Working Together
OUR STAFF
Penelope Powell Executive Director
“After years volunteering for VFP including as Board Treasurer, I joined the staff as Executive Director. Agriculture has a story throughout my life, coming from multi-generational farmers to working on a small, locally focused organic farm, to having a home garden. My career has mostly focused on non-profit administration at a variety of different agencies and I am excited to bring this experience and knowledge to the team. In my free time, I enjoy yoga, hikes, soaking in hot springs, and spending time with my friends and family.”
Sammie Alteri
Montrose Farmers Market Manager
FMPP Program Manager
“Growing up on the eastern shore of Maryland surrounded by wetlands and agriculture, I loved to walk up and down the Atlantic beaches for hours collecting shells, sea glass, and other nautical treasures. After graduating from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a focus in Environmental Studies, my AmeriCorps service brought me to Montrose to work with VFP's food access programs and Niagara Community Garden. After my AmeriCorps service completed, I returned to join the VFP staff as Garden Coordinator, Office Assistant, and Farmers Market Coordinator (whew!). Currently, along with being the Montrose Farmers Market Manager, I also manage the USDA grant funded Farmers Market Promotion Project (FMPP) and I continue to be excited to work with such a great community in a beautiful part of the country. In my free time, I love to garden, craft, sew, cook, and play oboe and violin.”
Cally Hale CFRT PROGRAM MANAGER
“As a fifth-generation rancher, I am excited to share all the valuable techniques I have learned from my parents, grandparents, and even my great-grandparents towards self-sufficiency and local food culture with young farmers and ranchers as they start their enterprises. My family has lived and homesteaded in the Uncompahgre Valley for over a hundred years, and I am passionate about continuing to foster the history of food production on the Western Slope while implementing sustainable and holistic farming practices. My extensive skills in gardening, cooking, canning, sewing, and animal husbandry will surely bring value to Valley Food Partnership and the agricultural community!
In my spare time, I enjoy sewing, traveling, and gardening as well as writing for the local newspaper.”
Christine Harrington Administrative assistant
“I joined the VFP team in August 2019 as Office Manager bringing with me over 15 years of administrative office experience. My husband and I moved to Colorado from the Hudson Valley region of upstate NY. Coming from an area where the soil is rich, and water is abundant, I am humbly grateful to be able to support an organization and community that works so hard and overcomes so many challenges of growing food on the Western Slope. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring and camping”
Jeanette Oslund CFRT project Specialist
“I am a nature-loving artist who lives in Western Colorado. Growing up surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the mountains, I developed a deep appreciation for nature and its wonders, which is reflected in my art and activities in the community. Having grown up in a small west end town, I learned the importance of self-sustainability through gardening, raising animals, and hunting. Living in a small town has also taught me the importance of building and being involved in the local community. In addition to my creative pursuits, I am a permaculture practitioner. I completed a year-long certification course and apply my knowledge to my work, gardening, career, and art business. With a talent for blending creativity and sustainability, I dedicate myself to making the world a more beautiful and eco-friendly place.”
Angelica M. Sandoval
Bilingual Food Access Coordinator
“I like hiking in the great outdoors, all animals, and growing food for my family. We moved to Montrose from the city seeking a better quality of life for our now 8-year-old daughter. I enjoy homeschooling my daughter. My husband grew up in Montrose. We wanted to give a similar, if not better country life experience to our daughter who loves horses. We moved here to work with our hands, the soil, and animals and to learn the joys of what Mother Earth truly has to offer. We are currently working on our own homestead plan which includes greenhouses and native plant spaces, a few rescue animals. Personally, I like yoga, creating jewelry, and healthy cooking! I am passionate about increasing healthy food resources and opportunities for the community through the support of local agriculture.”
Liz Swank
Montrose Farmers Market Coordinator
“I am originally from Nebraska and my husband was born and raised in Olathe so we moved to Montrose in 2017 to be closer to family. I recently left the corporate world to become the owner of Swanky Botanicals - an online plant shop that makes appearances at local events such as the Ridgway & Montrose Farmer's Markets, pop-up markets as well as corporate events & celebrations of all kinds! In my spare time, I enjoy camping trips with my family and attending local plant group events.”
Samantha Wynne
Local Food Promotion Program Manager
“Hello, I’m Samantha, a regenerative farmer and local food advocate with a love for building community. I am passionate about growing healthy, sustainable food and bringing locally-grown produce to our community. My husband Karson and I are proud parents to six wonderful humans and lucky to have an amazing daughter-in-law as well. My family brings me the most joy and serves as a constant source of inspiration. I absolutely love connecting people to their food and ensuring that EVERYONE has access to fresh, nutrient-dense options. It's incredibly rewarding to see individuals and communities form deeper connections with the food they consume and the local farms. Beyond my farming and advocacy work, I find balance and rejuvenation through activities like traveling, yoga, beekeeping, loving on my farm critters, and spending time outdoors. I'm thrilled to be working with VFP, an organization that shares my passion for increasing access to local food in our community. Together, we can make a significant impact in creating a more sustainable and connected food system.”
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sara grew up in Montrose and helped her family work on their small farm and in their farm market throughout her childhood and teen years. She attended Colorado State University, and worked for the Denver Public Library before returning to Montrose in 2008. She currently serves as the Head of Adult Services for the Montrose Regional Library and has been a Valley Food Partnership board member since February of 2020. Sara loves reading, gardening with her husband and two daughters, Eva and Sybil, and hiking and exploring the outdoors with her family and their two dogs, Maggie and Bailey.
Sara Rinne, President
Christine Neiderhiser, Treasurer
Christine and her husband Cliff moved from their small organic farm in Pennsylvania to Colorado in 2015 to embrace the blue sky, sun, and outdoor adventures. Growing up helping her grandparents work their beef cattle farm in southwestern Pennsylvania, she learned to appreciate the rewards, joys- and hard work – that come with agricultural life. Gardening, food preservation, and creative cooking integrated with good nutrition are central to Christine’s lifestyle. Supporting local agriculture and healthy food sources within a community has been her passion. Christine is a CPA and partner at a local firm and has her MBA degree and CGMA designation.
Paul Stockwell, Secretary
William Woody grew up in a small textile mill town in Northeastern North Carolina before moving to Montrose in the late 1990s. Woody grew up in a family with deep roots in farming and ranching going back generations. He is a lifelong photojournalist and writer with decades of experience in newsrooms across the United States. He has produced stories throughout the Uncompahgre Valley focusing on all aspects of agriculture. From small family farms to large agricultural conglomerates, Woody has worked to connect himself with local farming in an effort to document and preserve the stories that represent the Uncompahgre Valley.
William Woody, Director
Elisa McKee, Director
“After growing up as a Navy brat who moved every few years, my family finally settled in Colorado in 1975. My mother created paintings of rural countryside and my parents took us kids out to farms on our Sunday drives. I feel at home living in a ranching and farming community. I want to support agriculture/ranching (locally) and solutions for producers that allow them to thrive and later retire without losing our prime agricultural real estate”