Christine Beling, Vermont DEC

Natasha Duarte is the Director of the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV), where she leads policy initiatives, outreach, and education programs that promote composting as essential to soil health, water quality, and environmental resilience. With extensive experience supporting rural and small communities in managing organic materials, she develops training tools, delivers technical assistance, and advocates for sustainable organics diversion. Natasha teaches in UVM’s Master Composter Program and leads grant-funded initiatives, including a project focused on best practices for compost use in the Lake Champlain Basin, and a project supporting on-farm food scrap composting. Natasha is also an author, speaker and consultant. She holds an MS in Soil Science from NC State University and a BA in Anthropology from UVM.

Jack Eaton has over 35 years in the green industry and 20 years specializing in erosion control and site stabilization. Jack currently works for Carriff Engineered Fabrics, where he develops and promotes tubular fabrics for the erosion control industry. He has been involved in the manufacture, installation, and monitoring of compost socks and straw wattles, as well as in the development and implementation of site restoration plans involving hydroseeding, straw mulching, and straw blanket installation. Jack has also served as an on-site plan coordinator for several linear powerline projects. Additionally, he has presented on topics related to erosion control, showcasing his expertise in the field.

Joshua Ellison, Vermont Foodbank

Karen Ganey is a permaculture teacher and Director of the ReGeneration Corps, a youth education program focused on connecting middle and high school students to local climate solutions, through the White River Natural Resources Conservation District. She has spearheaded a number of community food sovereignty projects over the past 20 years and is passionate about helping connect people and land through regenerative practices. 

Ben Gauthier

Willie Gibson is an agronomist with emphasis on soil health, agrarian culture, and mimicry of natural systems. Willie is a Vermont family farmboy who has spent 37+ years professionally immersed in the family farms of Vermont as an agricultural educator, advisor, and researcher with UVM Extension, NOFA-VT, private sector, and now with the White River Natural Resources Conservation District. Willie and his family are multi-generation homesteaders, homeschoolers, and diversified small-scale farmers/growers in the CT River valley of the Northeast Kingdom.

Dan Goossen started at Intervale Compost in 2003 and has been managing the compost operation at the CSWD Organics Diversion Facility since 2008. Dan spends a lot of time with people and working with numbers, but is most happy at work on those occasions when he gets to climb a mountain of compost, or spend a day screening a finished pile. When not at work, Dan enjoys beekeeping, growing food, and spending time with his family.

Brian Jerose has been President of Agrilab Technologies Inc. (AGT) since 2012. Based in Vermont, Brian works on a range of environmental and agricultural projects, with a focus on compost aeration and heat recovery (CAHR) systems. AGT has equipment installations in VT, NY, NH, MA, CT, CA, MT, MI, Quebec and Ontario, and has provided technical and consulting services to state, national and international clients. Brian is a founding Board member of the Composting Association of Vermont and currently serves as VP. He is also a Board member for the Missisquoi River Basin Association. He has a BA in Political Science from SUNY Geneseo and a MS in Environmental and Resource Engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Brian lives in Fairfield, VT with his wife Joanna and daughters Maya and Lucy.

Cheyanne Rico is the Outreach Coordinator for Vermont NRCS. In this role she also serves as the TSP Coordinator, Earth Team Volunteer Coordinator, Locally Led Conservation Coordinator, and Small Farms Subcommittee lead. Prior to Vermont, she worked as a Soil Conservationist for NRCS in Oregon and Maine, and has experience with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and working in the environmental NGO sector as well. She holds two Permaculture Design Certificates.

Kenneth Scherer, owner of KOrganics and Executive Founder of the Biochar Coalition, is devoted to advancing biochar as a tool for ecological restoration and long-term land stewardship. Since 2017, Kenneth has pursued hands-on experimentation and field research focused on the synergistic relationship between anaerobic and aerobic biological processes. His work centers on developing biologically active liquid inoculants that unlock biochar’s full physical and chemical potential, particularly for soil regeneration, microbial resilience, and nutrient cycling. His primary business focuses on regenerative agriculture through insect cultivation, converting slash into carbon and raising insects to produce frass (insect manure) as a biologically rich input for custom inoculation and foliar blends. Through years of research and development, Kenneth has demonstrated how insect frass works in tandem with specific microbial communities and biochar. By controlling microbial inputs and even insect feed sources, these systems enhance microbial activity, improve soil structure, and rapidly condition soil, compost, and other organic materials for regenerative growing systems.

Caroline Sherman-Gordon is the Legislative Director at Rural Vermont. Caroline was born in Germany and came to Vermont to engage in advocacy so that sustainable farming practices become economically viable. She graduated with her LL.M. in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy from Vermont Law School in 2019 and joined Rural Vermont the same year. During this legislative session, Caroline reports to Rural Vermont about the procedures in the State House, especially in the Agricultural Committees. Before coming to Vermont, Caroline participated in a four-year training program in biodynamic agriculture in Germany. Aside from advocacy work, Caroline owns and operates Fools Farm L.C. in Tunbridge. She led the Poultry Farmers for Compost Foraging Stakeholder Group to change the definition of farming in 2021 to include composting of food scraps. 

Zach Szczukowski, VAAFM

Bob Thompson is the State Conservation Engineer for NRCS Vermont where he supervises and oversees the implementation of all NRCS engineering practices in the state. He grew up on a small dairy farm in western Pennsylvania, graduated with an Agricultural Engineering Degree from Pennsylvania State University, and spent time in the Peace Corps before joining NRCS.

Becka Warren manages the Vermont Food Security Coalition, which champions the Vermont Food Security Roadmap to 2035. Prior to this role, she worked at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund where she managed the development of the Food Security Roadmap  and the nascent Coalition, after coordinating the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021-2030 writing process. Becka has 25+ years of experience in food systems project management.

Gabe Zoerheide has spent his career at the intersection of non-profits and food. As Executive Director of Willing Hands, he leads an organization whose mission includes reducing food waste, fostering food equity, and reducing hunger. With more than 1 million pounds of food recovered, grown, and gleaned each year, Willing Hands is at the forefront of perishable food recovery. The organization serves 85 food shelves and other social service agencies with weekly deliveries of fresh food. In 2025, the organization's work on food recovery resulted in a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 1,603,733 lbs CO2e.