Meet the Board of Directors for PlacerGROWN in Placer County California

Meet the Board of Directors

David Chappell - President - School & Community Gardens

Mary Schug - Vice President, Community/Culinary
mschug@placercoe.k12.ca.us

Mary is semi-retired from a long career in education, most recently as a school administrator for Placer County Office of Education. She still works part time for PCOE doing staff development and new teacher support, as well as for Project Pipeline (a non-profit organization providing a curriculum leading to a California State Teaching Credential), and St. Hope Charter Schools where she coordinates their special education program. Since Mary’s husband John spent his early years tending a truck garden for his family, Mary has NOT been able to convince him that they should raise their own produce or meat. Subsequently, she can be found at local Farmer’s Markets, produce stands and other local business’s – and has proven over the years to be the ultimate consumer, making her well qualified for this position on the Placer GROWN board.

Karen Killebrew – Past President, AgTourism
karen@naturemedia.net

Karen Killebrew is a marketing consultant based in Applegate, CA. She works part-time for PlacerArts as a program specialist, providing communications and internet support and project management, including oversight of PlacerArts' online events calendar and artist registries.

Karen has worked with a wide spectrum of businesses and non-profit organizations in Northern California. She is a freelance writer, and has written numerous articles about Placer County's family farms. She has been a volunteer member of the Placer Farm and Barn Tour planning committee, designing and writing brochures for each tour host and maintaining the event website.

Karen has an extensive background in tourism marketing, having spent thirty years in the retail travel industry. She holds a firm belief that community involvement in tourism development is the key to the economic health of communities where tourism takes place. Her major focus is on cultural and heritage tourism, including nature tourism and agritourism. She serves on the board of PlacerGROWN, and is a member of the Sierra Business Council, The International Ecotourism Society, the California Roundtable for Recreation, Parks and Tourism, the Placer Gold Slow Food Convivium, and a number of local land trusts and conservation organizations.

Tom Aguilar (Chief Financial Officer) – Mandarins

Tom Aguilar is married with two daughters and one granddaughter, retired after 26 years from Reynolds Metals Corporation, Tom now helps his family to operate Mandarin Hill Orchards in Penryn. The family farm produces fresh mandarins which are shipped literally worldwide. Tom holds the title of chief financial officer for the Mountain Mandarin Growers Association and is an officer for the Loomis Grange. He also enjoys designing and constructing stage props for the Placer County Fair in Roseville.

Karin Sinclair – Livestock
karin@sinclairfamilyfarm.net

Karin and her husband Keith, along with their children operate Sinclair Family Farms, raising grass fed lamb in Penryn. They started with a single ewe for their daughter as a 4-H project and have grown to the current 130 ewe flock. Lambing twice per year, they continue to have lambs to care for and rotate on several pastures. When not caring for the lambs, Karin and Keith operate a construction business and Karin volunteers for several organizations. She is a 4-H project leader, member of the Gold Country Fair and Placer County Fair Junior Livestock Auction Committee, Gold Country Fair Junior Fair Board, President of Gold Country Sheep Producers, producer for the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club, member of the California Wool Growers Association and member of PlacerGROWN. Her goal is to produce a healthy and great tasting product and she encourages people to try lamb and other local products and discover how great tasting local really is.

Stephanie Rickey – Produce

Stephanie graduated from Del Oro High School in Loomis and is a full-time Legal Secretary for the law firm of Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP in Roseville, CA. Stephanie graduated from Canterbury Career College with a 4.0 in the Legal Secretary program. Since then she has worked for a handful of well known law firms throughout the Sacramento area. She also farms cattle, produce, pumpkins, wine grapes and now honey bees with her husband Aaron Rickey, the full-time farmer, and her two children. Stephanie has been involved in the marketing of their own farming business and has a lot of experience working with the community in this aspect. She also has donated her time to the Loomis Union School District Art Docent program for Franklin Elementary School in Loomis, CA. Stephanie is very excited to utilize her skills and knowledge as a Board Member for Placer Grown.

Phyllis Boorinakis – Orchards
pboorinakis@hotmail.com

Phyllis Boorinakis is the co-owner along with her family of Boorinakis-Harper Ranch, "the biggest and smallest and the oldest and only farm in the City of Auburn", growing pears and plums since 1918. Four generations later, the farm remains a small family owned and operated business with a new emphasis on organic production and a variety of crops including apples, figs, wine grapes and local honey as well as "the best pears in the land", all of which they sell at several of the Farmer's Markets and to local restaurants and markets. When not working on the farm, Phyllis, along with her daughter Julia, is the co-producer and host of The Homestead Radio Hour, a program devoted to sustainable living on KVMR FM 89.5 in Nevada City. She continues to champion sustainability in her work with The Haute Trash Artists Collective, creating highbrow fashions from lowbrow materials (The Chicken Plucker's Ball Gown was made from bags that once held 700 pounds of poultry feed, for example). Phyllis and her family are grateful for the guidance and inspiration that they have received from Placer Grown and she is pleased to be able to not only spread the word about Placer Agriculture, but to "give back" and help others navigate the road to successful modern farming.

Charlie Green - Wine/Winegrapes

Deborah Lynn – Education/Nutrition

I am pleased to be with PlacerGROWN as a Board Member. I have lived in the Auburn area for 19 years and I am a proud parent of 5 blended children. My love of gardening has been a gift to me and my family. From this passion I have served children and families with education and a love of gardening in various ways. My first outreach has been as a Novice Herbalist since I was 16, the second was my position as Garden Superintendent for St. Joseph's Parish School for 6ish years. Now I serve as the Nutrition Coordinator for KidZKount Placer Community Action Council, Head Start and Early Head Start. As I work towards my degree in Dietetics I am busy with family and work. I have a deep love for good and nutritious food as well as physical fitness from my many years in the fitness industry. Lots to do and finding the time!

Mary Towne - Marketing

Cathy Theobald / David Nelson – Tourism

STAFF

Jocelyn Maddux – Program Manager
placergrown@gmail.com

Jocelyn got involved with PlacerGROWN in 2006 while packing fresh boxes of produce for the Harvest Box pilot CSA program. On hiatus from a legal career, she tasted Placer County’s fresh fruits and vegetables first-hand and became a convert and advocate for local produce. Helping her family start-up a local vineyard and winery business (Lone Buffalo Vineyards in Auburn) drew Jocelyn back to her corporate sales & marketing roots and soon PlacerGROWN snatched her up on a permanent basis. A girl with “many hats,” Jocelyn now applies her abilities towards growing Placer County as an emerging California wine region and helping PlacerGROWN spread the word about local agriculture.

Lisa Pilz – Bookkeeper
lisapilz@dishmail.net

A local producer herself, Lisa keeps PlacerGROWN’s books in order and assists with outreach at local agricultural events. Together with her husband Steve, Lisa also runs Pilz Produce and Hilcrest Orchard, a mandarin orchard that’s a local Penryn legacy. They produce high quality mandarins along with a veritable cornucopia of fresh produce which they sell from the farm and at local farmers markets.

ADVISORS