OUR TEAM
Mallory Krieger, National Program Director
Mallory leads the implementation of the OATS strategic plan and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the consortium. She has extensive experience developing and facilitating educational events, networking opportunities, and risk management resources for organic and regenerative farmers. Mallory is a member of the planning committee for Illinois’ largest farmer-to-farmer network, the Idea Farm Network, and is also working with the Pasture Project to promote regenerative grazing in Illinois. Previously, Mallory served as the Farmer Training Program Manager at The Land Connection and as the Sustainable Local Food Coordinator at John Wood Community College. In addition to her work as an agriculture educator, Mallory owns and manages an 85 acre farm in western Illinois.
Sam Oschwald Tilton, Training Specialist
Sam's passion for organic agriculture has led him through many fields and around the world. Through it all he enjoyed working with machinery and took night welding classes at the local technical college. Those machinery skills led to a Master's degree in Horticulture at Michigan State University, where Sam specialized in researching and building mechanical weeding tools. He worked as the Midwest Sales Representative for the German company KULT-Kress, for which he traveled around Europe and the US visiting farms of many scales, crops, and production systems. For the past 5 years Sam has coordinated the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day, the nation's premier event to educate growers about mechanical weeding tools. Sam is an instructor of Sustainable Landscape Horticulture at Lakeshore Technical College and enjoys developing curriculum and teaching adults practical skills. Still awed by soil, Sam grows garlic and perennial flowers commercially in the glacial soils at his farm in Eastern Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife.
Anders Gurda, Videographer
Anders has worked at the confluence of regenerative agriculture, innovative media production, and sound educational design for over 15 years. Having started his career working on farms throughout the United States, Anders sought to further his agricultural education, eventually receiving an MS in Agroecology from UW-Madison in 2013. Anders stayed on in Wisconsin to found the Organic Grain Resources and Information Network (OGRAIN) while also marrying his experience in agriculture with his passion for media production by founding Windborne Media LLC. Through film, podcasts, print, and digital media, Windborne Media tells stories that inspire action, challenge the status quo, and empower change makers to make their mark. When he doesn't have a camera in his hand, Anders consults with organizations, mission-aligned companies, and universities on agricultural initiatives and creative communications. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two miniature humans.
Steve Riggins, Design & Communications
After a stint playing bass in a punk band, Stephen began his career as a graphic designer, eventually working his way up to vice president in the experiential design and advertising industry, and then, Chief Marketing Officer of an international development agency. During his time as CMO, he and his family moved to their family farm in Iowa with the hopes of making it more sustainable and diverse. After juggling the CMO gig and the family farm for a few years, Stephen took a leap of faith in 2016 leaving the international job behind and created ideaFarm studios, a design, branding, and strategy company. The family farm continues as well, raising and direct marketing grass-finished beef.
Lynne Haynor, Organic Conservation Specialist
As an Organic Conservation Specialist, Lynne serves as a bridge between the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and organic farmers. She develops and provides training for NRCS staff and Technical Service Providers about organic agriculture, in order to support organic farmers in reaching their on-farm conservation goals. Lynne's first job in agriculture was for an ag-focused youth development job training program. This experience led her to seek more education and she completed her MS in Agroecology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has since taught an adult certificate program in urban agriculture, worked on several rural farms and worked in organic certification, including serving as an organic farm inspector. She considers herself lucky to have visited and worked on so many farms and to be able to continue to serve farmers in this role. Lynne currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and children.
Amanda Gullett, Administrative Support
Amanda, a proud mother of three, provides administrative support to OATS projects. She is the office backbone of the team, keeping us organized with her attention to detail and conscientiousness.
Michaela Elias, Podcast Producer
Michaela Elias is an independent podcast producer focused on exploring the challenges and opportunities for agricultural systems, farmers, and farm communities in the US. She has worked with a number of media groups such as the Stanford Storytelling Project and Generation Anthropocene on environmental stories around the world, though farmers are her favorite interview subjects. Michaela has also worked in sales and marketing at two agricultural startups and has a BS and MS from Stanford University in sustainable food systems.
NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE
Midwest Central
Matt Leavitt, Albert Lea Seed (Committee Chair)
Matt Leavitt is an agronomist, passionate advocate for the advancement of organic agriculture and dedicated organic consumer. He is the organic seed lead at Albert Lea Seed, a third-generation family owned & operated seed company specializing in organic & Non-GMO farm seed where he's worked for the past ten years. Matt completed his master's degree in Agronomy at the University of Minnesota studying organic no-till production with cover crops. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, two daughters, dog & chinchilla.
At-Large Representative
Danielle Kusner, The Andersons
Danielle "Dani" Kusner, CCA, has worked in biological and organic farming systems for over 13 years since graduating from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science in Sustainability Studies. She specializes in increasing the role of thriving microbiology to create a dynamic soil system for optimal crop performance. As a soil and agriculture consultant, translator and educator, she empowers clients to make better decisions for human and environmental health.
At-Large Representative
Michael O’Donnell, Committee Vice-Chair
Michael O’Donnell serves as a Regional Manager with Belltown Farms supporting farming operations in New York and western Nebraska, while residing in gorgeous Muncie, Indiana. He has worked with several farms including a large-scale diversified organic grain operation in northwest Indiana, his own small family farm that produced fresh market vegetables, a diversified livestock and grain operation in west central Indiana, and a mid-scale organic vegetable operation in Austin, TX. He served the agriculture community in Indiana for nearly a decade through Purdue Extension as a county-based agriculture Extension educator and statewide organic Extension specialist. He holds his Certified Crop Adviser license in Indiana, and offers consulting services through Recovery Agriculture LLC.
Midwest East
Julia Barton, OEFFA
Julia Barton is a Sustainable Agriculture Educator with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association where she supports producers transitioning to organic. In addition to her OEFFA work, Julia and her husband, Patrick Turner, run Octagon Acres, an organic vegetable farm and homestead in northeast Ohio.
Midwest Central
Dr. Kathleen Delate, Iowa State University
Kathleen Delate was the first tenure-track faculty assigned to organic ag research, teaching and Extension at a Land Grant University (Iowa State University) in the U.S. in 1997. She is responsible for establishing one of the longest-running comparisons of organic and conventional cropping systems at the Neely-Kinyon LTAR (Long-term Agroecological Research) experiment in Greenfield, Iowa.
Midwest East
Dr. Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Silva is an Assistant Professor with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Plant Pathology. Her program focuses broadly on organic agricultural production, including vegetables, row crops and pastures. Erin is a member of the Wisconsin Organic Advisory Council and is involved with organic agriculture at both the local and national levels.
Midwest West
Dr. Clair Keene, NDSU Extension
Clair Keene has been the Extension Specialist in Cropping Systems at the Williston Research Extension Center since 2016. She earned her Ph.D. in agronomy with an emphasis in weed science from Penn State. In her current role, Dr. Keene works with conventional and organic growers in North Dakota answering questions and providing education on weed control, crop rotation, and marketing. She also provides training to county extension agents and conducts applied research on topics of interest to growers in western North Dakota.
Mid Atlantic
Dr. Andrew Smith, Rodale Institute
Dr. Andrew Smith oversees the research and farm operations departments at Rodale Institute. Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in agronomy at Cornell University, a Master of Science in entomology at the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in ecology from Drexel University. He spent two years in the Peace Corp assisting a cooperative of small-scale vegetable farmers in Guatemala and lives on an organic farm in Pennsylvania where he and his wife raise Shetland sheep and grow fruit for pick-your-own.
Advisors
Ben Bowell, Oregon Tilth
Ben Bowell is an Organic Education Specialist for Oregon Tilth, a national non-profit organic certification, education and advocacy organization. Through his joint position with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service/NRCS, he provides technical assistance, delivers trainings, and develops technical resources for use by NRCS staff, agricultural professionals, producers and organic certifiers in order to increase conservation on organic farms. Ben previously worked for American Farmland Trust. He has a B.A. from Wake Forest University and a M.S. from Tufts University. Ben lives in Portland, OR with his wife and two children.
"I constantly apply things I have learned in advising farmers... the ideas presented were great!"
- Participant at 2019 pilot training