Board of Directors
Jessica Martell, Chair
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Jessica Martell is assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Appalachian State and has published two recent books on food and literature in the early twentieth-century. For three years, she has helped support BRWIA initiatives like the Watauga County Seed Library, the High Country Farm Tour, the Double Up Food Bucks program, and the High Country Food Hub. She is an avid gardener and chicken steward. |
Carla Ramsdell, Vice Chair
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Carla is a faculty member in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Appalachian State. She is passionate about bridging the gap between scientific research and the general public in the areas of climate change, energy generation, and efficient cooking strategies. She is a licensed mechanical engineer and, prior to Appalachian State, spent 17 years working in the power industry. Carla comes from an Italian background and loves cooking and gardening. She has merged her love of science, food and environmental advocacy by creating a college course, research and public outreach platform on energy awareness related to our food system called “Know Watts Cooking: The Physics of Energy Efficient Food.” Carla is excited to join the board of BRWIA and contribute to the work of this organization promoting a vibrant local food system, a critical component to a sustainable food future.
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Amy Roberts, Treasurer
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Amy Roberts is currently the Senior Director of Finance and Systems for Campus Services at Appalachian State University. She has also held the positions of Associate Controller, Assistant Controller, and Director of Special Funds Accounting since 1999. Her university system work experience covers auxiliary enterprise accounting and financial reporting, post-award Contract & Grant administration, endowment and investment accounting, cost accounting for service centers, and management of foundation supported funds. Before joining the university system, she served as CFO for non-profits in the Piedmont. Amy highly values education in sustainability, food security, nutrition. She devotes much time and energy outside of work to cooking, gardening, preserving, and developing an edible landscape on her in town mini-farm. |
Lori Ludwig, Secretary
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Lori Ludwig is a performance improvement specialist with a M.S. in Industrial Organizational Psychology and Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University. She has over 20 years of experience helping clients with strategy execution across different industries, from global Fortune 500s, creative start-ups, human services, non-profits, to local small businesses. She currently serves as a co-founder of Performance Ally, a Trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and President of the Organizational Behavior Management Network. Lori is passionate about helping non-profits thrive and is excited to help BRWIA optimize its impact in our community. |
Sydney Phillips
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Sydney Phillips is the business and marketing manager for Shipley Farms Beef in Vilas. She and her husband, Taylor, recently moved to Boone from Eastern North Carolina where she managed projects for a non-profit that focused on improving health outcomes for children. Part of that work was creating a food system value chain to improve food procurement practices for child care centers while positively impacting the local farm economy as well. Sydney and Taylor are new empty nesters, with freshmen at NC State University and a senior at UNC Chapel Hill. They enjoy being active and are excited to explore all that the High Country has to offer. |
Laura Graham
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Laura grew up in a home where all the food was homegrown, canned, preserved as much as possible. After moving to Boone in 1963, she has tried to maintain this way of life with her own children during much more modern times. These ideals lead Laura to found the Preserve Heritage Agriculture & Regional Markets NOW! non-profit and later help create The Kids' Corner at the Watauga Farmer's Market. Laura also coordinates the Tuesday Lunch Program to provide free lunch to college students every Tuesday and assists with the Children's Food Bags program to help feed children with low food security as part of her mission to enhance and sustain local food production and consumption. |
Madelyn George
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Madelyn George is an entrepreneur, impact investor, and business coach with an MBA from Duke University and a BA in Dance from Columbia College in Chicago. She began work as a small business consultant in 2010 specializing in pre-revenue startups and early stage business growth. With additional prior experience in the spa and wellness industries, Madelyn opened the Valle Crucis Lavender House in 2014. The Lavender House merges spa, retail, and agritourism in one unconventional business model with an internal strategy to nurture entrepreneurship among local creatives. Currently Madelyn is also a full-time lecturer in the management department at App State, and serves as Chief Financial Officer at Hatchet Coffee. Additional board service in the area includes High Country Local First. |
