As this year comes to a close and winter solstice draws near, we want to share a few evolutions on our staff team over the past few months. We’re excited to be looking ahead to our 2023 work with new positions and new accomplishments of our teammates.
The OSA team is happy to share that two talented team members who joined our staff as interns earlier this year have taken on new responsibilities. Florentina Rodriguez came to OSA as an advocacy intern focused on the 2023 Farm Bill. This autumn she took on the role of Grass Roots Coordinator, a position that supports OSA’s advocacy organizing, outreach, and program activities. Starting with OSA as a field intern and logging many miles between research sites in California, Jasmine Sarp is now OSA’s California Research and Education Assistant, expanding her role in program and event support. Congratulations Florentina and Jasmine!
While the OSA team has much to celebrate, we also bid farewell to long time Northwest Research & Education Associate Laurie McKenzie, who departed OSA in October to spend time with her young son and dig into personal projects. Laurie joined the team in 2013 and has infused our Washington field work and programs with her passion for seed. Thank you, Laurie, for all the talent and enthusiasm you brought to OSA.
Program Director Micaela Colley will be stepping in to lead Washington regional programs and partnerships with Farm Manager Kayla Ierlan. Micaela also has news: On November 23, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis, “Critical Experiences in Participatory Plant Breeding to build up Organic Plant Breeding and Seed Systems” at Wageningen University in the Netherlands with friends and family cheering her on. Congratulations Micaela!
