Adam Dewbury's interest in local food was sparked in 1999 in Ithaca, NY, where he worked his way through his undergraduate studies by cooking professionally in restaurants that were committed to using local products. Adam has more than 25 years of experience in various aspects of the food industry, including restaurants, catering, processing, product development, consulting, and sales.

Adam earned a BA, MA, and PhD in Anthropology from Cornell University. He also holds a MA in Anthropology from Binghamton University (concentration Archaeology) and a Better Process Control School Certificate from UC Davis. His academic interests center on the relations between people, nature, and capital: a perfect fit for food system work. Adam is especially interested in critical and constructive perspectives on economic development, and brings this lens to his work as Local Food System Program Director at ANCA.

Lori Bellingham is the Vice President for Community Impact at Adirondack Foundation. She believes that nonprofits and other community institutions reflect both the need and the promise of a community. She returns to the Adirondacks with a background in community work that began decades ago in Boston at City Year Inc., and continued in rural communities throughout Colorado with El Pomar Foundation. She brings senior communications, marketing, and development experience with a demonstrated history in the philanthropic sector. Before returning home to the Adirondack region, Lori was the VP for Philanthropic Services at Pikes Peak Community Foundation, and was appointed to the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority Board. 

Sawyer Bailey has served as the Executive Director of AdkAction since 2022, bringing significant experience in rural food systems, security, and access by working with organizations and communities across the Adirondack Park. Sawyer previously led the Hamilton Helps Initiative in the Central Adirondacks, and served in a variety of private land conservation-based roles across New York and New England. She earned her Bachelors in Policy from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University and her Masters of Environmental Management from the Yale University’s School of the Environment. She helps AdkAction accomplish its mission serving people and nature, with dedication to equity and innovation. 

Sawyer serves as a Co-Chair of the Network's Steering Committee.

Jennifer Perry serves as the Organics Recycling Coordinator with ANCA and a founding member of Compost for Good, a project supported by AdkAction and ANCA.

Michele Drozd is the co-founder and executive director of Craigardan, an interdisciplinary residency program for artists and scholars from around the Adirondacks and around the globe. Her belief that the creative process helps us imagine and build a better world has led to numerous community and social justice initiatives that use cross-disciplinary collaboration as a tool for systems change. Michele received her BFA in Ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and went on to work with diverse artists studying design and sculpture. After traveling and working around the world, she became intensely interested in entrepreneurialism, rural revitalization, agriculture, art, environmental conservation, and historic preservation - and the connections between them. She enjoys working with start-up businesses and small organizations when she isn’t making pottery, renovating old buildings, or traveling by bicycle with her husband.

Kim La Reau is the Director of Outreach at Essex Food Hub and oversees community partnerships, food access initiatives, and grant writing. Prior to this, she was engaged in Adirondack food systems work at AdkAction, where she helped grow their food security portfolio and launch the Fair Share CSA program. While born and raised in the North Country, her dozen or so years in the nonprofit sector has taken her across the country to Portland, Oregon and even to another continent, working in Tanzania (where she summited Kilimanjaro!). In her spare time, you can find Kim exploring the outdoors or learning a new hobby, and almost certainly with her rescue pit, Panache, by her side.

Daniel KieferBach grew up in Rochester, New York, and has lived in the Adirondacks in the hamlet of Eagle Bay since 2021.   Daniel's background has predominantly been in Not-For-Profit Management and Social Program Creation. As the current Community Development Specialist for LivingADK, Daniel spends most of his time out in the community shoring up small town needs such as healthy food access, affordable housing solutions, broadband expansion and year-round sustainable economies resistant to climate change.  Just like everyone else in the Adirondacks, you can find Daniel out canoeing, hiking, camping and xc skiing whenever possible.

Dillon Klepetar joined the Adirondack Council staff in September 2021. As the Farm Advocate, he serves as the project leader for the Essex Farm Institute, which collaborates with farmers to pursue sustainable projects on working lands. He also monitors and advocates for agricultural policies that promote the ecological integrity of the Park at the state and local levels. After studying public policy and working in the transportation and conservation nonprofit sectors, Dillon spent the past 10 years working on sustainability on his own farm. Growing up in the southern Adirondacks and his farm stewardship experience provide Dillon a passion for wildlands and an appreciation for sound land management. He enjoys farming (obviously), fly fishing for native Brookies, bow hunting, and making biodiesel.

Dillon serves as a Co-Chair of the Network's Steering Committee.

Aaron Thomas grew up in a rural town in Central New York on a small fiber farm raising sheep and goats. He later attended SUNY Plattsburgh and Willam H. Miner Agricultural Institute and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. For a few years Aaron worked for the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts as a Conservation Planner before starting with the Adirondack Land Trust as the Farmland and Stewardship Specialist. In this role he works closely with nearly 30 farmers in the Adirondacks to steward the conservation easements that encumber their property. Before working in the environmental field Aaron worked for 10 years in the food service industry. The blend of farming, food service, and technical knowledge gives Aaron an acute knowledge of the food system in the region and is proud to be serving on the Adirondack Food System Network steering committee.

Josh Stephani is the Food & Farm Hub Manager at Comfort Food of Washington County as well as an adjunct instructor at SUNY Adirondack. He has worked in agriculture in one way or another for nearly 10 years: developing education, produce prescription, and farmers market support programs to support low-resource communities and regional producers. He holds a Masters of Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a Master of Environmental Studies. Additionally, he is a PhD candidate studying the intersection of food, community, and agriculture within rural environments.

Meghan Dohman serves as the Farm to Institution Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County (CCE Essex). She works regionally in Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Hamilton Counties assisting institutions such as K-12 public schools, hospitals, senior meal sites, colleges and universities, and correctional facilities to begin or advance their local food purchasing and educational curriculum. Meghan has been working in the Adirondack food system since 2016 - prior to this role at CCE Essex, Meghan worked as the Kitchen Manager and Distribution Coordinator at the Hub on the Hill, a rural food hub located in Essex, NY. Meghan holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a M.S. in Food Systems from the University of Vermont. Meghan is excited by the work being done by the Adirondack Food System Network and is looking forward to the impact it will have in the future.

Krista Berger serves as the program coordinator for the Essex County Health Department's WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program.

Carlene Doane has been employed by GardenShare, located in St. Lawrence County, since October 2010. In March 2022, Carlene was promoted to fill the Executive Director position. She is passionate about promoting a local food system through education, awareness of programs for low-moderate income families, and has experience, close oversight, and operations for GardenShare.

A long-time resident of St. Lawrence County, Carlene has family roots in the area. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish from SUNY Oswego. She volunteers with the Canton Free Will Meal, Food Bank of Central NY, Church and Community Program, local parent groups via public schools, United Women in Faith, the Canton Farmer’s Market Board of Director, Farmers Market Federation of New York Board and food access programs.