InTents: The Farmers Market Conference Speakers

Meet our line-up of farmers market experts & conference presenters!

2024 Conference Speakers

  • Allen Moy is Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA), a nonprofit organization serving nearly 250 California farmers by operating and promoting more than 30 certified farmers’ markets in the San Francisco Bay area. Allen joined PCFMA in 2003, bringing over 15 years of experience in nonprofit organizations, and was promoted to Executive Director in 2015. Allen is the founder of California Food Education, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase knowledge of local and healthy foods in the Bay Area. He serves on the Boards of Fresh Approach, a nonprofit founded by PCFMA in 2008 to connect California communities with healthy food from California farmers through innovative food access programs including its mobile farmers’ market. He’s also President of the Farmers Market Coalition Board; that organization advocates for farmers’ markets at the federal level and connects market operators nationwide to build their skills and support their markets.

  • Dr. Andrea Rissing is an Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, her research and teaching program focuses on sustainable food systems in the United States, including effective local food system governance.

  • Andrew is the Direct Markets Coordinator at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont and manages the Vermont Farmers Market Association. He grew up in Pennsylvania and then attended the University of Vermont. Later, Andrew got an M.S. at Antioch University New England focused on the food system and climate change. Andrew loves to cook and do all things related to food, including growing and processing it.

  • Anna De Paoli, CMC, ICD.D is President of De Paoli & Associates Inc., & Past President of the Millarville Racing & Agricultural Society (MRAS), home of the Millarville Farmers’ market. Anna has volunteered with MRAS for the past 14 years in various roles. She led the organization through the covid pandemic where volunteers stepped forward to run the operations to reduce operating costs. Despite the challenges, MRAS continued to hold markets curing the pandemic, reduced debts and improved operational efficiency. The Millarville markets attract thousands of visitors and host several hundred vendors. Professionally Anna is a management consultant who works for some of the largest Agricultural producers and food processors in Western Canada. Anna has a BSc. Hons in Natural Sciences from the University of Durham, UK. She lives on an acreage close to Calgary Alberta with her husband and two young children.

  • Ashley has over five years of on-the-ground experience coordinating and managing farmers markets in the Northeast. Upon moving to Michigan in 2021, Ashley joined the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) excited to support Michigan’s market managers in creating thriving marketplaces and ensuring all residents have access to healthy, locally grown food. As part of her current role as a Programs Manager, Ashley oversees the support of current and potential programs, partners, and funders in the implementation of Produce Prescription programming in Michigan and is a TA provider for the Nutrition Incentive Hub created by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE). In her free time, Ashley enjoys DIY projects and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

  • Bella is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College, majoring in Social Relations & Policy with minors in Global Public Health & Epidemiology and Health Promotion. She started at the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) in 2022 as a student assistant and is now MIFMA’s Produce Prescription Manager. In this role, she supports the implementation, evaluation, and advocacy efforts for Produce Prescription programming in Michigan and across the United States as a TA Provider for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program’s Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE) working to equitably bridge the gap between healthcare and food access. Bella enjoys listening to podcasts, being active, and visiting her local farmers market.

  • Working in non-profits for 20 years across a range of roles, Ben Feldman has developed a wealth of experience to draw on to support non-profit success. Most recently Ben served as the Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition, where he was specifically responsible for program development, partnership cultivation, policy engagement, and strategic planning. As a consultant Ben specializes in advising on executive leadership, policy and government grants, as well as organizational and strategic planning. As a subject matter expert in food and agriculture, Ben has deep knowledge of direct marketing, short supply chain dynamics, including food and ag policy. Ben holds a BA in Environmental Science from UC, Santa Cruz with an emphasis in Agroecology and a MS in Environmental Studies with and emphasis in Policy.

  • Brijet Myers learned a lot in her 10+ years as a Farmers’ Market Operations Manager for San Diego Markets. Handling the nuts and bolts behind the scenes work she still keep her feet on the street and under the tent managing special projects at year-round markets in Southern California, including San Diego County’s largest, the Little Italy Mercato. In addition to her positions as Farmers Market Pros Education Coordinator, and Tent Talk Co-host, she has spent years coordinating fundraising and community events for her children’s IB school. Her focus on making the most of marketing opportunities for the weekly markets she helps operate has pushed her to develop easy systems for e-mail newsletter content, wrangling information and review sites online for her markets. Brijet is passionate about giving local farms and small businesses a place to thrive and grow every week at her markets, and enjoys all the delicious perks of the job.

