NFFC - Key Persons
Antonio has worked on social and environmental justice in agriculture since 2005 when he joined the research team at the Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF), the organization he ultimately directed from 2017 to 2020. Antonio was born in Mexico City, although he spent long periods of time at his grandmother's farm in Morelos. Prior coming to the United States, Antonio worked for ten years as a journalist covering culture, science, and politics in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
At FWAF, Antonio worked closely with organizations such as NFFC that are members of La Via Campesina and the US Food Sovereignty Alliance. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Guanajuato and completed his PhD in anthropology at University of Florida. Antonio is a fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a strong proponent of making policy based on science.
Ben Burkett lives on a road named after his grandfather in Petal, Mississippi, but he's travelled far beyond that world. A celebrated farmer, cooperatives organizer and advocate for Black farmers' rights he has received many awards and accolades, but he's also a father and grandfather dedicated to the successful transition and continuation of his family's farm. As state coordinator of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives, Ben has represented the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund to NFFC's board for many years, serving as our president for 10 years, vice president, and delegate to La Via Campesina's Food Sovereignty Commission.
Betsy Garrold grew up in Searsport Maine and currently lives in Knox. Garrold practiced for 30 years as and RN and a Nurse Midwife. Garrold returned to Maine with her son in 1999 to a piece of land she homesteads to this day.
Since retiring she has devoted herself to volunteer work and food sovereignty activism. As President of Food for Maine's Future she was part of the group that pushed for the passage of the Food Sovereignty Act of 2017 and was part of the political action committee that successfully passed the Right to Food Constitutional Amendment in November 2021. She has served as both a citizen and a paid lobbyist in Augusta around several local food issues.
As past Vice President of the National Family Farm Coalition she has worked with farmers and ranchers across the country protecting small family farmers from the overreach of the corporate food monopolies.
In keeping with her devotion to making sure local people have access to local food she volunteers at the Jackson Food Pantry and helps run the seedling project for Waldo County Bounty. She is a past board member of the Marsh River Co-op, the Belfast Co-op and Fedco Seeds. She currently sits on the board of the Farwell Project in Thorndike and the Executive Committee of the National Family Farm Coalition.
Danielle has worn many hats within the non-profit world for nearly 20 years. From arts organizations to community development organizations, she's worked producing Off-Broadway theatre, running health and media-literacy education programs for teenage girls in NYC, and served for many years as an ESL, High School Equivalency, and Soft Skills adult educator in Brooklyn. Prior to joining the NFFC team, Danielle co-founded and served as the Executive Director for Pilgrim's Landing Cape Cod, a non-profit center working at the intersection of spirituality, education, and social justice.
Drawing on her career as a former actor, writer, producer, and sketch and improv comedian, she attempts to infuse a sense of lightness and creativity into her work with NFFC recognizing the healing power of laughter and transformative possibilities of storytelling. She received a BFA in Acting from Elon University in North Carolina and is originally from Cleveland, OH. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband and two children and is a member of the fisherfolk band, SeaFire Kids.
Job Titles:
- Member of the at - Large
- Board
Dena represents the Northern Plains Resource Council on the NFFC Board. She raises sheep, cattle, alfalfa, corn, and edible dry beans, among other crops, on her farm in Glendive, Montana since 1979. She is an active member of her rural community, serving on the Water Commission and the local food cooperative. She is also active with the Western Organization of Resource Councils. Dena is former co-chair of the North American region of La Via Campesina (US/Canada/Mexico), and has represented NFFC at international meetings, including Seattle, Cancun, Mexico City, Geneva, and at FAO (United Nations) in Rome.
Edna serves as RAFI-USA's Executive Director and directs the Come to the Table program. She previously served as RAFI-USA's Operations Director and Development Director. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Edna was raised in a global environment, growing up between The Hague, Netherlands and Santo Domingo. Prior to joining RAFI-USA, Edna served as Senior Program Officer at the Atlanta Women's Foundation, and Director of Educational & Career Services at the Latin American Association in Atlanta, GA. Edna holds a BA in Economics with a Concentration in Latin American Studies from Haverford College. Edna lives in Pittsboro with her partner Hameed and her three children, Nora, Daniel and Samuel.
Jen (she/her) is the Content Manager for both NFFC and the North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) as part of the shared-leadership model.
Previously, Jen studied at Great Bay Community College where she obtained her associate degree in Environmental Studies. Following some time at the University of New Hampshire, where she focused on marine and freshwater biology, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at Southern New Hampshire University.
Prior to NAMA, Jen completed several marine-center research projects throughout her studies with support from NH EPSCoR and NH SeaGrant. She also spent time on the team at NERACOOS, focusing on the NECAN project, and worked in a water quality lab on Great Bay in NH. After spending time at Shoal's Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, Jen shifted her focus to sustainable fisheries.
