FARMLAND - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Land Protection Projects Deputy Director
Alison coordinates all aspects of new easement acquisitions across the country. Prior to joining AFT, Alison worked at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for ten years. For five of those years she oversaw the Department's farmland preservation program, which included the state's agricultural conservation easement program. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied land use law and policy and focused on agricultural land preservation tools including conservation easements.
Job Titles:
- American Farmland Trust As the Deputy Policy Director
- Deputy Policy Director
Biography
Andrew joined American Farmland Trust as the Deputy Policy Director in June 2022. Prior to his role at AFT, he served as Legislative Assistant to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), advising the Senator on issues related to agriculture, climate, and natural resources. During the 2018 Farm Bill cycle, he was National Policy Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition. A Vermont native, Andrew has worked on dairy, vegetable, and poultry farms throughout northern Vermont, in addition to serving as an on-farm instructor for the University of Vermont. He has a bachelor's degree from Macalester College.
Job Titles:
- California Outreach Specialist
Anel has experience working closely with farmers of color in California's Central Valley, the nation's leading food-producing region. This is where the drought has hit the hardest and where resources are most needed. Her experience in program assistance and outreach in underrepresented farming communities helps AFT foster relationships and connect deeply with the needs of the next generation of farmers we aim to serve. Recently, Anel worked for the USDA Farm Service Agency assisting farmers directly with emergency relief programs. Before that, she worked at Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño in programs focused on strengthening social safety nets for women. Anel graduated from California State University, Fresno with a double major in Business Administration and Chicano Studies. Her family has farmed since the 1940s in Mexico and California.
Job Titles:
- Water and Soil Health Scientist
She earned her Master's Degree in Sustainability from the University of Louisville, and she is currently working on her PhD in Biology, also with the University of Louisville, where she is focusing on agro-ecological aspects of regenerative farming practices. Aysha's MS thesis focused on changes in soil microbes in rye cover crops on no-till-fields in corn and soybean rotations and plans on continuing this research through her dissertation. She currently volunteers with both the Community Farm Alliance and the Kentucky Conservation Committee to help promote soil health practices in Kentucky. In her spare time Aysha also owns and operates a CSA farm and apiary with her husband and four children.
Biography
Ben primarily conducts research on the economic effects of and the ecosystem services derived from adopting soil health practices. He works to create tools that enable farmers to make more informed decisions about conservation practices on their farms. He joined AFT in March of 2021 after previously working for four years at Manaaki Whenua, a New Zealand government research institute, where he worked on environmental and behavioral economic projects. He has a Master's degree from the University of Göttingen in Development Economics and a Bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech in Agricultural Economics.
Job Titles:
- National Agricultural Land Network & Affiliates Manager
- National Agricultural Land Network Manager
Beth works as the National Agricultural Land Network manager. Before joining AFT, Beth was the general manager of the Atlas Farm Store, a diversified, local organic farm. Before that she was the director of operations at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Beth has worked in the farm-to-table and sustainable agriculture movements, simultaneously working for the Organic Trade Association's Policy Department and The People's Pint Restaurant and Brewery. She also worked for water quality in Georgia where she was named one of 30 ‘Clean Water Heroes' by the Clean Water Network on the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Beth earned an Ornamental Horticulture degree from Berry College.
Job Titles:
- Land Protection and Access Specialist
Biography
Brooks focuses on farmland protection, land access, heirs' property, and related issues. He works on various scales - from national to local - and puts special emphasis on efforts in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. He earned his master's degree at Yale School of the Environment, where his research focused on understanding small and midsized farmers' environmental stewardship in the face of adversity.
Brooks is the author of Love for the Land: Lessons from Farmers Who Persist in Place (Yale Univ. Press, 2023). The book explores farmers' commitments and connections to place through in-depth interviews, historical context, and other methods. Brooks also wrote Overton Park: A People's History (Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2019), which tells the story of Memphis's most beloved public space. He continues to publish essays, articles, and op-eds as well, particularly on topics related to agriculture, environmentalism, and community.