  • Cameron Briggs Ramos is a third year student at Vermont Law and Graduate School from Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Before going to law school in Vermont, Cameron worked as Community Coordinator for TAIS, an organics recycling company in Puerto Rico. Cameron helped the company develop logistics to begin a pick up and drop off route for organics recyclers in the metro area of the Island. During her time in law school she has worked alongside the team at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) as a Summer Honors Intern during the summer of 2023 and currently as a Research Assistant. Her work with the CAFS team focuses on the research and writing of new resources for the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit (FMLT). Her passions include: creating community safe spaces, advocating for migrant rights, and working on food justice projects.

  • As the newly appointed and first Executive Director of the Napa Farmers Market, Cara Mae Wooledge leads in strategic partnerships, fundraising, marketing, and community engagement. She brings with her inexhaustible energy and 17 years of experience working to improve public health and increase wellness in Napa County. She works to ensure the Napa Farmers Market is a welcoming, accessible, inclusive, and safe environment for all. Cara Mae believes all farmers markets are essential spaces that allow us to grow community around local food.

  • Catt Fields White has been the director of San Diego Markets since founding the Little Italy Mercato in 2008, and is the Founder and CEO of Farmers Market Pros and a host of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast. She acts as a Technical Advisor to a variety of granted funded farmers market organizations and provides consulting for developing and established markets. At San Diego Markets she and her team bring farmers to the city and people to the table at weekly, year-round farmers markets, including San Diego County’s largest, with 180 tents on six city blocks. Catt writes for publications and speaks at conferences and events worldwide, teaching market organizers and participants to make their operations stronger and educating consumers about the importance of supporting small farmers and food businesses. She is devoted to educating and encouraging emerging and evolving entrepreneurs and ensuring the future of real food for her grandchildren.

  • Christopher Quinlan served his passion for regional economic and food security as the manager of the Whistler Farmers’ Market for 8 years. With a business owner’s inclination to resolve everyday challenges, Chris developed online platform Marketwurks.com as a better way to manage market paperwork. Over time, the customizable program evolved to allow market managers to generate application forms, qualify applicants, utilize that information to create public profiles and populate market maps, capture data, invoicing and reports, and simplify marketing, all inside within markets’ websites. Co-Founder and Vice President of Canadian Farmers Markets, Chris is a founding member of the World Farmers Markets Coalition, and a familiar face at farmers market conferences and online, providing technological solutions and consulting to markets throughout Canada and the US.

  • Claire is the Co-Executive Director and Food Access Director at Alaska Farmers Market Association. She joined the local foods community in Alaska after starting the Seward Farmers Market. From there, she managed the market, learned the ways of market gardening on a 2 acre farm, and worked to connect the Seward community to more local food. Today her work at AFMA supports direct marketing farmers and farmers markets across the state who are creating a more equitable food future. Claire believes a strong local food system is grown from the ground up.

  • Brian Heyward is the current Director of Community Operations for The Forsyth Farmers Market where he leads all logistical operations. Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, he is a proud graduate of Savannah High School, and has 17 years of logistics experience. With FFM’s Farm Truck 912 he creates stops and areas where good quality healthy foods are available and helps push programs that help others understand the importance of better eating . With a love for serving others Brian believes that his current position is a dream come true for any community activist, giving him a chance to provide overlooked communities with fresh produce, meat, eggs and more. The fight to level the playing field is not for the weak at heart but well worth every inch gained.

  • A food justice advocate, social scientist, planner, and activist, Dr. Deidre Grim is Ivory Bay Community Development Corporation's CEO and the first Black executive director for Forsyth Farmers’ Market. With roots deeply embedded in the South, her passion for equality and equity grew from her family’s dedication to activism and service and she calls herself a lifelong learner. Working in nonprofits where she ensures that every person she comes in contact with receives a hand up, Deidre has spent the majority of her life working on dismantling systems and activating equity worldwide, and to change the trajectory of the next generations. The wife of a retired Army veteran and mother of 3 sons and one daughter, Deidre believes, as Vice President Kamala Harris teaches, “If you are fortunate to have an opportunity, it is your duty to make sure other people have those opportunities as well.”

  • Known in the streets and open-mic venues of Los Angeles as Bus Stop Prophet for his propensity to bust rhymes in unexpected places, Frank Escamilla has been deeply engaged in creative peacemaking work for over 20 years in Los Angeles, as well as South Africa, Sweden, Mexico and the U.K. As a gifted poet, storyteller, motivational speaker, and creator of brave and welcoming spaces, Frank offers a heart centered process and pathway to groups and communities seeking transformation. This creative process enables individuals an opportunity to remember their most authentic voice. A seasoned facilitator and educator, Frank can be found transforming spaces within institutions such as K-12 schools, higher education, detention centers, organizations and facilitating retreats.

