2020 Board Election Candidates

      Posted On: January 29, 2020

The Farmers Market Coalition Board of Directors Election is open from January 15 to 11:59 pm EST on January 31, 2020. See below for the slate of candidates up for election to four open board seats.

All current FMC members may submit one ballot in support of up to 4 candidates. Members also have the option of a write-in candidate, provided that the write-in is an FMC member in good standing and the ballot does not exceed 4 votes.

Click here to submit your ballot.

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Hugo Mogollon (Incumbent)

Executive Director
FRESHFARM

Results-oriented leader, with twelve years of management experience. Skilled in multicultural settings. Knowledgeable about environmental policy, biodiversity conservation, energy, climate change, sustainability, and food systems. Accomplished in NGO management, planning, outreach, stakeholder engagement, and development.

Brian Coppom (Incumbent)

Boulder County Farmers Markets

Brian and his family are residents of Longmont, Colorado-  a community outside of Boulder that was once the center of some of Colorado’s largest farm operations. He is the Executive Director of Boulder County Farmers Markets, a nonprofit operator of producer-only markets in the Boulder/Denver area. Brian’s passion for the importance of reconnecting communities with their farmers and ranchers has supported year-over-year increases in farm sales, the successful launch of two new markets, over $300k in locally-funded food access incentives at the markets in 2019, and accolades including earning the title of ColoradoBiz CEO of the Year for 2015 (first nonprofit selection in history of magazine), Boulder Business of the Year, and the pleasure of being a TEDx Boulder speaker advocating for connection to local food. Brian’s other board involvement includes the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, Colorado State Fair Authority Board, and the Slow Money Institute. Best of all, his kids eat copious amounts of locally grown fruits and vegetables and love it.

Swati Shah (Incumbent)

Regional Medical Scientific Director, Womens Health
Merck

Shopping at farmers markets, gardening fruits, flowers, vegetables and herbs at home and volunteering her time in fundraising has been a part of Swati’s life for as long as she can remember. She enjoys serving others and believes that healthy markets make for healthy communities. With previous board experience at FMC and other nonprofits and with previous fund-raising experience, she desires to serve this board for 1 more term to help it grow and blossom into a self-sustainable organization to serve as a leader for all farmers markets across the nation.

Abby Wyatt

Food Security Coordinator
Mecklenburg County Public Health

Abby Wyatt is the Food Security Coordinator in Mecklenburg County Public Health in the Charlotte, NC area.  She works with local Farmers Market to assist with adding SNAP benefits to their market.
Abby believes that adding SNAP benefits and incentive programs can increase the number of shoppers at farmers markets and give communities an additional access point to purchase healthy food.
She has partnered with local agencies and organizations to increase the number of farmers markets that accept SNAP in Mecklenburg County 1 to 6 in 2019 with more onboarding for the 2020 season.  In addition to adding SNAP benefits she also worked to secure funding for pilot program to add matching dollars to markets that accept SNAP.  Abby has a background in farmers market management and Public Health and has a degree in Sociology from Coastal Carolina University.

Christina Howell

Executive Director
Bloomfield Development Corporation

Christina is Executive Director of Bloomfield Development Corporation (BDC), a Pittsburgh, PA-based nonprofit that serves to build a thriving, diverse community through equitable engagement. She launched the Bloomfield Saturday Market in 2014, which has grown to become a model for farmers markets in Western Pennsylvania. While centering the needs of farmers, BDC is able to identify and meet the needs of the community, driving customers into the business district, providing a third place that strengthens the social fabric of the community, and building a strong customer base for new entrepreneurs. Christina has participated in numerous panels and led workshops to share best practices for creating a robust market that addresses both a community’s  and the food system’s unique needs.

Outside of the market, Christina is most proud of helping form the Community Benefit Collaborative, a coalition of four community organizations working together to solve staffing and operational issues common to small nonprofits. Prior to joining BDC in 2014, she co-founded Bloomfield Livable Streets, a grass roots transportation and infrastructure advocacy group. Her previous work includes community organizing, fundraising, event management, and real estate.

Yescenia Mota

Farmers Market Manager / Cultural Coordinator
City of Chicago

Yescenia Mota joined the Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (formally the Mayor’s Office of Special Events) in 2003 as a Special Events Coordinator in the Programming Division.  Shortly after joining the Department she began managing the Chicago City Markets program and partnered with Green City Market founder Abbey Mandel to hire the City of Chicago’s first Farm Forager. While working with the Farm Forager, she revamped the Chicago City Markets vendor application and market regulations that required farmers joining the program to meet criteria to ensure high quality local produce would be offered. To further enhance the program she also works closely with several other City departments to ensure that the Chicago City Markets are up to code on city regulations.  In 2011, she began working closely with the Mayor’s Office to address access to fresh produce in low food access areas and food security in Chicago.  She established eight markets in underserved neighborhoods and in 2014 was able to secure the USDA Farmers Market Promotional Program Grant for the City to subsidize vendors at the markets. Over the last three years she has served on the City of Chicago’s Good Food Purchasing Policy Task Force.