herbs for community healing projects. 

Darcy Cooke (she/her) is the State Coordinator for the Maine Network of Community Food Councils. She spent 17 years working as a line cook and a chef before becoming a community organizer. Through both career paths she has learned the power of good food, education and community solidarity. 

Jen Halstead (she/her) is a Community Organizer at the North American Marine Alliance (NAMA), focusing on Outreach and Communications.  She holds her B.S in Environmental Science with a concentration in natural resource stewardship and conservation. Jen’s background also includes several years as a student of marine biology and several research projects centered around ocean acidification. 

Tida Infahsaeng is a Connecticut native who serves as Food Policy Manager with United Way of Western CT. She has more than 12 years of diverse, professional experience and successfully leverages partnerships across public, nonprofit and private sectors for greater collective impact. Tida has worked in program management and policy advocacy at various organizations including SDFSA, NYCEDC & Wholesome Wave. 

Shelby Kalm (she/her) is the Project Coordinator for the White River Land Collaborative, a farmer-led, community-driven initiative to increase land access and farm viability. Before moving to the northeast, Shelby advocated for sustainable agriculture policy in Maryland. 

Hope Kelley (she/her) is the Manager of Communications & Development with the Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC), a community initiative working at the intersection of green space equity, climate resilience, and food autonomy. Hope holds a degree in Environmental Journalism and spent several years working and teaching on small-scale, regenerative farms in New England prior to her current role. 

Sofia I. Morales is a food justice advocate. She's Manager of Research & Evaluation at Yale School of Public Health's Community Alliance for Research & Engagement. She's also Professor of Public Health at University of New Haven. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, she's lived in CT since 2016. 

Mike Mowry’s career has been focused on improving lives through food.  For 16 years he worked at Equal Exchange in Massachusetts as a coffee quality and sensory expert, focusing on assisting small scale farmers, staff, and customers. Currently he is the Director of Member Success at Hope & Main in Rhode Island. 

Jacob Nelson is a writer, educator, and farmer, curious how food systems could shift to align abundance and justice. After teaching, growing oysters, and researching statewide climate resilience with the NH Food Alliance, Jacob now works with Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture connecting local farmers and businesses in western MA with resources and sharing their stories through media. 

Greg Nicaise has uplifted local food initiatives as a farmer, educator, and community leader. Now, at the Sustainable Business Network, he works to bolster the financial success of food enterprises and organize community events that expand access to and understanding of our regional food systems. He looks forward to learning, leading, and connecting at FSNE's Network Leadership Institute this coming year. 

Katelyn Porter co-owns and operates Waking Web Farm: a no-till, small-scale, CSA-based produce farm in Milton Mills and works for the NH Food Alliance where she coordinates the NH Food Hub Network: a group dedicated to create efficiencies and opportunities for NH’s food hub efforts.   

Sherlene Rodriguez is a Bronx native and lives in Monroe, CT with her family.  She is a special projects coordinator for UConn Ext, a Northeast Farm to School Institute coach for Naugatuck's City Hill Middle School, and a steering committee member for the CT Farm to School Collaborative.    

Kyle Sandberg (he/him) manages the Mobile Market for the Trustees of Reservations, which currently operates as a 300-member CSA of produce grown on Trustee’s agricultural lands that members can purchase with their SNAP benefit. He’s excited to be building relationships between the program and food justice-orientated organizations grounded in community throughout the Boston area. Before his current role, Kyle spent a year in residence at a contemplative Buddhist center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and worked for 2 seasons on small organic farms in Maine. 

Susan Shim Gorelick, founded and leads CC4ES, Coalition Center for Environmental Sustainability, www.cc4es.org as its Executive Director. Susan's commitment to food justice as a gateway to environmental, social and economic justice and equity is rooted at her life-defining experience as a 15-year-old Korean immigrant in Brooklyn, New York, continuing now to tend Rhode Island frontline communities. 

Nic Tedesco is Director of the Food Equity and Economic Development Center in Bridgeport, CT. Nic works to provide local food access, combat hunger, and bring equity to our food system. He has operated mobile farmers markets in underserved areas, organized food drives, coordinates a food pantry network, and has worked as a personal chef. He's also a Planning and Zoning Commissioner in his town. 

Chef Matthew Thompson is the co-founder and Chief Culinary Officer for Harvest Table Culinary Group, a dedicated team of chefs, wellness managers, and food enthusiasts who create campus dining experiences. Matthew has brought progressive, sustainable, health-based dining to higher education for 25 years. 

Pável Uranga is a Cooperative Business Developer with CDI’s Cooperative Business Services and Cooperative Food Systems programs. Pável is a radio producer, community journalist, and community organizer with more than 20 years of experience working with unions, students, campesinos, and human rights. 

As Director of the Food and Farm Program at VYCC, Susie Walsh Daloz is honored to continue the transformational work of growing food with youth while feeding our communities. Before this role, Susie worked with various projects across the country to connect people to their food, the land and the endlessly complex world of food systems. Susie has a BA from Oberlin College and an MS in Food Systems from UVM.