Staff and Advisors

STEVE SCHWARTZ – FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative is led by Steve Schwartz, an experienced local food systems advocate with more than 25 years of professional leadership working with farmers and farm policy to advance sustainable agriculture. He is the founder of California Farmlink which he directed for 13 years working to provide access to land and financing for beginning and immigrant farmers. He was the first staff person for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers’ Rural Policy Council. Steve is an innovator in farmland access and preservation, as well as affordable financing alternatives for family farmers.

He engaged as a volunteer in interfaith organizing in Sacramento; and has worked with Buddhist and Jewish communities to facilitate projects to connect congregants to the environment and food system. In 2012 he engaged with the Community Food Security Coalition’s Food and Faith Committee and the Sonoma County Community Garden Network. Under his 13 years of leadership, FarmLink organized the first agricultural Individual Development Account program and a successful loan program.

Schwartz has more than three years of experience on agricultural policy as a Chief of Staff to two state Assemblymembers; and has worked on four Farm Bills. He served on the following boards: the International Farm Transition Network, Sonoma County Farm Trails, California Reinvestment Coalition, Community Alliance with Family Farmers and Congregation B’nai Israel. He is conversant in Spanish, Thai and Laotian. Schwartz began developing the ISFC in late 2011. Since then he also served as a consultant to the USDA Secretary’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach; the International Farm Transition Network, California FarmLink; the National Young Farmers Coalition; and the California Caucus of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

At the Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative, Steve blends his agricultural expertise with his Jewish tradition’s concept of “tikkun olam” (improving the natural world) to help religious institutions pursue pathways to more sustainable food systems and help their members grow in this critical area! 

His experience with food production began as a child in grandpa’s garden. Steve’s 25-year career working with the sustainable agriculture movement began with his two and a half year year stint in Thailand as a Peace Corp Volunteer. Steve is an innovator in farmland preservation and affordable financing alternatives for family farms.

ADVISORY BOARD

The Advisory Board, which includes both clergy and lay leaders, provides outreach support and relationship building crucial to the organization’s progress and provides guidance based on their expertise with the customs and calendars of different religions. 

Click here to read about a strategic planning retreat held in June 2015 with the Advisory Board and Staff of Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative. 

DEACON JOSEPHINE BORGESON

Deacon Joesphine Borgeson, Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, recently retired from paid church work redeveloping small congregations and continues part-time work in ministry education. The daughter of a professional gardener and an excellent home cook, her interest in all aspects of healthful, tasty, seasonal food is lifelong. She brings to that interest experience in interfaith organizing, communication, and ecological ethics. Phina lives in Santa Rosa, and gardens at the Stony Point Community Garden. She is a member of the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, the Sonoma County Food Recovery Coalition, and the Society of Ordained Scientists.

REV. DR. AMBROSE CARROLL, GREEN THE CHURCH & CHURCH BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

A graduate of Oakland High School, Ambrose holds a B.S. in Clinical/Community Psycology from Florida Memorial University, a Masters in Divinity from Morehouse School of Religion, a Doctor of Divinity from United Theological Seminry, and a Masters of Buisness Administration from Golden Gate University’s Ageno School of Buisness. In 2009, Ambrose founded the Renewal Worship Center Christian Church of Denver, Colorado as one of the first foundationally enviormentally friendly churches in the country. Carrol and his family are presently expanding their work to the Bay Area creating a National Campaign to “Green the Church”.

RABBI ELANA ROSEN-BROWN, CONGREGATION RODEF SHOLOM

Elana was a graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where she was ordained a rabbi in 2014 and a cantor in 2012. She joined Congregation Rodef Sholom in 2014. Rabbi Elana oversees adult education, conversion studies and social justice at Congregation Rodef Sholom. She is also the founder of Makor Marin, a nature-based Jewish community for young families. In the social justice area, Elana has spearheaded Rodef Sholom’s involvement in sanctuary work and Muslim-Jewish dialogue. She is also involved in outreach to the LGBT community, Marin Interfaith Council, Marin Organizing Committee, and is on the board of Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy. A native East Coaster, Rabbi Elana grew up in Connecticut. She graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College with a degree in history and secondary education. She has specific training in mindfulness meditation, interfaith dialogue, outdoor education and wilderness spirituality. 

