| Stewardship Council |
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ROC is governed
by the Stewardship Council
(formerly known as the ROC Council), made up of food system leaders.
The Stewardship Council is currently expanding to 21 members selected from 13 sectors, which
reflect the diversity of the population and food system in
California.
Stewardship Council Members
Roots of Change Stewardship Council Biographies
David Brubaker - is an agricultural consultant and author of the forthcoming book Factory Fresh: The Big Business of Meat. He is involved in numerous agricultural projects in China and the US. From 1982-1997 David served as CEO of PennAg Industries Association, a regional agribusiness trade association representing over 400 firms. David is also former Director of the GRACE/Henry Spira Factory Farm Project, Center for a Livable Future. More recently, he has directed the Spira/GRACE Project on Industrial Animal Production at Johns Hopkins University and has served as a consultant to a variety of businesses, nongovernmental organizations and international agencies. Thus he has experienced "modern" agriculture from a variety of perspectives. David is a graduate of the following universities: Temple, Southern Illinois, Pennsylvania, and London Imperial College. He resides in the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania with his wife Marilyn and three cats. He is the current world champion of the board game RISK. Jim Cochran - has been farming for over 30 years. He founded Swanton Berry Farm in 1983 with the goal of providing flavorful strawberries that were not grown at the expense of farm workers' health or dignity. Over the years, Jim has become an industry leader in developing organic methods for growing strawberries. The two foundations of Cochran's farming methods are soil building and crop diversity. Since 1987, researchers from the University of California at Santa Cruz have studied Jim's methods and reported them in various publications. As a lone pioneer in the early 1980s, Jim developed the technology and economics of farming strawberries using organic methods. Over the years, he demonstrated to a skeptical industry that it was possible to grow commercially successful crops of strawberries without relying on methyl bromide as a soil fumigant. Working with UCSC, he has shared his innovations with other farmers, resulting in over fifty other farms in California alone producing organic strawberries for a rapidly growing market. Maria Echaveste - joined University of California Berkeley's Boalt Law School and the Goldman School of Public Policy as a Lecturer after co-founding a strategic and policy consulting group, serving as a senior White House and U.S. Department of Labor official, and working as a community leader and corporate attorney. From 1998 to 2001, Maria served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton. In this capacity, she managed domestic policy initiatives that focused on education, civil rights, immigration and bankruptcy reform. As a long-time community leader and Assistant to the President and Director of Public Liaison at the White House from February 1997 to May 1998, Maria built an extensive network of relationships and contacts with diverse organizations and communities throughout the country. She was the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division from 1993 to 1997. After leaving the White House, she founded the Nueva Vista Group, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., that works with nonprofit organizations, associations and corporations on such issues as immigration, health care, telecommunications, labor and finances. Maria is also a non-resident fellow of the Center for American Progress. She is also currently a member of the board of directors of People for the American Way, The American Prospect magazine, CARE (a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty), as well as serving as a member of the Advisory Board of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. Maria received a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Stanford University in 1976. In 1980, she received a Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley. Gwendolyn Flynn - is Community Health and Education Policy Director with Community Health Councils, a non-profit community-based, health policy advocacy organization in Los Angeles, California. Her background includes more than ten years experience addressing social justice issues in various capacities. She joined the staff of Community Health Councils, Inc. in 2001 working with the REACH 2010 Project. One of her responsibilities was implementation of the resource environment/community development component of the Project’s comprehensive efforts to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes disparities in the African American communities of South Los Angeles County. As Policy Director, she oversees development of strategies that improve access to nutritious food and physical activity opportunities through polices that change institutional practices, promote local reinvestment, and improve existing resources for the REACH U.S. Project, successor to REACH 2010. Ms. Flynn represents Community Health Councils on various committees and is an American Public Health Association member. Steve Gliessman - is the Alfred E. Heller Professor of Agroecology at the University of California Santa Cruz. Steve is the author of the first college agroecology textbook, Agroecology: Ecological Processes in Sustainable Agriculture, which now appears in four languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Farsi). His research is carried out within the framework of ecological interactions in agroecosystems and the conversion of conventional agricultural systems to ecologically based alternative management. Steve is active in tropical agroecology and agroforestry. He is also actively involved in international training programs in agroecology. Currently he is working