OUR TEAM
Mallory Krieger, National Program Director
Mallory leads the OATS team and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program. She has extensive experience developing and facilitating educational events, networking opportunities, and risk management resources for organic and regenerative farmers. Previously, Mallory served as the Farmer Training Program Manager at The Land Connection and as the Sustainable Local Food Coordinator at John Wood Community College. In addition to her work as an agriculture educator, Mallory owns and manages an 85 acre farm in western Illinois.
Sam Oschwald Tilton, Training Specialist
Sam's passion for organic agriculture has led him through many fields and around the world. Through it all he enjoyed working with machinery and took night welding classes at the local technical college. Those machinery skills led to a Master's degree in Horticulture at Michigan State University, where Sam specialized in researching and building mechanical weeding tools. For the past 5 years Sam has coordinated the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day, the nation's premier event to educate growers about mechanical weeding tools. Still awed by soil, Sam grows garlic and perennial flowers commercially in the glacial soils at his farm in Eastern Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife.
Anders Gurda, Videographer
Anders has worked at the confluence of regenerative agriculture, innovative media production, and sound educational design for over 15 years. Having started his career working on farms throughout the United States, Anders sought to further his agricultural education, eventually receiving an MS in Agroecology from UW-Madison in 2013. Anders stayed on in Wisconsin to found the Organic Grain Resources and Information Network (OGRAIN) while also marrying his experience in agriculture with his passion for media production by founding Freestone Media LLC. Through film, podcasts, print, and digital media, Windborne Media tells stories that inspire action, challenge the status quo, and empower change makers to make their mark. He lives in Madison with his wife and two miniature humans.
Steve Riggins, Design & Communications
After a stint playing bass in a punk band, Stephen began his career as a graphic designer, eventually working his way up to vice president in the experiential design and advertising industry, and then, Chief Marketing Officer of an international development agency. During his time as CMO, he and his family moved to their family farm in Iowa with the hopes of making it more sustainable and diverse. After juggling the CMO gig and the family farm for a few years, Stephen took a leap of faith in 2016 leaving the international job behind and created ideaFarm studios, a design, branding, and strategy company. The family farm continues as well, raising and direct marketing grass-finished beef.
Lynne Haynor, Organic Conservation Specialist
As an Organic Conservation Specialist, Lynne serves as a bridge between the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and organic farmers. She develops and provides training for NRCS staff and Technical Service Providers about organic agriculture, in order to support organic farmers in reaching their on-farm conservation goals. Lynne's first job in agriculture was for an ag-focused youth development job training program. This experience led her to seek more education and she completed her MS in Agroecology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Lynne currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and children.
Amanda Gullett, Administrative Support
Amanda, a proud mother of three, provides administrative support to OATS projects. She is the office backbone of the team, keeping us organized with her attention to detail and conscientiousness.
Michaela Elias, Podcast Producer
Michaela Elias is an independent podcast producer focused on exploring the challenges and opportunities for agricultural systems, farmers, and farm communities in the US. She has worked with a number of media groups such as the Stanford Storytelling Project and Generation Anthropocene on environmental stories around the world, though farmers are her favorite interview subjects. Michaela has also worked in sales and marketing at two agricultural startups and has a BS and MS from Stanford University in sustainable food systems.