Marcos Aragon is a cattle rancher and small scale farmer from Las Vegas, NM. He has ranched his whole life and has recently began farming vegetables.

Nevi Beatty graduated from Colorado State University where they received a bachelor in Restoration Ecology, a minor in Botany, and worked in dryland ecology and agricultural biology labs. Nevi was the field crew lead for the CSU Evangalista Lab in the summer of 2023. This provided the opportunity to engage with 7 different research projects and work in a mix of range, forest, alpine, and riparian ecosystems ecosystems throughout Colorado and Wyoming. Nevi is interested in climate-adaptation, revegetation, compost tea, resilient agriculture, conservation, public outreach, Indigenous technology, and environmental/social justice. In their free time Nevi enjoys hiking, herbalism, and animals.

Yoland Benally is a Navajo Chapter member of RMFU. She is a Navajo Farmer and mother of 3. Raised on a farm and had a passion to empower her community. 

Asia completed her BS in Biology, specializing in Plant Biology and minoring in Natural Resource Management, at Sul Ross State University in 2022. She is currently pursuing her MS in Range and Wildlife Management with specific focus on researching mycorrhizal abundance and diversity before and after rangeland restoration. She has always been captivated by the intricate relationships between plants and their surrounding ecosystems, particularly within the Chihuahuan Desert. Beyond her academic pursuits, she has a deep passion for the outdoors. Exploring nature through hiking has deepened her appreciation for the environment. In her free time, you can often find her tending to the garden, where she cultivates a variety of plant species. Gardening not only serves as a way for her to beautify her surroundings, but also as a mindful activity that promotes mental clarity and tranquility.

Ismael De Lara is a sophomore at Purdue University studying Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Quality and Restoration and a certificate in Public Policy. Ismael has experience in many different fields pertaining to agriculture being a John Deere Scholar, Agriculture Policy Summit Fellow through NASDA/MANRRS, and finished an internship this summer doing conservation work with Southwest Conservation Corps. They are very dedicated to public service and protecting natural resources through their interests in policy and environmental sciences.

Lane Franklin is a ranching apprentice at the Old Fort Lewis Ranch in Hesperus, Colorado. He has been an apprentice for 6 months. Lane helps work with the cattle, fencing, mechanical maintenance and some fire mitigation. He is an avid lover of spending his time outdoors. He has dabbled in farming, wildland fire, conservation and hunting throughout his life. Most importantly, he is constantly learning and eager to pass that knowledge on to the next generations.

Melanie Gonzales was an intern with Quivira in Spring 2022 and Summer 2023. She graduated Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) with an associate in applied science in Natural Resources Management degree Summer 2023 and is currently attending UNM as a biology major.

This is Becca’s second season as the Farm Manager at Highwater Farm, a diversified vegetable operation with a job training program for teens on Colorado’s western Slope. She started farming in her hometown of Buffalo, NY and has worked on farms across the northeast. She moved to West Africa in 2017 as an Agroforestry volunteer with Peace Corps Guinea, where she worked with local farmers to strengthen local food security and household nutrition. When she isn’t farming, you can find Becca hiking, reading or getting creative in the kitchen with some fresh veggies.

Jessie Hook works with Quivira Coalition as a Sustainability Analyst Intern with the Carbon Ranch Initiative team. She will be graduating with her MBA in Sustainability in May of 2024, and is hoping to work in sectors revolving around food, waste management and circularity. When not studying and working, she loves farming with her neighbors in Taos NM, painting and spending time outside.

Tahirah Jones currently attends The Ohio State University, where she is pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Veterinary Public Health. She is academically interested in epidemiology, public health, access to healthcare, and fostering inclusive spaces for marginalized communities especially the youth within agriculture and related sciences. Her career aspiration is to eradicate or control zoonotic diseases in underserved communities using the One Health approach. Tahirah is currently serving as National MANRRS Region VI Graduate Student Vice President; this region focuses on the western part of the country.

Dolores Miller is part of the Miller Ranch which’s been in her family since 1886. She has worked on the ranch her entire life but plans to take on the operations in about 1 year. They currently raise sheep/lambs for meat at the ranch. She would like to see cattle added back onto the ranch as they used to be. Dolores is committed to land stewardship and adding regenerative agriculture practices.

April Parms Jones is originally from Akron, Ohio and advocates for her community as part of the food justice, water access and the food sovereignty movement. She is passionate about community gardens, farmer markets and creating a just food system. Having expertise in the role of farmers markets and in human elements of shifting the food system.She is a writer, public speaker, consultant, blogger, recipe developer, book reviewer, event planner and more. She contributes content to her blog Frolicking Americana, and to national and international magazines, Mother Earth, Country Lore, The Natural Farmer, Grit, Growing for Market, Ark Republic, Ecoparent Magazine, Growers and Co., Farmers Market Coalition writer, The Agrarian Trust, Cornucopia Institute and Farmer’s Market Coalition, and is an Emerging Leader in food and agriculture nominee.

Tracy Raymond is the Chairperson of the Navajo Nation San Juan River Farm Board. He represents the community of Nenahnezad Chapter and has been on the board for 6 years. He retired from the Bureau Indian Affairs in 2013, where his primary responsibility was working land use permits. He also owns and operates BeeSezi, Navajo Corn Products.

Guy (Ia/they/them) is a proud Takatāpui Māori Food systems specialist, systems designer, & Permaculture teacher based on Kombumerri Country. Their work is centred around building relationships, networks & systems to achieve climate justice, bio-regional food security & culturally appropriate & sovereign food systems. Guy has been engaged in innovating regenerative practices both ecologically & socially across the Asia-pacific region. They are currently delivering the VicHealth Future Healthy Foodhubs program as the food systems specialist and educate in food sovereignty & systems design across Australasia for the past 5 years. Having grown up spending much time on the family farm & local fisheries Guy is deeply passionate about food system wellbeing & seeing the equitable change needed for a well nourished Victoria.

Kristin Swoszowski-Tran’s growing expertise is in produce and value-added goods. Her 35 acre farm, Ledoux Grange, is in Mora County, New Mexico, elevation 7,400 feet, and supplies the Los de Mora Grower’s Cooperative with produce and value-added/gluten-free baked goods year round. Kristin received NM Healthy Soil Grant awards for two years running, employing innovative work with biochar, no-till cover crops, intensive rotational and bale grazing, and hedgerow plantings on what was once a degraded pasture and horse racetrack. A member of the Southwest Grain Collaborative, she grows organic/landrace cover crop cultivars/varieties for dryland/ high elevation success, and hopes to be certified organic next year. Kristin also raises Tibetan yak and Scottish Highland Ponies, which are a critically endangered, multi-purpose working farm horse breed.

Kathleen Voight is a current Master of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the Environment. Her research focuses on agricultural viability, resiliency, and drought adaptation in livestock grazing systems in southern Colorado. Kathleen believes grazing lands are essential to the western landscapes that support rural communities and healthy ecosystems. Kathleen previously worked in agriculture, raising pastured livestock and diversified vegetables, and in conservation and environmental education. In her free time, Kathleen likes to bike, hike, and ski.

After years of climbing the corporate ladder, Leslie began farming in 2020 when she moved to El Valle De Embudo where her wife’s family has farmed for over 50 years. She maintains the farm to function as a community resource by providing goods on barter. Leslie farms 6 acres, where she runs sheep, pigs, chickens and bees. She is also parciante de Acequia de Sancochada. Leslie was a 2022 Water Fellow with the National Young Farmers Coalition. She graduated from UNM with a BA in marketing. Leslie’s personal interests lie in environmental justice and farming as a form of protest against systematic oppression and cultural erasure.