In her downtime, Jen can usually be found painting, but also enjoys video games, and spending time outdoors, primarily on the rocky coastlines of Maine and New Hampshire, with her partner Alex, their son Sebastian, and their dog Bluto.
Jim and his wife Rebecca ran a 45-cow organic dairy and direct market beef farm in southwest Wisconsin for 40 years. His farming roots trace back to his great-grandparents immigration from Ireland during the famine and the farm's original purchase in 1848. A farm activist, Jim credits more than 150 years of failed farm and social policy as his motivation to advocate for a farmer-controlled consumer-oriented food system. Currently he serves as a board member of Midwest Environmental Advocates and the Family Farm Defenders.
Jim is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science. He also holds a Masters Degree in Reproductive Physiology from South Dakota State University.
Job Titles:
- National Program Coordinator
- National Programs & Policy Coordinator
Contact: National Family Farm Coalition Jordan Treakle, National Programs & Policy Coordinator jordan@nffc.net 202-543-5675 RAFI-USA Margaret Krome-Lukens, Policy Director margaret@rafiusa.org 919-621-3593 House introduces Fair Credit for Farmers Act to Strengthen Financial Security in 2023 Farm Bill WASHINGTON, DC, August 30, 2023 - The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA (RAFI-USA) and more than 90 organizations sent a joint ...
Jordan has worked with family farmers and rural communities on social and economic justice issues in agriculture since 2008. Jordan's professional career began with the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, leading grassroots organizing efforts to strengthen farmer lands rights in the southeastern U.S. in response to predatory practices by the fossil fuel industry. In 2012 he shifted his professional focus to the international policy arena with the Food and Agriculture Organization, where he worked with civil society organizations to promote agroecology, strengthen smallholder producer organizations, and implement community land rights initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Jordan holds a joint Master of Science in International Rural Development from Wageningen University (Netherlands), and received his BA in International Studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally from the mountains of western North Carolina, Jordan is currently based in Washington, DC.
Leonardo Wassilie is Yup'ik and Indigenous to Alaska. He was born in Bethel, AK and lives in Nenana, AK where his daughter graduated high school during the Covid pandemic. His son is in 6th grade currently. Rooted deeply in salmon culture and ecosystems, Leonardo is a fisherman and a founder of Salmonberry Tribal Associates. He uses his education, knowledge and experience to build rural food system resilience in federal policy, including his work with Block Corporate Salmon, the North American Marine Alliance, and other volunteer collaborations with the Alaska chapter of the National Tribal Emergency Management Council. He is an Indigenous producer of honey. He works in finance and accounting, using statutes, math and science to architect data into systems of awareness and understanding in the development of rural and community infrastructure for operations, logistics, planning, and finance systems of community life. He loves the beauty that all humanity, spirituality and life blessed with starlight bring in hope of a life lived well and a better tomorrow.
Job Titles:
- Interim Development Director
Lisa has been a dynamic and inspiring leader in nonprofit, sustainability, and social impact sectors for more than two decades, with particular strengths in delivering results for values-driven projects while using participatory methods and centering equity and justice.
Her specialties include strategic planning and communications; project and people management; participatory engagement; network development and strengthening; sustainability topics; and supporting democratic & inclusive methods. She most recently served as Director of Marketing & Communications for the Institute for Nonprofit Practice and the Communication Director for the Food Solutions New England network at UNH.
As founder and Executive Director of the Maine-based Resilience Hub from 2005 until 2018, she grew the organization to nearly 3K members and delivered more than 800 network-building and community-strengthening events. She and Hub community members appear in the 2015 film "Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective."
She is a highly effective team builder, movement builder, strategist, facilitator, speaker, network weaver, and administrator who believes that resilience-building, connectivity, and participatory approaches are among the best tools we have for creating vibrant futures and for navigating the challenges we face.
She's currently the Interim Development Director for NFFC and NAMA, Advisor to Interlace Agroforestry Commons, a member of Grist's New England Fix! Network, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Agriculture, Food & Community Food Systems. She served on the Eat Local Foods Coalition (ELFC) board, the Permaculture Association of the Northeast (PAN) board, the Grant Review Committee of the Grassroots Fund, and the Advisory Panel for Green & Healthy Maine Homes magazine. She was also active in the Portland Mayor's Initiative for Healthy Sustainable Food Systems, MOFGA's Agricultural Services Committee, the Portland Food Coop, Hour Exchange Portland, and is a Master Food Preserver and Master Composter.
An avid gardener, orchardist, and forager, Lisa and her family have been actively converting their 1/2 acre Maine (Wabanaki territory) home site into a model for comfortable, affordable "post-fossil fuel" living while beginning to work on their regenerative forest farm on Cape Breton Island (Unama'ki).
