InTents: The Farmers Market Conference 2026 Speakers

For full bios, click the ＋ symbol to the right of each speaker’s name.

  • Amanda Maria Edmonds, based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is a consultant, researcher, and educator in sustainable food systems with 25 years of experience. Her consultancy Beehive Strategies focuses on policy, strategy, and evaluation from local to national scales, both in food systems and others aiming to improve the public good. A faculty member at the University of Michigan’s Program in the Environment, she teaches food systems courses, and her research–at Wageningen University in the Netherlands–focuses on municipal policy & planning around farmers markets.  As founding Executive Director of Growing Hope and as former Mayor of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Amanda has served on or led many boards and held roles in both the nonprofit and public sectors.

  • Amber Staples has been working with the West Georgia Farmers’ Cooperative as a market manager for two years. The Cooperative was founded in 1966 as an agricultural co-op for local black farmers, and now extends membership to consumers and community members. With extensive experience in business, non-profits management, law, public administration and community planning, Amber’s interest in the environment and gardening introduced her to the Cooperative and she joined as a volunteer/member in 2022. 

  • Andrew Rome served as the Manager and Director of Haymaker Farmers’ Market in Kent, Ohio from 2016 to 2025. He now educates and advocates for markets statewide with Ohio Farmers Market Network as Vice President of the Board.  He is most focused on nutrition incentive programming and investing in resilient local food systems. With a masters degree in education, 20 years experience in non-profits, and his personal homesteading adventures, Andrew brings a variety of perspectives together. He equally loves connecting with people over food and diving into data to tell a story.

  • After spending some time farming, organizing community gardens, and managing food pantries, Avery Reynolds found his home in the Pacific Northwest farmers markets world. Avery‘s introduction to farmers markets began at the Portland Farmers Markets in 2021. A few seasons later, Avery took a new position as a Market Manager for the Vancouver Farmers Market in Washington State. His educational background in Environmental Science and community oriented professional experiences provides a balanced approach to market management, where he can utilize his person-first and data-driven mindset. Most of all, he values cultivating a space where people and businesses can thrive.

  • Brijet Myers learned a lot in her 10+ years as a Farmers’ Market Operations Manager for San Diego Markets. Handling the nuts and bolts behind the scenes work she still keep her feet on the street and under the tent managing special projects at year-round markets in Southern California, including San Diego County’s largest, the Little Italy Mercato. In addition to her positions as Farmers Market Pros Education Coordinator, and Tent Talk Co-host, she has spent years coordinating fundraising and community events for her children’s IB school. Her focus on making the most of marketing opportunities for the weekly markets she helps operate has pushed her to develop easy systems for e-mail newsletter content, wrangling information and review sites online for her markets. Brijet is passionate about giving local farms and small businesses a place to thrive and grow every week at her markets, and enjoys all the delicious perks of the job.

  • Catt Fields White is the Founder and CEO of Farmers Market Pros, and a host of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast. She writes for publications including FarmersMarketForum.com and speaks at conferences and events worldwide,  teaching market organizers and participants to make their operations stronger and educating consumers about the importance of supporting small farmers and food businesses. She founded San Diego Markets 18 years ago and is still an active farmers market manager. Catt acts as a Technical Advisor and consults with a variety of farmers market organizations, coaching developing and established markets. She is devoted to educating and encouraging emerging and evolving entrepreneurs and ensuring the future of real food for her grandchildren.

  • As the first Executive Director of the Napa Farmers Market, Cara Mae Wooledge leads in strategic partnerships, fundraising, marketing, and community engagement. Beyond local action, she represents the interests of farmers market operators as a member of the California Department of Food & Agriculture Certified Farmers Market Advisory Committee, the California Alliance of Farmers Markets Steering Committee, and the World Farmers Market Coalition. Cara Mae brings with her inexhaustible energy and has been working to improve public health and increase wellness and health equity in Napa County since 2007. She believes all farmers markets are essential spaces that allow people to joyfully grow community around local food. Cara Mae holds a BS from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and her Masters UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.

  • Chloe Kuhn is the Market Director for the Riverside Arts Market (RAM), a weekly Arts and Farmers Market in Jacksonville, FL. Formally trained as a wildlife ecologist, she held nonprofits positions with a common thread of public service before landing in the market world. She views RAM as an experience and a way to showcase Northeast Florida’s culture to locals and visitors alike through art, entertainment and food. Programming of market events and weekly curation of the market’s 300+ participating vendors go hand in hand to create a destination for shopping and community each Saturday. As Market Director, she has expanded beyond Saturday programming to launch a Holiday Market in partnership with Jacksonville’s Parks Department and produce “mini-RAM” experiences for local corporate headquarters’.

