Meet The Team
Staff
Megan Kemple
Executive Director
Megan Kemple (she/her) has over 23 years of non-profit experience focused on supporting Oregon’s agricultural community. In 2017 she founded OrCAN. Prior to her work at OrCAN, she served as Director of 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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Program Manager
Hablo español
Sage Fairman (she/her) brings over 5 years of experience in food systems work in the Pacific Northwest, specializing in regenerative agriculture, bilingual farm business support, and farmworker advocacy. She grew up in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California and graduated with a Bachelors in Food Sovereignty in the Americas from Western Washington University. Sage has spent time working and studying in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. She managed market access programs for Latine farmers and food makers and led farm operations for a university farm. In her free time, you'll find her spending the afternoon at the farmers market, cooking with friends, or bird watching.
Sophie Els
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Policy Associate
Sophie Els (she/her) is a trained policy analyst and writer, with experience in public engagement, conducting surveys, and scientific research. She studied international politics at American University in Washington, DC, 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 helping producers directly to make agriculture more sustainable. Outside of work, you can usually find her at the local library, trying to beat her lofty Goodreads yearly reading goal.
Emeric Kennard
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Operations Coordinator & Communications Assistant
Emeric Kennard (they/them) has worked in nonprofit education and administration for over 6 years, with a focus on finance, equity, sustainability, and program development at institutions such as California College of the Arts and the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. They are a freelancing artist and designer with a decade of practice at the intersection of art and activism. Emeric loves the thrill of getting dangerously close to their houseplant care capacity maximum. They’ll propagate just a few more, and then they’ll stop, really.
Advisory Board
Mimi Casteel: Owner, Hope Well Wine
Zach Menchini: Owner, Campfire Farms
Hannah Gosnell, Ph.D: Professor, Oregon State University
Dominica Navarro: Deputy Director, Organic Farming Research Foundation