Angela Benitez

Outreach Coordinator

angela [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Angela (she/her) brings a strong background in community engagement, inclusive outreach, and bilingual (Spanish/English) communications to her role as Outreach Coordinator at Oregon Farm Corps. She holds a B.A. in Community Development from Portland State University and has experience in program coordination, media production, and nonprofit outreach. She enjoys showcasing stories of organizations and the people that are behind them, and loves connecting people to opportunities that can shape their lives. She enjoys gardening and is passionate about food security and environmental justice.

Avry Miller

Rogue Valley Manager

avry [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Avry (They/Them) has focused their career on food and agriculture since 2012 while working on various market farms, a perennial vegetable and herb nursery, and a diversified food forest and orchard. They have completed certifications in Advanced Horticulture at the Center for Agroecology in Santa Cruz, California, Permaculture Design, 200-hour Yoga certification, Advanced Herbal Studies, and much self-study and work in sustainable food production systems.

Avry is thrilled to have landed in Southern Oregon. They are the OFC point person for the Rogue Valley Regenerative Farming Fellowship and part of the Farmer Training Team. Avry is dedicated to mentorship and community building in the food system. Avry pursues their passions for fermenting, hiking, and seed saving in their free time.

Geoffrey Van

Future farms Program Director

geoffrey [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Geoffrey was born and raised in Hong Kong, far from farming and surrounded by concrete. As a toddler, soil was actually so foreign to him that touching it would make him cry. Fast forward to the conclusion of high-school and college (and still lots of cement) on the East Coast: Geoffrey decided to take a chance and finally touch that ever-avoided soil. Everything clicked. First in New Mexico at Taos Goji Farm and then at Deck Family Farm in the Willamette Valley, he began working on farms in earnest, all while building a team and a plan to start a collaborative farm. An interlude at Fleishers Craft Butchery in Brooklyn, New York was doubly educational: learning the art of whole animal butchery and confirming that concrete was out and soil was in. In 2017, Geoffrey and four friends started Spoon Full Farm in Thorp, Washington, where they primarily raised livestock, grew vegetables, and made value-added products. In late 2020, Geoffrey began working at Oregon Farm Corps where he is Director of the Future Farms Program.

Geoffrey’s original curiosity for farming came from a simple love for food and cooking--the realization that good food is made from good ingredients, which in turn come from good farms. Before long, he was discovering the intricacies of our delicate food systems and the threads that farms hold throughout society and the planet’s natural resources. Where once was curiosity, Geoffrey found deep passion for agriculture and the true, urgent potential it has to transform every aspect of Earthly existence.

Kaci Rae Christopher

Development Manager

kaci.rae [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Kaci Rae has been passionate about growing food from the first time she planted pea seeds with her mom at their home garden in Hillsboro. This passion for growing, and eating food, led to seasons selling blueberries at the farmers' market and as a farm laborer on vineyards, ranches, and organic farms across the West. Kaci Rae has over a decade of experience in K-12, Special Education, and Higher Education, with a focus teaching in school gardens, farm to school programs, and about sustainable agriculture. She wrote The School Garden Curriculum: A K-8 Guide to Discovering Science, Ecology, and Whole-Systems Thinking after her experiences as a School Garden Coordinator, and often consults school districts on how to create garden-based outdoor learning programs for kids.

Kaci Rae learned to write grants in order to fund her outdoor programming and pursued an M.F.A. in Creative Writing to enhance her storytelling abilities. She enjoys a well-told story, as well as working collaboratively with others, and volunteers time with local farmers and ranchers to help them acquire funding and support their own sustainable growth. She continues to work at her local farmers' market as a job coach for the next generation of fresh veggie enthusiasts.

