Willamette Valley
Rebecca Landis, President

Rebecca Landis had  a varied career in journalism, public policy and academia before she escaped from the cubicle to become a market manager. She is market director for Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Markets, which operates three outdoor farmers’ markets in Corvallis and Albany and otherwise advocates for local farmers who sell directly to customers. Her focus in OFMA has been food safety and other public policy affecting farm direct marketers. She and her husband live in an 1890 farmhouse on a small but productive acreage south of Corvallis.

Coast
Kristin Frost Albrecht, Vice President

Kristin, a native to Oregon, organized and founded the Cannon Beach Farmers' Market in 2008 and was market manager for two seasons. Kristin has been an advocate and grassroots organizer in Community Food Systems work on the Oregon coast and also holds a faculty position with Oregon State University Extension, Clatsop County. She grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon where her first job was working as a picker in the local strawberry fields at age 8. Kristin is a co-host of a local public radio show called “Food Talk” which addresses food and agriculture issues in the Lower Columbia Pacific Region.  She has served on the OFMA board since 2009.

Portland Metro Region
Gina Bell, Secretary

Gina manages the Forest Grove Farmers Market, a project of Adelante Mujeres, a non-profit dedicated to the holistic education and empowerment of low-income Latina women and their families. She got her start in the farm/food world as a Peace Corps Agriculture Extension Volunteer in Paraguay. She taught organic farming practices to subsistence farmers and helped them get products to market. Gina is also the Director of Operations for Adelante Mujeres and serves on the Washington County Public Health Department Community Health Action Response Team (CHART) and is a consultant for Oregon’s Public Health Institute’s Healthy Eating at Farmers Market project. She is dedicated to her community, and passionate about social and environmental justice. In 2010 she was named one of 35 Innovators Under 35 by 1,000 Friends of Oregon.

Southern Oregon
Mary Ellen De Luca, Treasurer

A dream came true when Mary Ellen and her family came from Boston, MA. to Talent, OR in 1995 and moved on a five- acre farm  Raising children and milk goats became a new way of life for the De Luca household. Mary Ellen has managed the Tuesday/ Thursday markets of southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market since 2005 and has been an OFMA board member since 2007.  She enjoys every aspect of working with people and is honored to be on a board that promotes Oregon’s farmers’ markets.

Portland Metro Area
Anna Curtin, Education & Outreach Specialist, Portland Farmers Market

Anna is charged with building and maintaining relationships within Portland Farmers Market neighborhoods, fostering awareness about the organization’s six distinct markets, and educating the public about the vital role farmers markets play in our communities. This includes working with like-minded parties to strengthen our regional food economy, developing education initiatives, and planning food celebration events throughout the market season. Prior to joining the PFM staff in 2007, Anna was a dedicated Market volunteer for a number of years. A native of rural upstate New York, Anna grew up eating from the family garden and wild woods of the Adirondack Mountains. She retains a love of gardening, enjoys exploring Oregon’s natural wonders and seeking out farmers markets in places near and far.

Columbia Gorge
Sarah Hackney, Non-profit Work

At GGFN, Sarah helps manage the Gorge Grown Farmers' Market and Mobile Market, in addition to other farm-to-consumer initiatives. Sarah has worked with farmers' markets as both a manager and vendor in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and has on-farm experience in organic vegetable and livestock production. She is particularly interested in the intersection of agriculture, economy, and conservation in rural communities, and in finding creative ways to share and develop local resources and foster social justice.

Oregon At-Large
Maria Menor, WIC/FDNP Coordinator, OR DHS

Maria works for the Oregon Health Authority in the WIC program, and coordinates Oregon's Farm Direct Nutrition Program (FDNP) for seniors and WIC families. WIC has enjoyed a long-time partnership with OFMA in the administration of the Farm Direct Nutrition Program, for which 640+ farmers are authorized and 100 farmers' markets are designated as FDNP markets.  Maria also leads WIC's Vendor Management Services Team, which works with Oregon's 600+ WIC-authorized grocery stores and pharmacies.  In 2010 Maria helped facilitate the authorization of farmers to accept the WIC Fruit & Veggie vouchers.  She will assure that the unique circumstances of farmers and farmers' markets are considered as WIC plans their transition to electronic benefits transfer (EBT).

Willamette Valley
Dan Sudseth, Retired - Farm Service Agency, USDA Food Security Liaison

Dan was born and raised on a family farm in northern Minnesota and graduated from Oregon State University. He began his career with USDA’s Farm Service Agency and has spent the past 26 years working with farmers/ranchers in Linn, Benton, and Lincoln Counties. In addition to serving as the USDA’s Community Food Security Liaison in OR and an ex-oficio member of the OR Hunger Relief Task Force, he serves on the Community Action Advisory Council for Community Services Consortium, the Environmental Ministries Committee of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Marys River Watershed Council, and is a founding member and President of Ten Rivers Food Web. He is a member of a start-up company working to develop options for small farms wanting to process their own grains and beans for flour and other products.

Oregon At-Large
Sharon Thornberry, Community Resource Developer, Oregon Food Bank

Sharon has been a grassroots organizer, trainer and advocate for community food systems, rural communities, and anti-hunger work in Oregon since 1986. In 1979, she was a homeless mom with two small children. She volunteered for and chaired a local food pantry and has been active with United Methodist Church anti–hunger efforts. Sharon is a long time member of the Oregon Hunger Task Force and has served on the board of the Community Food Security Coalition for 6 years.  The sum of her experiences have come together to make her a passionate and knowledgeable community food security and anti-hunger advocate.

Portland Metro Area
Kathy Unger, Grower/owner Unger Farms

Kathy, a native of Oregon, has been selling her produce through Farmers Markets for the past 25 years.  She has been actively involved with new markets as well as serving on farmer markets boards of directors.  Being involved in markets for 25 years has given her an understanding of the importance of keeping markets viable in Oregon. Farmers markets are an effective way for family farms to succeed. Kathy has participated on panel discussions to help new young farmers see their way through the challenges of starting a farm.

Eastern Oregon
Karen Wagner

Karen works as a food and farm advocate in eastern Oregon, and currently sits on the board of the Pendleton Farmers Market, which she started in 2002. She has been involved with OFMA since 2006, managing the Farmers Market Promotion Project grant conducting research and outreach on behalf of OFMA, and since 2008 has served on the OFMA Board of Directors. Karen comes from a small farming town in Minnesota.