Scott A. Murray, Chair

<scottamurray at sbcglobal dot net>

A former MESA Host, organic farmer, and sustainable development consultant, Scott has 32 years of organic agricultural production experience in the United States and Mexico.  Scott’s recent project experience includes the restoration and development of an organic agricultural project and education program on a 250-acre historic farm owned by the County of San Diego. Scott designed and built a 15-acre organic farm supplying the boarding high school on site and selling to the Whole Foods stores of Southern California. Scott has served as an elected California Conservation official for the last 12 years managing a $ 3.5 million dollar annual budget for conservation projects in North San Diego County.

Scott serves as the president of the South Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council which covers two-thirds of California’s population. He has worked extensively on Conservation projects with the National Resource Conservation Service in California. He specializes in farmland preservation projects utilizing Smart Growth Principles.

Suzanne Allcroft, Vice Chair

<sallcroft at gmail dot com>

Suzanne is currently an apprentice of agriculture at Hidden Villa, a farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills, California. The farm crew at Hidden Villa runs a CSA that provides share boxes to the community on 7 acres of land. Before working directly in farming, Suzanne was a non-profit fundraising professional at the Global Fund for Women and at FairTrade USA, where she worked to mobilize significant resources for social justice movements and alternative development models. Dedicated to local production and environmental sustainability, Suzanne has co-founded community garden projects and urban permaculture farms in San Francisco, California. Suzanne graduated from UC, Berkeley with a BA in Development Studies and Spanish, focusing on political economy and post-colonialism in Latin America. During her academic work, she lived and studied in both Mexico and Spain where she examined colonialism from dual perspectives. She is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for MESA for its incredible efforts to invest in young farmers and to build a sustainable farming network around the globe.

Bob Gerner, Treasurer

<bgerner2 at comcast dot net>

Bob has been "in the business" since 1970. He founded Westbrae Natural Foods in 1971. He left to start The Natural Grocery Company in 1981 and is currently the general manager. The Natural Grocery Company has two retail stores, one in Berkeley and one in El Cerrito, California. They sell only organic produce and were the first stores in the San Francisco Bay Area to be certified by CCOF. In addition to his MESA board position, Bob also currently serves on the board of directors of The Non-GMO Project.

Andy Scott, Secretary

<scoandrew at gmail dot com>

Andy was Farm Manager at Hidden Villa for 16 years, and has been involved with farm interns/apprentices for over 30 years. In 2002, under his management, Hidden Villa became a MESA Host for the first time.

Today, Andy continues his work with Hidden Villa as their Assistant Property Manager. Andy is deeply involved with the Biodynamic Association and has been working on their Apprentice Training Program since its inception. 

Carolyn Brown, Director

<carolynbro at gmail dot com>

Carolyn currently teaches Gardening Classes at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula.  She began teaching gardening and developing her curriculum at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula as a parent volunteer in 1991. She later became a part time employee and  a full time faculty member by 1998.  For twelve years prior to teaching, she and her husband Andrew Scott were self-employed organic fresh market vegetable growers and beekeepers (25 acres and 350 colonies) in the Capay Valley west of Woodland, California.  She and her husband have been involved with the Bio-Dynamic Association of Northern California for over 20 years. She has benefited from collaborating with other gardening teachers, farmers and gardeners through the organization's quarterly meetings.  She graduated from U.C.Davis with a degree in Plant Science and Nursery Management in 1980 and received her teaching certificate from the Rudolf Steiner College's Peninsula extension program in 2006.

Kevin Cody, Director

<kcody at ucsc dot edu>

Kevin is a Doctoral Candidate in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  What began as a personal interest in working on organic farms in Sonoma County has since become a primary research focus concerning livelihoods of small-scale agricultural producers.  After completing a Master’s Thesis on structural barriers to the long-term viability of beginning farmers, Kevin is now working on a dissertation topic exploring the dynamics of exchange within the MESA organization.  Specifically, this work is concerned with understanding what aspects of sustainable agriculture are most adaptable to a variety of social and cultural climates.  Additional research interests include agrarian political economy, sustainable food systems, and rural development in Latin America.

Sean Gillon, Director

<seantgillon [at] gmail [dot] com (seantgillon at gmail dot com)> 

Sean Gillon grew up in Iowa interested in the farms, cornfields, and the agricultural product processing industry around him. He began his engagement with sustainable agriculture and food systems managing and interning on small farms and as a produce clerk in cooperative groceries.  He has conducted research projects for non-profit organizations working for social justice in food systems and improving opportunities for farmers practicing sustainable agriculture.  Currently, Sean is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  His dissertation research focuses on the social and ecological dimensions of US Midwestern corn ethanol production.  This research examines relationships between corn ethanol production, rural economies, and farmers' agricultural and conservation practices, as well as analyzes related agricultural and environmental policy.  Sean has also co-authored work on the politics of organic food regulation and taught courses on building socially just and ecologically sound food systems. In fall 2011 Sean will join the University of Wisconsin - Madison as a postdoctoral research fellow.