Cindee is a life-long Alaskan and retired 8th grade teacher, who recently returned to Fairbanks to retire. She is a certified permaculture instructor and feels strongly about living sustainably in Alaska like our indigenous ancestors before us.  Cindee co-founded AnchorGardens in Anchorage and is eager to continue working on Food Security in the interior. Cindee feels that making Alaska more food secure should be a top priority for everyone who lives here.

cindee.karns@gmail.com

Mel Sikes is the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District’s (FSWCD) Natural Resource Education Specialist and has worked there since 2010. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Unity College which she received in 1990. She is the Program Director (PD) for the AFFECT Community Foods Project, managing and overseeing all aspects of the grant. She is the program leader for the Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom program. She is a governing board member and treasurer of the Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC), a state organization dedicated to strengthening the food system in Alaska. She and another local governing board member of AFPC facilitated the creation of the Interior Alaska Food Network (IAFN), a local food policy organization. Her duties at FSWCD also include developing and overseeing the after-school natural resource education program, instructing educator workshops, managing education and agriculture grants, planning and managing outreach community events.

907-479-1213 x 5

907-347-1802 (cell)

MEL.FSWCD@GMAIL.COM

Abby Lutmer is a farmer, aspiring herbalist, outdoors enthusiast, and Ayurveda student. She's very passionate about sustainable, small-scale agriculture, local food systems, and community care. She co-owns Heartspace Community Farm and is building a community on top of Haystack Mountain, north of Fox in Interior Alaska. She has a bachelor of science degree in sustainable development with an emphasis on agroecology and has worked on a myriad of different farms, permaculture projects, and homesteads throughout the world

abigail.lutmer@gmail.com

John is the owner of DART AM Farms in Manley Hot Springs, Alaska. He is a local food legend and advocate with a lifetime of experience in rural food systems. 

Callen is a naturalist, musician, farmer, and forager. He's passionate about nutrition, health, farming/gardening, mycology, and ecology and has always worked in this capacity. He currently runs a wild foods foraging co-op, a hydroponics and mushroom farm, is conducting sustainability research on chaga fungus, and works on a handful of other related projects including the formation of a food hub for Interior Alaska. He lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, lower Tanana Dené lands, with his wife and son. He loves making music, XC skiing, snowboarding, backpacking, and climbing.