Henry Krusekopf
President [email protected]
A native Texan, Henry graduated in 1987 with a B.A. degree in History from Southwestern University, then began a career as a journalist. He spent the better part of 1992-1995 traveling and working in Central and South America. In Guatemala, Henry worked for a local non-governmental organization on farm projects for indigenous campesinos. In 1996 Henry moved to California where he completed his M.S. at the University of California-Davis in International Agricultural Development in 2001. During that period Henry conducted a 2-year on-farm research project trying to improve fertilizer recommendations on large, conventional tomato processing farms.
Henry has considerable experience working for organic farms and with organizations promoting sustainable agriculture. Henry’s volunteer service to MESA over many years has been invaluable: he has helped coordinate MESA’s annual Program orientation and final seminars, negotiated a Reciprocal training Program for Americans in Galapagos, and periodically visits trainees at their host farms. After returning home to Texas, Henry started a small organic farm. He is currently employed with the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Andy Scott
Director [email protected]
Andy was Farm Manager at Hidden Villa for 16 years, and have been involved with farm interns/apprentices for over 30 years. In 2002, under his management, Hidden Villa became a MESA Host for the first time.
Today, Andy continues his work with Hidden Villa as their Assistant Property Manager. Andy is deeply involved with the Biodynamic Association and has been working on their Apprentice Training Program since its inception.
Kate Cichucki
Secretary [email protected]
Kate graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 with a BA in International Relations with a focus on Latin American Political and Economic Development. Kate spent seven months of 2004 living and volunteering throughout Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, and had an opportunity to work on several organic farms in Ecuador. When Kate moved to San Francisco in 2005, she became MESA’s volunteer program assistant and had opportunities to learn about the workings of the organization, help facilitate orientations and exit seminars, and assist MESA stewards.
Kate spent the summer traveling the United States visiting MESA stewards at their host farms. In August of 2006, Kate returned to school full time, completed her Bachelors of Science in nursing, and relocated to the Seattle area where she is a practicing nurse.
Eric M. Rice
Director [email protected]
As a Global Macroanalyst, Eric leads Wellington Management’s analysis of Japan, its investment opportunities, and its influence on the global economy. With a background in both developed and developing markets, Eric has a rich understanding of government finances, monetary policy, and economic crises.
Prior to joining Wellington Management, Eric was the head of Emerging Markets Research at Standard & Poor’s DRI (1995 – 1997). From 1990 – 1995 Eric worked at the World Bank as a country economist covering Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, and Zimbabwe. He was also a Foreign Service Officer in Africa for the US Department of State.
Eric received his PhD (1990) and AM (1987) from Harvard University and his AB (1981) from the University of California at Berkeley, all in Economics.
Steven Weiss
Director [email protected]
A native Californian, Steven Weiss has worked as both a teacher and an administrator at urban schools with diverse student body populations. Currently, Steven works at WestEd, a non-profit educational research, development, and services agency. His work focuses on the creation and delivery of professional development for secondary teachers focusing on the needs of English Learners.
Steven received his AB from Vassar College, an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College, an M.ed. from UCLA and an M.A. in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University. He has taught English to learners of all ages in both Spain and Germany.
Johanna Divine
Director [email protected]
Johanna Divine is a freelance filmmaker and writer based in Austin, Texas. Her organization, Glory B. Media, specializes in video production, communications, and development consultation for non-profits in the food and agriculture sector. In 2003, she produced and directed Young Agrarians, a film documenting the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Her film received the Nourishing Change Award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and was featured as part of Slow Food’s Terra Madre World Meeting in Turin, Italy in 2006.
Before relocating to Austin, Divine co-founded Flagstaff Foodlink, Inc., a grassroots nonprofit organization linking people with healthy, regional food. She helped develop the thriving Flagstaff Community Market and served on the Flagstaff Unified School District Wellness Committee, which successfully passed a district-wide ban on junk food in February 2005. She also founded and directed Flagstaff Youth Gardens, a summer employment program for high school students. Divine holds a B.A. in Sustainable Community Development from Prescott College and an M.A. in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development from Northern Arizona University.