Micaela Colley

Program Director
micaela@seedalliance.org

Micaela Colley leads OSA’s research and education 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 is also pursuing a PhD focused on organic and participatory plant breeding under Dr. Edith Lammerts van Bueren at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Selected Publications

  • Colley, M., Tracy, W.F., Lammerts van Bueren, E., Diffley, M., & Almekinders, C.J.M. (2022). How the seed of participatory plant breeding found its way in the world through adaptive management. Sustainability, 14: 2132. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042132

  • Colley, M., Dawson, J., McCluskey, C., Myers, J., Tracy, W., & Lammerts van Bueren, E. (2021). Exploring the emergence of participatory plant breeding in countries of the Global North – a review. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 1-19. doi:10.1017/S0021859621000782.
  • Lyon, A., Tracy, W.F., Colley, M., Culbert, P, Mazourek, M., Myers, J., Zystro, J, & Silva, E.M. (2018). Adaptability Analysis in a Participatory Variety Trial of Organic Vegetable Crops. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: 1-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170518000583
  • Zystro, Jared, Micaela Colley, and Julie Dawson. 2018. Alternative Experimental Designs for Plant Breeding. Plant Breeding Reviews 42: 87-117.
  • Buttala L., J. Zystro, M. Colley, and S. Siegel. 2015. The Seed Garden. Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah.

Ana Galvis-Martinez

Educational Specialist
ana@seedalliance.org

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.

Kiki Hubbard

Advocacy & Communications Director
kiki@seedalliance.org
Kristina "Kiki" Hubbard is the director of advocacy and communications for Organic Seed Alliance. Kiki's work on seed policy spans 20 years in the areas of antitrust, biotechnology, consolidation, intellectual property, and organic regulation. Working on an organic farm piqued her interest in sustainable agriculture and environmental justice while an undergraduate in Wisconsin. She went on to pursue related law and policy issues in Washington, DC, before moving out west to complete an M.S. at the University of Montana in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in sustainable food and farming. Before landing at OSA, Kiki worked for a number of organizations, including the Center for Rural Affairs, National Family Farm Coalition, Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), and the Western Organization of Resource Councils. While at OCM, Kiki led a national campaign on antitrust concerns in the seed industry that eventually set in motion a federal investigation by the Department of Justice. At OSA, Kiki leads efforts to promote policies and actions that advance organic seed systems. She manages OSA's State of Organic Seed project and leads federal policy initiatives targeting Congress and federal agencies. Kiki lives in Missoula, Montana, with her husband, son, dog, and generous garden, and loves running, hiking, skiing, cooking, saving seed, writing poetry, and sticking her nose in field guides.

Selected Publications

  • "Seeds" (chapter) Bite Back: People Taking On Corporate Food and Winning (University of California Press) (2020)
  • Op-ed: How Patents Threaten Small Seed Companies (Civil Eats, 2020)
  • The Sobering Details Behind the Latest Seed Monopoly Chart (Civil Eats, 2019)
  • Don't cede control over Montana seed (Billings Gazette, 2017)
  • Confronting coexistence in the United States: organic agriculture, genetic engineering, and the case of Roundup Ready alfalfa (Agriculture and Human Values, 30:325-335, 2013)
  • Monsanto's growing monopoly (Salon, 2013)
  • Speak Your Piece: The President and Seed (Daily Yonder, 2011)
  • Out of Hand: Farmers Face the Consequences of a Consolidated Seed Industry (National Family Farmers Coalition, 2009)

Awards and Fellowships

  • Leadership in Organic Agriculture Award, Montana Organic Association (2017)
  • Northern Rockies Sustainable Agriculture Award, AERO  (2009)
  • Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship (2005)

Board and Advisory Roles

  • Board of Directors, National Organic Coalition
  • Board of Directors, Sussex School
  • Research, Education, and Extension Committee, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Kayla Ierlan

Washington Research Farm Manager
kayla@seedalliance.org

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.

