Steering Committee | NESAWG

MICHAEL ROZYNE, CHAIR
Michael Rozyne lives in Middleborough, Massachusetts. He is the founder and executive director of Red Tomato, a decentralized food hub in the Northeast representing forty Northeast fruit and vegetable growers. Before that, Rozyne was cofounder of Equal Exchange.

ONIKA ABRAHAM
Onika lives in Brooklyn, New York. A founding member of Black Urban Growers, Onika has had her hands deep in soil for years.  She has trained at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  She is currently the Director of Farm School NYC.

GARY BLOSS
Gary Bloss lives in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He has over 30 years experience in the field of community planning and landscape architecture, including watershed conservation, greenways, open space, and trails. He has co-managed an organic vegetable farm and CSA since 2006.

LYNN COLANGIONE Lynn Colangione lives in West Newton, Massachusetts, and is the CFO for a family-owned retail hardware business. Lynn has a MS in Agriculture, Food, and the Environment from the Tufts School of Nutrition, Science and Policy. She has worked in the wholesale food industry as a transportation/logistics coordinator, an import/export trader, and a salesperson. After serving as the first Director of Development for Red Tomato, a regional wholesaler, Lynn served as treasurer on its board of directors for six years.

KATHY LAWRENCE

Kathy Lawrence lives in Pine Plains, New York. Kathy is program director for School Food FOCUS, a national collaborative leveraging the procurement power of large urban school districts to make school meals healthier and strengthen regional food production. A national consultant and educator on sustainable ag and food systems, she was executive director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture and founding director of Just Food (NY).

ARTHUR LERNER

Arthur Lerner lives in New London, Connecticut. He has been active in the fields of sustainable agriculture and food systems since he was a student at Hampshire College in 1991. He has participated in projects to grow farms and gardens in both rural and urban areas, and endeavors to connect environmental stewardship with social justice and public health. He co-founded FRESH New London in 2004.

QIANA MICKIE

Qiana Mickie lives in Harlem, New York. She is a Just Food Community Advocate and active in community organizing and outreach around the Farm Bill and other national food policies. She has a background in non-profit development and currently works as a consultant.

KAREN SPILLER
Karen Spiller lives in Eastern Massachusetts. She is principal of KAS Consulting, providing mission-based consulting with a focus on resource matching and strategic planning for health and equity-focused initiatives. She has worked with diverse stakeholders, including community residents and businesses, state and local agencies, policy makers, corporations, foundations, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers.