2025 Conference Planning Committee
Bonnetta L Adeeb (she/her)
Steam Onward Inc/Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance
Bonnetta Adeeb, Founder & President of STEAM ONWARD, Inc, a 501(c3) non-profit organization based in Southern Maryland. STEAM ONWARD’s major programs include Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) and Ujamaa Seeds, as well as our Youth Programs in the Environment and Natural Resources. Through our Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance program we recognize the need for increased diversity in farming in general, and diversity in the $15 billion dollar U.S. seed industry in particular. To this end, the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance is working to bridge the gap between prospective growers and seed companies. UJAMAA SEEDS is the entrepreneurial fundraising arm of UCFA. Ujamaa, a Swahili word, means ‘extended family’. As principle of Kwanzaa, ujamaa means ‘cooperative economics’. This principal tasks us to build our own businesses, and control the economics of our communities. As a commodity, seed farming can be a lucrative business opportunity for farmers, gardeners, and growers as demand far outstrips supply. On just a small plot of land, growers can make a profit from seed farming. “At UCFA we are growing BIPOC growers.”
Daniel Brisebois (he/him)
Tourne-Sol co-operative farm & the Seed Growers Podcast
Dan Brisebois has a secret agenda. He wants you to grow seed on your farm! Dan is the author of The Seed Farmer and Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers; and the host of the Seed Growers podcast. Dan runs the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy and blogs about farming and seeds at www.danbrisebois.com. Dan Brisebois is also a founding farmer at Tourne-Sol co-operative farm in Les Cèdres, Quebec. Tourne-Sol grows organic seeds for an online seed store and a wholesale rack program; and grows organic vegetables for 500 weekly veggie baskets.
Georgina M. Catacora-Vargas (she/her)
Academic Peasant Unit “Tiahuanacu” – UCB / AGRUCO-UMSS
Georgina M. Catacora-Vargas (Bolivia), is an Agricultural Engineer with a PhD in Agroecology. For several years she was an advisor to the National Competent Environmental Authority of her country and negotiator of various international agreements on biodiversity, genetic resources and biosafety. Her work is transdisciplinary, focused on socio-ecological systems around agroecology and biodiversity, with a gender perspective (with emphasis on women) and human rights (with emphasis on the rights of peasants). Currently, at the academic level, she is a professor of Agroecology at the Academic Peasant Unit “Tiahuanacu” of the Bolivian Catholic University; research associate of AGRUCO (Agroecology University Cochabamba) of the Faculty of Agricultural and Livestock Sciences at the San Simón University (Bolivia) and president of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA). In addition, she is a member of the Ad Hoc Expert Technical Group on Farmers’ Rights under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, an advisor to the Agroecology Fund, and a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
Jim Embry (we/us)
Sustainable Communities Network; Atrus Ballew Farms
Jim Embry considers himself Stardust condensed in human form that represents billions of years of Earth’s evolution. As an evolutionary being, his purpose is to contribute to a paradigm shift towards Sacred Earth consciousness and refers to himself as a Sacred Earth Activist. As an activist, Jim has participated in most of the major social justice movements of his era and now believes that the sustainability movement encompasses all the other movements. As founder and director of Sustainable Communities Network, Jim contributes to the theory and practice of sustainable living while cultivating collaborative efforts at the local, national, and international levels with a focus on food systems.
Nora Frank-Buckner (she/her)
Tahoma Peak Solutions
Nora is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and a direct descendant of the Klamath Tribes of Southern Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health focused on Health Promotion and Health Behavior. In addition, she holds a Master of Public Health degree focused on Health Management and Policy from Portland State University. For more than a decade, Nora has passionately worked in the field of Public Health and chronic disease prevention. Her primary focus is on collaborative leadership and systems thinking, which have contributed to the efforts of a regional food sovereignty movement. She is currently the Director of Food Sovereignty Programs with Tahoma Peak Solutions, a Native Woman-Owned firm focusing on strategic communications and food systems planning and design. Her expertise is developing, facilitating, and coordinating networks, coalitions, and tribal programs that address food sovereignty and systems, food security, and access to fresh, nutritious, and traditional foods.
Edward Johnson (he/him)
Oregon Tilth
Edward Johnson III is the Communication and Marketing Deputy Director for Oregon Tilth, based in Palmetto, Florida, and serves as the Board Secretary for Organic Seed Alliance. With over 25 years of nonprofit experience, Edward is an award-winning omni-channel creative strategist and thought leader. He holds a Master of Project Management and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design. His democratic leadership style empowers teams to achieve goals through design, branding, digital strategy, and project management. Passionate about storytelling and inspiring positive change, Edward’s vision transforms marketing into an electrifying realm of possibilities, where every idea finds its voice and every vision finds wings. Beyond work, he treasures family time, gardening, cycling, and captivating TV series.
