Ben Lehman

Ben Lehman

Midwest Organic Consultant

Ben grew up on an organic grain farm in central Iowa and is based in Slater, IA. He joined the team in February 2023, and is excited to help connect Midwest grain farmers with organic practices that work with their soils and management. Ben worked in on-farm research and extension while he pursued a B.S. in Crop Production from Cornell University. He moved back to Iowa to be near the family grain farm and work as an agronomist focused on helping farms evaluate new practices. He’s especially excited to help farmers find rotations, cover crops, and equipment that fit their operation.

Organic Consultants

Northeast

  • Sam Malriat

    Director, Organic Consulting

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    Sam Malriat

    Sam provides on-site technical assistance to farmers, landowners, and businesses that are interested in transitioning land to certified organic and regenerative production systems. He earned a B.S. in Agricultural Sciences from Cornell University and has over 12 years of practical farming experience in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland. Sam is a Certified Crop Adviser and is IOIA Certified in Crops and Livestock.

  • Emily Miller

    Senior Operations Manager

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    Emily Miller

    Emily oversees the operations of the Consulting team, empowering Rodale’s efforts to transition farmers to organic and regenerative organic agriculture. Prior to joining the Rodale Institute team, she worked in sales and operations for an international sustainable ingredients startup after running her own grocery delivery service in Baltimore. She also worked in software consulting and ecommerce as a Fellow with Venture For America (VFA). She earned a BA in Economics from Barnard College of Columbia University, with a focus on sustainable development. Emily joined the team in September 2023 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland.

  • Idelfi Crespo

    Senior Administrative Assistant, Consulting and Accounting

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    Idelfi Crespo

    Idelfi is Senior Administrative Assistant to the Organic Consultancy and Accounting/ HR departments. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, and her prior experience includes Health Care Management Administration. Having lived all her life in New York City, she has always been very passionate about accessibility to affordable healthy foods in the inner cities, clean eating and green spaces.

  • Corinne Murphy

    Partnership Strategy & Development

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    Corinne Murphy

  • Kegan Hilaire

    Small Farms & Diversified Vegetable Consultant

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    Kegan Hilaire

    Kegan was born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, before moving to Philadelphia to complete his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Temple University. After joining a CSA in the city, he was hooked on the production of fresh, local, seasonal food. It has led him from Sales manager of a 5th-generation dairy farm, to managing a diversified, organic farm, to the Rodale Institute Farmer Training Program, and finally to the facilities and landscape team at the Founder’s Farm Campus. Kegan also owns and operates a small organic farm in Emmaus, PA.

  • Luke Howard

    Chief Program Officer

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    Luke Howard

  • Catherine Peebles

    Pennsylvania Organic Consultant

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    Catherine Peebles

    Catherine joined the team in September 2022 and is excited to support farmers interested in transitioning to organic and regenerative practices. After training and working on a biodynamic farm in New York, Catherine pursued a Master’s from Cornell University in Soil & Crop Sciences focusing on payments for ecosystem services for small farmers. Prior to her Master’s, she worked in finance after earning her Bachelor’s in Economics & Spanish from Bucknell University. Catherine is thrilled to cultivate her financial experience and passion for resilient farming systems at an organization pioneering the regenerative organic movement.

  • Sage Dennis

    Pennsylvania Organic Consultant

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    Sage Dennis

    Joining the team in September 2022, Sage is excited to be able to expand into Regenerative Agriculture bringing sustainable farming to the next level. He has been doing Organic Consulting for the past 5 years and is eager to continue to learn to better serve our farmers. Prior to his time in Organic Agriculture, Sage travelled through various countries as a travelling farmhand. Seeing different approaches, practices, and beliefs within agriculture is what ignited his passion of sustainable Agriculture and wishes to take these life experiences and use to better service our clients.

