| ROC Fellows |
Who are the Roots of Change Fellows?
Fellows get to work in the CLBL farm house.
Read about the 2008 Fellows here. What will the Roots of Change Fellows do?The Fellows are engaged in a nine-day facilitated strategic thinking process. In 2007, 27 leaders from all over California were chosen to work together to define and prioritize strategies for a twenty-five year campaign to move the State’s food system to a sustainable model by 2030. The nine-day process spans three intensive sessions held at the Farm on Putah Creek in Winters, CA, and are facilitated by Joseph McIntyre from Ag Innovations . The process is designed to allow participants to deepen their understanding of themselves, the other participants, and the entire food system in order to co-create a strategy that reflects the collective wisdom of the group. The sessions guide the Fellows to share their knowledge and experience of the system, view the system as a whole, think critically about how the various parts of the system interact, and identify effective points of system-wide change. This shared knowledge will help reach new levels of understanding of the current food system, which is essential to finding the most effective ways to create substantial change.
Joseph McIntyre works with the Planning Fellows in the tent, where the fresh air helps to bring fresh ideas.
This year’s Fellowship Retreat dates are as follows: Session 1: October 14-16, 2008 Session 2: November 19-20, 2008 Session 3: December 17-18, 2008 View Session Schedules from the 2007 Fellows Process:
What are the goals of the process?The Vivid Picture Project outlined a vision, potential actions, and set of measurable indicators for a sustainable food system for CA in 2030. In order to achieve this vision, a large number of system actors must come to agreement on a clear set of initiatives that will be implemented. It is the job of the ROC Fellows to uncover the most effective leaver points for creating system-wide change. The Fellows will develop a set of consensus recommendations for the Roots of Change that will be used for strategy and funding priorities for creating a “New Mainstream”.
Fellows Eric Holt-Jimenez, Eric Cardenas, Chris Sayer, Holly King and Don Shaffer enjoy a post dinner recess as the sun sets.
The goals of the 2008 process include: 1. Continue to grow and ground the strategy for creating a sustainable food system by 2030. 2. To form workgroups and give input to specific focus areas of the 5-year Campaign Strategy. 3. To expand the capacity of the Fellows to create and implement collaborative solutions for a sustainable food system. Who are the 2007 Fellows?
Fellows and ROC staff at 3rd session
 Brahm Ahmadi Co-Founder and Executive Director of People’s Grocery and a leader noted for commitment to social justice, cooperative economics and access to healthy food for low-income, inner-city communities. Brahm is leading an effort to create a new retail format for West Oakland that will model a way to overcome the challenge of urban food deserts. Brahm is also active in organizing for economic democracy and was a founding board member of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives.  Ladi Asgill Ladi is Senior Project Manager and economist with Sustainable Conservation, an environmental organization working in close partnership with California Agriculture to improve air and water quality. He manages programs to demonstrate and implement sustainable and economically viable technologies and practices. Ladi has also had experience crop production experience in the US, Mexico, and Africa. His expertise is helping farmers engage more environmentally responsible production practices. He currently has a particular emphasis on California dairy farms and their ability to produce energy and reduce environmental pollution.  Larry Bain Entrepreneur and food procurement reformer, Larry has a long history of founding and managing excellent restaurants. Larry is co-owner of Let’s be Frank , which operates hot dog stands that feature all sustainable, grass-fed, all beef, hot dogs. He is also working with the Park Service to develop policies and systems for procuring sustainable foods produced on or near parklands.  Jo Ann Baumgartner Jo Ann is the Executive Director of the Wild Farm Alliance and a veteran teacher of farmers. Wild Farm Alliance helps producers to maximize species diversity on their lands while enhancing the farms’ economic performance. Jo Ann has farmed organically and worked with farmers on the central coast to protect water quality through use of best management practices.  Natalia Bonilla Natalia is an organizer and leader with Agriculture and Land Based Training Association (ALBA), which works on the Central Coast to move farmerworkers into positions as farm operators and/or owners.  Hannah Burton-Laurison Hannah is a policy analyst with the Public Health Law Program’s Land Use and Health project , where she specializes in community and economic development. Prior to joining PHLP, she staffed an $80 million public-private initiative that worked to develop new grocery stores in Pennsylvania’s low-income communities.  Eric Cardenas Eric is the Program Director for Environmental Defense Center ’s Central Coast Environmental Health Program and a long-time member of the Ventura AFA where he lead the effort to create a stewardship consensus document that now lies at the heart of the AFA’s work in Ventura.  Mable Everette Mable is a dietician with Community Nutrition Education Services . Along with a Ph.D. in public health, she has had a long career working with low-income communities in Los Angeles to improve eating and health through nutrition education. She is actively seeking alliances with food system advocates.  