Meet Us

Who we are

Our team is small yet mighty. We value the individual skills and contributions that each of us brings to the table in pursuit of strengthening the whole ecosystem. A commitment to whole-systems thinking guides our work forward with integrity.

Diane Christofore

EXECUTIVE Director

Diane is the Executive Director at the RAA. She is responsible for aligning the priorities of the organization and ensuring the ecosystem’s social, economic and ecological criteria remain intact as it grows in scope and scale.

Bec Ersek

Business Administrator

Bec manages the RAA’s institutional memory and day-to-day operations. A community-organizer and activist, they also work at Feed the People Farm, a worker-owned cooperative in Northfield, MN.

Photo of Louis Kemp

Louis Kemp

Farm Enterprise & Engagement Director

Louis enjoys working with farmers on creating, maintaining, and improving their production systems so they can grow the best and most nourishing foods possible.

Arnulfo Perrera

Stacyville Poultry Processing Manager

Arnulfo oversees and manages the poultry processing facility located in Stacyville, Iowa.

Photo of Delicia Garcia Hernandez

Delicia Garcia Hernandez

Stacyville Poultry Processing Assistant Manager

Delicia helps oversee quality assurance and production for the plant. 

Board of Directors

Nick Hernandez

President of BOD
CEO, Makoce Agriculture Development

Florence Reed

Vice President
Sustainable Harvest International Founder and Director of Strategic Growth

Ann Wolf

Treasurer
Co-Program Director, MidwestHealthyAg.ORG

Luis Marcos

Advisor
Development Director, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim

Bridget Guiza

Advisor
Co-Founder, Ogema Organics

Dawn Sherman

Advisor
CEO at Native American Natural Foods LLC

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin

Emeritus Board Member
Founder of RAA

Diane Beck

Executive Director

Diane is the Executive Director at the RAA. She is responsible for aligning the priorities of the organization and ensuring the ecosystem’s social, economic and ecological criteria remain intact as it grows in scope and scale. Diane received her B.A in Food Systems Studies at the Evergreen State College (Olympia, Wa) and pursued a career that centers on her passion for stewardship, socially responsible strategies and regenerative outcomes. She augmented her education by earning an International Permaculture Design Certificate from the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies (Dutchess County, NY). Diane applied her interdisciplinary background to positions with a Minnesota farm-table mainstay and helped organize regional food systems at scale. She enjoys forging new partnerships and identifying opportunities for symbiotic collaborations through outreach and innovative events. Diane lives in Minneapolis with her husband Theo. On the weekends you can find them discovering new state parks and listening to live music.

Bec Ersek

Business Administrator

Bec manages the RAA’s institutional memory and day-to-day operations.  A community-organizer and activist, they also work at Feed the People Farm, a worker-owned cooperative in Northfield, MN.  In addition to deploying the Regenerative Poultry System, Feed the People leads the Northfield Curbside Compost Cooperative.  Bec moved to the Midwest from the East Coast with their dog Beefy.  They are finding themselves right at home in the budding community of Northfield.  You can expect to find them at a concert venue, tending to their backyard chickens or connecting with community members at local coffee shop, Little Joy.

Photo of Louis Kemp

Louis Kemp

Farm Enterprise & Engagement Director

Born and raised in SW Wisconsin, Louis received his B.S. in Horticultural Production Systems from UW Madison and relocated to Oregon with his wife to pursue work in organic farming. After working on and managing several CSA and wholesale vegetable farms, Louis found his way into a pioneering group of farmers and social entrepreneurs putting down the foundations for what would become the multi-stakeholder co-op, Our Table Cooperative in Sherwood, OR.
Five years later his son was born and they moved back to the Midwest to be closer to family where he began work with CROPP Cooperative (Organic Valley). While there Louis managed their produce food safety program, making sure the 100+, mostly Amish, produce farmers had the knowledge and resources to complete food safety audits to the highest standard. Louis enjoys working with farmers on creating, maintaining, and improving their production systems so they can grow the best and most nourishing foods possible. Louis currently resides in Viola, WI with his wife, Tyne, and son, Schaffer. They love working and playing in their garden and going canoeing down the Kickapoo river.

Arnulfo Perrera

Stacyville Poultry Processing Manager

Arnulfo oversees and manages the poultry processing facility located in Stacyville, Iowa. He completed his B.A in Agriculture Engineering at Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School in Honduras and is currently enrolled in an MBA online program at Northwest Missouri State University. Previously he worked in the swine production industry for ten years. He is passionate about the future of agriculture and committed to creating a better tomorrow. He loves to spend time with his wife Gloria and their best friend “Oreo.”

Photo of Delicia Garcia Hernandez

Delicia Garcia Hernandez

Stacyville Poultry Processing Assistant Manager

Delicia is the assistant manager for the Stacyville Poultry Processing plant. She helps oversee quality assurance and production for the plant. She obtained a B.A in Food Science at Chapingo Autonomous University in Mexico. Afterward, she gained two years experience at a swine facility before moving to MN to join the RAA leadership team. Throughout her education and conducting different research projects on the quality of food, Delicia developed a strong interest in lab work and food production. She is deeply committed to ensuring the quality of food products. Delicia loves spending time doing things outdoors like, hiking, visiting museums, going to the cinema, visiting farms, and seeing new places.

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