Rebekah Korenowsky Woods

Information & Events Coordinator
rebekah@seedalliance.org
Rebekah Korenowsky Woods joined the team as the Information & Events Coordinator for Organic Seed Alliance in 2021. In this role, Rebekah connects people to resources and to each other through the Organic Seed Commons, biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference, and other events and programs. As a systems-thinker and problem-solver, Rebekah has previously conducted research and restoration at the land-water-human interface and stewarded collaborative community relationships for several environmental nonprofit organizations. Rebekah’s education includes a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Geology from Ohio University and coursework in the Master of Environmental Studies program at The Evergreen State College. On the creative side, Rebekah is also a fiber artist who uses natural materials and home-grown or scavenged dyes to create simple, functional pieces. Rebekah lives in Port Townsend, Washington and uses she/her and they/them pronouns interchangeably.

Michael Lordon

Midwest Research and Education Associate
michael@seedalliance.org

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.

Cara Loriz

Executive Director
cara@seedalliance.org
Cara Loriz joined the OSA team as executive director in 2016 after leading the start-up of Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, a historic farm on Shelter Island, New York. An educator and writer, Cara studied soils and remote sensing while earning degrees in geology and technical writing, and also taught environmental science and geology at several colleges. Before joining the farm world, she served as editor-in-chief of the local newspaper on Shelter Island, winning awards for writing, photography and design. In advancing OSA’s mission, Cara has prioritized promoting seed literacy and building cultural and community connections to plant breeding. In 2017, Cara facilitated OSA’s fiscal sponsorship of the Society of Organic Seed Professionals. She lives in Port Townsend with her husband Mike, several chickens and thousands of honey bees.

Board and Advisory Roles

  • Policy Committee, Organic Farmers Association
  • Washington State University Food Systems Team

Cathleen McCluskey

Outreach Director
cathleen@seedalliance.org
Cathleen McCluskey is the outreach director for Organic Seed Alliance. She supports OSA’s online and print communications, and the coordination of regional and national outreach efforts. Cathleen also serves as the committee leader for the biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference. She has worked on food sovereignty campaigns; helped launch a local seed library; and researches the social, biological, and economic impacts of on-farm genetic diversity. Cathleen holds an MS degree in Agroecology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and is currently pursuing graduate studies in environment and resources through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Teejop, Ho-Chunk Lands (Madison, Wisconsin) and uses she/her pronouns.

Selected Publications

  • McCluskey, C. and Tracy, W.F. (2021) Engaging Farmer Stakeholders: Maize Producers' Perceptions of and Strategies for Managing On-Farm Genetic Diversity in the Upper Midwest. Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8843; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168843.
 
  • Colley, M., Dawson, J., McCluskey, C., Myers, J., Tracy, W., & Lammerts van Bueren, E. (2021). Exploring the emergence of participatory plant breeding in countries of the Global North – a review. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 1-19. doi:10.1017/S0021859621000782.
 
  • Op-ed: How Patents Threaten Small Seed Companies (Civil Eats, 2020)
 
  • Banking on Seeds for Our Future (Edge Effects, 2018)
 
  • Dawson, J., Healy, K., and McCluskey, M. (2017) Organic Vegetable Trials and Plant Breeding Needs Assessment and Strategy for National Collaboration. University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. (Accessed November 2018)

Florentina Rodriguez

Grassroots Coordinator
florentina@seedalliance.org

Florentina is the grassroots coordinator at Organic Seed Alliance. She helps break down barriers to engaging in seed policy and to translate the importance of OSA’s policy priorities to the seed growers we serve and work alongside, while encouraging collective action to make our seed and food systems more resilient and equitable. Florentina became involved in seed saving when she attended Seed School at The Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice. This empowered her to start her community’s first seed library, The Yellow Springs Community Seed Library, which launched both a permanent and mobile location in 2022. Florentina brings her traveling seed library to places like farmers markets, seed saving workshops, and schools to provide hands-on education and seed sharing opportunities to the community.