Anya Fernald Anya is Program Director with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). She works to improve economic options for family farms through the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign, Farm-to-School, and the Growers Collaborative - a produce distribution company. She is a social entrepreneur with international experience steming from her years with Slow Food International. Anya has participated in the ROC Business Leaders Advisory Council.  Vanessa Frank Garcia Vanessa is a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assitance in Ventura County and member of the AFA there. As an attorney out of Stanford, Vanessa is an emerging leader, representing farmworkers who are found at the beginning of the food distribution chain as harvesters, pickers and packers and at the end, as consumers who are highly impacted by limited availability of affordable nutritious and tasty food.  Joaquin Garza Joaquin is a former farm and food processing worker that went into management with 25+ years in operations management experience with companies such as; Foster Farms, Ruiz Food Products and GAF Corporation. He has MBA and now directs the workforce development and education of incumbent workers for FIELD Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership Development. He works with farm and processing plant owners and operators to develop better relations and systems for working with labor focusing on leadership development and High Performance Workforce Collaboration.  Christi Heintz Chris is a scientist and research director for the California Almond Industry . She has experience and success in working with a large agricultral industry as it moves into the age of biologically integrated farming systems.  Eric Holt-Gimenez Eric is the Executive Director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy a “peoples’ think-and-do tank” dedicated to eliminating the injustices that cause hunger and environmental degradation. Previously, he worked as Latin American Program Manager at the Bank Information Center in Washington, D.C., where he monitored the projects and the policies of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. He has held positions as a lecturer in International Development and Agroecology at the University of California and Boston University’s Global Ecology program. Throughout the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, Mr. Holt-Giménez lived and worked in Latin America where he helped organize and train farm leaders, in agroecology and was a consultant to non-governmental organizations, government ministries, and foreign aid agencies. In his path-breaking participatory research, “Measuring Farmer’s Agroecological Resistance to Hurricane Mitch,” 2,000 farmers documented the superior sustainability of agroecologically-managed farms to conventional farms in Central America. His first book, “Campesino a Campesino” chronicles nearly thirty years work with Latin America’s Farmer to Farmer Movement for sustainable agriculture. In his recent book, “Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice,” co-authored with Raj Patel and Annie Shattuck, Mr .Holt-Giménez proposes equitable, sustainable solutions to the root causes of the global food crisis. Mr. Holt-Giménez holds a Masters of Science in International Agricultural Development and a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies.  Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan is currently a Senior Policy Specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Since joining NRDC in 2002, he has directed a variety of policy and market-based initiatives seeking to promote more sustainable farming systems and environmentally friendly pest control in the urban environment. Among other efforts, Jonathan has helped to launch the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops, a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop supply chain sustainability metrics for the specialty crop sector. Prior to joining NRDC, Jonathan coordinated research and policy advocacy efforts at San Francisco BayKeeper and Environment California (formerly the California Public Interest Research Group). Jonathan serves on several boards and advisory groups, including those serving the Agriculture Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, Environment California, the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, Food Alliance, Protected Harvest, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute. Jonathan received a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master’s of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  Holly King After retiring from the Great Valley Center in June of this year, Holly is devoting her time to projects in regional food systems, agricultural land conservation and renewable energy. Much of her work is associated with her family’s farming operations in the Klamath Basin (alfalfa hay) and Kern County (almonds and pistachios). Affiliations with municipalities and non-profits focus on regional food system and ag land conservation projects.  Jennifer Lester Moffitt Jennifer is an organic walnut farmer from Winters, California. Although, only in her 20s, Jenny has taken over the management of her family's farming and walnut processing business, Dixon Ridge Farms which is the nation's largest handler of organic walnuts. Prior to returning home to the farm, she worked for American Farmland Trust on farmland protection efforts around the nation.  