Brooks grew up on a small farm in rural Tennessee. His family and the farm have helped him cultivate a strong work ethic, an understanding of hope, and a commitment to community.
Caitlin collaborates with AFT's national staff to advance the Women for the Land Initiative, specifically supporting extension, outreach, and evaluation of regional learning circles with women landowners and farmers. Prior to joining AFT, she worked as a diverse vegetable farmer, farmers market manager, and farm to school coordinator in Michigan, and served in both grassroots organizing and policy analysis roles for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington, D.C. With more than eight years of experience cultivating regional food systems, she has developed programs and policy frameworks for cross-sector partnerships focused on economic development, health equity, and climate resilience in the San Francisco Bay Area, and nationally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology education from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in agriculture, food, and environment with a specialization in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University.
Job Titles:
- Southeast Regional Director
Courtney Owens joined American Farmland Trust in October of 2022. His primary responsibilities as Southeast Regional Director is to lead programs to protect farmland, promote sound farming practices and keep farmers on the land in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Courtney's experience in farming dates to the beginning of his career in 2006 when he served with the United States Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, where he trained over 100 farmers in sustainable agriculture and environmental practices. During his 15-year career, Owens has led, implemented, evaluated, and reported on community-based rural development education programs. Before joining AFT, Courtney worked in various leadership roles with Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension where he was responsible for supporting nine programs including 4-H youth development, family well-being, nutrition, community health, and small farm development that were delivered by 70+ faculty and staff. Owens also previously served at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Cooperative Extension and helped lead programs to assist farmers with adopting computer technology and overcoming barriers to broadband internet access as well as strengthening farm business management. Courtney is a native of North Carolina, and attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Science and professional service in agricultural education. Courtney also received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in agricultural education and communication with a specialization in Extension education.
Job Titles:
- National Agricultural Land Network Director and Senior Policy Advisor
Cris helps guide AFT's federal and state policy engagement. She also directs the National Agricultural Land Network, which supports state and local governments, land trusts, agricultural service providers, planners, and conservation organizations and builds their capacity to advance farmland protection. From 2015 to 2018, Cris served as policy director for Land For Good, a New England-based organization with which AFT often collaborates. But before that, Cris served for fourteen years as AFT's New England director. She has held several positions in the U.S. Senate, including as professional staff on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and as chief of staff to Senator Herb Kohl. She has worked for Resources for the Future and the Vermont Department of Agriculture. Cris co-chairs the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative and serves on her town's Agriculture Commission. Cris farms part-time with her husband, running a small pastured poultry operation in western Massachusetts. She is an alumna of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University
Job Titles:
- California Senior Manager
- California Sr. Manager
Biography
Deborah joined the AFT team as the California Senior Manager in March 2022 where she will be co-leading and managing CA programs. Deborah is a 3rd generation Californian born and raised in the beachfront town of Oceanside, CA. Her passion for farming started on her grandparent's small diversified vegetable farm in Aguanga, CA where she first learned to drive a tractor.
Job Titles:
- Agricultural Economist & Water Research Manager
Biography
Ellen joined AFT's Water Initiative in November 2020. She works closely with her fellow scientists in the Water and Climate Initiatives as well as with regional staff to achieve cleaner water, healthier soils, and climate change resiliency within major U.S. commodity crop production systems through research on the economic and environmental impacts of soil health practices. As part of AFT's Soil Health Economic Accelerator Team, she co-leads the use, improvements, and research relating to AFT's retrospective, predictive, and online soil health economic calculator (R-SHEC) tools. Ellen manages the Case Study author team that produces AFT's soil health economic case studies. Ellen is also involved with on-farm demonstration trials, developing other economic tools, soil health economics literature reviews, and soil health impact on ag water resources research. Ellen received her bachelor's degree in environmental science and chemistry from Washington and Lee University. She has a Master of Science degree in agricultural and applied economics with a focus on water conservation from the University of Wyoming. Ellen's thesis research presents a modeling framework to analyze the financial, wetland, and return flow trade-offs of paying agricultural producers to use less water given water availability uncertainty in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Previously, Ellen has worked as a water quality research assistant and field technician. She has published her research on microplastic pollution in the Snake and Columbia Rivers (the first study on microplastic pollution in the intermountain west). Ellen is based in Driggs, Idaho.
