Please direct media inquiries to:
Renata Brillinger, Executive Director: renata(at)calclimateag.org • (707) 536-7619 (c)

 

Anna Larson, Senior Policy Associate

Anna brings experience advocating for sustainable and equitable food systems in the Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast. She has worked on diverse food system challenges, including community engagement in local food policy, field research on biological pest control, and farmer access to business assistance. Prior to CalCAN, she coordinated the emerging Agricultural Viability Alliance, helped conduct community food program evaluations with the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, and provided technical assistance to local food policy councils with the Public Health Law Center. Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Carleton College and a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

anna(at)calclimateag.org  

Brian Shobe, Deputy Policy Director

Brian has worked as a core member of CalCAN’s policy team since 2017. He began his agricultural career in 2009 on his grandparents’ farm in North Dakota and has been involved with sustainable agriculture and community food security work ever since. Prior to CalCAN, he served as the Program Coordinator and Government Resources Advisor at the Farmer Veteran Coalition, where he advised beginning farmers and advocated for their policy priorities. Brian received a yearlong Emerson National Hunger Fellowship, during which time he worked with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). Brian has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Beloit College and farming experience in three states.

brian(at)calclimateag.org   

Devon Hamilton, National Healthy Soils Policy Network Coordinator

Devon is a food justice advocate, with a deeply intersectional background in community organizing, sustainable agriculture, youth education, and food services. Originally from Leimert Park Los Angeles, he started his journey in agriculture in Wisconsin, where he spent 8 years between college and work. During his time in the Midwest, he worked as Michael Fields’ Associate Policy Director, served on 3 organizational boards, and co-founded the group TradeRoots Culinary Coalition, among other work. Devon is also the founder of Grillin’ For The People (G4TP), a barbecue and gardening community centered business, and serves as a cook at Post & Beam LA. He received his BS in Landscape and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and his food and agriculture adventures have taken him as far as Benin West Africa, back home to South Central LA.

devon(at)calclimateag.org

Kristine Rebiero, Development & Communications Manager

Kristine has both a strong background in communications, as well as a personal and professional connection to agriculture. With over 12 years of experience in agriculture communications and marketing as well as an education in the environmental sciences, she sees herself as a bridge between the environment and agriculture. Kristine is a third-generation California native and lives in Modesto where her grandparents arrived from the Azores and where most of her family has remained. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business with a minor in mass communication and journalism from CSU Fresno and then a Master of Science in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University.

kristine(at)calclimateag.org. 

Renata Brillinger, Executive Director

Renata is the co-founder and Executive Director of the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). She has 25 years of experience in sustainable agriculture policy and food systems projects and has held numerous non-profit administrative positions since 1992. Prior to CalCAN, she was Program Director at the Climate Protection Campaign, focused on renewable energy and on agriculture. For seven years she served as the Director of Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, a coalition of sustainable agriculture and environmental organizations that provided education on genetic engineering in agriculture. She serves on a food and farming advisory board of the State Innovation Exchange and the advisory board of UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute.

renata(at)calclimateag.org 

Sandra Nakagawa, Policy Director

Prior to joining the CalCAN team, Sandra served for five years in various staff positions in the California legislature, working on housing, climate, and equity-based state legislation as the senior consultant in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, in the office of Assemblymember Mark Stone, on the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and in the Senate Office of Research. She earned undergraduate degrees from UC Berkeley in English and Sociology, with a music minor, and her PhD in Sociology from Stanford University. She has over a decade of experience conducting interdisciplinary research on health and environmental disparities, and has expertise in and a commitment to science-driven policy. Sandra comes from a long line of farmers, and she grew up in Sonoma County on the former chicken farm of her grandparents.

sandra(at)calclimateag.org

Senior Policy Advisor:
Jeanne Merrill, Jeanne Merrill Consulting
jeanne(at)jeannemerrillconsulting.com

Policy Consultants:
Rebecca Marcus, RMarcus Government Strategies
rebecca(at)marcusgovstrategies.com

Former Interns:
Benny Corona, Spring 2021
Grace Perry, Spring 2020
Molly Taylor, Spring 2019
Noah Lakritz, Summer 2018
Poojan Thakrar, Winter 2018
Chelsea Mitchell, Winter 2017
Beth Smoker, 2015/16
Sharon Licht, 2014/15
Dru Marion, 2013/14
Hui Qian, Fall 2012
Adam Kotin, Summer 2011
Adria Arko, Summer 2011
Elena Idell, Fall 2011