Southeast

  • De’Anthony Price

    Southeast Organic Consultant

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    De’Anthony Price

    De’Anthony Price is an Agronomist specializing in sustainable and organic crop production, farmer education, science communication, and advocating for minorities in agriculture. As a native of Atlanta, Georgia, he deeply understands the significance of food production and environmental stewardship. Before joining Rodale Institute, De’Anthony served at UF/IFAS Extension Jefferson County as the Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent. There, he delivered educational programs on agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources, earning recognition for his expertise in organic and alternative farming systems. De’Anthony holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communication from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, where his studies focused on supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) farmers in the Southeast. He furthered his education at Alabama A & M University, graduating with a Master of Science in Plant and Soil Science, Agronomy in 2022. His research centered on nutrient management in sustainable and organic crop production, particularly in ethnic vegetables, medicinal plants, and specialty cropping systems. Beyond his professional pursuits, De’Anthony cherishes quality time with his wife and dog, and indulges in karaoke & camping.

Southwest

  • Jen Rose Silverman

    New Mexico Program Coordinator

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    Jen Rose Silverman

    Jen is passionate about building vital relationships and opportunities as a means towards restoration, regeneration and resilience. Joining the team in September 2023 with nearly two decades of organic inspecting and consulting, she has spent many hours walking farms and ranches across the country and sitting with producers completing paperwork at their kitchen tables. Jen is proud to bring her work back home to New Mexico. Jen’s expertise brings stakeholder awareness and a toolbox of skills which align with Rodale’s consulting team’s vision to build a future with healthier people and planet and one that celebrates farming and shared connections. Jen and her husband reside on their beloved small biodiverse farm situated on the ancestral lands of Tiwa territory in Northern NM.

Pacific

  • Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens

    Pacific Regional Manager

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    Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens

    Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens is returning to his roots and the spirit of discovery that first brought him back into farming after a decade of teaching in inner-city Los Angeles and in China and working for criminal justice reform on the West Coast. Nathanael spent his undergrad years studying Plant Genetics and Biology at UCLA and has a teaching credential for CSU Los Angeles. He grew up on a small farm in California’s San Joaquin Valley and founded two businesses there with his family. The first, now run by his brother, is focused on food justice and sovereignty and the second, operated by his wife, strives to implement regenerative farming practices and to equip and empower traditionally underrepresented groups.

  • Vivian Le

    Markets Coordinator

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    Vivian Le

    Vivian is a food systems professional with extensive experience in community-based food systems work and is the Productions Chair of the North American Food Systems Network. Prior to joining the Rodale team in April of 2024, she farmed in Italy, launched a farmer’s market in New York and supported the Good Food Awards in California. She studied food and sustainability at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a master’s in Gastronomy from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy.

  • Daniel Chavez

    California Organic Consultant

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    Daniel Chavez

Mountain West

Northern Plains

  • Nic Podoll

    Northern Plains Regional Manager

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    Nic Podoll

    Nic is a lifelong organic farmer, having grown up and farmed with his family on their certified organic farm in southeast North Dakota, raising small grains and vegetable seed. Prior to working at Rodale Institute, he worked in Extension for the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University. He also served several years on the NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Review Committee. Nic is IOIA certified in crops and holds a Master’s in Agricultural & Extension Education from North Carolina State University. He is located in north-central Minnesota.

  • Sydney U. Fellows

    Organic Community Food Systems Consultant

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    Sydney U. Fellows

    Sidney U. Fellows (Shoshone-Bannock, Chippewa-Cree) works with tribes throughout the US Northwest and Northern Plains to implement chemical-free land management practices that support their culturally relevant food production across their respective ancestral territories. This is done by providing technical assistance, education and outreach, and community building with different tribal individuals and communities, as well as non-Native partners. She works closely with those invested in the health of wild/native ecosystems that support cultural food sources, as well as those who, (instead of harvesting from stewarded native ecosystems), utilize Indigenous agricultural techniques to grow food.