Caroline Stahlschmidt
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Caroline Stahlschmidt is a nutritionist and Director of Education at the Functional Nutrition Alliance. She has also taught yoga at Neighborhood Yoga for over ten years. She holds an M.S. in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from University of Western States and a B.S. in Environmental Science from University of Miami. Caroline loves spending time outdoors and you can often find her hiking with her two dogs or mountain biking the local trails. She is passionate about supporting the local food system and getting creative in her kitchen with vegetables from our incredible local farmers and her own garden. |
Megan Mason
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Megan Mason does marketing, communications, and outreach at Lost Province Brewing Company. From 2010-2014 she studied cultural anthropology with a focus on sustainable development and Appalachian studies at ASU. She fell in love with Boone, and has called the high country home ever since. Over the years she's worked various positions in hospitality, from helping open the Horton Hotel, to freelance digital marketing and content creation, to her current position working for her husband's family business. Megan is proud to work for a restaurant and brewery that is committed to sourcing locally and investing in our community of growers and producers. Megan enjoys spending time outside with her family, aimlessly watching her chickens and ducks, practicing yoga, attempting to grow flowers, and watching her husband weed the vegetable garden (haha). Megan also currently serves as the president of the Downtown Boone Development Association.
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Kelly Renwick
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Kelly Ann Renwick is a faculty member in the Global Studies program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Appalachian State University. She is a Health Geographer with a focus on the social determinants of health. Kelly is passionate about reducing health inequalities and increasing access to food, particularly among underrepresented populations. She has been living in the High Country since 1999 and is excited to bring her knowledge and expertise in the social determinants, food, and health to BRWIA and our beautiful mountain community. |
Ellen Murphy
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Ellen teaches legal ethics at Wake Forest University Law School; she also teaches teachers how to teach online. Ellen grew up in Eastern North Carolina, and her roots in NC agriculture run deep. She made her way west across North Carolina, with a BS in Agri-Business and an MEd in Instructional Technology from NC State, and a JD from Wake Forest. Prior to joining Wake Forest Law, she was a United States federal appeals court clerk, a corporate lawyer, and a nonprofit Executive Director. An avid baker, Ellen’s favorite place is her kitchen. She currently is learning the art of canning, thanks to the BRWIA. Ellen loves winter, and she and her husband, Steve, spend as much time as possible at their cabin in the NC foothills. |
Renata Carneiro
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Renata Carneiro is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences at Appalachian State. She is a food engineer with masters and Ph.D. degrees in food science and technology and an MBA in project management. Renata has previous work experience in the food and pet food industries in the areas of quality assurance and research and development of new products. She is passionate about appling food science knowledge, specially flavor chemistry and sensory evaluation, to support the development of high-quality food products with economic benefit. Additionally, she loves trying new recipes and traditional foods from all over the world. |
Kara Dodson
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Kara owns and operates Full Moon Farm just outside of Boone. She and her husband started the produce farm in 2016 and it has grown to be a thriving business serving the High Country Food Hub, area restaurants, and local food banks. Prior to farming, her background is in community organizing to support clean energy and environmental justice. As a lifelong nature lover and human rights advocate, she is grateful for the opportunity to provide nourishing, organically grown vegetables and fruits to her community. She values the long line of ancestral guidance and all present relations that bring balance and healing to this vital work. |
Ann Brown
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Ann Brown is a native North Carolinian who lives on her husband's 5th generation family farm in the Rutherwood community on the crest of the blue ridge. She holds degrees in Food Science, Microbiology, Statistics, and Education from NC State and UNC and has worked in the food safety and regulatory industry. Ann’s passion lies in food preparation and the science behind it, an enthusiasm that was cultivated by her mother at a young age. Ann is CFO of BFR Beef, Inc and co-owner of the business along with her son and daughter-in-law. She takes pride in both the food safety and the inventory systems she has helped implement in the business. You can find Ann making deliveries, serving her family and others, and as the face of the business at local farmers markets. |