  • Hilary King is an applied anthropologist focused on sustainable food. Over the past two decades, her work has focused on small-scale farmers and the strategies that help them make both a living and a life in places from Mexico to Ethiopia to the US South. Hilary spent 10 years working with Community Farmers Markets, a multi-market organization, based in Atlanta, GA, and is now Associate Director of the Master’s in Development Practice program at Emory University. Her research focuses on farmers market management and the role managers play in building local food systems. A native Oregonian, Dr. King settled in Atlanta in 2010. She makes a darn good latte, blackberry jam and handmade tortillas, and you’ll often find her eating all of the peaches at Atlanta’s farmers markets.

  • The Director of Marketing and Development for the 15-year old Travelers Rest Farmers Market, a South Carolina 501(c)3, Jessica Mullen is a relationship builder. A former content producer for a custom publisher, she taught business communications at the university level and combines her love of travel with a passion for helping. Jessica personally interacts with each of the market’s sponsors to build long term financial sustainability that is not reliant on the always shifting grant landscape. Building legitimacy in the community and connecting corporate business executives with farmers and food producers, Jessica’s program funds 45% of her market’s total operating budget and funds micro grants for new farmers.

  • Dr. Kim Hutchinson, a nonprofit executive with over 35 years of experience, currently leads the Virginia Farmers Market Association. As a former President and CEO of philanthropic organizations, she has a proven track record in strategic planning, capacity building, and securing funding. Dr. Hutchinson has successfully leveraged $852 million into $52 billion of social impact funds, demonstrating her commitment to building sustainable communities. She utilizes her extensive network to facilitate collaborative educational sessions, implement fundraising strategies, and forge partnerships with health-minded organizations. Dr. Hutchinson is dedicated to cultivating vibrant and sustainable agricultural communities across Virginia, advocating for critical issues, and ensuring VAFMA remains a mission-driven organization. A native of Virginia, she resides with her family and enjoys pursuits such as cooking, art, and golf. Dr. Hutchinson envisions a bright future for VAFMA, stating, "VAFMA’s best days are in front of us, and I’m honored to be part of its future."

  • Liz Abunaw is the founder and operator of Forty Acres Fresh Market, a grocery startup launched in January 2018. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Cornell University. Alarmed by the lack of fresh food options on Chicago’s west side, Liz left her Microsft job in 2017 and committed to opening an affordable specialty grocery store with a bountiful fresh food selection in the Austin neighborhood. Using an innovative mobile strategy centered on full-selection pop up produce markets, Forty Acres Fresh Market has serviced over 1000 customers and its impact on food accessibility in Austin has garnered investment from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the USDA Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the American Heart Association Social Impact Fund, Famous Amos Ingredients For Success Initiative, the city of Chicago, State of IL, and other funders.

    Liz has been a driving force for Austin Town Hall (Chicago) City Market. She holds the staunch position that while Chicago deep dish is delicious, it is not pizza. It is casserole. Pizza folds.

  • Lizzy Rekate is the Market Development and Food Safety Specialist for the Williamsburg Farmers Market in Virginia. She spent a year as a Market Counts Data Intern then joined the market team officially in Spring of 2024. After dedicating several months to data collection, she is ecstatic to share the team's insights. Lizzy is currently a sophomore at the College of William and Mary, studying Marketing with a concentration in Finance, as well as a minor in Creative Writing. She has a deep passion and love for the food business and is excited to collaborate with all the incredible people at the InTents conference this year.

  • Mandy Moody is a purpose-driven, people-focused leader. As Executive Director of Chicago’s Green City Market, she turns ideas into action, providing the leadership necessary to achieve the organization's vision and mission. As a results-driven professional, she balances strategic thinking with innovative brainstorming to drive her market organization’s continued growth. Her commitment to educating communities on where food comes from started with her rural upbringing in Southeastern Indiana and has grown through her time with Green City Market. She contributes regularly to the advancement of the nonprofit sector and sustainable food community as a mentor and spokesperson. She’s especially proud of defying the nonprofit industry trend of high turnover, creating stability and building teams committed to long-term strategies that ensure her organization’s ability to meet program objectives.

  • Maya O’Brien McLeod is the Communications Manager at Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis, with degrees in Journalism and Horticulture from the University of Minnesota.The Mill City Farmers Market grant program, supporting farmers in times of extreme crop loss and other hardship, and helping MCFM farmers experiment with new crops, growing techniques and equipment. In recent years the program has expanded the size of grant awards and the pool of grantees beyond Mill City Farmers Market vendors. Now, Next Stage Grantees represent local farmers and food makers throughout the region who sustain a healthy, local food system.

