2023-2024 Network Leadership Institute Participants

Ariel has spent nearly 15 years working in food systems, experience that informs their work as coordinator of the New Hampshire Queer Farmer Network and minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Franklin, N.H. Ariel also works with Cultivemos, the Network for Farmer Well-being, around initiatives that support farmer mental health.

Lindsey is a local foods advocate and environmental activist living in Brandon, Vt., with her partner, two cats and seven chickens. Lindsey joined ACORN (the Addison County Relocalization Network) in 2015 as the marketing and development director and now serves as its executive director. Lindsey also serves on the board of 350VT and is part of her town's Restorative Justice group.

Dan is Berkshire Agricultural Ventures’ technical assistance and outreach manager where he works with farmers and food businesses in the Berkshire Taconic Region. He also owns and operates Beavertides Farm with his wife Marleen. He previously held farm manager positions at Q Farms, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, and was an agriculture Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi.

Samantha is the strategic content designer for the National Family Farm Coalition. Her career has been focused on food system communications, and she is especially skilled with simplifying complicated topics and adapting messages to a diversity of audiences. Sam lives in Rochester, N.H. and enjoys spending time with her two pet rabbits, crafting, and reading obscure facts on Wikipedia.

A gardener, cook, facilitator, and systems thinker, G manages the Maine Senior FarmShare Program at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. They grew up in New Jersey amidst their grandparents’ Italian food store, where food was labor, culture, family, and joy. With their brother, they co-run Finocchi, a queer Italian-American supper series.

Always with a lens of systems change from the inside-out, Annie has been co-creating community economic and cooperative development projects since her early twenties. She has worked with women artisans in Brazil to food justice and climate advocates across Maine. Annie now facilitates cross-sector collaborations and values-based, community-informed strategic planning through Imaginal Systems Consulting.

Matt is a lawyer, chef, urban farmer, and food systems advocate. He works for the Urban Farming Institute and Mei Mei Dumplings in Boston while pursuing his Master of Laws in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy with Vermont Law School.  He is passionate about using his experience in local food systems to create policies that promote a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system.

Emma is deeply committed to community development. In her role at Coastal Enterprises, Inc., in Brunswick, Me., she incorporates her knowledge of food systems and regenerative economics to bolster initiates that uplift local and anti-racist economies. Emma's hodology and endeavors consistently advocate for a world where prosperity and joy coexist with universal wellbeing and socially responsible living.

Shannon is currently the operations manager for Hope's Harvest, the hunger relief program of Farm Fresh Rhode Island. She is honored to work in food justice, helping address the twin problems of on-farm food waste and food insecurity on a statewide level. She has a degree in marketing and psychology from Bryant University, and her love of food led her to related nonprofit work!

Julie, RN BSN, MA IR and current student PhD Public Policy at UMass, is the president and CEO of the Congolese American Women Empowerment and Leadership (CAWEL). Most African women face discrimination due to gender, race and poor English language skills. CAWEL assists them in the journey to become strong, productive, and independent citizens.

Brendan is the chief operating officer for True Fin, a start-up seafood company he helped launch, dedicated to adding value to our local fisheries and harvesters as the only provider of premium quality seafood from the Gulf of Maine. Brendan is a Maine native, committed to the sustainability and prosperity of our regional food systems.

Diego is an agricultural engineer with an MBA and a Master in Finance who has extensive experience in farm management, international business development, and diplomacy. Diego is currently the programs director at Green Village Initiative in Bridgeport, Ct. where he contributes to food justice and accessibility by working with local youth and community through 12 community gardens and one urban farm.

Alison has been part of local and national food system transformation work including Rhode Island food movement giants Farm Fresh RI, Hope & Main, and Slow Food USA. Alison now works as the Food Strategy Project Manager at Rhode Island Commerce. 

As part of her work at Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp (CSNDC), Heather MacLean provides administrative and program support for OASIS on Ballou, the urban farm managed by CSNDC. Prior to this work, she was the food access coordinator for Mass Farmers Markets. She holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Community Development from UMass Boston.

Ulum Pixan Athoh’il Suk’il is an indigenous mixed Woman (Maya, Xinca, Garifuna, Russian Jew and ladino) Mother and Grandmother, born in Guatemala, Mesoamerica, later moving to the US in 1999. She organized in her country around aboriginal, women’s, language issues and the environment. She continues her work here in the U.S. as Co-Director of Global Village and member owner at both Global Village @ Tuck Away Farm Cooperative and Access Co-op.

Vince Razionale is the 4th grade teacher at Hardwick Elementary School, and focused on growing his career in education and helping guide the next generation into leaders in their communities. After a 15-year career in a variety of roles in the food system, leading businesses and teams to success, he is shifting focus into classroom education and developing new skills in his local school community. Throughout work in the food system and in other communities where he works and serves, Vince is continuing to learn and grow on issues of antiracism, queer allyship, food security, and patriarchy-dismantling. He lives in northern Vermont with his partner, two kids, four cats, one dog, and eight chickens.

Cynthia, evaluator at the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, collaboratively evaluates change strategies at the community, systems, and societal levels. Changing harmful gender norms, increasing green and open space, and promoting food, housing, and transportation justice are among the interconnected areas she evaluates. Cynthia also serves on her town’s planning board. 

Katie is a writer, farmer, and communications professional.  She manages communications for the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, and is co-owner of Good Heart Farmstead, a vegetable farm with a mission to increase local food access. With a belief that creativity is as essential as food, Katie loves sharing stories of the people and landscapes that nourish us.