  • Christy Campli is the owner of Growing Roots Partners, a southeastern Pennsylvania–based farmers market and event management company dedicated to strengthening local food systems and building vibrant community marketplaces. Since 2021, she has expanded Growing Roots’ impact, overseeing three weekly, year-round farmers markets in suburbs of Philadelphia and producing large-scale community events and festivals that showcase regional farmers, food producers, and artisans. Christy began her career in hospitality and farm-driven restaurant operations, working closely with farmers and producers and developing a deep commitment to sustainable agriculture and transparent food systems. Today, she advances that mission through Growing Roots by creating curated marketplaces that generate economic opportunity for small businesses, increase access to fresh, locally sourced food, and demonstrate the power of investing in local communities. 

  • David Sax is an author, journalist, and speaker from Toronto, Canada. An aspiring war journalist, he ended up writing about wine in Argentina and then a book about pastrami. He is the author of five books, including the international bestseller The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter and The Future is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, The Tastemakers and The Soul of an Entrepreneur. David loves interviewing people even more than writing. As a speaker, he takes the lessons learned while researching and writing books and breaks them down to audiences, shifting their perspectives on the world.  

  • Dawn Carrillo is the developer and director of Oak Creek Winter Farmers Market & Racine Farmers Market on the Lake.  Asked to launch a farmers market in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, just outside Milwaukee, Dawn retired as an Art Director and discovered a deep passion for local food systems and community building. The Oak Creek Farmers Market is a thriving community destination, generating more than $1.3 million in vendor sales last season. The Racine Farmers Market on the Lake, on the shores of Lake Michigan, represents her most ambitious project yet—bringing fresh food access, economic opportunity, and community connection to a new region. An active member of numerous organizations, Dawn was recently appointed to the Board of the Wisconsin Farmers Market Association.

  • As a long-time school social worker and school district administrator, Dena Radtke supported youth and families experiencing homelessness and challenges related to poverty, food insecurity, mental health concerns, trauma, and violence. Building equitable systems of care, she strengthened community partnerships, advocating for student well-being and access to essential resources. Dena is the co-founder and current manager of the Jackson Park Farmers Market (JPFM) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an all-volunteer, community-centered market rooted in wellness, connection, and equity. Featuring 30–40 local vendors, live music, wellness-focused community partners, children’s activities, and hands-on nutrition education and social connections, JPFM serves as an inclusive gathering space that strengthens local food systems, supports small businesses, and promotes community health while fostering meaningful relationships across cultures and neighborhoods. 

  • With 20 years in Art Direction, Illustration, publishing, and consumer products, Haydee Yanez creates vibrant bilingual design inspired by her Tijuana roots. An alum of Universidad Iberoamericana, she designs everything from hospitality materials to children’s books. Haydee leads innovative bilingual social media content creation for the Chula Vista Farmers Market in San Diego’s South Bay, building connections with the community’s residents and supporting small farmers and businesses. 

  • Jaime Hadji is a passionate advocate for local farmers and consumer access to locally-sourced and produced goods—both as co-founder of Wayward Seed Farm and Great River Organics, and as a former Farmers Market Manager of several Central Ohio farmers markets. Hadji has a bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from The Ohio State University, and more than 20 years of experience in both food and customer service. She brings a unique blend of business acumen and an understanding of marketing and communication that is a rarity in farming. With a genuine passion for agriculture and fresh and local food, Hadji is an ideal ambassador for not only the farm itself, but for the education and expansion of farmers markets throughout the community.

  • Kelly McManus is a creative director with more than 30 years of experience in branding, retail merchandising, and set design. A former farmers market vendor selling “exceptionally curious noodles” , she founded Market Vendor Academy to help small producers transform their booths into high-performing sales spaces. As co-chair of the Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis, her work centers on a simple belief: when vendors thrive, markets thrive—leading to a more resilient and vibrant local food system.

  • Jasmine Leong is the Senior Manager of Operations for the Hollywood Farmers' Market, where she collaborates with a team to strengthen operations across Food Access LA’s nine farmers’ markets. Previously, she served as Market and Operations Manager for the Playa Vista and Westwood Farmers’ Markets, overseeing operations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She joined Food Access LA as Manager of the Hollywood Farmers’ Market in 2022 and has since helped launch the Little Tokyo Farmers’ Market and organized a new Los Angeles Farmers’ Market Manager group. Jasmine also brings hands-on vendor experience, having worked behind the booth with Murray Family Farms—at one point juggling four markets a week between management and vendor roles.

  • Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Jennifer Thompson is a first-generation Caribbean American with family roots in Guyana and the Bahamas. Countless summers in her grandparents’ backyard in New York sparked her early interest in food culture and community. Jennifer graduated from Davidson College in 2020, earning awards including Abernathy Grant, Martin Leadership Award, and the Wangari Maathai Award honoring commitment to food justice and community building, including co-founding the Sapelo Island Community Farm Project. In 2020, Jennifer founded Green Clothe, a Black eco-feminist collective weaving theory and praxis to engage East Coast communities around climate justice. They provide sustainable, community-rooted services addressing food access and education in Sapelo Island and  Atlanta, maintaining strong relationships with Black growers throughout the Atlantic region. Jennifer currently serves as Manager of the Grant Park Farmers Market and as a Food Systems Innovation Fellow in the City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability.

