Meet The Team
Staff
Megan Kemple
Executive Director
Megan Kemple (she/her) has over 25 years of non-profit experience supporting Oregon’s agricultural community. In 2017 she founded OrCAN and has focused on building a healthy organization and leading OrCAN's advocacy efforts. Prior to her work at OrCAN, she founded and directed several other non-profit projects, including the Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network. Megan is an avid locavore and loves hiking and swimming in mountain lakes.
Sage Fairman
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Deputy Director (se habla español)
Sage Fairman (she/her) has over 7 years of experience in food systems work across the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on regenerative agriculture, bilingual farm business support, and farmworker advocacy. She has managed market access programs for Latine farmers, raised chickens on an educational farm, and served on various advisory committees, including on rural downtown revitalization projects. Sage loves farmers markets, cooking with friends, biking, and bird watching.
Sophie Els
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Policy Coordinator
Sophie Els (she/her) is an experienced writer and policy analyst, and holds a graduate degree in climate science & policy from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Sophie comes from a family of wheat farmers in Eastern Washington, and is passionate about increasing access and support for climate-smart farming. Outside of work, you can usually find her at the local library, trying to beat her yearly reading goal.
Emeric Turner
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Operations Coordinator & Communications Assistant
Emeric Turner (they/them) has worked in nonprofit education and administration for 7+ years, focusing on equitable, sustainable program development and financial management. As a formally trained freelancing artist, they have over a decade of practice at the intersection of art and activism. Emeric loves connecting with the forest, trying to turn their living room into one, and the magic of creation.
Board of Directors
Aliza McHugh
Board Treasurer
Oregon Community Food Systems Network, Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative
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Brittney Deming
Board Member
Friends of Family Farmers
Rob Wiedenmann
Board President
Zach Menchini
Board Secretary
Campfire Farms
Program Advisory Board
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Claire Phillips, USDA Agricultural Research Service at WSU​
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Kait Crowley, PK Pastures
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Lydia Brennan Scott, Rainbow Acres Community Farm
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Mimi Casteel, Hope Well Wine
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Rose High Bear, Elderberry Wisdom Farm
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Rowan Steele, East Multnomah SWCD & Overstory Farm
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Sabrina Cerquera, Ecotrust
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Steve Culman, OSU Central Oregon Ag Research & Extension Center
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West Lambert, Tiichám Conservation District & Soil Sense Consulting