The evaluation team brings together knowledge and expertise from a diverse set of fields to evaluate the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program’s capacity to support innovative local and regional farm to school projects as well as overall grant administration.
Bringing their unique perspectives to the project, the evaluation team will evaluate the grant program’s progress towards the goals articulated in the RFA and the Farm to School Roadmap for Success. Working together across a variety of impact areas, their research examines elements of grantee projects that have the greatest potential. They will identify enabling conditions for success, barriers to implementation, areas for additional and/or ongoing investment, and opportunities for coordination with related programs and agencies.
Tasked with providing an invaluable and rigorous evaluation of the return on the state’s investment in farm to school and providing recommendations for program improvements, the evaluation team also describes emerging best practices and lessons learned in CA farm to school interventions with a specific aim of informing policy.
California’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program Evaluation Team
GIS and Web Programmer
Andy Lyons, PhD
“I’m excited to be part of the Farm to School Evaluation team. I’m excited to be part of an interdisciplinary...
GIS and Web Team
Annie Taylor
Annie is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley using satellite imagery and other geospatial tools to study the impacts of...
Schools & ECE Team
Ashley Chaifetz, PhD
“Many years ago, as an elementary schooler, I tried (and hated) radishes from the not-so-great school garden. The Farm to...
GIS Team
Ben Satzman
Ben Satzman is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources, where he studied Conservation and Resource Studies...
Co-Principal Investigator
Beth Katz, PhD
“I am proud to be part of this strong, multidisciplinary team and am inspired by the holistic vision laid out...
Case Study Lead, Policy Team
Christy Getz, PhD
“I am incredibly excited to be a part of this F2S evaluation. F2S brings together so many aspects of my...
Project Co-Lead, Policy Co-Lead
Debbie Friedman, JD
“I am excited to understand whether we are progressing towards the vision in the Farm to School Roadmap, and where...
Project Lead, Schools & ECE Co-Lead
Eva Ringstrom, MPA, MUP
Eva Ringstrom is Food Insight Group’s Director of Evaluation for California School Food Programs. She consults with groups, organizations, and...
Economic Co-Lead, Policy Team
Federico Castillo, PhD
“I am excited about this project at several levels: To learn how farmers respond and adapt to program incentives and...
Principal Investigator
Gail Feenstra, EdD
“I’m ecstatic to be part of this amazing Farm to School Evaluation team who will create a coordinated research plan...
Case Studies Team
Gwenaël Engelskirchen
As Sustainable Food & Farming Coordinator at UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (SAREP), Gwenaël Engelskirchen collaborates with a...
Process Evaluation, Policy Team
Jessie Wesley, MCP, MPH
“I’m excited about the number of people that the California Farm to School programs touch. I’m excited to be on...
Economic Co-Lead
Karen Jetter, PhD
“There are many levels at which I am excited about this project. My main interest is in learning how this...
Communications Team
Kristen Farrar
As UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (UC SAREP) Communications & Proposal Coordinator, Kristen is responsible for coordinating SAREP’s...
Schools & ECE Team
Lacy Stephens, MPH, RDN
Lacy Stephens, MS, MPH, RDN, is an Agricultural Marketing Specialist with USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Lacy has experience working across...
Director of UCANR IGIS
Maggi Kelly, PhD
“Maps and geospatial data can play a supporting and important role in understanding the economic, environmental, and social impacts of...
Policy Co-Lead
Nina Ichikawa, MA
“I’m thrilled to work on such a significant evaluation of Farm to School, which is a movement that has emerged...
Policy Team
Sakeenah Shabazz, MPP
Sakeenah Shabazz (she/her) is the Policy Director at the Berkeley Food Institute. In this capacity, she leads BFI’s local, state,...
Economics Team
Sayantan ‘Sunny’ Mitra
Sunny is a fourth-year Ph.D student in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California Berkeley....
GIS and Web Manager
Shane Feirer, MS
“I’m excited to be part of the Farm to School Evaluation team. I’m excited to see how the Farm to...
Environmental Lead
Timothy Bowles, PhD
“I am really excited about this project because markets are one of the most important influences on how farmers are...
Environmental Team
Yvonne Socolar
Yvonne is wrapping up a PhD in agroecology from UC Berkeley and is excited to join the team as a...
Past Contributors
Environmental Team