Biography
Emeran assists with all of the written materials that AFT releases, providing editing and creative support. Previously, she worked as the AFT New England Communication and Outreach Coordinator. Prior to joining AFT, Emeran worked as a Qualitative Data Specialist for The Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation (CRAFT) at Chatham University. In this role, she developed the Western Pennsylvania Foodways Collection, an oral history archive of stories about food and agriculture in Western Pennsylvania. Emeran holds a Masters in Food Studies, emphasizing rural food systems and audio narrative storytelling from Chatham University's Falk School of Sustainability. Emeran also co-founded Dinner Bell magazine, a small food writing publication.
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist
- Policy Analyst
Biography
Emily works closely with AFT's policy director to deploy AFT's policy direction and strategies. Before joining AFT, Emily served as a fellow for the Natural and Working Lands Initiative of the U.S. Climate Alliance. Previously, she worked with the Soil Health Institute, Rural Vermont, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, and spent four years working on farms where she both worked in the fields and did farm-based education. Emily earned her Master of Science in the Agriculture, Food, and Environment program at the Friedman School at Tufts University, with a concentration in natural resource management and a certificate in water systems, and earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College.
Biography
Gabrielle leads AFT's national initiative to ensure women landowners have access to resources, technical advice, and policy facilitators to ensure they lead in conservation and building resilient agrifood systems. Before joining AFT, she worked as a fellow with the USDA Northwest Climate Hub where she conducted social science research to better understand producer decision making in sustainable agrifood systems, particularly in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation. She has written or contributed to many reports, assessments, and other publications on climate change. Gabrielle earned a Master of Science from the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forestry Science, where she focused on environmental economics and a Doctorate in sociology and sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University where she worked as one of the lead social scientists on a large-scale interdisciplinary USDA-NIFA project as part of her dissertation research.
Job Titles:
- National Agricultural Land Network Coordinator
Biography
Jaimee works as the National Agricultural Land Network Coordinator supporting NALN logistics, metrics, member recruitment and engagement. She also serves in the United States Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer where she is responsible for the development and training of nearly 100 Soldiers.
Before joining AFT, Jaimee was a Volunteer Coordinator for a hunger relief non-profit where she worked with community leaders and developed partnerships to address food insecurity within the Coastal Empire and Low country. Jaimee has a part-time photography business, where she specializes in creative portraits that emphasize each subjects' individuality. She earned a Bachelor of Science from West Virginia University, where she studied Agriculture Business and Rural Development focusing on agricultural law and resource insecurity.
Mallory O'Steen joins American Farmland Trust as the organization's first Georgia Program Manager, where she plays a key role in leading high-impact programs that help respond to urgent threats facing farming in Georgia, including the protection of farmland from real estate development. O'Steen is a seventh generation Georgian with over seven years in the agriculture, land conservation, and environmental outreach and education fields. O'Steen received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from University of Colorado at Boulder. Most recently, O'Steen served as the Farmland Protection and Outreach Manager for Georgia's Athens land Trust where she managed the organization's outreach, application, acquisition, and ongoing monitoring of agricultural easements. She also managed GAFarmLink, an online platform and resource center to connect farmland seekers and landowners to place beginning farmers securely on the land and protect farmland from development.
Job Titles:
- Water Initiative Director
Biography
Michelle leads AFT's efforts to achieve better water quality and reduce agricultural non-point source pollution through a comprehensive initiative with links to outcomes quantification, soil health, climate, and ecosystem markets. Michelle previously served AFT as a senior policy specialist, where she researched, developed, and promoted innovative agricultural and conservation policies.
