IFOAM North America

Jennifer Taylor, President

Jennifer has been the IFOAM NA Vice President and has served on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) as chair of the NOSB Materials Committee, ad-hoc GMO subcommittee, and on the Policy Committee. She is Associate Professor and coordinator of Small Farm Programs at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. She is also a farmer Board Member of Organic Farmers Association, serves on the Board of Directors of Rodale Institute, Standards Board for the Real Organic Project, and advisor to the National Organic Coalition.

Nicole Dehne, she/her

Certification Director

Nicole began working for VOF in 2003, the year after the National Organic Program regulations went into effect. Since that time, Nicole has worked to represent the views of Vermont organic producers at the National Organic Standards Board meetings and as a member of the Accredited Certifiers Association. She has served on the boards of OMRI and the Real Organic Project. Nicole has a BA from the University of Montana and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Education from the University of Vermont. In her past life, Nicole spent less time in front of a computer and more time wrangling poultry, grading apples with seconds to spare, and teaching people how to milk cows.

Margaret Scoles, Treasurer

The Executive Director of the International Organic Inspectors Association, maintaining the office in Montana since 1999. I have 30+ years of inspection experience, teaching inspector training courses, and mentoring inspectors. I hold a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Arizona. I grew up on a small ranch and returned to the family ranch to help my grandmother stay on her land, raising a family and large gardens. My husband and I raise cattle.

Alison Squires

Allison is an owner and operator of Upland Organics, an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan with her husband and three children. She is an active member of the organic agriculture community and currently sits on several local, regional and national boards.

Alan Lewis, Vice-President

Alan navigates government affairs and food and agriculture policy for Natural Grocers, a Colorado based health food chain founded in 1955 with over 160 stores in 20 states. 

Mary-Howell Martens

Mary-Howell manages Lakeview Organic Grain, an organic feed and seed business in upstate New York.

Jeff Schahczenski

Jeff is an agricultural and natural resource economist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Montana.

Nicolas Walser (he/him), Secretary

Nicolas lives and works on the unceded traditional territories of the Ktunaxa, and is the Project Coordinator for the Creston Community Seed Bank Society, where he conducts seed trials for climate adaptation. Nic holds a Bachelors of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He has worked as the field manager for a number of organic farms in British Columbia and has spent a large portion of his career working in the environmental non-profit sector. Nic currently sits on the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council, Organic BC's Accreditation Board and is a member of the BC Institute of Agrologists.