This spring has brought with it new projects in the field and changes to our OSA team. We’re excited to welcome two new teammates and bid farewell to one of our senior staff.
Bidding Adieu to Kiki Hubbard
Kiki Hubbard served as OSA’s Advocacy and Communications Director for over a decade and transitioned to new endeavors where she’ll continue to work on organic seed policy. We’re deeply grateful for the incredibly important work Kiki led at OSA and in the greater seed community, and wish her well on her future projects.
I have enormous gratitude for Kiki — her persistence and integrity in advocating for fair policies are unparalleled and have elevated seed issues to the highest level of decision making in the federal government. Her stewardship of the State of Organic Seed project and her clear priorities in the Lead with Seed policy platform — two of her many accomplishments — are propagating positive impacts that will benefit the seed community for years to come. While persevering on the big picture seed issues and supporting long-term goals OSA shares with coalition partners, Kiki has also responded with agility and grace when unexpected policy actions arise. Thank you, Kiki, for engaging both generatively and fiercely to advance organic seed and for all the trust, compassion and support you have offered your colleagues at OSA through the years. Wishing you all the best in your next venture. – Cara Loriz, Executive Director
I’ve known Kiki for well over a decade, and have been impressed with her dedication, intentionality, and quiet yet impactful intelligence ever since. She has been bringing her best efforts effectively to the fore, for the betterment of the organic community and industry as a whole, through a lens of organic seed advocacy and communication. We are all the better for her work. Kiki’s accomplishments are many, and her public accolades too few in my opinion, yet neither fact impeded her dedication to furthering an oft overlooked and noble cause at the literal root of the organic growing community. She has a long and successful history of making a positive difference and being a catalyst for positive change…her hand steady, her mind focused, and her good humor always readily apparent. – John Foster, OSA Board Member
Welcoming Johanna Willingham and Susana Cabrera-Mariz
Johanna Willingham, Research Field Assistant
We’re pleased to welcome Johanna Willingham as the Research Field Assistant for Organic Seed Alliance’s research farm in Chimacum, Washington. She is a 6th generation southern farmer that has grown in a variety of regions around the world. After graduating from the The Evergreen State College with a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems and she has been working on large and small scale farms her entire life. Johanna has spent the bulk of her career focusing on fruit, nut, vegetable, livestock, and seaweed production. She has over 13 years of professional experience trialing seeds with commercial seed companies and has managed and owned farms and worked directly with training farmers in the PNW for the last 16 years. She is passionate about land preservation, food sovereignty, international food systems, and holistic farm management systems.
Susana Cabrera-Mariz, Washington Field Intern
We also welcome Susana Cabrera-Mariz as our Washington field intern. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Restoration Ecology from San Jose State University and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Anthropology, Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, and a minor in Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Susana was trained in agroecological growing methods at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems and the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture. This is Susana’s sixth year farming and her third year working within the organic seed industry. She currently supports field operations at OSA’s research farm at Finnriver Farm & Cidery. She aspires to support the creation of new worlds and realities through food and seed sovereignty initiatives.