ZACHARY TWIST, ISLAMIC CENTER OF NORTH MARIN

Zachary Twist is the founder Claristic Consulting, a Bay-Area based business consulting firm. He holds an MBA with an emphasis on environmental sustainability, and specializes in helping businesses and organizations develop and implement sustainability action plans. He has been a highly active member of the Bay Area Muslim community for over 20 years.  He currently serves on the board of directors of the Islamic Center of North Marin, the board of the Marin Interfaith Council, and the board of directors of Northstar School, a respected Islamic school in the East Bay.  He previously served as the Director of Operations at Zaytuna Institute, now Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the US. He has been fortunate to learn and benefit from some of the world’s most prominent Muslim scholars, and is passionate about issues related to creating a more thriving and just planet for all. He resides in San Rafael with his wife and three children.

THANK YOU TO THESE PREVIOUSLY SERVING ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:

REV. DANIEL C. GREEN

Rev. Daniel C. Green was born in Riverside, California, and raised in California, Indiana, and Vermont. His childhood Christian formation was in a congregation of the Disciples of Christ. After drifting away from the church in early adolescence, he rediscovered it in the context of working for peace and justice in Central Americain the mid-1980s. He has worked as a political activist, community organizer, carpenter, farmer, and gardener, and lived in a variety of intentional communities. Daniel studied religion, history, and philosophy at Williams Collegeand the California Institute of Integral Studies. He spent four years doing residential practice and study at Green Gulch Farm of the San Francisco Zen Center, working on the 15-acre commercial organic farm. As Farm Manager from 1992-1994, he initiated the formation of the Farm Apprenticeship Program at Green Gulch. In 1996 he became the founding Farm Manager of the St. Mary’s Urban Youth Farm project of the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, a job-preparedness and environmental education program for at-risk youth. In 1998 he went into business as Green Man Gardening, designing, installing, and maintaining residential gardens in San Francisco and the East Bay. He began attending Episcopal churches in San Francisco in 1994. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, where he was active as a liturgical minister, preacher, teacher, and served on the vestry. He received a M.Div. degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in May, 2005. He was ordained a priest in December of that year, and immediately came to All Saints, Carmelas Assisting Priest. He helped guide the parish through an interim period, and stayed on as Associate Rector to the Rev. Richard Matters. In August 2010, he was called to St. John’s Episcopal Church, Petaluma, as Priest-in-Charge.

BARTON STONE, PRIEST, STONE CREEK ZEN CENTER

Myozen Barton Stone is a priest at Stone Creek Zen Center in Graton, CA, where he was ordained by Jisho Warner Roshi in 2010. He was drawn to Zen Buddhism in the 1960’s, and came to San Francisco where he practiced with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder of San Francisco Zen Center. He lived at Green Gulch Farm for four years. He and his wife have four rural acres near Sebastopol, CA, where they tend vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and promote the beneficial interaction of all beings.

REOLA MEADOWS, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Reola started the Terrace Neighborhood Community Garden in 2011 on property belonging to the Healdsburg Seventh-day Adventist Church. She has a passion for feeding the hungry and being a good steward of the land. Reola is the coordinator of Community Services and Health Ministries for her church, is a board member of Healdsburg Shared Ministries which is a multi-denominational community service organization, is a partner in Healthy Healdsburg initiative, and a participating tutor with the Public School Success Team. 

REV. CANON SALLY GROVER BINGHAM (STRATEGIC ADVISOR)

The Reverend Canon Sally Grover Bingham, an Episcopal priest and Canon for the Environment in the Diocese of California, has been active in the environmental community for 25 years. She is founder and president of The Regeneration Project, which is focused on its Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) campaign, a religious response to global warming. The IPL campaign includes a national network of more than 14,000 congregations with affiliated programs in 39 states. The Rev. Bingham has brought widespread recognition to the connection between faith and the environment, and as one of the first faith leaders to fully recognize global warming as a moral issue, she has mobilized thousands of religious people to put their faith into action through energy stewardship and advocacy. The Rev. Bingham serves on the national boards of the Environmental Defense Fund, the Environmental Working Group, and the advisory board of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

BOUTSABA JANETVILAY

Boutsaba is an immigrant from Laos and has been in the U.S. for 31 years. She moved to Sonoma County fromm Los Angeles five years ago and has been actively volunteering to help organize fundraising and cultural events with Wat Lao Saysettha. She is currently working at Sonoma State University Library as a library specialist. She lives in Penngrove with her husband, Nam and three children.