Florentina’s father is a native Chamorro, the Indigenous people of Guam, and she’s passionate about the power of seeds to connect people to their heritage and preserve traditional knowledge. Florentina is pursuing an EdD degree in Environmental and Sustainability Education at Antioch University and exploring issues of seed sovereignty and resistance as well as the role of cultural memory in the endogenous development of biocultural and agroecological seed pathways.

Jasmine Sarp

Research & Education Assistant
jasmine@seedalliance.org

Jasmine Sarp is the research and education assistant 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 currently supports OSA’s California work, including variety trials, field days, relationship building, and summits. 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.

Jennifer Turney

Financial Manager
jennifer@seedalliance.org
Jennifer Turney brings years of financial management experience to the OSA team. She has created and maintained systems for a diversity of non-profit and for-profit businesses including creating tools for budgeting, financial tracking, grant management, and state and federal compliance. She also brings a wealth of personal experience in farming and the arts including fiber arts, landscaping, and food preservation. She resides in Port Townsend, Washington with her two lamas, three sheep, and apple orchard on a historic homestead.

Jared Zystro

Research & Education Assistant Director
jared@seedalliance.org
Jared Zystro is Organic Seed Alliance’s research and education assistant 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.

Selected Publications

  • Zystro, J., T. Peters, K. Miller, and W. Tracy. 2021. Classical and genomic prediction of synthetic open pollinated sweet corn performance in organic environments. Crop Science 61:1698-1708.
 
  • Zystro, J., T. Peters, K. Miller, and W. Tracy. 2021. Inbred and hybrid sweet corn genotype performance in diverse organic environments. Crop Science 61:2280-2293.
 
  • Zystro, J., T. Peters, K. Miller, and W. Tracy. 2021. Classical and genomic prediction of hybrid sweet corn performance in organic environments. Crop Science 61:1698-1708.
 
  • Zystro, J. Efficient Methods to Develop New Sweet Corn Cultivars for Organic Systems. PhD Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI.
 
  • Lyon, A., W. Tracy, M. Colley, P. Culbert, M. Mazourek, J. Myers, J. Zystro, and E. Silva. 2018. Adaptability analysis in a participatory variety trial of organic vegetable crops. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: 1-17.
 
  • Zystro, Jared, Micaela Colley, and Julie Dawson. 2018. Alternative Experimental Designs for Plant Breeding. Plant Breeding Reviews 42: 87-117.
 
  • Hoagland L., J. Navazio, J. Zystro, I. Kaplan, J. Vargas and K. Gibson. 2015. Key Traits and Promising Germplasm for an Organic Participatory Tomato Breeding Program in the US Midwest. HortScience 50:1301-1308.
 
  • Buttala L., J. Zystro, M. Colley S. and Siegel. 2015. The Seed Garden. Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah.
 
  • Lyon, E. Silva, J. Zystro and M. Bell. 2015. Seed and Plant Breeding for Wisconsin’s Organic Vegetable Sector: Understanding Farmers’ Needs. Agroecology and Food Systems 39: 601-624.
 
  • Zystro, J., N. de Leon, and W. Tracy. 2012. Analysis of Traits Related to Weed Competitiveness in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.). Sustainability, 4:543-560.
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Staff Directory

Micaela Colley
Program Director
micaela@seedalliance.org
Ana Galvis-Martinez
Educational Specialist
ana@seedalliance.org
Kiki Hubbard
Advocacy & Communications Director
kiki@seedalliance.org
Kayla Ierlan
Washington Research Farm Manager
kayla@seedalliance.org
Rebekah Korenowsky Woods
Information & Events Coordinator
rebekah@seedalliance.org
Michael Lordon
Midwest Research and Education Associate
michael@seedalliance.org
Cara Loriz
Executive Director
cara@seedalliance.org
Cathleen McCluskey
Outreach Director
cathleen@seedalliance.org
Florentina Rodriguez
Grassroots Coordinator
florentina@seedalliance.org
Jasmine Sarp
Research & Education Assistant
jasmine@seedalliance.org
Jennifer Turney
Financial Manager
jennifer@seedalliance.org
Jared Zystro
Research & Education Assistant Director
jared@seedalliance.org

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