Before joining AFT, Michelle worked at World Resources Institute, leading projects on nutrient trading, developing nutrient assessment tools, and quantifying environmental outcomes. She previously worked for Environmental Working Group and Alliance to Save Energy. During her career, Michelle has published numerous reports and papers. She currently serves as council member of the Soil Water Conservation Society's National Capital Chapter. She is an alumna of Occidental College where she studied biology. She holds a Doctorate in environmental policy from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy where her dissertation was a three-state comparative case study of farm nutrient management regulations in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Agricultural Specialist
Paul promotes healthy soils farming practices through training and outreach to farmers, landowners, and the general public in California. Before joining AFT, Paul worked as the irrigation specialist for Solano Irrigation District where he provided technical assistance to farmers, facilitated grower workshops, and developed grant proposals. He is a past president of the Solano County Farm Bureau and currently serves as the vice president of the Solano Resource Conservation District, the secretary of the Board of Directors for the Solano Land Trust, and serves on the Solano Flood Control Advisory Committee. Paul has owned his own farming operation near Vacaville, California, for over 30 years and has experience with a diversity of crops and an intimate knowledge of operational and financial decision making for farmers. He graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in plant science and agronomy.
Job Titles:
- Conservation and Climate Policy Manager
Samantha Levy, American Farmland Trust's Conservation and Climate Policy Manager, leads the development and implementation of the organization's climate policy agenda. A passionate leader in protecting farmland and advancing smart solar siting, Levy leads AFT's efforts to advance adoption of new regenerative practices on farmland, protect farmland from development and encourage smart renewable energy siting on farms. Levy also works closely with AFT's Farmers Combat Climate Change Initiative, which adopts regenerative and soil health to promote agricultural systems.
From 2017-2021, Levy served as AFT's New York Policy Manager where she researched, built coalitions around and advocated directly for public policies and programs at all levels of government that kept land in farming and farmers on the land, and helped farmers adopt sound farming practices in New York. She worked together with farm and environmental groups to incorporate farmers into the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, advocated for smarter solar siting on farmland, passed soil health legislation and supported additional funding programs that helped farmers mitigate climate change.
In 2020, Levy was appointed to serve as a member of the Agriculture and Forestry Advisory Panel to the Climate Action Council to develop recommendations to reduce agricultural GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration in soils, and she also served as a member of the Governors' Racial Equity and Diversity in Agriculture Workgroup. She was named one of City and State magazines' 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Albany and was listed in their Agriculture Power 50 in 2021. Prior to joining AFT, Levy was an intern at Slow Food USA and for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for whom she investigated federal policy angles to facilitate the intergenerational transition of farmland. She holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts from NYU Tisch, and Masters of Arts in Food Systems from New York University and graduated from year one of Cornell University's LEAD NY program in 2020.
Job Titles:
- NRCS Oklahoma State Soil Scientist
Biography
Tim develops AFT's overall policy direction and strategies and coordinates federal and relevant state policy work in close collaboration with AFT's national initiative leaders, regional directors, and partners. Before joining AFT, Tim was the director of research and policy analysis at the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation, where he advocated for increases in USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, fundraised for the National Academies' "Science Breakthroughs 2030" project, and led the development of a series of Farm Bill Research Policy Recommendations endorsed by 66 organizations. Prior to that, he was project manager for the 25x'25 Alliance where he led collaborations among government agencies, non-profits, academia, and private industry that involved agricultural adaptation to climate change and rural renewable energy policy. He was also responsible for promoting and tracking developments related to the Farm Bill Energy Title. Tim has extensive experience in politics, including five political campaigns and as a legislative assistant to the chair of the House Energy Committee for Iowa's General Assembly. Tim holds a master's degree from Harvard and a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College.