  • Meghan Hargis is a Local Foods Director currently residing on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. She has been immersed in the agriculture and food systems world for the last seven years. As Local Foods Director for the Alaska Farmers Market Association, she is proud to connect communities with sustainable, locally-produced food options through AFMA's statewide network of farmers markets, food hubs, CSAs, and farm stands. She is passionate about addressing food access challenges and creating an equitable food system for all.

  • Since 2012, Melonie McKee has been the Farmers' Market and Events Manager for the Millarville Farmers’ Market, the second largest outdoor market in the Province of Alberta with 185 weekly vendors in the summer and over 300 for the annual Christmas Market. Farmers' Markets are not only a professional but a personal passion. Traveling always means seeking out and visiting the area markets. Continuous education on latest trends, regulations, events, industry successes and challenges mean striving for continual success for her market community and to aid in the success of other market managers. Melonie is a graduate of Mount Royal University in Event Management and is the current Vice President for the Alberta Farmers' Market Association. Nominated 5 times as an “Outstanding Market Manager” in Alberta, she was the award recipient in 2021.Melonie is an active volunteer in her local community with the Lion’s Club and the local Royal Canadian Legion.

  • Natalie moved to LA after college and quickly fell in love with her restaurant job. She moved into a full time position traveling around the US, opening restaurants, building systems, training the teams, and moving on to the next. Working with three different companies took her as far as Seoul, Korea to open restaurants. After extensive travel she found herself working for a large, very corporate fast food chain. She learned a ton about how to run a successful business, but was missing being creative and working with food. She also started to take stock in the machine she was a part of, where each restaurant gave out thousands of t-shirt bags every day! She started to look around and found the perfect position at Farm Habit (fka Farmer Mark.) She's so proud to be a part of this company that provides communities with a place to gather, and get local, nutritious produce!

  • Rachelle is the Executive Director and the Market Manager of the Bouctouche Farmers’ Market in New Brunswick, Canada. She is the engine that keeps that food train rolling. She has over 30 years of practical experience in business, economic, community and tourism development, as a Regional Director of Economic Development and a professional consultant specializing in small business and strategic planning. Rachelle’s quest for excellence is a top priority and as many can attest, her vision for the Bouctouche Farmers Market is a bold one. Leading the way on achieving zero-waste operations at the market and preserving the local environment, her favourite saying? “We haven’t come this far to only come this far!”

  • Robbi Mixon, from Homer Alaska, is the first-ever executive director of the Alaska Food Policy Council, a key partner for the emerging USDA Islands & Remote Areas Regional Food Business Center. She was a farmhand for four years at Twitter Creek Gardens and managed the Homer farmers market for a decade. Robbi started one of the state’s first food hubs (now beginning its ninth season) and established the Alaska Farmers Market Association, where she co-manages a variety of local food purchasing and SNAP/WIC incentive programs. Robbi co-authored the 2023 Governor's Food Security Task Force report, and is assisting with the legislative food security and strategy task force, and serves on the board of the National Farmers Market Coalition.

  • Sagdrina Brown Jalal’s work thrives at the intersection of food, community, and innovation. Bringing diverse communities together to solve shared problems, she understands that authentic engagement requires reverence and commitment. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she was the founding executive director of the Georgia Farmers Market Association (GFMA). Sagdrina has served as a board member for the national Farmers Market Coalition, and an advisor for the Community Foundation of Atlanta and Tuskegee University’s Organic Farming Project. A Lead Facilitator in developing the Farmers Market Anti-Racist Toolkit with a group of Black growers and market leaders, she is working to train farmers market leaders across the country to use that tool. She coaches leaders for Atlanta Leadership Consulting and designed and facilitates the Legacy Leadership program in partnership with Georgia Tech, Emory, The Lola and other impact-driven organizations in Atlanta as the Founder of SageD Consulting.

  • Sarah Holle is the Program Manager at Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis, a former researcher at University of Minnesota, St Paul and Social Enterprise Farm Operations Manager at Urban Ventures. Sarah helps manage the Mill City Farmers Market grant program, supporting farmers in times of extreme crop loss and other hardship, and helping MCFM farmers experiment with new crops, growing techniques and equipment. In recent years the program has expanded the size of grant awards and the pool of grantees beyond Mill City Farmers Market vendors. Now, Next Stage Grantees represent local farmers and food makers throughout the region who sustain a healthy, local food system.

