Zenger Farms
Welcome to Zenger Farm
We are a unique, working urban farm promoting: sustainable food practices, youth education, environmental stewardship, and community and economic development.
Visit Zenger Farm, enjoy our site, come back often!
The Friends of Zenger Farm Staff and Board
FZF Staff
Beth Gentry, Executive Director
Beth grew up on a family farm in Northern Michigan and has always had a passion for food, how it is grown and the people who grow it. Beth comes to Zenger Farm from Bon Appetit Management Company where she loved interacting with small farmers, putting food dollars to work in the local economy and educating student groups about sustainable agriculture and community food security issues. Beth has an M.A. in Counseling from Central Michigan University.
beth@zengerfarm.org
Sara Cogan, Education Coordinator
Before arriving at Zenger Farm in January 2006, Sara completed an 18-month apprenticeship at Sauvie Island Organics where she participated in all aspects of small-scale production farming. Sara also brings experience working with youth over two summers at Camp Nor’Wester in Washington State. Sara has a BA in Environmental Studies and Geography from Middlebury College in Vermont, where she initially found a passion for sustainable agriculture and food security issues. As Education Coordinator at Zenger Farm, Sara manages and operates the Youth Education Program, teaching city kids about food and farming.
sara@zengerfarm.org
Jackie Fuller, Community Outreach Coordinator/ Northwest Service Academy Americorps Member
Jackie has always loved being outside and working with children. Her interest in organic farming has developed over the past two years. Living in Vermont and attending the University of Vermont inspired a deepened appreciation for the natural and cultivated landscape and the issues facing them. Since then she has spent time teaching both environmental education at the Sierra Outdoor School in California and farm education at the Natick Community Organic Farm in Massachusetts. Her love for both environmental education and organic farming has been happily joined in her current position with Zenger Farm.
jackie@zengerfarm.org
FZF Board
Eileen Brady, Chair.
Eileen is the co-founder of New Seasons Market, a landmark neighborhood grocery chain in Portland, Oregon. Eileen serves as the Board Chair for Celilo Group Media, publisher of Chinook Book and the Eco-Metro guide. She is the Vice Chair of the Oregon Health Fund Board and speaks regularly on "Building Regional Food Economies." She previously served as the Vice President of Ecotrust's Food and Farm Program for five years.
Ray Hollander
Ray has a BA in Accounting from Villanova University and a MBA in Accounting from Babson College. Currently Ray is the Controller of Ecotrust, a non-profit conservation organization based in the Pearl District of Portland. Ray has been married 40 years to wife Marcia with has two grown children living in Washington state. Ray has extensive non-profit experience with companies ranging from low income home building to chamber of commerce. He enjoys exploring the parks and hills in the Portland area.
Marie Johnson
Marie is a Program Coordinator at Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services where she conducts public outreach and interagency coordination for the Johnson Creek Watershed Team. Prior to joining BES, Marie was a project manager at the Portland Planning Bureau working on neighborhood, central city and environmental planning projects. Marie was an advisor to the Diggable City project and serves on the Land Use Subcommittee for the Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council. She has presented and published on food system planning for the Oregon Planners Journal and the American Planning Association
David Kenney
David is an Operations Manager at Intel Corporation and was one of the founders of the Intel Employee Sustainability Network. He has a background in working in both the public and private sector and has skills in strategic planning, finance and program & project management. He is a member of the Planet Church Committee at First United Methodist Church and is on the board of the foundation which raises money to fund teaching positions at his children’s public school. David served as the board treasurer for Zenger Farm during 2004-2007.
Michelle Peterman
Michelle Peterman is the Vice President of Marketing for Kettle Foods, makers of the nation's fastest growing all natural potato chip, Kettle brand Potato Chips. With nearly 20 years of experience in the food industry, Michelle develops strong niche brands on shoestring budgets. Now in her fourth year at Kettle Foods, she leads Kettle's branding, marketing and communications programs
Marketa Rogers
Marketa recently moved to Portland after spending 13 years in Prague, where she co-owned an English language bookstore/coffeehouse. She and her husband renovated an old Bohemian farmhouse, and had the good fortune of seeing their 3 kids grow up knowing vegetable patches, fruit orchards and corn fields. She is now helping develop FZF's Education Program, so that all of Portland's kids can have a chance to experience the same. Marketa is currently back at school to receive a degree in sustainable interior design.
Heather Samm
Heather is the Certification Manager at Food Alliance, where she oversees the inspection and certification process for farmers and ranchers working toward certification of their sustainable practices. Heather has several years of experience working closely with farmers, and grew up on her family's century farm in the driftless region of Northwest Illinois. Prior to joining Food Alliance, Heather was at University of Wisconsin-Madison doing nutrient management research on dairy farms.
Charlie Stephens
Charlie is a consultant and advisor to people who wish to create high performance, sustainable homes and small commercial buildings. He recently completed 17 years of service at the Oregon Department of Energy as a senior policy analyst. His focus areas were residential energy efficiency and renewable energy applications, new technology development, sustainable building and community development, and energy policy for the State of Oregon. In 1999 he created the State’s Sustainable Building Tax Credit Program, and was a design team member for a significant number of sustainable building projects. Other areas of current work involve sustainable community development, the regional, national and international energy future, the economic impacts of energy use, the relationship between energy and food, prospects for various alternatives to fossil fuels, and the relationship between energy and American foreign policy.
Katie Pearmine
Katie Pearmine grew up on a vegetable farm outside of Gervais, Oregon and remains committed to connecting people to their place through local food and farms. Professionally Katie has spent the last eight years working on various consulting and communications projects at Celilo Group Media including, launching the first edition of Chinook Book, acting as Oregon Field Representative for American Farmland Trust, publishing three editions of the Farming Sourcebook: for sustainable and certified agriculture, and acting as Assistant Publisher for the business magazine, Sustainable Industries.
Matt Stein
Matt Stein is the Construction Coordinator at Green Gables Design & Restoration, a design-build company that focuses on handcrafted custom homes. Under his leadership, Green Gables has been infusing green building practices and standards into its projects. Prior to Green Gables, Matt worked for several business consulting firms in Boston and New York. Matt is the board secretary and is actively involved in the capital projects at Zenger Farm.