RABBI CHAI LEVY

Rabbi Chai Levy has served the Kol Shofar community since 2002, teaching, listening, celebrating, singing, dancing, and playing music with adults and children of all ages. At Kol Shofar, she is the leader of the Kol Neshama Minyan, the Musical Meditation High Holyday services, and is the founder of Kol Shofar’s Center for Jewish Spirituality,which offers opportunities for spiritual learning and growth through meditation, music, and practices that connect mind, body, and spirit. Inspired by the Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative, she spearheaded Kol Shofar’s Community Garden and CSA relationship with First Light Farm.

REV. DAN SENTER

Pastor Dan guides spiritual development for adults that is both intellectually stimulating, thoughtful, and connected to the best of modern scholarship. You will often find him helping out at Sustainable Lafayette’s Earth Day, harvesting fruit with The Urban Farmers, stacking CSA boxes, and finding joy in the wonder of community. In addition to his work as Senior Pastor at OSLC, Dan serves as an Executive Director on the board of ProgressiveChristianity.org, which provides support and resources for churches and individuals open to an evolving faith. He delights in fostering collaborative connections with a wide variety of community partners and the way that they contribute to a common good. 

REV. SARA TASHKER

Rev. Sara Tashkar has been an organic farmer and residential Zen practitioner at Green Gulch Farm for the past ten years. Since 2007 she has helped lead the San Francisco Zen Center’s six-month Organic Farm and Garden Apprenticeship for people interested in residential Zen Buddhist practice and training in organic farming and gardening. She has served on the Board of Marin Organic since 2009, and currently lives at Green Gulch Farm with her husband and two-year-old son. Stewarding the land and growing food in a sustainable way is an integral part of my daily religious practice at Green Gulch Farm/Zen Center.

SISTER CYNTHIA RICH, GREATER POWERHOUSE CHURCH OF SANTA ROSA

Cynthia Rich joined the ISFC Board in 2015, after becoming acquainted with the agency the prior year, when applying for a mini grant for her church’s food pantry. (Their passion & work was contagious!) She is a Sonoma County native of many generations & a longtime member of the faith community; initially in her great grandparents’ church, then at Community Baptist Church, as a child & young adult, & for the past 30+ yrs. at Greater Powerhouse Church (all) in Santa Rosa, CA. She currently serves as a licensed Missionary, & supportive, active member, who has held several offices in different departments such as the Choir, Missions Outreach, & Shepherds Care, & yet still takes part in various programs. She retired as a State of CA Supervisor, after working many years as a civil servant, beginning as a State Peace Officer, & years later, as a licensed Psych-Tech, & finally as a Healthcare Administrator. She & her husband, Craig, also operated & opened their home for years to mentor young, troubled, or even older, critical (health) challenged & developmental disabled adults; mentoring those who needed assistance with care & life skills. These days, she & her husband, Craig, are active within their families & their neighborhood, being past Watch Capt’s., who yet love walking, biking, swimming, traveling, & visiting the elderly, sick, & those in need. “We go with a home cooked meal in hand, or flowers & food we grow, baked goods, Craig’s tools, & always a prayer; or with just a smile & a listening ear: to show our love, care, & to spread a little cheer!”

REV. CINDY ALLOWAY, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF THE ROSES, SANTA ROSA

Reverend Dr Cynthia Alloway is the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Roses. Having grown up on a farm in Iowa, Pastor Cindy knows the importance of fresh food and easy access for those who struggle to get it. Cindy attended the University of Iowa for her BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and UCSF for her MSN (Masters of Science in Nursing). She is also a Forensic nurse and a child and adolescent therapist. Cindy graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a Doctorate of Ministry. When she came to Santa Rosa in 2013 Cindy immediately looked for ways to start a community garden in the small lawn beside the church. With a grant from the Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative (and donations of materials from volunteers) the community garden came to be. It is enjoyed by many who come to the church for the Deacon food bag program. Some of the harvest is also freely given in their free breakfast program for the Montgomery High School students. “I believe the Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative is worth my time and support because it focuses on a soulful cause to positively connect all faiths, people in need, and regional agricultural systems to raise up the quality of life for all. We are called to help others have a healthy quality of life. The ISFC plays an effective and supportive role in that effort.”