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CNG Staff

Alice Varon

Alice Varon

Executive Director
Keegan Athey

Keegan Athey

Certification Specialist
Cathy Joly

Cathy Joly

Member Services Coordinator
Max Chan

Max Chan

Social Media Coordinator

CNG Board of Directors

Jasmine Nielsen

Jasmine Nielsen

Board Member, Treasurer
Audrey Sekendur

Audrey Sekendur

Board Member
Christopher Peterson

Christopher Peterson

Board Member, Chair
Laurie Wayne

Laurie Wayne

Board Member

Advisory Councils

Advisory Councils help set the standards for CNG certification, and carefully consider when improvements might be made to CNG’s allowed and prohibited practices, products and operations. We are grateful to these practitioners for sharing their expertise.

Apiary Certification

Apiary Advisory Council

Jennifer Berry
Honey Pond Farm
University of Georgia Bee Lab, Research
Comer, Georgia

Pam Fisher
Beekeepers Guild of SE Virginia, founder
Bees Knees Apiaries
Chesapeake, Virginia

Buddy Marterre
Dr. Buddy’s Bees
Instigator and lead author of CNG Apiary Standards
EAS Master Beekeeper, NCSBA Master Beekeeper
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Jon Zawislak
University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Apiculture
EAS Master Beekeeper
Arkansas Beekeepers Association, ex officio board member
Little Rock, Arkansas

Aquaponics Certification

Aquaponics Advisory Council

Cecilia (Cissy) Bowman
Owner/Consultant, Center Valley Organics
Advisory Council member, Farmed Here
President, Hoosier Organic Marketing Education
Clayton, Indiana

Gina Cavaliero
Co-founder, Aquaponics Association
Co-founder and Manager, Green Acre Aquaponics
Brooksville, Florida

Rebecca Nelson
Co-founder and Co-ower, Nelson and Pade
Author, Aquaponic Food Production
Adjunct Instructor, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Montello, Wisconsin

John Pade
Co-founder and Co-ower, Nelson and Pade
Adjunct Instructor, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Montello, Wisconsin

Tawnya Sawyer
Director of Education and Business Development, Colorado Aquaponics
Denver, Colorado

Mushroom Certification

Mushroom Advisory Council

Tradd Cotter
Author, Organic Mushroom Cultivation and Mycoremediation
Director of Cultivation, Research & Product Development, Mushroom Mountain LLC
Easley, South Carolina 

Steve Gabriel
Author, Farming the Woods: An Integrated Permaculture Approach to Growing Food and Medicinals in Temperate Forests
Specialty Mushrooms & Agroforestry Specialist, Cornell Small Farms Program
Farmer, Wellspring Forest Farm
Ithaca, New York

Dr. Peter Hartel
Professor Emeritus, Soil Microbiology, University of Georgia, UGArgden
Founder, UGA certificate program in organic agriculture
Athens, Georgia  

Mark Jones
CEO (Cohabitating Ecological Organism), Sharondale Mushroom Farm
Cismont, Virginia

Nicholas Laskovski
Farmer/Instructor, Dana Forest Farm
NE SARE Grant Recipient (2012, 2014) for Organic Shiitake Cultivation and Market Research
Waitsfield, Vermont

John C. Michelotti
Co-owner, Catskill Fungi
Member, Amazon Mycorenewal Project
Big Indian, New York

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