Our People

Our Staff

Lilly Lombard

Executive Director  As a community organizer, Lilly co-led the campaign to pass (and recently to save) the Community Preservation Act in Northampton, and served for three years as an elected representative on Northampton’s Community Preservation Committee. Lilly was GFN’s founding Board President.  Prior to directing GFN, Lilly worked for the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health & Rights.

Laura Hilberg

Administrative Assistant Laura is a master’s student in Conservation Biology, and led our riverfront restoration project as an intern. Laura now oversees our database management and assists the Executive Director with a variety of daily operations.

Our Board of Directors

Adele Franks

President A retired public health physician, Adele brings non-profit management and land preservation experience from her time as Co-Chair of the Nonotuck Land Fund. Adele continues on from her position as GFN’s first Vice President.

Joe Blotnick

Interim Treasurer Joe brings experience as a leadership consultant, environmental educator and advocate for sustainability. He served 7 years as a Cooperative Extension Agent in Maine, 4 years as Director of the University of Rhode Island Environmental Education Center and spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic helping a newly forming farmer cooperative become certified as organic.

Annie Sullivan-Chin

Clerk Experienced in organic agriculture, Annie brings a farmer’s perspective to the GFN board of directors. She is currently a worker-owner of the Pedal People collective and is dedicated to the notion of fair, just, and sustainable food systems.

Tom Benjamin

 Garden Planning Team Co-Leader As a landscape architect, Tom has more than 20 years experience in environmental design work, often focused on ecological restoration and green design. Tom teaches sustainable landscape design at the University of Massachusetts and Greenfield Community College.

Seth Gregory

Media Coordinator Seth has lent his expertise as a graphic designer to the production of our materials and website since the first days of our organizing efforts.  He is currently managing an independent design practice focused on supporting locally-owned businesses and non-profit organizations.

Gaby Immerman

Garden Planning Team Co-Leader Gaby teaches Horticulture and runs the summer internship for the Smith College Botanic Garden.  She also provides private residential landscape design and installation services all over the Valley, often with Smith students for a crew.  A native New Yorker, she oversaw field operations for NYC’s community gardening program, GreenThumb, and accumulated a range of professional experience in both horticulture and agriculture all over the U.S. before settling down in Northampton in 1999.

Llama Maynard

Volunteer Coordinator Llama is currently a 7th and 8th grade science teacher at PVPA Charter Public School, and works as a science education consultant with Project 2061 and Expeditionary Learning Schools. She loves to haul her 8″ Dobsonian telescope to the Florence Organic Community Gardens via rigged-up bike trailer so that she can share her love and knowledge of astronomy with the GFN community. 

Current Interns

Cristie Kiley

Cristie is a recent graduate from UMass Amherst in Plant and Soil Science & Sustainable Agriculture.  Her main interests include farm-to-school educational program development, grant writing, community fundraising, and social media/communications.

Previous Interns

Lauren Howe

In the fall, Lauren will be a Junior at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. Lauren is majoring in Environmental Studies with a double minor in Government and Geology.

Jen Morrow

Jen is a master’s student in Climate Science and Policy at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, with a focus on agricultural policy and impacts of climate change on agriculture.

Our Committees

Contact us to learn more

Fundraising & Events

Donor base development, benefits, sales, grant-seeking, membership development, mailings, etc. Chair:Lilly Lombard

Communications

E-newsletters,  website, social networks, media Chair:Seth Gregory

Community Garden Development

Plan, create & manage the new Florence Organic Community Garden (FOG) Chair:Art Larson

Farm & Farmer Development

Farmer recruitment, farm incubation research & land management Chair:Annie Sullivan-Chin

• Joe Blotnick
• Adele Franks
• Lilly Lombard
• Llama Maynard

Our Advisory Board

• Peter Barrer  Newton Angino Community Farm 
• Lisa Baskin  David Ruggles Center
• Cris Coffin  American Farmland Trust
• Oona Coy & Ben James Town Farm
• Michael Docter  Winter Moon Farm
• Phil Korman  Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
• Jenny Ladd, C3
• Donna Lilborn  Soil Scientist & Landscape Architect
• Heidi Nortonsmith Northampton Survival Center
• John Omasta  Hickory Dell Farm 
• Steve Strimer  David Ruggles Center
• Meg Taylor The Farm Education Collaborative

Our Farmers

Crimson & Clover Farm

Nate Frigard and Jen Smith have a combined 15 years of farming experience, were trained at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California Santa Cruz, and have been growing, managing and teaching farming in Massachusetts including Waltham Fields Community Farm, Waltham, MA, and the Farm School in Orange, MA. Last year, Nate managed the CSA operation at the Farm School while Jen worked as a Land Conservation Associate with Mt. Grace Land Conservation Trust.