  • Tamara Cameron is a local food advocate, helping make farmers markets and other non-profits successful for many years. From 2016 to 2022 she led the Boise Farmers Market as Market Manager and Executive Director. Tamara was responsible for moving the farmers market to a new location in 2019, resulting in an increase of 20,000+ shopper visits from the previous season. She shifted the market to a successful drive-thru model in 2020, ensuring that over 19 thousand orders were distributed and 1.4 million dollars went back into the pockets of local farmers, ranchers and producers. 2022 was BFM’s most successful year yet, with 2.2 million in sales. Working for non-profit organizations and organizing events in Boise and in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has supported farmers markets wherever she has lived or traveled. Tamara currently lives in Astoria, Oregon where she forages for mushrooms, hikes the forest and volunteers with the North Coast Food Web.

  • Tasha Ardalan is a farmers’ market professional having been both a farmers’ market vendor as well as a manager of several farmers’ markets in San Diego County for over a decade. Tasha is currently focused on farmers’ market advocacy and provides consultations to emerging and restructured markets. Ms. Ardalan also works in agricultural regulatory compliance and operates a tiny farm where she grows herbs used in her Healthy Hound and Foxy Treats pet products. Many of the products she makes are certified San Diego Grown 365. Local food, community, access, and equity are always at the foreground in Tasha’s work.

  • Taylor is a first generation Asian-American who is passionate about supporting local food systems that prioritize equitable access to sustainable foods. Currently, she is the Operations and Programs Director at Green City Market, where she oversees programming that supports sustainable farmers, increases access to local food and provides edible education experiences throughout Chicago. In addition, her work drives the organizational operations, including facilities, finance and human resources.

    Previously a New York seedling, she now plants her roots in Chicago, Illinois after graduating from Loyola University Chicago with a B.S. in Environmental Science: Sustainable Food and Agriculture, and Urban Studies. She has over nine years of experience in food sustainability, waste reduction and community engagement fields through her work and research with Garden Collage, Center for Urban Research and Learning, School of Environmental Sustainability, The Green Initiative Fund, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chicago Foundation for Women.

  • Tracy Frey has over a decade of experience managing the Williamsburg Farmers Market in Virginia. With an understanding of the power of collective action, Tracy has brought together diverse stakeholders to address common challenges and drive positive change. These associations have become invaluable platforms for networking, knowledge-sharing, and advocacy, empowering individuals and organizations to thrive. Divergent thinking and encouragement of wild ideas are some of Tracy's favorite hobbies.

  • Veah Larde is the manager of the Austin Town Hall City Market in Chicago, IL. Owner and chef of Two Sisters Catering LLC since 2012, Veah has been a past vendor at several local farmers markets in Chicago. As a manager, she prides herself on being consistent with each participant and shopper. She is self-taught and displays her passion for executing memorable moments. Always involved with and committed to her community, Veah is an Advisory Board Member at The Hatchery Chicago food and beverage incubator), a member of the Austin Green Team Community Gardens, and works with Austin Eats, a group of diverse partners working to promote healthier food choices and access.

  • As a legal fellow with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, Wendy helps coordinate the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit. For more than a decade, Wendy practiced employment law in Seattle. After relocating to Vermont, she investigated wage and hour claims and adjudicated unemployment and worker misclassification claims as an administrative law judge for the Vermont Department of Labor. Wendy spent seven months working on a small, diversified farm in Western Massachusetts after leaving the Department.Currently, she also sits on the board of Food Connects, a nonprofit organization that operates a food hub and farm to school program in Southeastern Vermont.

  • Nino Budabin McQuown’s is the Farmers Market Support Network Coordinator at the national Farmers Market Coalition. Their work at markets, in fields, and in urban gardens, has always taken place alongside research and scholarship on the cultures of food and agriculture. They hold a PhD in English Literature, focused on the socio-cultural history of soil, and have many years of experience as an editor. At FMC, they manage projects focused on the creation, aggregation, and sharing of networks and resources in support of farm direct operators and the local food systems those groups create.

  • A gourmet home cook and 20 year customer of farmers markets, the more Larry McClements shopped at farmers markets, the more involved he became. In 2018, working alongside his young son he began selling peaches for a farmer at his local farmers market. In 2019 he took over as market manager of the Old Town Newhall Farmers Market in Santa Clarita, California. In 2020 he took a position as Vice President of Operations for a California dairy. In 2022 he opened a second farmers market in his nearby hometown. In running his two weekly, year round markets, Larry draws on his past experience working as an IT Director in Los Angeles and his DIY approach to marketing.