Welcome to the New England Farmers Union

Board Members & Consultants



	Annie Cheatham, president of New England Farmers Union, started her career working in the US Congress with Rep. Charlie Rose (D-NC) when he was chair of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Family Farms and Rural Development. She went on to establish the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future, a study group for members of Congress devoted to emerging issues. Al Gore was the chairman of the CCF. Most recently she has been the executive director of CISA, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, a non-profit agricultural organization in southern New England which has one of the oldest "buy local" campaigns in the US. Before that, she founded and operated a full service garden center in Amherst, Massachusetts.



	Ben Martens, treasurer, is a policy analyst for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association. At the Hook, Ben focuses on herring and groundfish, as well as local and federal policy initiatives. Before moving to the Cape and joining the Hook, Ben lived in New Hampshire and Boston, working within state government and for a Boston non-profit.



	Susan Phinney, secretary, has served as Whole Foods’ Local Food Forager for the North Atlantic region which includes all six New England states. Currently she is a trainer at one WFM in eastern Massachusetts. Prior to working for WFM, Susan served on the staff of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources where she oversaw the Farm Viability Program. She understands the demand for regionally produced food and the political and economic barriers for meeting that demand. Susan raises goats on her farm in eastern Massachusetts.



	Cris Coffin, American Farmland Trust* New England director, is a native of Vermont, former staff member of Senator Patrick Leahy’s agriculture staff, and leader for the formation of a Massachusetts Food Policy Council. Cris is a frequent visitor to Capitol Hill, worked alongside USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan in Senator Leahy’s office, and knows many of the agriculture leaders in the six New England states.



	Dorn Cox—Education: Cornell University—B.S. International Agriculture and Rural Development. He is currently enrolled in the Natural Resources & Earth Systems Science PhD program at UNH focusing on carbon policy and soil based carbon sequestration. Dorn is the manager for Westwick Farming LLC and he also manages Sheltering Rock LLC, which holds his family's farm. Four generations of his family currently live on two farms, Tuckaway Farm and Sheltering Rock Farm. He is a founding member of the Oyster River Biofuel Initiative (ORBI) and has been responsible for designing and constructing the existing biodiesel and educational facility at Tuckaway Farm. Dorn has an extensive background in project management as a professional consultant for over eight years. He works regularly with USDA programs through NRCS, FSA and CSREES (SARE). He helped found the Great Bay Grain Cooperative with nine other farms and brought in USDA conservation innovation grants through NRCS and NH Charitable Foundation. These funds helped build the local knowledge base around local grain and oil seed production and processing. He is a board member of GreenStart (501c3), chairman of the Town of Lee Energy Committee, adviser to the Strafford County Conservation District, the Vice President of Strafford County Farm Bureau. He was the NH Farm Bureau representative in Washington DC; was awarded the 2007 Young Farmer Achievement Award; and served on the 2007 & 2008 NH Biodiesel Commission.



	Ida DeFrancesco, MBA, is a manager for a global corporation for the last five years (QIAGEN), a registered farmer in the state of Connecticut herself, and is raising the fifth generation of farmers on her family’s 150 acre farm. Ida will bridge the concerns of NEFU to the Connecticut greenhouse growers. She hopes to contribute to NEFU's efforts to advance conservation and support farmers who are making green choices. Her five generation, family owned farm and greenhouse operation is determined to find the balance for environmental sustainability. Since 2000, the DeFrancesco family has been conserving water with innovative watering systems that dropped water consumption by 50%. They have integrated biological management techniques that will reduce the use of synthetic pesticides. Their heating systems now run on renewable and clean heat sources. Specialty Crops and Food and Nutrition programs hold extreme interest for her family since they actively participate in farmers markets and reach out to local schools to educate about regional and healthy food.



	Marge Kilkelly, deputy director Northeast Region Council for State Governments, became the deputy director of the CSG Eastern Regional Conference in January 2009, after serving as the director of the Northeast States Association for Agricultural Stewardship (NSAAS) since 2002. From 1986–2002 she served in both the Maine House and Senate representing the county where she grew up. She chaired the standing committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; Inland Fish and Wildlife; and numerous study committees. She served as both speaker pro tem and president pro tem. She also served as a selectman in Wiscasset, Maine for four years. Her commitment to elected office and governance also led her to run for and be elected as a deputy from Maine to the National Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2000 and 2003. Kilkelly has an MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. She was an Eisenhower Fellow in Central Europe, a Fleming Fellow, a New England Rural Leaders Fellow and a Brooks Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government. She completed recently a two-year leadership academy with the New England Farm Bureau. Kilkelly and her husband Joseph Murray own and operate Dragonfly Cove Farm in Dresden, Maine, where they raise meat goats, poultry, pigs and garlic. The goat meat is marketed through a three-farm collaborative they initiated, “Thyme for Goat.” The farm features a shared-use commercial kitchen where they create and market pancake mix and hot cereal. The kitchen is also being used by two other local food processors. This summer they will open the “Locavores Lair,” a small retail space that will feature meats, eggs and products from local farms.