  • A gourmet home cook and 20 year customer of farmers markets, the more Larry McClements shopped at farmers markets, the more involved he became. In 2018, working alongside his young son he began selling peaches for a farmer at his local farmers market. In 2019 he took over as market manager of the Old Town Newhall Farmers Market in Santa Clarita, California. In 2020 he took a position as Vice President of Operations for a California dairy. In 2022 he opened a second farmers market in his nearby hometown. In running his two weekly, year round markets, Larry draws on his past experience working as an IT Director in Los Angeles and his DIY approach to marketing.

  • Laura has seen farmers markets at their best—and most unpredictable. A third-generation immigrant settler based in Vancouver, Canada, her market journey began in her grandparents’ greenhouses and evolved through urban and environmental studies into a career in civic engagement and placemaking. Laura cut her teeth managing Vancouver’s iconic Trout Lake market in the early 2010s, balancing budgets, schedules, and the joyful chaos of market day in all kinds of weather. Now Executive Director of Vancouver Farmers Markets, Laura oversees nine markets that attract over 600,000 visits annually and generate $16 million in sales for 250 small farms and producers. In recent years, she has guided markets through unprecedented disruptions, from a global pandemic to site relocations and extreme weather—while achieving record success. Laura believes farmers markets are essential and, if we can get past our differences, sees them as living laboratories for a hopeful and connected food future.

  • Liz Weiler manages the Hollywood Farmers’ Market in Los Angeles under the nonprofit Food Access LA, where she also leads the Community on Cosmo food residency program. She first fell in love with farmers’ markets working as a vendor for a small dumpling company in Boston, MA, when she was pursuing food studies. After moving back to Los Angeles, she became involved with Food Access LA as a Market Match assistant for the CDSS pilot program at the Atwater Village Farmers’ Market, a program that reimburses SNAP users up to $60 when shopping for fruits and vegetables. 

  • Matthew Bagshaw is the manager of Outdoor Programs and the Green Market at the Piedmont Park Conservancy in Atlanta, Georgia. The Piedmont Park Green Market has served Midtown Atlanta for over 20 years. Additionally, Matthew leads an array of public programs at the Park, including fishing, gardening, canning, and more. Prior to joining the Conservancy in 2021, Matthew worked in organic agriculture for over a decade. When not at work, you’re likely to find him holding a fishing rod.  

  • Market & Operations Manager Mimi leads Napa Farmers Market operations, integrity, and administration. Growing up in New Jersey, she worked at an organic co-op grocery that fueled her passion for environmental sustainability. Mimi joined Napa Farmers Market team in May 2019, tapping into her enthusiasm for community-driven businesses and organizations. Mimi feels that being a part of the market, and working closely with our staff, vendors and volunteers, gives her a sense of community and belonging that is unlike any other.

  • Maya Madsen is the founder and CEO of Maya’s Cookies, America’s #1 Black-owned gourmet, vegan cookie company. She started the business in 2015 when she struggled to find a gourmet, decadent vegan cookie that satisfied her sweet tooth so she started baking them herself. Maya’s Cookies is now an established national brand with two flagship stores and operates their own facility to ship their cookies nationwide. Maya works with non-profit organizations such as Kitchen’s for Good, Junior Achievement, and Fred Finch to give back and use her platform to provide resources to underserved communities. Her company remains a consistent vendor at multiple farmers markets in San Diego and at special vegan and holiday events. 

  • Mike Lee is the author and designer of Mise: On the Future of Food, a book of scenarios exploring the food system from 2033 to 2067. As the principal futurist of The Future Market, he helps food and agriculture companies research and strategize for the next 5 to 50 years.  Through The Future Market and Alpha Food Labs, Mike has developed innovation strategies for Danone, Mars, Campbell’s, and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He previously led product development on the Innovation & New Ventures team at Chobani.  A frequent global speaker, Mike has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and The New York Times. Raised in his family’s Chinese American restaurants in Metro Detroit, his perspective is shaped by the intersection of hospitality and Detroit’s "concept car" culture. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Parsons School of Design. Find his work on his Substack, his podcast The Tomorrow Today Show, and in Mise.