Nate Kleinman (he/him)
Experimental Farm Network
Nate Kleinman is co-founder/co-director Experimental Farm Network, a Philadelphia-based non-profit research organization and seed company working to facilitate collaboration on sustainable agriculture research and plant breeding, particularly toward the development of perennial staple crops for climate change mitigation. Nate serves on the executive board of the Philadelphia Orchard Project and as a Technical Assistance Provider with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey. He is also a founding member of Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a Maryland-based collective started and led by farmers of color aiming to make the seed industry — dominated as it is by white-run companies, organizations, and farms — more just and equitable. Through Ujamaa, Nate is also an organizer of and instructor with the new Ira Wallace Seed School. Nate is himself a Jewish farmer of Eastern European heritage (Ukrainian, Romanian, Moldovan, and Belarusian) and a committed anti-zionist/anti-genocide activist proud to work closely with the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, as well as the Iraqi Seed Collective and the Jewish Seed Project. He views seed work as vital to our collective liberation.
Brigid Meints (she/her)
Oregon State University
Brigid is an Assistant Professor, Senior Researcher whose research focuses on organic barley and dry bean breeding at Oregon State University (OSU). She also spends 20% of her time with the OSU Center for Small Farms and Community Foods Systems as an Organic Grains & Pulses Extension specialist. She grew up in Corvallis, OR, and developed a love for plants at a young age. She earned a BA from Scripps College in Anthropology and Gender & Women’s Studies, but found her way back to plants after graduation when she began working for the barley breeding program at OSU. She earned her MS from OSU in Crop Science with a focus in Plant Breeding & Genetics and completed her PhD in Crop Science at Washington State University.
Nereida Sanchez Rubio (she/her)
Semillas Colibrí
Fundadora y directora de Semillas colibrí, proyecto que se dedica a la reproducción, resguardo cuidado y compartir de semillas de polinización abierta, que inicio en el 2011, y desde entonces se ha convertido en una casa de semillas que resguarda más de mil variedades de semillas de todo tipo. Guardiana de semillas, Co-fundadora de la Red de guardian@s de semillas de occidente de México. Participante de la Red de agricultura urbana de la zona metropolitana de Guadalajara (RAU-ZMG) y Maela México. Graduada de la carrera de Ingeniería en comunicaciones y electrónica, aficionada a la astronomía y aprender cosas nuevas cada día.
Founder and director of Semillas Colibri, a project dedicated to the reproduction, custody, and exchange of open-pollinated seeds, which began in 2011, and since then has become a seed house with more than a thousand varieties of seeds. Seed Guardian, Co-founder of the Network of Seed Guardians of Western Mexico. Participant of the Urban Agriculture Network of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara (RAU-ZMG) and Maela México. Graduated from a degree in Communications and Electronics Engineering, fond of astronomy and learning new things every day.
Lane Selman (she/her)
Oregon State University & Culinary Breeding Network
Lane Selman is Professor of Practice at Oregon State University and the founder of the Culinary Breeding Network. She has worked with organic farmers, plant breeders, and chefs for 20 years. Lane’s work has been featured in the media including Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, Civil Eats, Food Tank, The New York Times, and Eating Well magazine. Lane has been the recipient of many awards, including the Award of Excellence for Organic Advocate by the Oregon Organic Coalition in 2016. Lane grew up on a citrus farm her Sicilian great-grandparents planted in 1919 on Florida’s space coast. She has a Bachelors in Agronomy and a Masters in Entomology, both from University of Florida. In 2000, she moved to Oregon and since 2005 has been managing collaborative research projects and outreach events at Oregon State University with organic vegetable and grain farmers. In 2012, Lane created the Culinary Breeding Network to build communities of plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, produce buyers, chefs. and other stakeholders to improve quality in vegetables and grains. Lane lives in Portland, Oregon.
Chris Smith (he/him)
Utopian Seed Project
Chris Smith is executive director of the Utopian Seed Project, a crop-trialing nonprofit working to celebrate food and farming. Within this work, Smith collaborates on the Heirloom Collard Project, hosts a seasonal Trial to Table event series, and publishes Crop Stories, a crop-specific multimedia project. Smith’s book, The Whole Okra, won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2020, and he is the co-host of “The Okra Pod Cast.” In 2023 Smith received the Organic Educator Award from the Organic Growers School and was named a Champion of Conservation by Garden & Gun. Find more information at blueandyellowmakes.com and utopianseed.org.
