GEORGIA ORGANICS MEMBERS ELECT NEW & RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS
Every year, we engage our invaluable Georgia Organics members to vote for new and returning members of our Board of Directors.
This week, thanks to many votes from our members, we confirmed the following slate of four new nominees and four incumbents, meet them below!
As a non-profit, we rely heavily on our incredible Board of Directors for oversight, accountability, and guidance in our daily programmatic work. Meet the full Board of Directors at georgiaorganics.org/board.
Want to play a part in shaping Georgia Organics’ future and the work we do? Become a member today at georgiaorganics.org/growwithus.
Top (left to right): Akia Lewis, Shari Martin. Bottom: Tripp Pomeroy, Sed Rowe
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: NEW MEMBERS
The following individuals will serve a three-year term on the Georgia Organics Board.
Akia Lewis (Atlanta) – Akia Lewis is a lover of food and nature who believes access to life-sustaining food is a human right. Since 2014, she has supported strategy, partnerships, and community capacity building at Georgia Family Connection Partnership, the only statewide network in the country dedicated to the health and well-being of families and communities. As a staunch believer in the mission and vision of Georgia Organics, Akia has been a volunteer and member for several years and has been serving on the organization’s program committee.
Shari Martin (Roswell) – Shari Martin, together with her husband Tony Martin, embarked upon farming in 2015, having reclaimed former farmland in downtown Roswell. With the help of young farmers, Martin’s Garden has grown into a small urban organic farm providing vegetables through CSA memberships and farm stands. Martin’s Garden is also committed to using the farm to support local charities through hosting events and donating food locally. After a decade as a Corporate Banking Executive with Bank of America and Wells Fargo, followed by another decade as a Fintech executive for New York based firms, Shari is happy to put down local roots. She is responsible for strategy, marketing and acts as CFO for Martin’s Garden and is excited to contribute her small business banking and technology experience to Georgia Organics.
Harlan “Tripp” Pomeroy (Americus) – Tripp Pomeroy is the CEO of Cafe Campesino, Inc., a fair trade organic coffee company, and a board member of Cooperative Coffees, through which Cafe Campesino sources all of its coffee. A unique fair trade organic green bean importing cooperative of small to medium-sized North American roasters, Cooperative Coffees is committed to deep, long-term partnerships with small-scale coffee farmers and their exporting cooperatives. Since 2004 Tripp has played an active role in Cooperative Coffees, including participating in numerous roaster-farmer workshops and leading delegations to connect Cafe Campesino customers directly with the women and men who grow their coffee. These connections provide a unique and important opportunity to learn first-hand about coffee farming and, in particular, the critical role of organic farming practices. Tripp has over twenty years of experience in international business and trade and has an MA in International Development from The American University's School of International Service.
Sed Rowe (Albany) – Sed Rowe is owner of Rowe Organic Farm where he grows peanuts, sunflowers and hemp. He attended Fort Valley State University on a full football scholarship and received a B.S. in Plant Science with a concentration in Horticulture and later received an M.S. in Public Health. After college he worked at Southwest Georgia Project, a nonprofit founded by civil rights pioneers Charles and Shirley Sherrod. Although involved in agriculture since he was young, Sed is a first-generation farmer and started with 10 Certified Organic acres. He was among three farmers to grow Organic peanuts in 2019 and become a founding member of the Georgia Organic Peanut Cooperative (GOPA). He currently serves on the board of the National Young Farmers Coalition.
Top (left to right): Drew Belline, Kristin Russell. Bottom: Jennifer Taylor, Rebecca Williams
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: RE-ELECTED MEMBERS
The following four current board members will serve a second three-year term.
Drew Belline (Decatur) – Drew Belline is currently the Executive Chef / Owner of No. 246 in Decatur, Georgia; a restaurant that focuses on seasonally and locally sourced American-Italian cuisine. Chef Belline is also the Vice President of Creative Direction and concept development for the Ford Fry restaurant group in Atlanta and has worked in the past with chefs Anne Quatrano in Atlanta and Chef Tom Colicchio in New York City. As a chef, Drew is deeply committed to seasonal ingredients and supporting local farmers and has supported Georgia Organics through events such as Attack of Killer Tomato Festival and a foraged mushroom inspired dinner for patrons.
Kristin Russell (Savannah) – Kristin grew up on a family farm/ranch in north -central Kansas and followed the agricultural thread through college in Minnesota and an internship in South Africa. She came to Savannah to thaw out and to open The Sentient Bean- a fair-trade coffee shop, which evolved into the vegetarian, farm-to-table restaurant that it is today. She helped found the Forsyth Farmers' Market in Savannah in 2008 and continues to volunteer for that organization. In early 2020, she and her partner purchased Savannah's 41 year old independent natural grocery and next door neighbor, Brighter Day. The hope is to leverage the combined power of the two businesses to support good change in Savannah's food system and strengthen our beloved community.
Jennifer Taylor (Glenwood) – In 2010, Jennifer returned to her grandmother’s farmland and with her husband relaunched it as Lola’s Organic Farm. They grow delicious organic vegetables and fruits (and cover crops) all year and provide workshops from the farm on the benefits of organic agriculture, agroecology and organic farming systems. Jennifer studied agronomy at Florida A&M (FAMU) and Iowa State University, ultimately earning her PhD degree from Virginia Tech. Jennifer is passionate about building healthy soils and environments, healthy food systems and communities, inclusive of underserved small farmers and their communities. Jennifer previously served on the National Organic Standards Board from 2011-2016. She currently serves on boards of the Organic Farmers Association, Rodale Institute, Real Organic Project, National Organic Coalition Advisory, and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.
Rebecca Williams (Chattahoochee Hills) – Rebecca Williams owns and operates Many Fold Farm, home to the Rodale Institute Southeast Organic Center and the agriculture and community non-profit, Three Magnolias. After nearly a decade of grass-based livestock farming and farmstead cheesemaking, Rebecca understood the need for more resources for established farms to grow and thrive. In 2018, she decided to leverage the farm in that direction. Her work now centers around generating useful research in regenerative organic farming practices, farmer education, and agriculture as a means of land preservation, carbon sequestration, and community cohesion and growth.