John Howard

Post St. Farm

John Howard operates Post St. Farm along with his wife, Allie. With an acre or less of land under cultivation, Post St. Farm focuses on growing produce and flowers intensively and naturally with the health of the soil at the forefront of thought. We specialize in mixed greens, head lettuces and root vegetables and the farmers markets remain our most important and profitable avenues for both farm revenue and customer relationships. 

Steven Piacentino

Piacentino Farm

Steven Piacentino served in the United State Air Force as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) for 12 years, dedicating himself to protecting his country and serving with honor. During his time in the military, he served in 4 combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea. In which he not only earned medals for distinguished service he gained valuable skills in leadership, teamwork, and perseverance, which he continues to apply to his life today.

After completing his military service, Steven pursued his passion for agriculture and returned to his family's farm. Embracing the values of hard work and resilience instilled in him during his military service. With a small farm in Deerfield NY and an integrated commercial kitchen he and his family now produce value added goods which are sold through New York State.

Chris DelPrince

Market Manager
North Tonawanda Farmers Market

Chris DelPrince is a seasoned entrepreneur and small business consultant with over 40 years of experience. Recognized nationally for leadership in retail and wholesale markets, he excels in business planning, marketing, and operational efficiency. With a proven track record in enhancing market position and profitability, Chris's expertise spans from new product development to facility design and construction. As the manager of the North Tonawanda City Market and owner of Delprince Management Consulting and Lifestyle T-Shirt Company, he specializes in guiding strategic planning, operational controls, and fostering profitable organizations even in challenging markets.

Dacotah Rousseau

Managing Director
Down to Earth Markets

Dacotah Rousseau is a native New Yorker who had a career in wine marketing and hospitality management before landing at Down to Earth Markets. In 2021 she became Managing Director of the company, a mission-driven Certified B Corporation that manages nine farmers markets in New York City and Westchester County. The company has a 30+ year history of connecting small scale regional farmers and food makers directly to consumers to help strengthen the local food system, improve access to fresh, local foods, and ensure a future for small scale food production in New York.

Erica Kelso

Market Manager and Bookkeeper
GardenShare

Erica Kelso is a dedicated advocate for sustainable living, a mother, and a seasoned nonprofit leader with five years of experience. In the 2023 season, she served as the Shared Manager for three farmers markets in St. Lawrence County, seamlessly blending her educational background with a passion for community engagement. Through her work with GardenShare and with the work of her PhD program in Sustainability Education, Erica Kelso has been instrumental in promoting food security and sustainable agriculture, embodying the transformative potential of local initiatives.

Melinda Meddaugh

Agriculture & Food Systems Issue Leader
CCE Sullivan County

Melinda has been the Ag & Food Systems Issue Leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension
Sullivan County since 2014. Melinda’s primary focus is on farmland preservation, agricultural economic development, and the overall management of the Sullivan Fresh program.

The Sullivan Fresh program helps to connect people in food desert communities to local farm products through our mobile farmers market, the Monticello Farmers Market, and our mobile food pantry, along with providing educational programming, technical assistance to farmers on wholesale market readiness, and a recently launched a produce prescription program for customers.

Melinda also provides support to Sullivan County farmers markets through technical assistance and marketing programs, along with developing the Sullivan Catskills Farmers Market coalition, which is a joint marketing and educational effort to promote Sullivan County farmers markets.

Rebecca Allmond

Program Manager
Department of Agriculture and Markets

Rebecca Allmond has over ten years of experience at the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. She manages the Farmers’ Market Team within the Division of Agricultural Development. This team administers New York State programming that operates through farmers markets which includes the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs, FreshConnect Checks Program, and Farmer’s Market Designation Program. Prior to food system work, Rebecca started at the Department in the Division of Plant Industry driven by a keen interest in plants and insects. When not crunching FMNP data, Rebecca can be found in a kayak on a quiet lake or couching it with her cat, Isabelle.

Meredith Ledlie Johnson

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Programing Manager
Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Family Nutrition Program

Meredith Ledlie Johnson is the Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Programming Manager for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Family Nutrition Program. The Family Nutrition Program’s PSE work is designed to ensure that all Virginians have access to enough healthy, culturally appropriate food in their communities. She holds a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in community organizing from Hunter College, CUNY. Ledlie Johnson has served as the Secretary for the Virginia Farmers Market Association for 8 years, and designed VAFMA’s Market Manager Certification courses. Before living in Virginia, Ledlie Johnson worked as a farmers market manager and as an urban park advocate.

Sophie Grant

Market Manager
Phoenicia Farmers Market

Sophie Grant is the Co-Founder and President of Phoenicia Farmers Market in Shandaken, NY, the Catskill Mountains. Sophie has been assisting farmers and small businesses with marketing, event planning, and business development for over a decade. Since opening PFM in 2021, Sophie has led a team of volunteers to grow the market to roughly 20 weekly vendors, year-round, featuring live music, activities, and community outreach. The market's primary goals are to improve local food access, foster community engagement, and stimulate economic development. Throughout her five years of operating farmers markets, Sophie has had the opportunity to participate in enriching programs such as Uprooting Racism in the Food System by Soul Fire Farm, the FMM Pro Certification Course by the Federation, and the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit Community of Practice by the Farmers Market Coalition. In addition to being a proud Board Member of the Farmers Market Federation, Sophie works full-time as Operations Coordinator for the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program, she volunteers as the Chairperson for the Shandaken Housing Smart Task Force, and she is an active member in PH2, a grassroots working group to revitalize Shandaken's Main Streets. As a chef, curator, and community organizer, Sophie's ideal Sundays are spent at the farmers market, tasting delicious creations, hearing tall tales from farmers, and running into all her neighbors.

Kelly Sauve

Organizational Manager
Ithaca Farmers Market

Kelly Sauve is the Organizational Manager for the Ithaca Farmers Market, a cooperatively run organization formed in 1973. Ithaca Farmers Market is comprised of over 150 vendors selling hyperlocal agriculture, food, and art produced within 30 miles of the iconic Steamboat Landing pavilion located on Cayuga Lake. Her work at the farmers market is focused on building a community of producers and customers that not only creates a place for joyful commerce but also develops connections and a broader understanding of food systems.

Kelly has worked as an educational director and program manager for various non-profits and has enjoyed bringing that background to the world of farmers markets. In particular, she looks forward to furthering the work necessary to make Farmers Markets accessible for all individuals, sharing the message about the importance of eating locally and welcoming all people to the table. Kelly also sits on the boards of the Finger Lakes Toy Library. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and dogs; singing; volunteering, and enjoying all that the Finger Lakes area has to offer in food, drink, and nature!

Ellen Pope

Executive Director
Otsego 2000

Ellen Pope joined Otsego 2000 in July 2010 after twelve years at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, where she managed a leadership development program and created and led GMF’s Comparative Domestic Policy program, focused on working with civic leaders to identify solutions to economic, urban development and social challenges facing cities and regions in the US and Europe. She has over 16 years of program development and management experience in the non-profit sector. Ellen moved to Cooperstown, NY to take on the role of executive director at Otsego 2000, an environmental advocacy nonprofit that defines the environment to include not only the natural environment but also the built environment and local economic sustainability.

Since joining Otsego 2000, she has grown Otsego 2000’s budget and developed new programs – to promote awareness and protection of our environment. These include the annual Glimmerglass Film Days, Otsego Outdoors (promoting hiking and paddling throughout the county), and Historic Preservation education and technical assistance. At the same time, the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market – a cornerstone of Otsego 2000 programs – has grown into a thriving year-round producer only market. She holds a bachelor of arts from Wellesley College and completed coursework toward a master’s degree at NYU’s Institute of French Studies. She is currently president of the Rotary Club of Cooperstown and is a member of the Village of Cooperstown Planning Board.

Lindsay Ott Wilcox

Creative Director
CenterMost Marketing

Lindsay Ott Wilcox brings two decades of communications experience to the Farmers Market Federation of New York in her role as Marketing Advisor. Lindsay is the owner and founder of Centermost Marketing, a boutique firm in Central Now York with a specialized focus on agriculture. Prior to founding Centermost, Lindsay was the Creative Director at iHeartMedia in Syracuse.Lindsay’s first interaction with the Federation was in 2007 when she helped develop and launch the brand for the statewide EBT/Food Stamp token program that is still in use today. Lindsay is an award-winning marketer and creative professional, with honors from the New York State Broadcasters Association and Graphic Design USA.