Kae Boeh

Portland Chapter Coordinator

kae [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Kae (they/them) is a first generation farmer born and raised in Portland, OR passionate about contributing to healthful local ecologies, communities, and food systems.  Kae has been working in agriculture for over 20 years. They first fell in love with farming while studying Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon and working on the campus urban farm.  That love set them on a path of discovery, collecting experiences on many farms of varying scales and management styles in a diversity of bioregions.  After having the opportunity to learn from many wise and skillful farmers along the way, Kae started their own farm, Fox + Bear, in 2014.  Fox + Bear was a half acre, no-till, biointensive farm that used organic methods to grow specialty produce.  Besides being a successful farm business, the farm acted as a sort of living laboratory where Kae continued to explore their own relationship to food, farming, ecology, community and self.  

After 10 years owning and operating their own farm, Kae is stepping out of a role as market farmer and eager to grow as a mentor, advocate and leader in building sustainable and equitable agricultural systems. Kae joined Oregon Farm Corps as the Portland Chapter Coordinator and is excited to share their experience and enthusiasm in support of the next generation of farmers!

Madeline Tucker

Collaborative farming Manager

madeline [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Madeline’s first experience growing food was raising a pepper plant her dad purchased as part of a backyard gardening project. From the beginning she was hooked, and has been engaged in community gardening and urban farming ever since. She has a particular interest in community engagement through education, both in the classroom and out. As a mixed race woman of color in agriculture, Madeline prioritizes making space for traditionally marginalized groups in farming. She cares deeply about building community resilience in opposition to individualism and believes working together is the only viable path forward to revolutionizing our food system.

A reformed flower-bouquet-hater, Madeline is now the proud co-owner of Walking Whale Flower Farm, based in Gresham, OR. When she’s not farming, you can find Madeline baking, pursuing a DIY project, or napping with her dog, Bramble.

matt gordon

Executive Director

matt [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

(541) 588-3552

Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Matt grew up helping his parents in the vegetable garden and has always had an affinity for soil.  He holds an Environmental Studies degree and found a passion for sustainable agriculture in college. He has lived in Portland since 2002. He has worked as a garden and environmental educator for many local organizations including Growing Gardens and Tryon Life Community Farm. 

In 2008 Matt shifted focus and devoted his time to organic mixed vegetable production, working with Meriwether’s Restaurant on their Skyline Farm and then on his own farm business: Cully Neighborhood Farm in NE Portland which focused on CSA production. Matt joined Oregon Farm Corps as the Portland Chapter Coordinator in 2014. He helped establish relationships with host and teaching farms in the Portland over the next few years. In 2019 he transitioned into an Education Director role, managing OFC’s Beginning Farmer Training programs around the state. In 2023 he moved into an Executive Director role. He is motivated to help create positive, inclusive learning environments for anyone desiring to grow their knowledge and experience with agriculture. Matt is also passionate about creating a world where small and mid-scale sustainable farms thrive, and where everyone has access to high quality food. Matt lives in NE Portland with his wife and two children.

Poppy Marin

Willamette Valley chapter coordinator

poppy [at] oregonfarmcorps.org

Poppy is proud to descend from the Purépecha people of Michoacán. Growing up in Eastern Washington they spent countless hours in the backyard garden with their dad and pruned and harvested from neighbors' apples and cherry trees with their brother, learning the rhythms of the earth. Those early experiences nurtured their love for the land and sparked a desire to ensure everyone takes care of her. Leaving Washington and moving to Eugene, Oregon they initially pursued nursing but soon realized their passion lay in providing sustainable, equitable access to food. In college they volunteered at community gardens and learned about food sustainability. This led them to a path where they could contribute to their community in a different way- building resilience. 

They are excited to serve as Willamette Valley Chapter Coordiantor with OFC to teach the next generation about the importance of land stewardship. They are now stewarding land and can put these values into practice on their farm Doom & Bloom Garden. Their deep love for animals and for cultivating relationships with like-minded individuals who share this vision continues to fuel their journey toward a more equitable world.

Carly Boyer

Board Chair

Carly Boyer (they/she) facilitates in-person peer learning circles on regenerative practices for producers across rural Oregon as American Farmland Trust’s PNW Training and Education Manager. 