Gayle Volk (she/her)
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
Gayle Volk’s research program has addressed conservation needs for vegetatively propagated crops and crop wild relatives (fruits, nuts, and some vegetables) in the National Plant Germplasm System at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado since 1999. She identifies strategies to acquire and maintain genetic resources in diverse vegetatively propagated collections and provides decision-support tools to evaluate the breadth and depth of collection diversity. She develops widely applicable and cost-effective methods to cryopreserve clonally-derived germplasm (such as citrus, grapes, Prunus, garlic, small fruits, apple and many others) and then uses these methods to cryopreserve NPGS collections as dormant buds and shoot tips. Dr. Volk also co-leads the NPGS effort to develop online materials for plant genetic resources conservation and use through the GRIN-U.org website. She is currently performing a detail as the National Program Leader for the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System.
Alexis Yamashita (she/her)
Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance & University of Vermont
Alexis Yamashita, MBA has been working with seed-based cooperatives and initiatives since 2017. She is a founding member and former co-director of Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance. Along with her work with UCFA, she is also a former seed racks division co-manager of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. She is currently the project coordinator of an emerging community plant breeding project that is a collaboration of several seed-based nonprofits and universities. Along with her management experiences, Alexis is also a researcher that has been working on a USDA grant funded project looking at the opportunity and barriers for integrating culturally meaningful, regionally adapted seeds in locally based seed systems. As of fall 2024, she will be continuing her seed system based research as a Food Systems PhD candidate at the University of Vermont.
OSA Staff Planning Committee Members
Susana Cabrera-Mariz (she/her)
Susana Cabrera-Mariz is supporting the research and education program in Washington state. Susana has worked within food systems for a decade in seed and food access nonprofits. Additionally, Susana has organically farmed for eight years and adores connecting with plants and land. Susana has a master’s degree in Anthropology focused on the matrix of seed, culture, and public education from Iowa State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies focused on restoration ecology from San Jose State University. Susana trained in agroecology at the renowned Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Rogue Farm Corp. Susana is committed to participating in the creation of a just food and seed system that supports cultural reclamation and sovereignty efforts.
Micaela Colley (she/her/hers)
Micaela Colley is OSA’s research and education co-director, co-leading programs focused on organic seed production and organic plant breeding. She is the author of several publications. Micaela frequently teaches and speaks on organic seed topics and collaborates on research projects nationally. Micaela completed a PhD in 2022 focused on organic and participatory plant breeding under Dr. Edith Lammerts van Bueren at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Kiki Elfendahl (she/her)
Kiki grew up with farmers, musicians, and artists on Bainbridge Island and has lived in the Northwest most of her life, settling in Port Townsend in 2020. Before coming to OSA, Kiki provided operational logistics, financial management, and grant work for a local Black-led nonprofit, where she helped the organization grow from a $200,000 annual budget when she started in 2016, to a $5 million budget in 2023. Prior to that, Kiki was instrumental in developing one of the largest and most prestigious yoga teacher training programs in Washington state. Kiki went to Smith College and earned a bachelor’s degree with High Honors in American Studies. Kiki loves to cook organic food, share meals with friends and family, dance, backpack in the Olympics, and find ways to disrupt white supremacy culture, both inside herself and in her community.
Ana Galvis-Martinez
Ana C. Galvis-Martinez joined OSA’s staff in 2022 after several years of working in collaboration with the education team. She is an educator that holds a bachelor degree in Biology, a MSc in Sustainable Development, and a MA in Latin American Studies with an emphasis in food justice. Ana is deeply interested in agroecology as an agricultural production alternative to produce nutritious food, conserve natural resources, and strengthen social movements. For over 15 years she has worked within the food justice and food sovereignty movements in the non-profit and in the academic sector, in Mexico, Colombia, and the U.S. Ana is originally from Colombia, single-mother of a young man, immigrant to the U.S. and has a deep love, respect, and admiration for ancient cultures and Indigenous cosmovision. She has extensive experience teaching sustainable agriculture to people of different socio-cultural backgrounds, ages, and genders.
Kayla Ierlan (she/her)
Kayla Ierlan is the farm manager for Organic Seed Alliance’s research farm in Chimacum, Washington. After graduating from the University of Washington with a bachelors degree in philosophy and human rights, she transitioned into farming and hasn’t looked back. Since then, Kayla has farmed in Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon and have spent the bulk of her career focusing on seed production. She has over 8 years of professional experience as a commercial seed grower and has managed several seed production farms including her own, Honey Bloom Farm, in southern Oregon. Over the span of Kayla’s career she’s grown a diverse range of seed crops for High Mowing Organic Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Fedco Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Baker Creek, Uprising Seeds, Sow True Seed, and more. She’s most passionate about connecting others to seed work and supporting fellow seed growers.