	Steve Taylor is known throughout New England and the United States as one of the most innovative and progressive agriculture commissioners in our nation. In 2007, he retired from 25 years of public service, during which he worked as the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food and served five governors. His role encompassed promoting and protecting agriculture, commerce, consumers, and the environment. He has overseen the state’s farms, farmlands, and all that’s produced from them. He is also well known throughout the region as a lifelong farmer and journalist. After graduating from UNH in 1962 and serving in the Army, he began his career as a newspaper reporter and editor. In 1970, Taylor and his wife, Gretchen, established their maple and dairy farm in the Plainfield area where he had grown up. Run by the Taylors and their three sons, the Taylor Farm continued to operate at full capacity during Steve's years in office; today, the enterprise includes a 120-head dairy herd and the Taylor Brothers Sugarhouse and Creamery. He played an instrumental role in establishing the New Hampshire Humanities Council and Leadership New Hampshire. He was founding executive director of the Humanities Council, an organization that promotes scholarship and public engagement in the humanities. He was a founding board member and board chair of Leadership New Hampshire from 1993-1998. Leadership New Hampshire educates and encourages citizens for leadership roles in the state. Taylor currently serves on several not-for-profit boards and is a lecturer on New Hampshire agricultural history for the Humanities Council. He has also served as a town selectman and, since 1980, as town and school district moderator.

Elected Board of Advisors
Role of Advisors: No organizational or fiduciary responsibilities; no voting power on Board; welcome to sit in on Board meetings and offer recommendations, advice; help with outreach and serve as ambassador for NEFU.



	Noah Fulmer, grew up in central New Jersey where suburban development pressures are a persistent challenge to farm viability. The deep taste of a freshly picked blueberry won Noah over at an early age. He was raised on corn from the farmstand down the road and spoiled by the flavors of his grandmother's traditional soups—made fresh from vegetables growing in the small backyard-turned-garden that lay just beyond her kitchen window. But despite the "Garden State" nostalgia, new houses and strip malls were devouring nearby farmland. Noah saw the same patterns after moving to Rhode Island for college. Noah's passion led him to co-found Farm Fresh Rhode Island. How could you ensure that local farms and just-picked foods have a place in our communities? People want to buy locally grown foods, but don't necessarily have the resources. The Internet is an ideal starting point for providing information about Rhode Island's farmers' markets, farms and foods. So despite having sworn off computer coding after two perilous years in high school, the need for a web-based information tool for farms and consumers was too pressing. Noah led both the design and production of the Farm Fresh RI website, with the hopes of expanding access to locally grown foods and sustaining farmstands and fresh flavors for generations to come. Today, in addition to the website, Noah oversees organizational programming, partnerships and strategy.



	Jim Gerritsen along with his wife Megan, has owned and operated Wood Prairie Farm in northern Maine for over thirty years. Wood Prairie Farm has been a MOFGA-certified organic farm since 1982. The Gerritsens are focused on the production of organic early generation Maine Certified Seed Potatoes, seed crops, vegetables and grain. Their seed potatoes are sold retail through their mail order catalog and web business. Additionally, they wholesale to several national mail order seed houses. They are active in the organic community. Jim has served on the Certification Committee of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association for over 20 years. He has just completed a three-year term as President of Organic Seed Alliance and continues on the OSA Board. Jim is Vice President of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Assn (OSGATA) and is on the Board of Directors of the Mailorder Gardening Assn (MGA). He serves on the Steering Committee of the USDA St John Aroostook RC & D and is co-leader of Slow Food Aroostook. For the last five years Jim has served as Chair of the Bridgewater Democratic Municipal Committee. The Gerritsens farm and reside in the Aroostook County town of Bridgewater with their four children.



	Jeff LaFleur, is executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association and founding president of New England Farmers Union. Jeff is a strong advocate for New England farmers, cooperatives and regional food sustainability. He is also a cranberry grower. Jeff and former NFU President Tom Buis worked together to create NEFU in an effort to connect New England growers with the policies of National Farmers Union.

