Get to know the Food Council Staff
Andrea has spent her entire life in gardens and knows that the greatest thing you can do for your health is eating local, fresh food. She believes every one should have access to the knowledge on how to grow, harvest, gather, and obtain cultural appropriate, healthy food. Her love of plants and being outside has infused her passion for sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and hands-on experiential education. She has worked at 3 plant nurseries, a small organic vegetable farm, lived and worked on a permaculture homestead in the Klamath mountains, worked as a community educator for the University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Humboldt, and has recently started her own small plant nursery here in Del Norte. While at Humboldt State University, she completed a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture & Community Organizing and was a co-director for the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, a live in demonstration house for sustainable living. She has organized and led over a 100 workshops, events, & classes in regenerative agriculture and living. Her desire to restore our ecological habitats and live more lightly on the earth fuels her drive to keep learning and sharing her knowledge with others. A permaculture designer for 10 years, she has been an active member of the Humboldt Permaculture Guild, help design and teach a permaculture design course through Klamath Knot Permaculture, and has supported the emergence of the Wild Rivers Permaculture Guild.
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Iya Mahan has spent over 15 years in Northern California and Southern Oregon enjoying this region's unique environment. She is an Alumni of Cal Poly Humboldt in 2010, with a degree in Environmental Science. She comes to the Community Food Council with a passion for connecting people to their food, and goals of increasing local food security, production and distribution.
Mahan loves living in Crescent City, hiking, gardening, and enjoying the outdoors with her family. She grew up in San Luis Obispo County, where she developed an appreciation for the ocean and being outside. Most recently she has taught garden education for K-12 students, facilitated workshops to get families outside together, and worked in the food service industry for over 20 years. |
Marina MacNeill
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Angela Gray
Food Forest Manager
Angela Gray comes to the Community Food Council with a deep passion for supporting community access to eating well. Angela has had the pleasure of calling Del Norte home for the last 6 years and relocated to the area with her daughter in search of a slower pace and a deeper connection to place. When she's not in the dirt or the kitchen you can find Angela exploring our beautiful trails, parks and beaches with her daughter and pups or participating in our local Wild Rivers Permaculture Guild. As an avid plant lover, home cook and gardner she knows that healthy food can also be delicious. Angela found her way to the garden along a meandering path driven by a desire to source the best ingredients. Let thy food be thy medicine! Angela's background as a home gardener, landscaper, herbalist and farmer give her a wide scope of experience. The curiosity, delight, and wonder at the nutrition and medicine inside each plant (even plants considered weeds!) has infused her passion for living and working closely with nature. The empowerment experienced from providing your own nourishment is so valuable to Angela that it has become her lifelong goal to share this empowerment with others. As the new Food Forest Program Manager Angela hopes to ignite the passion for growing food for our next generation of healthy eaters here in Del Norte.
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Meredith Knowles
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Melanie Cross
School Gardens Coordinator

Melanie Cross, Chilean journalist, came back to the US in 2006 in search for a meaningful path in her journalism career. After working with different media and production companies, she decided to concentrate her efforts towards the care of nature. Leaving behind the entertainment world, she has dedicated this past decade to creating connections between childhood and our natural environment, highlighting the benefits and importance of this exchange in our development as humans. It is her honor to be part of the Community Food Council as the School Garden Coordinator, where she can directly work with children in their understanding of plants, food, and farming, and bring the community's attention to the many benefits of healthy food production.