Staff

Research & Education Senior Scientist

email: heather[at]ofrf.org

Heather Estrada has been a part of the organic farming community for the past 20 years, as a scientist, professor, grower, and advocate. She has worked with transitioning and certified organic farmers in the field, conducted organic crop and weed research, and has spent much of her career educating students in regenerative organic farming principles and practices. 

Heather started her organic agriculture career in Edmonton, Canada, studying and researching organic wheat breeding and agronomy. She graduated from the University of Alberta (BS, Crop Science; PhD, Plant Science) and then moved to Kalispell, Montana to work as a cropping systems research agronomist with Montana State University. Heather switched her career focus to education in 2012, taking on the role of college professor and Agriculture program director at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell. While there, she created degree programs and curriculum, started a working educational vegetable farm on the college campus, and taught classes such as plant science, soil nutrient management, integrated pest management, practical farm production, and building community food systems.

Heather is looking forward to bringing her experience and passion for research and education to OFRF, and hopes to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of farmers through her work.

Research & Education Engagement Coordinator

email: jose[at]ofrf.org

Jose has over seven years of experience in education and research positions supporting small scale and organic farmers in Florida. He has held positions such as Small Farms Extension Coordinator with UF/IFAS Extension and Outreach and Education Coordinator with Florida Organic Growers. Jose has a B.A. in Human Ecology with concentration in sustainable agriculture from College of the Atlantic in Maine and a Masters in Sustainable Development Practice from the University of Florida.

Jose is working on his Agricultural Extension PhD, and firmly believes that farmers are experimenters by nature, and they are in the best position to conduct relevant research that impacts their farms every day. He is a native Spanish speaker from Guatemala and is passionate about supporting organic agriculture, promoting farmer-led research, and engaging farmers and researchers in learning and sharing among their peers.

Policy Intern

email: policy[at]ofrf.org

Adam Bagul joins the OFRF team as a policy intern for the Summer 2023 quarter. He holds a B.A. in History of Public Policy and Law with a concentration in United States history from the University of California Santa Barbara. Before attending UC Santa Barbara, Adam enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a rifleman and continues to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves. Throughout his undergraduate studies, as well as through his involvement in different student government organizations, Adam developed policy analysis and legislative writing skills that he is excited to contribute to the efforts of OFRF.

In his free time, Adam enjoys an active lifestyle by hiking, spending time at the gym, and running around the monuments of Washington, D.C.

Partnerships & Development Director

email: leah[at]ofrf.org

For the past decade, Leah has been an active and passionate advocate for an equitable food system that uplifts communities and reinvigorates the land. She fell in love with agriculture while working on a process evaluation in a small farming community in Maharashtra, India, as part of her Masters’ degree in International Development. The combination of regenerative practices and community-led action left a deep impression on her work. Since then, she has built skills in grant writing, fundraising, board structure, strategic planning, project management, and facilitation, which she uses to further the creation of a strong and inclusive food system.

Leah lives in Chicago, where she has worked for organizations that serve rural and urban farmers, including Angelic Organics Learning Center, one of her favorite places in northern Illinois. She enjoys board service and helping new and young organizations get their footing. She has served on the board of Advocates for Urban Agriculture and North Branch Projects, both community-based orgs. Currently, she sits on the board of Windy City ToolBank, an affiliate of ToolBank USA, where she is helping to establish programming that allows organizations in the region to participate in radical sharing; ensuring everyone has access to tools they need to create, improve, and care for their community.

Research and Education Program Coordinator

mary[at]ofrf.org

Mary Hathaway is the Research and Education Manager at OFRF. Over the past decade she has worked as an activist and farmer in the sustainable and equitable food movement in the Southeast. Her most recent experience includes managing direct marketing farms, administering USDA grant projects, and organizing regional food summits.

Mary specializes in supporting local food systems and is passionate about creating opportunities for organic farmers to be leaders in climate change solutions. Mary has a Master’s Degree in Agroecology that helps her frame the necessary work before us with a collaborative, systems thinking approach. She is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude to encourage others to work hard and be engaged participants in their community.

In her free time, Mary likes to play in the ocean, talk at great length about composting, and build Legos creatures with her son.

Policy & Programs Manager

gordon[at]ofrf.org

Gordon N. Merrick joins the OFRF team with first hand experience working on organic farms, distributing food into the marketplace, cooking food in the service industry, and, most recently, helping draft agriculture, natural resource, and municipal laws for the Vermont General Assembly.  Alongside this hands on food and legal system experience, prior to attending Vermont Law School, Gordon was a community organizer working on climate justice related issues in New Hampshire. Throughout all of these experiences, Gordon was able to learn what it takes to lead successful teams and that resilient change stems from, and is led by, people-powered movements.

Research & Education Program Director

thelma[at]ofrf.org

Deputy Director

email: dominica[at]ofrf.org

Having worked with organizations championing public health, diversity in higher education, pesticide reduction, and organic and climate-smart farming practices, Dominica has devoted much of her professional career to nonprofit management, finance, administration and strategic development. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with majors in both Environmental and Community Studies and has worked on various sustainable agriculture projects in the US and abroad. Dominica is a current board member of Rogue Farm Corps and also serves on the Advisory Boards for Re:Wild Your Campus and Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network. Dominica lives in Central Oregon and loves working outside on her homestead, hanging out with her family, cooking, sailing, hiking and traveling.

Executive Director

email: brise[at]ofrf.org

Brise Tencer brings 20 years of leadership experience working on organic food policy, farming, and research issues to OFRF.  Ms. Tencer most previously served as Director of Policy and Programs for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), where she managed the government affairs and grower education program, coordinated their regional chapters of members, and ran a grant-making program. Prior to that, she served as lead lobbyist on food and agriculture issues for the Union of Concerned Scientists. There she developed legislative campaigns on a range of agriculture issues, including organic (focusing on the connection between organic practices and climate change), USDA research priorities, and food safety. She also worked on a successful campaign to end overuse of antibiotics in livestock production.

Brise worked as Acting Policy Program Director and later as Legislative Coordinator for The Organic Farming Research Foundation from 2000 to 2006. During this time she helped initiate the Organic Agricultural Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Organic Farmers Action Network (OFAN), a grassroots political action network to support organic-friendly policies. She helped secure language in the Agriculture Risk Management Act of 2000, which said that organic farming was considered a “good farming practice”, that enabled organic producers to be eligible to participate in federal crop insurance programs for the first time.

Ms. Tencer has served on the boards of the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, the California Climate and Agricultural Network, and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Ms. Tencer holds a B.A. in Community Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz and received both a Certificate in Conflict Resolution and a M.A. in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.