Carly’s passion for Oregon’s farmers is deep rooted. She’s managed her family's Polk County Century Farm since 2002. Inheriting a 140-acre grass seed farm at 18 was life changing. Her experiences battling conventional corporate agriculture motivated her to support broader systems change, with a focus on supporting the resilience, equity, and viability of beginning and small farms in the Pacific Northwest. 

Some highlights from Carly's career include creating a climate resilience webinar series for technical assistance providers, co-leading the development of OrCAN’s statewide soil health network, and serving on the Oregon Community Food System Network’s Disaster Resilience grant review committee. 

Carly holds a Bachelor of Science in Planning, Public Policy, and Management from the University of Oregon. They live in Eugene, Oregon and enjoy gardening, hiking, reading, and crafting and enjoying music in their free time.

Kamal Lewis

board secretary

Kamal came to this work carrying two distinct professional identities that most people assume have nothing in common. As a Research Associate Professor and Assistant Director of the International Goat Research Center at Prairie View A&M University — a Historically Black College and University with deep roots in agricultural education and rural community development — Kamal spent years studying animal physiology, reproductive biology, and the applied science of small ruminant production systems. His work was not abstract. It was fundamentally about reproductive efficiency, food security, sustainable land use, and the capacity of agricultural communities, particularly underserved ones, to build durable livelihoods from the land. At PVAMU, where the legacy of the land-grant mission lives in direct service to Black farmers and rural communities, he learned that agricultural knowledge has always been inseparable from questions of equity, access, and economic self-determination.

At the same time, he was building Baobab Southern Kitchen, a chef-driven supper club and catering operation rooted in Black Southern foodways and grounded in the agricultural bounty of Oregon's Willamette Valley. What began as a culinary concept quickly revealed itself as a food systems project. Working directly with farms like Deck Family Farm and Gathering Together Farm taught him that the distance between a farmer's field and a guest's plate is not just logistical, it is political, economic, and deeply cultural.

Riley Kellogg

Treasurer

Riley moved to Southern Oregon from her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah in 2019 and has spent the following years exploring Oregon’s wilderness. Riley is a CPA candidate and currently works as an accountant auditing governmental and not-for-profit organizations. Riley lives on a farm in Southern Oregon with her husband, Ross, and two dogs, Rook and Roger. She enjoys growing wheat and popcorn, and when she isn’t testing the yield in the kitchen, she is often found on a nearby trail or river. 

Riley was inspired to join OFC because of its powerful impact on the continuity and diversification of Oregon farming. OFC’s mission to educate and empower all people interested in farming is so important in keeping our food systems safe, equitable and sustainable.

Devin Kesner

Devin (she/her) is a land tender and lawyer. She is a 2021 alumnus of Oregon Farm Corps, spending a season farming at Seed to Table in Sisters. She has since completed several seasons farming at diversified vegetable farms in the Willamette Valley. She currently works on residential permaculture gardens in Eugene, tending food forests and native habitat. Devin is also an Oregon licensed lawyer and has worked on matters related to land use, climate change, and decarbonization. OFC played an important role in her professional and personal journey, and she is honored to support the organization's mission as a member of the board.

Mickey Willenbring

Mickey Willenbring is an Indigenous rancher, food sovereignty activist, and founder of Dot Ranch, which she has operated for over 15 years with a focus on social sustainability and expanding opportunities for Indigenous farmers and ranchers. Her work centers on improving access to markets, meat processing, and agricultural resources for historically underserved communities. She also collaborates with Feed ‘em Freedom Foundation to supply high-quality meat to food bank programs and is developing a wool mill to support Indigenous shepherds.

Mickey brings a diverse background shaped by experiences in military service, civil service, and natural resource management, with a focus on landscape ecology and grazing systems. She has held leadership roles with the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association, where she worked to strengthen relationships between Native and non-Native producers, expand educational programming, and increase access to livestock registration resources. She continues to serve as a sheep inspector, traveling nationally to support producers with animal husbandry and flock management.

Mickey combines deep livestock expertise with lived experience as a rural veteran and entrepreneur, offering valuable insight into land access, resource navigation, and building agricultural enterprises with limited means.