Aba Kiser (she/they)
Aba Kiser is the Information and Events Associate for Organic Seed Alliance. Born in the ancestral lands of the Piscataway Conoy people near Washington, D.C., Aba has spent over a decade developing sustainable agricultural initiatives across the Pacific Northwest and beyond and is thrilled to be joining the staff after many years of collaboration as an OSA Field Intern, grant collaborator and contractor. With a background in theater from the University of Washington and a Bachelor’s in Integrative Media from The Evergreen State College, her journey to OSA has been as diverse as her interests. Aba’s work is a tapestry of regional value chain development, culturally relevant frameworks, and groundbreaking events like the Cascadia Grains Conference and the International Quinoa Research Symposium. In 2020, she earned recognition as Capital Press’ Western Innovator for her unwavering commitment to data equity and participatory frameworks. Extending beyond the fields and conference halls, Aba moonlights as a performer and media producer and during the George Floyd uprising she founded Watershed Productions to blend her love for media production with her dedication to culturally relevant food and farming projects. A grateful resident on Chimakum/S’Klallam land in the Olympic Peninsula, Aba finds solace in tending her cover crop garden when she’s not orchestrating transformative events or planning her next international adventure.
Laura R. Lewis (she/her)
Dr. Laura R. Lewis joined Organic Seed Alliance in 2024 as executive director. She is a plant biogeographer with over 30 years of experience working with agricultural systems around the world. Her work is focused on utilization of agrobiodiversity, particularly plant genetic resources, to enhance social and economic opportunities for producers. Specializing in leadership and development, Lewis uses her experience to build partnerships and networks that seek to create equitable, inclusive programs that foster a healthy food system for all.
By focusing on the importance of diversity, both human and agroecological, Laura has been able to put the Ph.D. she earned at UC Davis to good use. Over the years, she has led programs in food systems with Washington State University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Some of her major accomplishments are the development of the WSU Food Systems Program, establishing the WA Meat Up initiative in collaboration with the WSDA, and leading the Cascadia Grains Conference for several years.
When not thinking about ways to utilize plant diversity, Laura enjoys time traveling with her family, working on her property, and swimming in the ocean.
Michael Lordon (he/him)
Michael Lordon began working with Organic Seed Alliance in 2021, supporting the research and education program. He has over five years professional experience in the organic seed industry working with Nature & Nurture Seeds, helping to grow the business, the seeds, and the community. Michael has a master’s degree focused on conservation ecology from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment, a bachelor’s degree in biological science from DePaul University, and is the co-author of multiple peer-reviewed articles in the field of population and community ecology. Currently, he’s involved with several Midwest-based seed projects, including growing the organic seed breeding network in the region. Michael wants to create accessible spaces for learning and exchange while exploring research questions involving agroecological data and human stories. He is committed to helping seed growers make decisions when confronted with both environmental and social dilemmas.
Cathleen McCluskey (she/they)
Cathleen McCluskey is the advocacy and communications director for Organic Seed Alliance. She leads our legal and cultural advocacy work developing policies that support organic agriculture and farmers’ rights to save seed. She co-directs OSA’s State of Organic Seed project and leads federal policy initiatives targeting Congress and federal agencies. Her research focuses on seed systems, intellectual property, market concentration, germplasm management and diversity, data access and transparency, and democratization of science and knowledge. Cathleen holds a PhD in Environment and Resources and an MS in Agroecology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Jasmine Sarp (she/her)
Jasmine Sarp is the communications and outreach associate for Organic Seed Alliance. She holds a BA in Graphic Design from MICA, and an MSc in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty from UNISG in Bra, Italy. Growing up in a multicultural context, her focus continues to develop around community resilience, cultural ecology, and the healing strength of food. She helps connect growers working with seed with OSA’s program resources and one another to share knowledge and build relationships, and supports relationship building and network development across program areas and partnerships. Through this involvement, her design and strategy background, and her personal engagement, she aspires to facilitate food system transformation in service to community food sovereignty.
Jared Zystro (he/him/his)
Jared Zystro is Organic Seed Alliance’s research and education co-director. He has an M.S. and Ph.D. in plant breeding and plant genetics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he studied efficient methods of developing new organic sweet corn varieties. Jared has worked in the organic seed industry for over 15 years, managing seed production at two farms and conducting research and education projects with OSA. He currently manages OSA’s regional development in California, conducts participatory breeding projects and variety trials, and teaches farmers about seed production and plant breeding at workshops, conferences, and field days. He lives in the coastal town of Arcata, CA, with his wife and son.