Consultants



	Kalista Aird, cooperative project consultant, grew up in Virginia and learned early lessons about the sources of food from her family that loved vegetable gardening and fruit trees. As a master’s student in Management of Cooperatives and Credit Unions at St. Mary’s University, Kalista is committed to use and development of the cooperative model. She has a strong background in cooperatives from working in worker cooperatives, collectives, food cooperatives, and participation in several food coop start-up projects. She serves on the Board of Directors for Manchester Area Food Cooperative, a growing and recently incorporated consumer-worker cooperative. Kalista was a worker owner at Equal Exchange, working in the Interfaith Program for several years and doing work with faith communities around fair trade. During her time at Equal Exchange she participated in a food coop start-up project, the Hockomock Cooperative Retail Society, which was an experience that sparked her interest in building strong relationships between local food systems and cooperatives. Kalista has been part of the Urban Greens food co-op planning group in Providence, Rhode Island and served as a volunteer on the Outreach Committee for River Valley Market in Northampton, Massachusetts. She has held positions focused on education, community organizing, nutrition, and customer service in food cooperatives. In addition, Kalista has experience in customer service, member services, and financial services from her work in credit unions. Kalista has a favorite quote about cooperatives; her involvement and contribution to New England Farmers Union has been shaped by it: “On the basis of Co-operation, the world can have both prosperity and peace. Let us make no little plans; they have not the power to stir men's souls." —Howard Cowden



	John Ferris, program consultant, grew up in a rural farming community in Western Massachusetts. After living in Vermont, California, and Utah he moved back to Western Massachusetts to continue his education. The return was a reminder of the subtle beauty that initially connected him to the land, but required travel to more fully appreciate. John has designed the menu and procured ingredients for a local organic dinner for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, conducted an agricultural outreach campaign for the Kestrel Trust, and written federal and state grants for farm energy projects. He also researched the challenges of maintaining viable agricultural operations on protected farms for his masters thesis. The program consultant position at NEFU is a near-perfect blend of his interests in energy, agricultural conservation, and regional economic policy.



	Michele Marotta, membership consultant, grew up in Western Massachusetts where her family owned and operated a nursery business growing and selling Christmas trees and landscape materials. Her parents sold and donated the family business and nearly 75 acres of protected farmland, woods and wetlands to the New England Wildflower Society in early 2000. Michele has worked as a development professional for more than 11 years in New York City and Western Massachusetts. She has raised funds and friends for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM), the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) through membership campaigns, sponsorship programs, annual events, and volunteer opportunities. She finds the deep connections she has helped to cultivate between individuals and the organizations they support the most rewarding part of her work. In addition to her young family, Michele also dedicates her time to children’s education and serves as fundraising chair of the board of directors of a local preschool.



	Cayte McDonough, administrative consultant, dreamed of being a farmer as a child. Despite her suburban New Jersey upbringing, she found a deep connection with the soil and earth. Early on, she cultivated her home gardens while following a winding career path. She moved to Massachusetts, where she studied communications and began her career as an editor, technical writer, software quality assurance engineer, and manager. Following her passion for plants, she accepted an internship at New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods. There she learned to manage nursery operations and grow hundreds of native plant species, eventually moving to Western Massachusetts to oversee plant propagation at Nasami Farm. Besides coordinating nursery operations, she assisted with membership and public relations, and wrote articles and shot photographs for the society’s publications. Most recently she worked at Hillside Nursery as the nursery office manager, coordinating their e-commerce and local wholesale business. She brings experience from the worlds of plant nurseries, office management, communications, and technology to her work at the New England Farmers Union. She is delighted to use this blend of skills to help advance the NEFU mission.



	Winton Pitcoff, policy consultant, is Coordinator of the NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network and Coordinator of the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association. He also works for a small dairy farm in Western Massachusetts, and for a local dairy cooperative. He has previously worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, and as a communications consultant to nonprofit advocacy groups, and has extensive advocacy experience at the national and local levels, primarily in the fields of affordable housing and community development. Winton lives with his wife and son on their small family farm in Plainfield, Massachusetts. He chairs his town’s Agricultural Commission.



	Bob Wagner, policy consultant, has worked in the field of farmland protection since 1981. Since 1985, he has worked in various senior level positions at American Farmland Trust. Through his work with AFT, and earlier as a legislative assistant to then-Congressman James Jeffords of Vermont and a consultant to the Vermont Department of Agriculture, Bob has played an active role in the promotion and development of state and local farmland protection strategies and programs throughout the country. Bob lives with his family in Hatfield, Massachusetts. He has served as the chair of the Hatfield Agricultural Advisory Commission since its creation in 2003 and as the chair of Hatfield’s Community Preservation Committee since 2008.



	*Organization is listed for identification purposes only.