    She was raised on and around the Fort Hall Indian Reservation by her Chippewa-Cree grandmother, mother, father, and extended family. Her current work is primarily rooted in her community and ancestral homelands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Through academic, professional, and personal experiences, she studies and participates in Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives that incorporate her ever-growing knowledge of ethnobotany, organic farming, culture, and environmental justice. She is grateful to be a part of the multi-generational work of reclaiming and restoring foodways that provide not only physical nourishment, but also cultural practices, medicine, and affirmation of tribal identity.

Midwest & Central Plains

  • Scott Ausborn

    Midwest Regional Manager

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    Scott Ausborn

    Scott was raised on a diversified grain and livestock farm in western Iowa. He attended Iowa State University where he received a degree in Environmental Science in 2008. Scott worked in the organic seed industry for over 16 years. He has worked with organic and sustainable farmers across the country. Scott also manages an organic and conventional farm near Ida Grove, IA. He grows organic row crops, as well as conventional crops, including corn, soybeans, oats, and alfalfa. Scott has been involved in a variety of organic organizations over the years, including the Iowa Organic Association and OCIA. He is also a local FSA county committee member. Scott, his wife Melissa, and two boys Tyler and Justin live in Ida Grove, IA. He enjoys coaching youth sports, as well as hunting, fishing, and golf. Scott is excited to join the Rodale team and serve as the Midwest Regional Manager.

  • Ben Lehman

    Midwest Organic Consultant

    Read Bio: Ben Lehman

    Ben Lehman

    Ben grew up on an organic grain farm in central Iowa and is based in Slater, IA. He joined the team in February 2023, and is excited to help connect Midwest grain farmers with organic practices that work with their soils and management. Ben worked in on-farm research and extension while he pursued a B.S. in Crop Production from Cornell University. He moved back to Iowa to be near the family grain farm and work as an agronomist focused on helping farms evaluate new practices. He’s especially excited to help farmers find rotations, cover crops, and equipment that fit their operation.

  • Dave Campbell

    Organic Advisor

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    Dave Campbell

    Dave was introduced to organics in 1967 on a small diversified organic farm, when he began to sell organic meat to a health food store under the guidance of his father. Upon graduating from Western Illinois University with a teaching degree, he joined his father in their organic dairy cow operation located in northern Illinois, and later he operated an organic dairy in southern Wisconsin. In 1988, he began to transition the entire acreage of a conventional row crop farm near DeKalb IL (Lily Lake Organic Farm) to certified organic production, and he has been USDA certified organic for the past 34 years, along with Real Organic Certified for the past 3 years. Dave has served on numerous organic boards, and has presented many workshops on the topics of weed management, cover crops, and crop rotations. He has also served a 4-year term on the NCR-SARE Advisory Council as a grant reviewer. Currently, he serves on both the Policy Committee and Governing Council for OFA (Organic Farmers Assoc.)

  • Bridget Gilmore

    Market Development Manager

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    Bridget Gilmore

    Bridget cultivates connections throughout organic & regenerative organic value chains. She grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and studied Leadership, Ethics, & Organizational Sustainability at Saint Joseph’s University. She has gathered food system experiences in different parts of the world with small scale farmers, a CPG company, and a national distributor. She is thrilled to propel her passions for regenerative organic agriculture and food sovereignty. Bridget joined the team in February 2022. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

  • Will Glazik

    Organic Advisor

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    Will Glazik

    Will Glazik from Paxton, IL is a second generation organic farmer and crop advisor. Will was raised on a mixed row crop and livestock certified organic farm before he studied Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois. After graduation, Will went to work in agriculture retail sales prior to share crop farming 800 acres. Currently he is utilizing some no till organic practices on his farm as well as markets consulting for organic row crop and organic transition farmers. Will is a cofounder of the IDEA Farm Network which is a learning community for organic and conservation minded farmers in the Midwest. He raises corn, soybeans, oats and wheat as well as specialty grains like open pollinated corn and grains for brewers and distillers.  It is Will’s belief that the best way to increase organic acres is through strong, consistent domestic markets. Along with his brothers Clayton and Dallas, Will is a founder of Silver Tree Spirits, LLC.