Job Titles:
- National Outreach and Communications Coordinator
Lisa returns to her role as NFFC's National Outreach and Communications Coordinator after serving as Interim Executive Director for more than a year between 2017 and 2018, ably guiding the Coalition through a major leadership transition. She has supported NFFC's work on local foods and food sovereignty, anti-GMO deregulation, and animal disease traceability for several years.
Prior to joining NFFC in 2007, she worked with social justice organizations advocating access to fresh foods and community garden space, affordable housing, and locally based economic development. Lisa comes from a family farm in northeast Missouri and holds degrees in anthropology and in urban and regional planning. She and her husband live in southern Illinois where they endeavor to replace their lawn with pollinator-friendly habitat.
Maria (she/her) hails from the Hudson Valley in New York and has lived in rural farming communities for most of her life, working on small farms throughout.
She went on to study Sustainable Agriculture at UMass Amherst, where she had the opportunity to broaden her understanding of the food system and learn directly from local farmers. She brought that knowledge to New York City, where she continued her education in Public Health and Reproductive Rights at Hunter College.
Prior to joining the NAMA/NFFC teams, Maria was working as Operations Assistant and Housing Advocate for a domestic violence crisis center, where she provided support in the emergency shelter and assisted survivors in accessing housing. Previously, she had served as Operations Assistant at Coming Clean, getting to know the back-end of community organizing.
Longtime Coordinating Director of the North American Marine Alliance (NAMA) and former NFFC board member and treasurer, Niaz Dorry was named Executive Director of NFFC in May 2018 we entered into an innovative shared leadership model with NAMA. This new model put Niaz at the helm of both organizations.
Prior to joining NAMA, Niaz was Interim COO for the Healthy Building Network, helping to apply environmental justice principles to building materials, at a time when HBN was working on homes in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She worked with Greenpeace for 11 years as a toxics and environmental justice campaigner. During that time, she spent two years in Ohio fighting with communities along the Ohio River Valley against the world's largest toxic waste incinerator. It was during her time at Greenpeace that she began working with community-based fishermen. The span of her work has made her well aware of the problems facing rural communities through concentration, lost markets, crumbling infrastructure, and diminished health care.
Time Magazine named Niaz as a Hero For The Planet for her work. Niaz' work and approach have been noted in a number of books including Against the Tide; Deeper Shade of Green; The Spirit's Terrain; Vanishing Species; The Great Gulf; Swimming in Circles; A Troublemaker's Teaparty; Zugunruhe: The Inner Migration To Profound Environmental Change; Raising Dough: Public History and the Food Movement; The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business; Blue Urbanism: Exploring Connections Between Cities and Oceans; and, The Doryman's Reflection.
She is a graduate of the Rockwood Leadership Institute's Leading From Inside Out and the Institute for Nonprofit Practice.
Sam Wagner has lived almost all of his life in the North and South Dakota area and now resides in Casselton North Dakota. Sam is a Veteran and a Former Ag Laborer for Dakota Plains Coop in North Dakota. He spent many years volunteering as a political activist specializing in fundraising and get out the vote efforts. He has been the Dakota Resource Council Ag and Food Field Organizer since 2019 and works on fighting threats to the anti corporate farming law in North Dakota. He has also spent time organizing ranchers to change captive supply and check off laws. He values small town living and rural communities being able to dictate their own destinies free of corporate influence.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Content Designer
Food sovereignty and sustainability have been lifelong passions for Sam. After graduating with a BA in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of New Hampshire in 2018, Sam worked at the university's Sustainability Institute as the Communications Coordinator for the NH Food Alliance and NH Farm to School. She moved to Portland, OR in 2020 to discover new experiences in an urban environment, continuing to work at the food system nonprofit Zenger Farm. She has recently returned to the seacoast of New Hampshire, enjoying the fresh beach air and New England lobster.
Job Titles:
- Member of the at - Large
- Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers
Savi is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, Land Loss Prevention Project, which was created to provide legal expertise, community education, and advocacy skills to help farmers and rural landowners facing legal, economic, and environmental challenges. Savi received her B.A. in Urban Legal Studies from City College, City University of New York, and her J.D. from Rutgers.
Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin was raised in rural Madison Co, Kentucky. She grew up tobacco farming with her grandparents and lived a homestead life. She began community organizing in 2013 around education and food access. She is a doula and her focus has always been children and families. She received her Associates in Science in 2015 and began working with Community Farm Alliance in 2017. She came on to CFA as a Farm to Table Coordinator in the Northeast region of the state. This work grew into her current role as Food System Equity Organizer. In 2024 Tiffany will take on the role as Executive Director of Kentucky Black Farmers Association. She is a steward of her generational land and a conservationist. She shares these roles with her 17 year old daughter Makayla and her partners Wali and Ashley El-Amin.