Elizabeth’s role at the ROA is the culmination of over 20 years working in the field of organic agriculture. She began her career as an advocate for shade-grown, fair-trade, and organic coffee growers in Central America. Since then, she has worked across the spectrum of elevated certifications, both in farming and ranching, earning high-level placements with organizations such as CCOF and EarthClaims.  Her greatest honor is to serve a planet that is in tremendous need of each and every one of us. She resides in Northern California with her dog Hazel, growing food and community.

After getting an education in accounting and starting his career in corporate risk consulting, Ross more recently professionally pursued his lifelong passion of cooking. He has lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina since 2018 where, through cooking, he has immersed himself in the incredible local food system. Prior to becoming aware of the ROA, Ross’ purchasing habits both personally and for his small food services business have coincidentally been in uncompromising alignment with standards similar to ROC. Ross now has the opportunity to harmonize his education and early career with his passion for food and intentional sourcing through his role at the ROA and what the organization represents for the world’s farming future. Ross enjoys his days and mountain views with his wife Cassie and their two cats, Kitty Kat and Stevie.

An advocate for organic, social, and environmental sustainability, Paul comes to us with more than 15 years of experience in designing and implementing strategies, project management, creating frameworks, and external and internal stakeholder management. He is bilingual with cross-cultural and multi-category experience in international contexts.  Paul resides in Northern California with his family.

As an agronomist, Daniel has spent 10+ years working with international certifiers dedicated to various organic, social and environmental programs. His experience as an auditor, certification officer and operations manager enable Daniel to constantly improve ROA Standards & Assurance. Based in Brazil, he brings a global south perspective on agri-food and certification systems.  Daniel resides in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Hilary Butler is an interim brand & marketing consultant and liaison for the Regenerative Alliance. Hilary most recently served as the head of marketing operations at Bonterra Organic Estates, where she oversaw the company’s fastest-growing segment in California. Previously, Hilary held a career at Russell Stover, where she managed the company’s $275M seasonal chocolate portfolio.

Hilary holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and a BA in English from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She resides with her family in Kansas City, Missouri.

Cris has deep experience as both an agronomist and a quality assurance specialist.  She was the ROC Program Manager for Organización Internacional Agropecuaria. Prior to that, she worked for over a decade at IOAS as a lead assessor and auditor. She has worked as a lead auditor with international certifiers and accreditors in different schemes such as Rainforest Alliance, NOP, and EU Organic, cosmetic standards, and numerous textiles claim standards like GOTS, Responsible Wool Standard, Recycled Claim, and OCS. Cris brings not only this rich experience to the ROA but also the conviction that regenerative organic systems are critical to improving the soil, the environment, and human health.  Cris is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Benjamin Fahrer has over 25 years of organic farming experience and is specialized in designing and building integrated ecological farming systems as a contractor and consultant. He has brought innovation to urban agriculture by designing, building and operating highly productive integrated urban rooftop farming systems in the SF Bay area. He is deeply committed to building these ecosystems in service to nature and community and is excited to work with our ROLC farms to highlight their work and building alliances within their bioregions.

Angela is a certified organic farmer in the USA, advocate, educator, and international lead auditor with more than 15 years of experience in organic inspection, production for crops and livestock, quality assurance, and lead auditing across many organic, environmental, and animal welfare programs for national and private certification programs. Angela brings an international perspective and farmer lens to the ROA team.  She lives on her farm in South Dakota with her family.

Growing up on a small farm in rural Massachusetts, Charlotte learned the importance of regenerative organic agriculture and stewardship of the environment. Prior to the ROA, she worked for an organic certification agency, supporting organic audits, and worked on farms internationally, where she gained extensive knowledge of agricultural practices. Her experience allows Charlotte to successfully guide new applicants as they navigate requirements for the program. She lives in Asheville, NC with her dog Stevie.

Ariana learned in her studies that healthy human development cannot occur without holding policy makers accountable to change our food system and how we treat the earth. She embraces the opportunity to bring her skills and passions to the ROA and broader regenerative organic movement. She is proud to be a part of the solution and bring her bright light to our team. She is based in Vancouver, WA.

Cristina has spent the last decade working in South America in agricultural supply chains and operations. Based in Peru, she brings a global Latin America perspective on certification systems.  She has supported smallholder farmers in achieving various organic, regenerative, and social fairness certifications across Central and South America. Cristina earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in supply chains, logistics, and agricultural engineering. We are excited for her to bring her expertise to the ROA team and especially to help Spanish speaking growers navigate the process of becoming ROC.

Passionate about all aspects of agriculture, Maíra has dedicated more than a decade of working with organic certification, small family farmers and social environmental education projects. Her primary focus has always been on sustainable agriculture, with the aim of making our world a fair and healthy place. Maíra brings strong experience in various segments of the certification process, passion for environmental justice, and a background in organizational leadership to the ROA. Maíra lives in the stunning coastal city of Florianopolis, SC Brazil.

Growing up on a small family dairy and showing sheep in FFA throughout her childhood, Haley’s passions are deeply rooted in agriculture. She strongly advocates for regenerative practices within modern-day agriculture, to promote healthy soils and abundant farmable land for future generations to come. Prior to joining the ROA, Haley worked in communications for environmental non-profits, project coordination for varying media brands, and organic compliance auditing for an organic certification organization. Haley and her fiancé live in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington State with their dog, cat, and four chickens.