March 11, 2022 @2:30 - 5:00 PM PST

Panelist Speakers

Julia Freedgood- Director, Farms for a New Generation, & Senior Program Advisor, American Farmland Trust (New England) - Freedgood is a prominent national expert in farmland protection, land tenure and access, agricultural viability, and food system planning. As senior fellow and senior program advisor at American Farmland Trust, she focuses on the planning and policy framework required to support the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, and to advance equitable and just regional food systems to increase food security and combat climate change. Currently writing a book on this subject, she also is involved in other research, extension, and community engagement projects at AFT. Recent articles Freedgood has authored and co-authored include “Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture,” “Farms Under Threat: The State of the States,” “Fail to Include, Plan to Exclude: Reflections on Local Governments' Readiness for Building Equitable Community Food Systems,” and “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems.” She is a long-time member of the American Planning Association, a founding member of North American Food Systems Network, and serves on the Advisory Board and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development.

Connie Fiorella Fitzpatrick- Land Campaign Organizer, National Young Farmers Coalition (Lawrence, Kansas) - Connie is a native Peruvian womxn based in Lawrence, Kansas. She has worked as a seasonal farmer assistant and harvester for ten years in eastern Kansas. Some of her collaborative work includes the development of The Douglas County Food System Plan adopted in 2017; planning the Ethnic Food Retail Study with the Douglas County Food Policy Council and The University of Kansas 2016-2019; and assisting with the City of Lawrence-Douglas County KS—Climate Plan. She has served on the Douglas County Food Policy Council from 2017 to 2020 and is currently the Research Intern for the Douglas County Sustainability Office.

Rob Carpenter, Administrative Director, Long Island Farm Bureau (New York) - Rob is the Administrative Director for the Long Island Farm Bureau. The Long Island Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, volunteer organization financed and controlled by members for the purpose of solving economic and public policy issues challenging the agricultural industry. The mission is to “Serve and Strengthen” agriculture on Long Island.

Greg Holmes, Food Systems Program Director and Southern Oregon Advocate, 1000 Friends of Oregon (Grants Pass, Oregon)- Greg joined 1000 Friends in 2002 as the Southern Oregon Advocate and has worked on urban and rural land use issues in the six counties in the southwest corner of the state since then. In 2015 he also took on the statewide Food Systems Program, and works with farmers and other partners to build equitable and sustainable food systems throughout Oregon. Greg was a co-founder and has leadership roles in the Rogue Valley Food System Network (RVFSN) and the Oregon Community Food Systems Network (OCFSN). He is based in our Grants Pass office.

Dr. Jude Wait, Agroecology Action-Research and Development Consultant; Deep Dive Fellow, Western Center for Metropolitan Extension & Research (Washington) -Jude’s Ph.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Science from WSU involved research that centered farmers’ perspectives in assessing the Resilience of Food Farming in Rapidly Urbanizing Regions. Jude also conducted action research with cooperating city-region farmers to earn a Master’s in Management from Southern Oregon University (SOU). Jude completed Graduate certificates in Sustainability Leadership (SOU) and Sustainable Agriculture (WSU) and they produced the Sustainable World SourceBook (2010). After earning a bachelor’s in geology from U.C. Berkeley, Jude applied watershed science to land use planning, restoration, and research programs on public, private, and Tribal lands.

Dr. Lauren Gwin, Associate Professor & Associate Director, Oregon State University Center for Small Farm & Community Food Systems and Oregon Community Food Systems Network (Corvallis, OR) - Dr. Lauren Gwin is an Associate Professor in the Crop & Soil Science Department; Extension Community Food Systems Specialist; and Associate Director of the Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems at Oregon State University. Her work focuses on public policy and regulations, local and regional food systems infrastructure, small farm viability, and sustainable, equitable, community-driven food system development. She was a founding member and serves on the Leadership Committee of the Oregon Community Food Systems Network.

Edward “Eddie” Hill, Co-Director, Black Food Sovereignty Coalition and Black Futures Farm (Pacific Northwest) - Edward Hill is an innovator and driver of work at the intersections of food justice, food systems improvement, and BIPOC food economies for Black and Brown People in the Pacific Northwest. Starting as an organic small-acre farmer apprentice in Olympia, WA, he continues to promote and demonstrate how community-based food systems, equity, and green workforce development intersect. He has advocated for innovative environmental and food-based programs and business development for the Black community in the Northwest, helping to launch the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Red Barn Ranch Farms for Tilth Alliance, working at Growing Power with Will Allen, and consulting internationally on urban design, equitable development, and urban farm projects as a food systems planner.

Aaron Nichols, Farmer/Co-Owner, Stoneboat Farm (Helvetia, OR) - Aaron is a farmer and a chef, coming to farming from the culinary side and wanting to produce the best quality veggies to make exceptional food. Aaron and his brother Jesse co-own and operate Stoneboat’s ~20 acre farm just outside the Portland-metro area. He has degrees in anthropology and religion from Oberlin. He first learned horse farming skills in upstate New York volunteering on The Good Life Farm and Northland Sheep Dairy among others. The combination of Stoneboat’s vegetables and Aaron's 10 years experience cooking in professional kitchens leads to a good food experience all the time; this is what makes us who we are and what keeps us going. As you might guess, he's responsible for the great recipes in the CSA totes.

Collective Advocacy/Policy

The final conference in this series will be focused on community-level actions and policies that have potential to support peri-urban agriculture in the long-run and affect systemic change. Classic and innovative models of farmer associations, commissions, advocacy groups and other collective strategies for supporting the sustenance and growth of the peri-urban farm and food economy at the market and policy level will be examined. Guest speakers and discussions will bring insight to strategies which have helped farmers communicate the value of peri-urban agricultural economies to communities and policymakers, and voice the systemic support they need in order to sustain in the face of competing interests.