Board of Directors

Executive Committee

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Benjamin Lee Bland, III, Chair

Benjamin was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he currently serves as the Mass in Motion Program Manager within the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, where he has worked for over a decade. He holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Benjamin has dedicated his career to achieving a vibrant and more equitable food system that meets the health, cultural, and nutritional needs of all people. His work is rooted in neighborhood level community engagement, coalition building, and connecting regional challenges to the broader systemic realities and policy barriers that impact health outcomes for residents.

Leslie Harris, Vice-Chair

Leslie Harris is the farm manager at Quonquont Farm and Orchard in Whately, Massachusetts, where she and her team grow fruits, flowers, and vegetables while preserving a historic property and its habitats. Prior to joining Quonquont, Leslie spent more than 25 years working for animal welfare organizations around the country, including a long period as the executive director of the Dakin Humane Society. Leslie combines her love of animals, passion for the outdoors, and desire to feed people with significant non-profit administration experience. In addition to serving on the CISA board, Leslie chairs the trustees of the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation and the board of the Connecticut River Conservancy.

Myra Marcellin, Treasurer
Myra serves in the local community participating in the music ministry at her church and she had served on the Board of Directors of the Boy & Girls Club Family Center up until mid-2019.  Myra has served in the agricultural community representing Farm Credit East in various capacities and have previously served on the Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom Board of Directors. She currently serves as a Regular Trustee to the Eastern States Exposition representing the State of Massachusetts.

Tessa White-Diemand, Clerk
Tessa returned to her family farm in 2017 after working in the social work field for many years. She is the third generation to work the Diemand Farm in Wendell, raising grass-fed beef cattle, broiler chickens, cage-free laying hens, and pasture-raised turkeys. The farm also has a small commercial kitchen that produces value-added products which are sold at their small farm store and across the Pioneer Valley. Tessa has brought a fresh viewpoint to the farm. Her organizational skills are a great asset in helping with succession planning from the senior generation and looking to the future.

Board Members

German Alvarado
German is the Director of Culinary Services at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. He is focused on local and sustainable goals for his department while building connections with the community. With a love for international flavors and a background in farm-to-table dining, he enjoys the challenge of incorporating those two elements into his menus and college dining events. Prior to Smith College, he played a key role in the opening of Esselon Cafe before relocating to Los Angeles to contribute to the opening of Ray’s and Stark Bar at the LACMA museum, a Mediterranean influenced, farm-to-table restaurant driven heavily by the seasons with a focus on local farms. He credits his love for food to his Central American heritage, passed down by his food-loving mom and aunts. When he’s not in the kitchen, German can be found gardening, being creative, and simply enjoying precious moments with his wife and two daughters.

Hameed Bello
Hameed is the owner/operator of Agric Organics. He is a result-driven, community-oriented farmer, pharmacist, biotechnology, and business professional with over 10 years of experience in farming, leading, and managing complex business challenges. Hameed’s domain specialties and proven knowledge includes organic farming practices, crop management, operational strategy, supply chain management and strategy community and relationship building, inventory management, research, and patient/ customer care. Hameed is a forward-thinking professional who is passionate about using his skillset to provide innovative solutions to complex issues.

Kat Chang Laznicka
As a first-generation farmer with several years of experience in farmsteading prior to starting Reed Farm in 2019, Kat offers multiple perspectives on community supported agriculture and local food systems. With her partner Peter, Kat owns and operates Reed Farm in Sunderland, a small-scale pastured poultry farm and licensed poultry processing facility offering processing services to the local farming community. Reed Farm was awarded several federal and state grants to upgrade and expand the processing facility and is actively progressing towards a USDA grant of inspection. When off farm duty, you can find Kat tending her Romeldale CVM sheep flock, playing with fiber, and handspinning.

Julia Coffey
Julia returned home to western Massachusetts from the Pacific Northwest in 2009 after a decade of studying and working in various fields of agriculture, food access, and local food systems. She established Mycoterra Farm in 2010 from humble beginnings in a basement in Westhampton. The farm, now located in South Deerfield, has grown to become the largest certified organic commercial mushroom producer in the state of Massachusetts. In March of 2020, Julia and her team rapidly adapted to the pandemic’s effects on Mycoterra’s direct marketing strategies by launching Mass Food Delivery, an online ordering and home delivery service connecting local food producers with consumers throughout the state. While Mass Food Delivery effectively “saved the farm”, Julia also gained valuable insights and connections into the MA food systems.