on a project to help coffee growing communities from Mexico to Costa Rica develop alternative markets for their products. He is also investigating the sustainability of organic strawberries and vegetable farming systems on the central coast of California. An analysis of the agricultural system as an ecosystem will aid in the establishment of an agroecological basis for the long-term sustainability of agricultural productivity. Steve holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Luawanna Hallstrom – is Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Harry Singh & Sons and Business Manager for Oceanside Produce Inc. She oversees various business and marketing aspects of both companies. Harry Singh & Sons is the largest single vine-ripe tomato producer in the nation. Beyond her role at Harry Singh & Sons, Ms. Hallstrom promotes economic and social development through her efforts in representing agriculture both statewide and nationally. She continues to focus on Agriculture’s contribution to issues of education, environment, health, human rights, international goodwill and understanding. Ms. Hallstrom’s work includes supporting legislation that promotes sustaining agriculture, immigration reform, food safety and a secure domestic food supply for our nation. For two decades her long time commitment to immigration reform has been targeted to sustain our country’s agriculture industry so that it remains economically viable, works toward social reform and helps to create secure borders. Ms. Hallstrom is Western Vice President of the National Council of Agricultural Employers; co-chair of the Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform; co-chair of the American Farm Bureau Labor Committee; and an appointee through Governor Schwarzenegger to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Jennifer Hernandez - holds a diverse background of campaign management, lobbying, coalition building and community organizing experience. Currently, Jennifer is a Partner with Cultivo Consulting, a firm aimed at helping nonprofits participate in public policy development. Prior to Cultivo, Jennifer was with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF) where she worked with local groups under the Poder Popular project, helping to develop their public policy agendas. Jennifer has worked in rural communities since 2002, when she joined the UFW political department. She then went on to work for political programs in Washington, DC at the AFL-CIO and AFSCME. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in International Politics & Law from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and completed a Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University in Arlington, VA. Sylvia Drew Ivie - is currently serving as Chief of Staff to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Prior to her appointment, she directed of The Steering Committee On The Future Of The King/Drew Medical Center at The California Endowment (TCE). Her work there evolved into development of approaches for place-based projects in South Los Angeles to address racial and ethnic disparities in health specifically targeting the need for nutritional support systems. Sylvia previously served as Executive Director of To Help Everyone (T.H.E.) Clinic, a non-profit primary health care facility in Los Angeles that serves primarily African American, Latino, and Asian Pacific Islander patients and their families. Prior to her work at T.H.E. Clinic, Sylvia practiced poverty and civil rights law as Executive Director of the National Health Law Program in Los Angeles, Staff Attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York and Director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. during the Carter administration. Through participation with the Kaiser Family Foundation Commission on the Future of Medicaid and the Uninsured (1991 to present), President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry (1997), the Institute of Medicine's Studies of Unintended Pregnancy (1998), the Institute of Medicine's Quality of Care Oversight in Federally Financed Programs (2001-2002), and the California Women's Health Council, Sylvia has continued to work on health policy analysis and reform. She recently served on Center for Disease Control's Blue Ribbon Panel, evaluating efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Recently, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed Ms. Ivie to the City Civil Service Commission, where after six months she was elected President. Edith Jessup - is currently the Project Coordinator of a Food Security Project with Fresno Metro Ministry. Fresno Metro Ministry is an Interfaith and Ecumenical organization that advocates for Health Care Access, Food Security, Cultural and Religious diversity and understanding, and helpful human services. Through a Community Food Project Grant from USDA, a project called ‘Fresno Fresh Access" was formed to: complete a County Community Food Assessment, increase federal nutrition programs in the Valley, and develop a Food Policy Council and School Nutrition Policy that emphasize access to fresh local produce and culturally appropriate nutritious food availability in low income neighborhoods. In March 2006, Fresno Unified School District adopted a comprehensive Healthy Schools Environment Wellness Policy, the first comprehensive policy in the state. Edith co-chaired the community collaboration that developed the policy aimed at preventing obesity and chronic disease by diet. In March of 2006, she became Director of the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Project for Fresno County, in partnership with the Fresno County Department of Community Health, and California State University, Fresno where she began forming the Fresno County Food and Built Environment Policy Council, as well as providing technical assistance to 6 other counties on community involvement in environmental change. Edith participates actively on a number of