Deb Johnson-Shelton, Ph.D.
Chair
Geraldine Moreno-Black, Ph.D. C.N.S
Geraldine Moreno, is a researcher at Oregon Research Institute and Professor Emeritus in the Anthropology Department at the University of Oregon. She specializes in nutritional anthropology, biological anthropology, human ecology, and gender issues. She is actively engaged in research on food insecurity and child growth. In addition to her research in the US she has worked in Thailand, Laos, Bolivia, Indonesia and the U.S. Her research and teaching interests include hunger and food security, wild food resources, child growth and nutritional status, and food and culture. She has been involved in the development of baseline data evaluating the prevalence of obesity among school children in Lane County. She has been the recipient of awards from the Fulbright Hayes Senior Scholar Program, National Geographic Society, The Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council. Geraldine’s longstanding concern about small farmers and the food system led her to participate in several local CSA farms. She has served the Design Team that has worked on the development of the Lane County Food Policy Council is a council member since its inception and served as Co-Chair for one year.
Dan Armstrong was drawn to food issues in the 1990s through his research and writing about the environment. During the writing of his novel about the American family farmer, Prairie Fire, he became convinced that the best way for people to understand managing the planet’s natural resources was through the lens of food production. He launched his website Mud City Press in 2007 and soon afterward became involved with several local food organizations in the south Willamette Valley. At the center of his efforts are creating a model for sustainable agriculture in the Willamette Valley and the rebuilding of the regional food system. Along with being a member of the Lane County Food Policy Council, Dan is a member of the Southern Willamette Bean and Grain Project and co-founder of The Lane County Fairgrounds Repair Project.
Don Hampton, is the mayor of the City of Oakridge. Born in Nebraska, Don attended the University of Nebraska and earned both a B.S. and M.Ed. degree in secondary education. After working as a classroom teacher for 30 years in Oakridge, Don was elected mayor and served in that capacity from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, Don was appointed East Lane County Commissioner and served from October 2003 to December 2004. Since then, Don has returned to the Oakridge City Council and is currently mayor. Don has been a long-time supporter of the Oakridge Food Box program and Food for Lane County food access programs.
Galen Martin, is an instructor at the University of Oregon with a background in environmental studies, cultural geography and international development. He has observed agricultural practices throughout the world and worked in Costa Rica, China, and Germany. He has taught food and agriculture related courses for the past 25 years. He has served on the board of the Aprovecho Institute and sponsored many students carrying out food-related internships here and abroad. He currently serves on the West Coast Board of Directors for the Mennonite Central Committee, an international development agency. Raised on a farm in North Dakota, Galen lives with his family on a small farm and forest near Eugene.
Aleta Miller is currently the Project Coordinator for ECOS, Environmental Center of Sustainability. One of the primary goals of ECOS is strategic development of durable and duplicable models of food production, processing, storage and distribution. Aleta has been self-employed for 27 years. Her clients are mostly small sole proprietorships, locally owned and operated. She has business and non-profit experience in finances, operations, personnel, marketing and graphic design. Aleta has worked with food related companies (Genesis Juice and Starflower) and local farmers (Rivers Turn Farm and Halo Trail) since 1986.
David Richey is a spatial analyst at the Lane Council of Governments, and has been involved with the Lane County Food Policy Council since 2005, becoming a councilor in 2007. His work with the council focuses on agricultural production and food system assessment.
David applies spatial analysis to a variety of subject areas around natural resource use and human health, working on childhood obesity prevention with the Bethel School District and Oregon Research Institute, water-quality modeling and protection for the Eugene Water and Electric Board, urban land use and land planning for local municipalities, and farm resource issues with the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition. He has been a member of the Grower’s Market in Eugene, Oregon, since 1994, and served on the market’s
board of directors from 1997-98.
In addition to a BA in biology, David holds a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon, where his research focused on whole farm design and riparian restoration opportunities in agricultural landscapes. He is an avid gardener.
Joe Softich has been the manager of the emergency food box program at Catholic Community Services of Lane County for over 20 years. He designed the first “client choice” food pantry in Oregon in about 1994. For his work in this area, Joe has been honored with awards from both Catholic Charities of Oregon and the Oregon Food Bank. When he was a volunteer at St. Alice Parish and Sacred Heart Hospital in the mid 80’s, he played a key role in establishing a family kitchen at St. Alice Catholic Church in Springfield. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Food For Lane County, chairing the Operations Committee in the mid 90’s. He has a degree in Microbiology from the University of Montana, and has studied Dentistry, Russian, and Religious Studies. Joe is committed to offering his talent and energy to instill hope in people struggling to meet basic needs.
Cary Thompson has been in the food business in Eugene for many years, starting as a manager of Willamette Peoples Food Coop in 1970, and progressing to starting several local natural food stores over the next 20 years. These stores featured local and organic foods along with other speciality foods from around the world. Cary has had a hand in making Eugene a destination point for healthy foods lovers from around the nation. Since retiring from these businesses, he has engaged in non-profit work in various areas of interest from credit unions to political groups and more. Cary started Helios Resource Network with the idea of providing connections between the many small groups doing good work in the area working for social change and the environment. Cary says, “The local foods movement fit right in to what I wanted to do…so currently I am collaborating with Willamette Farm and Food Coalition doing community local foods potlucks among, other projects. Joining the Food Policy Council was the logical next step for my interests.”
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