Northeast SARE State Coordinators and Staff

The Northeast SARE region supports sustainable agriculture education initiatives and state coordinators at each of the sixteen land grant universities in the Northeast.

Connecticut

Rachel Bespuda

Rachel Bespuda

Project Coordinator
University of Connecticut
Bio
Rachel coordinates the tri-state SARE program for CT-MA-RI, focusing on providing educational training to both agricultural service providers and farmers in the area of sustainable livestock production practices. Before joining the tri-state team in 2017, Rachel worked in the animal nutrition field at a Connecticut feed mill as well as a local feed retailer. Rachel grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Connecticut, raising beef cattle. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and, in 2011, earned a Master of Science degree in Animal Science with a focus in animal nutrition. Rachel and her husband currently raise beef cattle, poultry and swine for local meat sales on his family's farm in southern Connecticut.
Joe Bonelli

Joe Bonelli

State Coordinator
University of Connecticut
Bio
Joe is an Associate Extension Educator at the University of Connecticut with both teaching and extension responsibilities. He teaches about the fundamentals of agribusiness management. His Extension outreach program has focused on financial and farm business succession planning for agricultural businesses in Connecticut. A portion of his outreach program includes developing and conducting workshops for agricultural producers on risk management topics and working with agricultural producers on a one-on-one basis dealing with financial planning. Before coming to the University, he spent more than twenty years working as a farm business consultant with First Pioneer Farm Credit.

Delaware

Rose Ogutu

Rose Ogutu

State Coordinator
Delaware State University
Bio
Dr. Ogutu is a Horticulture Specialist at Delaware State University. She received her PhD and Masters in Horticulture at Kansas State University and Cornell University, respectively. She has experience in greenhouse management, and has worked in research related to nutrient management in hydroponic production of vegetables. Her work with the small farms program targets limited resource growers and includes activities with High Tunnels and Organic Production, and Integrated Pest Management. She is part of the Northeast Climate Hub and Soil Health Partnership in Delaware. She is one of the Northeast experts in tomato grafting. Dr. Ogutu serves on the Northeast SARE Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Ad Hoc committee.

Maine

Peyton Ginakes

Peyton Ginakes

University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Bio
Peyton Ginakes is a Research Associate in University of Maine Cooperative Extension. She conducts applied research to address knowledge gaps in specialty crop production for Maine farmers. With a background in organic soil and weed management, she is currently focused on developing fruit and vegetable variety selection and cultural practice recommendations, and exploring sustainable soil management practices, such as tarping and composting, for diversified vegetable operations. She received her BS in Environmental Science and Soil Science, and PhD in Applied Plant Sciences, from the University of Minnesota.
Ellen Mallory

Ellen Mallory

State Coordinator
University of Maine
Bio
Ellen is a professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Extension Specialist at the University of Maine where her research and outreach programs focus on grain, pulse, and oilseed production, both organic and conventional, for local food and feed markets, and on the use of organic amendments like manure, compost, and green manures for crop fertility. She received her B.S. from Swarthmore College, M.S. from the University of Wisconsin, and Ph.D. from the University of Maine.

Maryland

Naveen Kumar Dixit

Naveen Kumar Dixit

Associate Professor
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Bio
Naveen Kumar Dixit is an Associate Professor of Horticulture and Extension Specialist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). He has worked on multiple aspects of plant growth and development including stress physiology, postharvest physiology, plant-pathogen interaction, nutrient management, phosphorus phytoremediation, community horticulture, global climate change, nanotechnology, and fruit production and orchard management. Naveen earned his Ph.D. in plant physiology from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India. He served as a post doctorate research associate in the University of Florida at South West Florida Research and Education Center and later at UF's Citrus Research and Education Center. Naveen established a multi-fruit orchard at UMES for teaching, research, and extension purposes.
Emily Zobel

Emily Zobel

State Coordinator
University of Maryland Extension
Bio
Emily Zobel is the Senior Agent Associate for Ag and Food System for University of Maryland Extension (UME) in Dorchester County. She received her M.S. in Entomology from the University of Maryland College Park. Her focus areas are sustainable vegetable production, pesticide safety, farm stress, and integrated pest management. Emily has done international agriculture education in Ghana, Senegal, and the Ukraine. She is the current editor of the Maryland Fruit and Vegetable Newsletter. She is one of the hosts and the editor of the Garden Thyme Podcast.

Massachusetts

Rachel Bespuda

Rachel Bespuda

Project Coordinator
University of Connecticut
Bio
Rachel coordinates the tri-state SARE program for CT-MA-RI, focusing on providing educational training to both agricultural service providers and farmers in the area of sustainable livestock production practices. Before joining the tri-state team in 2017, Rachel worked in the animal nutrition field at a Connecticut feed mill as well as a local feed retailer. Rachel grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Connecticut, raising beef cattle. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and, in 2011, earned a Master of Science degree in Animal Science with a focus in animal nutrition. Rachel and her husband currently raise beef cattle, poultry and swine for local meat sales on his family's farm in southern Connecticut.
Clem Clay

Clem Clay

State Coordinator
University of Massachusetts
Bio
Clem is the director of the University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture Program. Previously, he was the executive director of Grow Food Northampton, a non-profit that promotes food security by advancing sustainable agriculture in Massachusetts, and also spent 10 years as program director for the Trust for Public Land where he managed the Connecticut River and Community Agriculture programs. Clem has a Master’s degree in public policy and administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science degree in the Soil Environment from UC Berkeley. He grew up on a Vermont maple farm, and spent time in his early career as a small-scale vegetable farmer in Vermont and farmers’ market manager in California.