  • Nancy Qarmout has served as the Executive Director for the Cathedral of St. Philip's Peachtree Road Farmers Market (PRFM) in Atlanta, Georgia since 2020, and manages the Tucker Farmers Market that she  founded in 2012. Under Nancy’s leadership, PRFM is thriving in its 20th year, hosting over 70 local vendors and 5,000 customers weekly. In 2023, she implemented the Rescued Crops to Feed Our Neighbors program, using market sponsorship funds to purchase produce from farmers at the end of each market to donate to a local food pantry. Nancy identifies as a recovering entrepreneur, having owned a sandwich shop, coffee bar, food truck and gift shop and traveling weekly for a decade to vend at arts and craft shows. A first-generation Palestinian-American, she values the way food can reveal cultures and build community. Nancy lives just outside of Atlanta in Clarkston, GA, with her wife and two feral farmers market kids.

  • Natalie Labéjof is the Director of Operations for Farm Habit, operating eight Certified Farmers Markets across Los Angeles and Orange County. Since she joined Farm Habit in 2022, the company doubled its number of markets, increased the team to nearly 5x its size, and participated in the Anti Racist Community of Practice. Professionally, she is most passionate about making an impact on people, building a strong, cohesive, inclusive team, and creating environments that vendors want to be in. Before Farm Habit, she solidified her work ethic in restaurants, training over 1,000 employees across 15 states and on 3 continents. She’s proud to now represent the little guys, and hopes to continue to make a more positive impact on her communities and the planet! When not working, Natalie can be found cooking meals for friends with produce from the farmers and watching movies with her fiance and their dog Chili Pepper. 

  • Sagdrina Brown Jalal is a strategist, leadership consultant, and local food systems advocate dedicated to historically informed innovation and transformative leadership. As the Founder of The Sage D Collective and Principal Consultant of Atlanta Leadership Consulting, she brings decades of experience strengthening community infrastructure, guiding cross-sector collaborations, and supporting culturally rooted solutions. Sagdrina is widely recognized for her visionary work across public health, nonprofit development, and agriculture—including her role as founding Executive Director of the Georgia Farmers Market Association and co-creator of the nationally recognized Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit. A skilled facilitator and certified executive coach and leadership trainer, she develops frameworks like the Beloved Community and EAT Methodology to help organizations build inclusive, lasting impact with integrity and joy

  • Sara Hill is a founding member and market manager of the Garrettsville Farmers’ Market located in northeast Ohio and serves as the President of the Ohio Farmers Market Network. She holds a degree in culinary arts and hospitality management from Le Cordon Bleu.  After 20 years in hospitality, Sara took a step back to focus on her family and volunteering in the community. Taking her skill set for event and food service management, and her passion for local food, she now serves on non-profit boards focused on farming, food access and community development.  Sara enjoys sharing a good meal with the people she loves, caring for her 50+ house plants, cross stitch, traveling and teaching yoga. 

  • Sarah Delevan is a Financial Consultant with over 15 years of experience in building sustainable and regional food systems. As the founder of The Good Food CFO, and creator of The Good Food CFO software, she helps purpose-driven food businesses—from consumer brands to farmers, ranchers, fishers, and producers— build profitably from pre-launch to their first $1 million in revenue.  Sarah's career has spanned nearly every corner of the good food movement. From teaching kids to cook with seasonal ingredients, volunteering with No Kid Hungry, to managing farmers’ markets, launching a pop-up grocery and managing food sourcing for a major LA catering company, her hands-on experience informs her values-driven approach.  She’s also the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast, where she amplifies the voices of food entrepreneurs and advocates for industry change. Sara is committed to educating consumers, policymakers, and fellow professionals on how to build a more just, equitable, and resilient food system.

  • Sarah Marshall is the owner of Marshall’s Haute Sauce in Portland, Oregon. Her small-batch sauce company, a favorite at the Portland Farmers Market, grew from her love of gardening and background in home preserving. Sarah is passionate about farmers, artisan producers, and canning seasonal ingredients. Teaching canning classes, experimenting in the kitchen, and organizing a local canning club- Portland Preservation Society, inspired her to write Preservation Pantry: Modern Canning From Root To Top And Stem To Core. Since 2019, Sarah has been co-hosting the culinary podcast Masoni & Marshall: The Meaningful Marketplace and owns a podcast production company, The Joy of Creation Production House.

  • William Davenport is a retired U.S. Navy Chief and the founder of Anchored Market Ventures, a veteran-owned organization focused on building efficient, vendor-empowering farmers markets.  He is also the author of market operations and vendor success books grounded in real-world market experience.  He began as a farmers market vendor in 2016 before transitioning into market management and systems development. William currently operates and supports multiple high-traffic markets in Northwest Florida, including the Panama City Farmers’ Market, Market Square at SweetBay, and other regional markets serving hundreds of vendors annually.  He is also the founder of the Florida Alliance of Farmers Markets, created to help market managers implement clear standards, vendor education, and scalable systems. William specializes in building frameworks that support vendors without handholding, reducing manager burnout while increasing vendor professionalism, consistency, and long-term success.