Amalie has more than 25 years of public and social service experience, including a focus on agriculture and food systems starting in 2002 after receiving a Master of Environmental Policy from Kent State University. Most recently, she served as the Policy Director at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association beginning in 2014, advocating for state and federal policy to enable sustainable and organic farmers to thrive, and to increase the availability of local food to nourish communities and agricultural practices that protect and enhance our environment.  She also advocated for and subsequently directed the Ohio Food Policy Advisory Council and the Office of Sustainable Agriculture at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. She participates in and serves in leadership in state and national coalitions, including serving as the co-chair of the climate subcommittee of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

amalie(at)calclimateag.org

Anna Larson, Associate Policy Director

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, 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   

Colton Fagundes, Associate Policy Director

Colton comes to CalCAN after working and studying for over 10 years at the intersection of food, agriculture, justice, and sustainable development.  Most recently, he served as the Policy Director for the American Sustainable Business Network, leading their Regenerative Agriculture and Justice and clean water initiatives. He also has worked with Food Tank, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and Rhythm Superfoods and spent time working on organic farms in Spain and Costa Rica. With the Rural Coalition, he led a participatory action research project to publish the article “Ecological costs of discrimination: racism, red cedar, and resilience in farm bill conservation policy in Oklahoma” in the Journal of Renewable Food Systems.  He has an M.A. in Global Environmental Policy from American University and B.A. in Global Studies and Spanish Language from Sonoma State University.

colton(at)calclimateag.org

Dago Driggs, National Healthy Soils Policy Network Coordinator

Dago has over 10 years of experience in food and climate policy preceded by youth climate action organizing, he was a driving force behind the creation of the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Program (2021) and advised on the state’s Healthy Soils Action Plan, one of the few in the country. He continues to be active in the Massachusetts legislative arena as the Policy Advisor to the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass). Before starting his policy career as a cofounder of Citizens for GMO Labeling in 2012, he earned a BS in biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. With roots in Rhode Island and Cuba, he now lives in rural Western Massachusetts with his family, where they cultivate medicine, healthy soils and pollinator habitats while building alliances toward cultural regeneration.

dago(at)calclimateag.org

Grace Gamble, Grants & Operations Administrator 

Grace brings a decade of education, research and career experience in food and agriculture systems. Prior to working with CalCAN, she served as the Operations Manager at Taste the Local Difference, overseeing team operations for a marketing agency that works with food and farm businesses and increases consumer awareness of local food. Her additional career experience includes serving as the Program Manager of TENN, an organization at the University of Detroit Mercy that engages college students in food justice and sustainability initiatives, as well as work as a culinary educator and urban farmer in Ohio and Michigan. Grace holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the College of Wooster, where she completed extensive coursework in Sustainable Agriculture and conducted a capstone thesis on the tension between market forces and social goals at urban farms in Cleveland and Detroit. 

grace(at)calclimateag.org

Nicole Celaya, Operations Manager

Nicole is a long-time permaculturist and activist advocating for food systems change, environmental justice, and indigenous rights in California’s Central Valley. Prior to joining CalCAN, Nicole founded CNB Consulting and was Executive Director at FoodLink for Tulare County. She was a founding member of the Central Valley Agroecology Network, as well as an educator and union representative for the Kern Community College District. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from California State University Los Angeles and a Master of Arts degree in the Humanities from California State University Dominguez Hills.

nicole(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. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business with a minor in mass communication and journalism from CSU Fresno and 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 

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

Former Interns:
Priya Riley, Summer 2023
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