state and regional committees, including: Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Project; California Department of Health/Cancer Prevention & Nutrition Section- Joint Steering Committee Executive Committee; Food Resources and Nutrition Action Team Co-Chair; California Food Policy Advocates (Regional Staff); California Hunger Action Coalition; Community Food Security Coalition; EBT/Farmers Market Regional Staff; Interfaith Alliance of Central California; and the Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee. Evan Kleiman - is the Owner and Executive Chef at Angeli Caffé in Los Angeles, which opened in December of 1984. A contemporary Italian restaurant on Melrose Avenue designed to serve "simple rustic food in a modern environment," Angeli Caffé offers light and simple food that is both stylish and affordable. Over the past two decades, Evan has written several best-selling cookbooks, including Cucina Fresca, Cucina Rustica, and Cucina del Mare. Evan is host of the weekly radio food show "Good Food" which is heard each Saturday morning at 11am on KCRW 89.9fm, the second largest NPR station in the country. Evan has recently started a series of video podcasts in which she demonstrates cooking with ingredients from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. She was the founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Slow Food and continues her commitment to educating the public on food sustainability issues through her appearances and her radio show. Mark Kramer - is the Director of Federal External Affairs for the California Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where he has worked since March of 2000. Prior to joining the Conservancy staff, Mark spent a decade in Washington DC, where he worked in turn as a water economist for the Department of Agriculture, a program analyst in the Natural Resources Division of the Office of Management and Budget, and legislative assistant for Rep. Cal Dooley of California, a founder of the then-emerging New Democrat Coalition. In the latter capacity, Mark focused on both addressing constituent interests in a largely agricultural district in the San Joaquin Valley, as well as developing and promoting innovative environmental and natural resource policies. Mark spent his early years in Santa Barbara, California, and received a B.A. in biology and history from UC San Diego, and an M.S. in agricultural economics from UC Davis. While pursuing his higher education, he spent four summers as a farm hand on an irrigated vegetable farm in south central Washington State, growing carrots and pearl onions. Peter Liu - is the Initial Founder and Vice Chairman, New Resource Bank. In November 2006, Peter helped found New Resource Bank, an innovative community bank in San Francisco that focuses on financing sustainable and efficient resources. Peter also serves on the Clean Technology Investment Advisory Boards of the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California Teachers’ Retirement System and is a member of San Francisco’s Mayor’s Green Building Task Force. Peter has also been an engineer for the Chevron Corporation and the California Air Resources Board. Peter did his undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering & Materials Science at UC Berkeley and graduate studies in Public Affairs at Princeton. Maricela P. Morales - is the Mayor of City of Port Hueneme, and Associate Executive Director, Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). Maricela oversees CAUSE’s Health Coverage Expansion and Women’s Economic Justice Projects, as part of the nonprofit’s dedications to collaboratively realizing a healthy, just, prosperous and environmentally sound reality for all people on the California Central Coast. In response to the need for diversity among elected public decision makers and as a voice for economic, environmental and social equity, she was the youngest and first Latina elected to the Port Hueneme City Council and the first Chicana to serve as Mayor in the Central Coast Tri-Counties region. As Mayor and Council Member, she has prioritized the issues of violence prevention, family strengthening, and civic engagement. Adán Ortega, Jr. - handles complex strategic planning, communications and crisis management at the public affairs firm of Rose & Kindel, a Grayling Company. He was Vice President for External Affairs of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (’99-05). Adán served as Chief Deputy Secretary of State under California Secretary of State Bill Jones during the late 1990’s and as Assistant General Manager of West and Central Basin Municipal Water Districts from 1994-1997. During the 10 years ending in 1994, Adán operated in 25 states and 60 U.S. and Canadian cities on behalf of mostly agricultural clients at The Dolphin Group, a public affairs firm. Adán is a member of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. He is a graduate of Whittier College. Jovita Pajarillo - is an associate director for EPA's Water Division, Pacific Southwest Region (9), and former deputy director of the Office of Public Affairs. She is responsible for coordinating, implementing, and overseeing the federal Clean Water Act programs relative to agriculture (e.g., nonpoint source pollution, watershed health, impaired waters, concentrated animal feeding operations, etc.). She has helped link the 2008 Farm Bill conservation programs to achieve water quality priorities. She was been with EPA for over 30 years. She was the Regional Nonpoint Source Coordinator (1989-1995) and has served as a liaison to USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service for five years (1995-2000). Jovita is an alumnus of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, 1997-99, Class XXVIII. