Directors

Cambridge, NY

Chris leads the UVM Extension Agricultural Engineering program as Associate Extension Professor of Agricultural Engineering. He works closely with food producers and processors in the northeast to overcome challenges of quality, effectiveness, profitability, and safety. His work focuses on growing fruits and vegetables as protected culture in high tunnels and greenhouses, improving postharvest handling and storage of food crops, value-added processing, advancing food safety among small and medium scale producers and small processors, and expanding the use of sustainable energy practices in the food system. He also serves as the Director of the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) and is a consulting engineer. Chris lives in Cambridge, NY and works out of the Extension office in Bennington, VT.

Johnson, VT

Kate has been living and gardening in Johnson Vermont since 1990. She has a doctorate in anthropology and has taught courses about language, culture, and food at Johnson State College, UVM, Concordia University, City University of New York, Fordham University, Barnard College, and Rutgers. Her doctoral research was conducted in the Marquesas, French Polynesia, where she focused at first on how children were learning (and losing) their Indigenous language, but then also became fascinated with how their local foodways were also endangered. She has studied food-and-language socialization in France and New York City as well and has recently begun to look at interesting parallels between food sovereignty movements in French Polynesia and Vermont. Some of this research emerged from her stint as a Farm-to-School Mentor for NOFA-VT (2004-2009), which is also where she first encountered Salvation Farm’s wonderfully innovative approach to addressing the whole food system. She also now volunteers at the Johnson Food Shelf.

Essex, VT

Colin has spent his career in the outdoor industry, strengthening brands and non-profits that support people in getting outside and adventuring. The desire to support Vermont’s food systems is tied to the same love for the land that drives his love of the outdoors - caring for nature comes in many forms, from leave no trace practices on your hikes to strong food systems that care for the land we harvest, and we need all of those forms to protect the places we live. Colin lives in Essex Junction with his wife and young son where they are stewarding the land still with an old farm house from a dairy farm by creating sustainable gardens, bringing in native plants, and encouraging an environment that gives back to the critters and insects of Vermont.

Warren, VT

Jane has been part-time resident of Warren since 1990. She and her husband Bill came as skiers and stayed for the friends and community. Until the mid-2000's, they were somewhat restrained in their time in Vermont by Bill's law practice in NYC and Jane's knitting store in Haverford, PA. Now they spend large blocks of time in the Mad River Valley throughout the year. Jane is a member of the Mad River Rotary Club and Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce and has been a board member of Valley Arts VT for over three years.

Hinesburg, VT

Natasha Duarte is an executive director, speaker, author, and consultant with a strong track record of fostering collaboration across diverse cultures and perspectives. She leads projects that align stakeholder needs with the strategic goals of organizations and communities, consistently focusing on building resilience at individual, organizational, and community levels. With expertise in navigating complex systems, Natasha brings adaptability, strong problem-solving skills, and a whole-systems perspective to her work. Her efforts have supported food sovereignty in Senegalese villages, helped Indigenous communities protect cultural knowledge, advanced sustainable waste management, and expanded access to food in ways that promote health, dignity, and justice. Natasha’s approach empowers individuals and organizations to drive positive change, and her commitment to compassion, shared values, and sustainability inspires more inclusive and impactful outcomes.She holds an MS in Soil Science from North Carolina State University and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Vermont.

West Hartford, VT

Sue grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and works as an attorney. She and her spouse Jim live in West Hartford, Vermont where they raise Jersey steer for home consumption. She spent most of the 1980’s as a community organizer, 7-1/2 of which were in the U.K. where she worked mainly as a vegan cook and caterer and did food sustainability outreach through that work. Sue is the State Rep. for Windsor-4-1 until January 2019, and is a member of the Agriculture & Forestry committee. She is secretary of the Executive Committee and chair of the Outreach Committee at Hartford Dismas House, and member of an Ad Hoc Committee for Dismas of Vermont. Past board involvement includes Vermont Parent Representation Center, Inc., Valley Court Diversion, Next Steps/Stepping Stone, Lebanon Opera House, Children’s Literacy Foundation, Upper Valley Food Coop, First Universalist Society of Hartland, Women’s Information Services (WISE), and ACLU of Vermont.

South Royalton, VT

Sarah works at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund managing the Vermont Farm to Plate Network, and has been able to collaborate with Salvation Farms staff in many different Farm to Plate working groups, including Workforce Development, Food Access, and the Food Cycle Coalition. Previous food system experience includes work at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School and at farmers markets in the Boston area. Sarah first moved to Vermont in 2014 for a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School, and has lived in South Royalton since. She lives on a sheep farm where she is involved in launching a new orchard operation, and also serves on her town planning commission and as chair of a local economic development volunteer committee.

Hyde Park, VT

Kimberly Lipinski is a nutrition leader and entrepreneur dedicated to improving the lives of older adults through food and wellness. She is the founder of an award-winning company, Elder Nourish LLC, that has delivered thousands of meals to older adults across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, a service offering medically tailored meals designed to meet both the health needs and personal preferences of older adults. Her approach combines evidence-based nutrition with a compassionate, person-centered philosophy that supports independence and aging in place. Currently she serves as the Director of Nutrition and Wellness at the Central Vermont Council on Aging. In this role, she oversees Meals on Wheels programming throughout Central Vermont, providing older adults with access to nutritious meals, individualized nutrition counseling, and community-based education. A recognized mentor in the field, she has guided graduate students in dietetics and was awarded the Outstanding Preceptor Certificate by the University of Vermont. Her work reflects a holistic vision of wellness—one that integrates food, community, and empowerment to help older adults thrive in their own homes.

Hancock, VT

For most of the last 25 years, Monica has lived in the beautiful Upper White River Valley, in the heart of the Green Mountain National Forest. She is the Associate Director of Career Services at Vermont Law and Graduate School, where she received her Master's in Environmental Law. Her previous work has included litigation paralegal at Langrock, Sperry & Wool in Middlebury, where she focused on complex environmental and civil litigation, a few years on the US/Mexico border as an experiential educator on issues of globalization, economic and environmental justice, and many years in various sectors of the food system from farms to retail, to policy. She serves as the Executive Director of Feeding the Valley Alliance, a member of the VT Food Security Roadmap 2035 Coalition. She loves spending time with her family, gardening, traveling, and making things.