Greg Garrison
Greg grew up in farming in north-central Illinois. On the family farms, they raised cattle, hogs, chickens, geese, and horses. His work ethic and resiliency came from those years working on the farms. As did his respect for the hard-working people who chose farming as their vocation. After a five-year stint in the military, he began eighteen years in logistics management. He left that industry and sold his company and contracts. With an interest in paying back his carbon debt, he enrolled in an associate’s program for renewable energy at Greenfield Community College. Upon graduation, he joined a new solar company, Northeast Solar, to assist them with their start-up. Three years later, he purchased Northeast Solar. Today, Northeast Solar (NES) is one of the most recognized renewable energy companies in western Massachusetts. NES offers Solar, storage, EV chargers, and air-source heat pumps to homes, businesses, and farms.

Jenny Ladd
Jennifer Ladd, Ed. D has been a philanthropic advisor as well as fundraising coach, group facilitator, and trainer on race and class issues. She co-founded Class Action with Felice Yeskel, www.classism.org, an organization dedicated to building  world without classism.  She is dedicated to creating resilient community by helping resources move where they are most needed.  She was on the founding board of the Women’s Fund of Western Mass, and has served with the Peace Development Fund, Temenos, and currently works with Wellspring Cooperative’s Development Committee. She lives at Rocky Hill Co-housing community in Northampton, MA.

Samaita Newell
Sam is the owner/operator of Fruit Fair Supermarket and has been working on food access across the gateway cities of Chicopee and Springfield. Her mission is to feed her Environmental Justice neighborhood with fresh nutrition foods.

Caroline Pam

Caroline and her husband Tim owned and operated Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland for 18 years, growing the business from 1 acre to 65 acres and launching an award-winning line of value-added products, including sriracha, salsa, and dried chilies. After selling the farm to two longtime employees in 2024, Caroline took on the role of Co-Executive Director of Island Grown, a Martha’s Vineyard nonprofit. 

Catherine Sands
Catherine Sands, MPPA, is director of Fertile Ground, working with organizations and foundations to maximize strategies that promote healthy and empowered families and communities. She currently provides evaluation technical assistance to 25 innovative food access organizations across New England with DAISA Enterprises for the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation and teaches food systems and policy at UMASS Amherst. She also facilitates conversations with organizations, schools and universities to reimagine and build just, equitable, shared systems and processes. Catherine is a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Good Food for All policy group and the PVGrows Steering committee, where she co-directs the Racial Equity committee.

Will Van Heuvelen
Will Van Heuvelen is the co-owner and co-founder of Wheelhouse Catering, a Western Massachusetts–based catering and events company rooted in seasonal, locally sourced cuisine. Since its founding in 2015, Wheelhouse has grown into a multi-million-dollar operation known for its strong partnerships with regional farms and its commitment to thoughtful, ingredient-driven cooking. Will brings a blend of culinary expertise and entrepreneurial experience to his work, with a focus on building resilient, community-oriented food systems. His approach emphasizes collaboration between farmers, producers, and hospitality teams, as well as operational excellence in a fast-scaling business. In addition to his role at Wheelhouse, Will is deeply interested in strengthening regional food infrastructure and expanding access to locally produced food.

Doug Wheat

Doug Wheat is a Partner and Wealth Advisor with Perigon Wealth Management in Amherst. Doug received his BA in Economics from Hobart College and his MBA at the Yale School of Management. He also earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at the Yale School of the Environment. For 5 years Doug was an adjunct professor in retirement planning at Elms College. Doug is the treasurer of Forbes Library, and is a former Chair of the United Way of Hampshire County board, a former board member of the Pascommuck Conservation Trust and the Great Swamp Watershed Association, former president of the Northampton Soccer Club and a former member of the school council of Leeds Elementary and JFK Middle School. Doug has a passion for the outdoors and loves biking, hiking, camping, cross-country skiing, and gardening.

 

Community members who sit on CISA committees

Development Committee
Jenn Farner
Al Griggs
Rachel Moore
Rus Peotter
Stephanie Slysz

Finance/Audit Committee
Benjamin Barnes
Hector Toledo