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and lives in Oakland with her husband, Bob, and cat, Ray, and Chihuahua, Rey. Pietro Parravano - is a commercial fisherman and the owner/operator of the commercial fishing vessel Anne B. He harvests salmon, Dungeness crab, and rockfish. Pietro has served as the President of the Pacific Coast Federation Fishermen's Associations since 1992. PCFFA is composed of 22 commercial fishing associations and represents community-based fishing families. In 1994, he started the Institute for Fisheries Resources to promote, sponsor, and advance the recovery and protection of fisheries and their supporting habitats. Pietro now serves as the President of IFR. He is also currently on the Board of Directors of the Marine Fish Conversation Network, a coalition composed of 95 organizations that was instrumental in the enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act and oversees its implementation. Pietro serves on the Bay-Delta Advisory Panel that provides guidance on long-term solutions to the problems affecting San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary and its watershed. He serves as Commissioner of the San Mateo County Harbor District. Since 1997, he has been one of two U.S. delegates to the World Forum of Fish Workers and Fish Harvesters. He also serves as a commissioner on the Pew Oceans Commission. Pietro earned a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Biology from Eastern Michigan University. He taught chemistry, physics and earth sciences before becoming a fisherman. His father is Giuseppe Parravano, a world-renowned professor of chemical engineering. He lives with his wife, Joan, in Half Moon Bay, California. Richard Rominger - served three years, 2002-2004, as an Advisor on Production Agriculture to four California universities, evaluating whether California's university programs were adequately meeting the needs of California agriculture. Previously, he served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 2001, working to improve farm policy and programs and serving on the President's Council on Sustainable Development as co-chair of the Sustainable Agriculture Task Force. He headed the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 1977 to 1982 under Governor Jerry Brown. Richard also serves on the boards of the American Farmland Trust, U.C. Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute, and the Agricultural Advisory Committee of the California Commission for Economic Development. He recently completed six years of service on the University of California President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and a term on the Board of Regents of the University of California representing alumni. He has also served on the advisory board of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. He owns a fifth generation farm outside of Winters, California, that is farmed by his children. He is a frequent contributor and presenter at local and international agricultural conferences and throughout his career has received numerous awards including Agriculturalist of the Year at the 1992 California State Fair and the Distinguished Service Award by the California Farm Bureau Federation in 1991. Richard received a Bachelor of Science Degree in plant science summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis and is a member of the agricultural honorary societies of Alpha Zeta and Gamma Sigma Delta. He lives with his wife, Evelyne, on the farm near Winters. George Work - represents the third generation of a family ranch that is in transition to the 4th and 5th generation. George has spoken to numerous groups around the world on a wide range of subjects: Holistic Management, no-till farming, straw bale building, sustainable food systems, grazing management, wildlife and family dynamics are but a few of the variety of subjects. Over the years the Work Ranch has received many awards for its stewardship efforts. Currently, George is working on a sustainability-self-evaluation process for ranchers. He is also involved with a coalition working on a system to monitor rangeland sustainability for the Central Coast region. He is involved with the Central Coast Ag Coop, which is a unique rancher/farmer owned coop to provide and make available local produce and meat. Through their farm stay program they are providing an opportunity for the urban community to connect with the land and its people. Larry Yee - is recently retired from the University of California where he was the director of the Ventura County UC Cooperative Extension office since 1986. Prior to this assignment he was with UC Cooperative Extension for ten years in two other counties. He was also the director of the UC Hansen Trust, a special endowment ($50M) which he founded in 1993. The Trust operates the UC Hansen Agricultural Center at the historic Faulkner Farm near Santa Paula, CA. In total, he managed a combined office of 10 professional academic staff and 30 support paraprofessionals. During his Extension career he served on two national strategic planning committees, one focused on the future of American agriculture. In 2000, following a one-year sabbatical working with Dee Hock, founder of VISA International, he helped to develop and became chair of the Community Alliances of Interdependent Agriculture (CAIA). Later, this led to a one-year appointment (2003-04) as National Program Leader for Food Marketing Systems Innovations at USDA where he worked on the Association of Family Farms (AFF), a new national marketing system for mid-scale family farms. Co-founder of AFF, he currently serves on the national board. Larry is also a board member of the Food Alliance and the Ag-of-the-Middle National Task Force. He is a founding member of the Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance and the Regional Civic Leadership Alliance. He has an MBA in agribusiness from the University of Santa Clara and was a fellow at the Resources for the Future Institute in Washington D.C. He is married, has two grown children and lives in Ojai, CA. President's Council
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Feb. 12-14, 2010
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