Our Team

Ken Dickerson
Executive Director
ken at eco-farm.org

Ken Dickerson first became involved with the Ecological Farming Association nearly twenty years ago as a volunteer for the EcoFarm Conference.  This led to participation on the Conference Planning Committee, staff, and the Board of Directors.  Ken worked for ten years as a high school ecological agriculture instructor in Santa Cruz County bringing EcoFarm to school with a garden, greenhouse and culinary program.  Ken now serves as the Executive Director, working with the association to continue to realize a healthy, safe and socially just food and farming system.

 

Liz Birnbaum
Program Coordinator
liz at eco-farm.org

Elizabeth (Liz) Birnbaum coordinates the content and logistics for the Annual EcoFarm Conference plus many other initiatives throughout the year. Liz first began cultivating land as a guerilla gardener, working to transform her alma mater into an edible landscape. That guerrilla gardening hobby grew into a deeper interest when she became Program Coordinator for Environmental Studies at Lake Forest College. She subsequently worked to establish the Campus Garden as a productive space for the campus community. Liz has co-taught college courses on biodiversity and agriculture, botanical imperialism, and Chicago’s food history, geography, and culture. She has also created a photo ethnography project where she interviewed and photographed farmers around the country. She had a solo show of the project in Chicago in May 2012.



Joanna Dillon
Communications Director
joanna at eco-farm.org

As EFA's communications director, Joanna uses her experience in strategy, graphic design, and organizational planning to promote EFA's programs, events, and advocacy campaigns.  She also handles the various technology and information systems projects that keep the office running.  Joanna spent the last several years working with farmers to increase access to their local, fresh foods and also created and managed community currency networks.  As the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey, she oversaw its farmer education programs and the annual winter conference.  Additionally, she directed a farm-to-school program in rural, northeastern Vermont, bringing together diverse stakeholders to increase the amount of healthy, local foods being served to children.  California is her new home and she’s excited to explore the redwoods and beaches, learn how to garden with so much sunshine, and enjoy the amazing bounty produced by California's farmers.

 

Isabelle Jenniches
Administrative Assistant
isabelle at eco-farm.org

Isabelle joined EFA in 2013 after working as an intern for the 2013 EcoFarm Conference. As a child, Isabelle enjoyed visiting her grandparents' small farm in the Eifel region of Germany, which instilled in her a love of farming as a way of life. In California, she became involved in environmental advocacy, studied organic agriculture at Cabrillo College in Aptos and gathered hands-on experience working at Casalegno Family Farm in Soquel. An accomplished artist, Isabelle now divides her time between creating her composite photographs, gardening, cooking the food that she grows, hiking, and–after it rains–mushroom-hunting. She loves that she can ride her bike to work.

 

 

Other Essential Advisors

Zea Sonnabend
Conference Advisor
Zea at eco dash farm dot org

PlanIt Now
Event Manager

Angela Ginsburg
Chef Consultant
A Fork Full of Earth Organic Catering