New Hampshire

Olivia Saunders

Olivia Saunders

State Coordinator
University of New Hampshire
Bio
Olivia is a Field Specialist in fruit and vegetable production in the Food and Agriculture Program at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. In addition to working with small fruit and vegetable farmers on issues like pest and soil fertility management, cover cropping, organic production, and challenges associated with new and beginning farming, Olivia also promotes sustainable beekeeping practices to New Hampshire’s beekeeping community. She received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of New Hampshire and her M.S. in Soil Science from Washington State University.

New Jersey

Michelle Infante-Casella

Michelle Infante-Casella

Project Associate
Rutgers Universty of New Jersey
Bio
Michelle is an Agricultural Agent and Professor with Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Her primary responsibilities are in the areas of vegetable production, agricultural marketing, field crops production, sustainable agriculture, and Right-to-Farm issues. Michelle earned a M.S. from Virginia Tech in Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture and a B.S. from Delaware Valley College in Horticulture.
Stephen John Komar

Stephen John Komar

State Coordinator
Rutgers Universty of New Jersey
Bio
Stephen Komar is an Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Sussex County. He has research and education expertise in row crop production and nutrient management and plant disease and insect management. Stephen currently leads and implements educational and outreach programs in commercial agriculture, pasture management, nutrient management plans, animal waste management, agricultural marketing, agritourism, and industrial hemp research.

New York

Violet Stone

Violet Stone

State Coordinator
Cornell University
Bio
Violet is a project coordinator at Cornell University's Small Farms Program. She grew up on a 600-acre wildlife preserve in Northeast Pennsylvania. Her passion for agriculture is inspired by her belief that farmers can create thriving ecosystems that produce healthy and abundant food. When an ecosystem thrives, so do farmers, communities and rural economies. Violet has a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden Program. Prior to joining Cornell's Small Farms Program, she facilitated farm-to-chef sales for a 30-acre organic vegetable farm in the San Francisco Bay area and worked as a farmers' market manager, local foods educator and farm direct-marketing consultant in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Pennsylvania

Nicole Santangelo Thompson

Nicole Santangelo Thompson

State Coordinator
Pennsylvania State University
Bio
Nicole Santangelo Thompson is an Agronomy Educator and Field & Forage Crops Team Leader at Penn State Extension. Her work in north central Pennsylvania stems from the needs of local farmers. Her expertise in forage production is a testament to the region's ability to grow quality pastures, hay and silage. Programs she has helped develop are derived from the interface of crops and livestock including cover crops, nutrient management, and water and agriculture issues. She holds two undergraduate degrees in agricultural business and animal science from The State University of New York and a master's degree from Cornell University in agricultural education.

Rhode Island

Rachel Bespuda

Rachel Bespuda

Project Coordinator
University of Connecticut
Bio
Rachel coordinates the tri-state SARE program for CT-MA-RI, focusing on providing educational training to both agricultural service providers and farmers in the area of sustainable livestock production practices. Before joining the tri-state team in 2017, Rachel worked in the animal nutrition field at a Connecticut feed mill as well as a local feed retailer. Rachel grew up on a small family farm in Northeast Connecticut, raising beef cattle. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and, in 2011, earned a Master of Science degree in Animal Science with a focus in animal nutrition. Rachel and her husband currently raise beef cattle, poultry and swine for local meat sales on his family's farm in southern Connecticut.
Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki

Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki

Project Coordinator
University of Rhode Island
Bio
Currently, I work as a Research Associate III at the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension University of Rhode Island working with growers. I work at the University of Rhode Island Plant Protection Clinic, where I help growers with pest and disease identification and management recommendations to prevent and control plant health issues. Growing up in Colombia, I was inspired by small farmers’ sustainable agriculture practices who provided food for the local community. This motivated me to pursue a career in agriculture and to study Agronomy first and then to pursue a Master's and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at the University of Arkansas, focusing on soilborne pathogens and seedling diseases. In 2017, I joined the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extensions Service’s Plant Health Clinic as a Program Associate, Diagnostician, and Instructor and worked there until 2022.

Vermont

Beth Holtzman

Beth Holtzman

State Coordinator
University of Vermont
Bio
Beth is the coordinator of the New Farmer Project and Women’s Agricultural Network at the University of Vermont Extension. She has worked on several SARE projects in the past, including two professional development projects that helped Extension educators and other agricultural service providers help beginning farmers launch and build sustainable farm businesses. Beth has been conducting sustainable agriculture outreach and education since 1992 for a variety of nonprofit organizations. She has a M.S. degree in Public Administration from the University of Vermont.

Washington, D.C.

Michael Whyte

Michael Whyte

State Coordinator
University of District of Columbia
Bio
Michael Whyte, University of the District of Columbia, is the Assistant Farm Manager with the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences. He has experience in urban agriculture, indoor and vertical production, and native plants for urban polycultures.

West Virginia

Barbara Liedl

Barbara Liedl

State Coordinator
West Virginia State University
Bio
Barbara is an Associate Research Professor at West Virginia State University (WVSU) where she and her team work on breeding greenhouse tomatoes, developing markers for ornamental breeding, hydroponic and cut flower production, and organic/sustainable farming. In addition, Barbara works with the WVSU Extension Service to deliver workshops on cut flowers, small fruit and vegetable production and hydroponics. She earned her bachelor's degree in Horticulture from Purdue University, and her M.S. in Plant Breeding and Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota.
Doolarie Singh-Knights

Doolarie Singh-Knights

State Coordinator
University of West Virginia
Bio
Doolarie is an Associate Professor of Resource Economics and Management and an Extension Specialist in Agriculture and Natural Resources at the West Virginia University. Her work centers around sustainable agriculture, agribusiness and extension education. Doolarie earned her B.S. from the University of the West Indies in management studies. She holds an M.S. in production economics and a Ph.D. in natural resource economics from West Virginia University.