Jack Riffle

Executive Director
The Farmers Market Federation of New York

Jack Riffle’s dedication to agriculture and community has brought him to the Farmers Market Federation of New York, though this destination wasn't always clear to see. Despite growing up surrounded by agriculture, farming never occurred to him as a possible vocation. After attending Hamilton College, he spent six years teaching in Boston and New York City.

His increasing awareness of social inequality, issues around food justice, and the climate crisis led him to leave teaching and apprentice on a farm in Westmoreland, New York. After two seasons in Westmoreland, he transitioned to managing a farm and education center in New Hampshire. 

Though the COVID-19 pandemic ended his stay there prematurely, his time in New Hampshire planted the seed of an idea that is currently blooming as Local Foods Mohawk Valley — a local food collective based in Clinton that encourages community access to local food year-round and reduces farmers' opportunity costs of selling and marketing their products.

Molly Marris

Executive Director
Clinton Chamber of Commerce

Molly Marris is the Executive Director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce.  In addition to working to support and strengthen the local business community in the small village and surrounding area, Molly serves as the Market Manager for the Clinton Farmers' Market.  She has a diverse background in community development and nonprofit management.  Prior to relocating to Central New York, Molly worked in affordable housing and refugee resettlement in Sacramento, California.

Jackie Farrell

Market Manager
Westside Farmers Market

Jackie Farrell has been involved with food sustainability for many years.  She always loved shopping at the Rochester Public Market, and as a Mom of 5, made it a weekly ritual, often with babies in the wagon.  When Rochester formed a large buying club of 100 families, Jackie joined and became the buyer for that club. In later years she worked as the Store Manager for Abundance Cooperative Market in Rochester, New York.   Jackie has been managing the Westside Farmers Market, located in the city’s westside, since 2009, and she will happily tell you it is her favorite thing to do.  Although she is presently preparing to retire, she will still proclaim “I am fortunate to attend a weekly outdoor party with my friends and neighbors”.  Jackie has found support and expertise in the members and work of the Federation, and is proud to serve on the Board, representing the Western Region.

Andrew Graham

Direct Markets Coordinator
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)

Andrew is the Direct Markets Coordinator at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT), where he manages the Vermont Farmers Market Association and helps customers find direct-market farms with CSAs and farm stands. Andrew grew up in Pennsylvania attending a Waldorf school and later attended the University of Vermont. After a year with AmeriCorps VISTA doing poverty remediation work in Vermont and three years at an urban farm co-op in Portland, Oregon, Andrew got an M.S. at Antioch University New England focused on the food system and climate change. Prior to joining NOFA-VT in January 2021, Andrew spent three years working for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA), which puts on the Common Ground Country Fair. Andrew loves to cook and do all things related to food, including growing and processing it. He currently lives in Randolph, Vermont.

Robin Hill

Executive Director
Living ADK

Robin Hill, born in Utica, NY, but most recently from Atlanta, GA, moved to Old Forge full-time in May, 2017 with her husband, Bill, and their two dogs. Her parents, Dick and Marsha Keyes, purchased Keyes Pancake House (Old Forge) in 1976 from Robin’s uncle and ran the restaurant seasonally until October, 1988.

Working in Old Forge during her teenage through college years was a dream come true. Robin then moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1987 where she entered the commercial real estate industry and managed Class A high rise office buildings for Childress Klein Properties until April, 2017. Robin and Bill would visit and vacation in Old Forge whenever possible enjoying their hobbies of hiking, biking and kayaking. They purchased a home in Old Forge in late 2013. In late 2016, hearing of the upcoming open position of Executive Director of LivingADK, Robin applied and has been working diligently on numerous focus areas of LivingADK’s with the support of her staff and Board Members.

In 2021, a capacity building plan for the organization provided an opportunity to add a Community Development Specialist position allowing Robin to focus on strategic planning and overall organization administration as well as managing the Health and Human Services activities needed to support the health of the region LivingADK represents. One of Robin’s responsibilities is to oversee the administration of the Old Forge Farmers Market, a successful seasonal 17-week market, which runs Fridays, mid-June through Columbus Day weekend. The market has been in existence since Summer, 2008.

Lorraine Salisbury

Operations Manager
Kingston Farmers Market

Lorraine Salisbury has been the Operations Manager of the Kingston Farmers Market since August 2023. Originally from Rochester, New York she graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 2020 with a degree in Geography. Lorraine has a passion for both food and sustainability, and wants to further work in community building around those subjects.