Our Team

Michael Ableman
Founder & Interim Executive Director

Ellen Stratton
Administrative Director

Dave Beavers
Mushroom Lab Coordinator

Lorenzo Sanchez
Groundskeeper

Mark Simonitsch 
Beekeeper

Board of Directors

Geoff Green
Chair

Peter Schuyler
Secretary

Bill Terre
Treasurer

Advisory Board

Jeff Bridges
Actor

Yvon Chouinard
Patagonia

Wes Jackson
The Land Institute

Anthony Rodale
Rodale Institute

Alice Waters
Chez Panisse

Campaign Leadership

Jeff Bridges
Campaign Co-chair

Susan Bridges
Campaign Co-Chair

Judy Stapelmann
Campaign Co-Chair

Campaign Advisors

Liz Carlisle
Professor, UC Santa Barbara

Steve Gliessman
Farmer, Professor Emeritus, UC Santa Cruz

Sharyn Main
Community Resilience Consultant

Keith Nevison
Director of Horticulture, SB Botanic Garden

Josh Volk
Farmer, Author

Nancy G. Weiss
Strategic Projects Consultant

Bob Wilkinson
Professor Emeritus, UC Santa Barbara

Eric Onnen
Neighbor, Rotarian, Local Business owner

Kelly Onnen
Board Chair for Food From the Heart

Endorsers

“I’ve had a long relationship with this land and with many of the people who have passed through here. We need to honor this place, but we also need to honor all those whose hands helped plant, cultivate, and harvest, and all those who worked to protect it. I was part of the past here, but I’m especially
happy to help rebuild Fairview Gardens for the future.”
Cesar Gomez — Farmworker