Bu Nygrens Bu is one of four owners of Veritable Vegetable , the oldest distributor of organic fresh fruits and vegetables in the US. Woman-owned and operated, serving local organic farms and independent retail businesses throughout California & the Southwest. VV promotes sustainable & organic agriculture, striving towards equitable sustainable food systems for all people. Veritable Vegetable is both a thriving business and an instrument for social, economic, and environmental change. Bu has helped guide the company in its growth since 1978, contributing to VV's reputation for integrity, advocacy and leadership.  Charlene Orszag Charlene is a co-founder of Tierra Miguel Foundation - an organic farm, conservation, education and research center in San Diego County. Charlene is dedicated to energizing collaborative efforts to build ecologically sustainable food production and distribution systems. She was an early informant to the Vivid Picture research project.Charlene's now in San Luis Obispo County encouraging Cal Poly SLO's Sustainable Agriculture Research Center activities and working to promote workable sustainable food policies and food systems.  Sophia Pagoulatos Sophia is a Supervising Planner for the City of Fresno . She is an advocate and leader in the effort to implement SMART Growth Policies in the Central Valley. She was a Peace Corp volunteer in Latin America.  Maren Poitras Maren is the Statewide Coordinator for the California Student Sustainability Coalition' s campaign sweeping California college campuses to transform the food-service system. In partnership with many campuses and surrounding communities the initiative is developing a model for local, organic, socially responsible, and humane food purchasing practices in conjunction with educational opportunities in the dining halls, student gardens, and curriculum development. The initiative is further collaborating to create the nationwide-wide movement deemed the "Real Food Challenge".  Vance Russell Vance is the director of Audubon California’s Landowner Stewardship Program which works with farmers and ranchers in Yolo and Solano Counties to restore habitat in a manner compatible with existing agricultural operations. He has more than 20 years of experience working in agriculture and natural resources management. Vance is one of the founding members of the Wild Farm Alliance, which promotes agriculture that helps to protect and restore wild nature, and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors. He served on the Management Board of the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture which works to protect and restore habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds and was the vice chair of CALFED’s Working Landscapes sub-committee. He co-authored Wild Harvest – Farming for Wildlife and Profitability which details the importance of conservation incentives for landowners and Maximum Yield? Sustainable Agriculture as a Tool for Conservation, which examines the relationship between agriculture and conservation. Vance received his M.S. degree in Natural Resources Management with minors in agriculture and sustainable development from Cornell University in 1996 and B.A. in Biology from the College of Wooster in 1987.  Jenny Saklar Jenny is the Assistant Director of Environment Health for Fresno Metro Ministry . Her work is instrumental in helping this multi faith-based organization’s efforts to protect all San Joaquin Valley breathers from air pollution. Her clean air advocacy involves many aspects of the food system including: farming, land use, transportation, production, and pesticide exposure.  Chris Sayer Chris is an avocado and citrus grower from Santa Paula. He is engaged with the Ventura Ag Futures Alliance, the Ventura County Farm Bureau and the UC Hansen Trust on issues facing agriculture and the community. He previously served as a P3 Orion Pilot for the US Navy.  Shayam Shabaka Shayam is an educator and advocate working with low-income students from the Richmond area. His EcoVillage Farm Learning Center features an urban farm where food production and ecological principles are taught. Shayam has a Masters in Public Health and he has worked overseas and throughout the nation on sustainable food-system issues. He was a farm laborer as a child, picking cotton in the south.  Don Shaffer Don is president and CEO of RFS Social Finance and former executive Director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). He is also an entrepreneur with experience raising millions in capital to finance triple-bottom-line companies. Don co-founded the San Benito AFA and is a part owner of Comet Skateboards, a designer and manufacturer of premium skateboarding products committed to local and sustainable business practices.  Casey Walsh Cady Casey is a senior scientist for CDFA currently working on energy and agricultural issues for California agriculture - including dairy digesters and sustainable biofuels production.  George Work George is a 3rd generation rancher/farmer and innovator living with the Work Ranch in southern Monterey County. He speaks to the Holistic Management Class at Cal Poly on a regular basis, and many other groups on a wide range of subjects. George and his wife led a state wide effort to pass AB-1258, which allows farmer/ranchers to provide "farm stay experiences" which is a great way to help bridge the urban rural gap. It has also enabled them to be able to host Marriage Encounter weekends 3 times a year. In the past two years George and a group of ranchers, with the help of San Luis Obispo Cooperative Extension and funding from the state Wildlife Conservation Board, developed The Ranching Sustainability Self-Assessment Project. This project is beginning to move state wide. It is linked through George to the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition, which is a 5 year old group working on a monitoring method to measure rangeland health. |
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