Board of Directors
Kira Davis, Board Chair
After watching the film "Kiss the Ground", I developed an interest in sustainability and regenerative agriculture. I joined the Board of Directors for SOIL Sangre de Cristo to support my local food community. With 10 years of experience in technology, I'm excited to see the growing trend of agricultural technology. In my free time, I love being outdoors and tending to my backyard garden.
Brian Aitken, Treasurer
Brian is a partner with Badger Creek Ranch, another member of SOIL Sangre de Cristo. For over two decades, Brian worked as a country director for the International Monetary Fund, based in Washington DC. He eventually wanted to live out west and become involved in land conservation. Between Brian’s years of working for the IMF and his current involvement in local ranching, Brian makes a most welcome fit to be on the board of directors as treasurer.
Maria Karahalios, Secretary
Maria grew up in a rural agricultural community in northwest New Jersey and then moved to South Carolina where she studied global politics, sustainability, and renewable energy. Afterwards, she picked up jobs in the hospitality industry where she worked as a bartender, food truck manager, sous chef, and everything in between. It was in these experiences that she became interested in food systems, food equity, and small-scale agriculture. She leaned into this mindset and has been farming or working in the belly of the food hub world ever since - Maria is currently the Operations Manager & CSA Coordinator at Valley Roots Food Hub in Mosca, Colorado. She is excited to be a part of a community-centric organization like SOIL Sangre de Cristo where she can continue to support local farmers and ranchers.
Kelsey Banaszynski, Review Committee Chair
Ever since I can remember food has been at the center of my life. Whether it was gathering around the table at the end of the day to connect, working in the kitchen to create nurturing food for the people I loved, or digging in the garden and being awestruck by how fast things grew in the heat of the muggy Midwest summers where I was raised - food is connected to so many beautiful facets of life. This passion is what brought me to pursuing food as a career, graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in Food Science and a MS in Human Nutrition. For the past 15 years I’ve worked in the consumer product good space, specializing in innovation and startups. I've been fortunate enough to work in all parts of the food chain, from forging relationships with farmers and developing new products, to building manufacturing plans and creating end to end supply chains. Now that I've been living in Chaffee County for just over three years, I can't imagine a greater honor than using my skills to help continue the great work of SOIL in growing and strengthening our local food economy. Colorado farmers are resilient, inventive and deserve more opportunities to show our communities how their success is also our own.
Caitlynn Fortner
Caitlynn benefits from local food producers in BV and surrounding areas and loves to use local products in her cooking and food preservation projects. She's been passionate about agriculture since high school where she interned in rice improvement research and started the Culver Hunger Fighters, a nonprofit focused on providing meals to children. She later worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service Citrus Germplasm Repository researching new plant diseases. Although she now works in the software industry, she's always looking for ways to support farmers so folks in this region can eat more delicious, sustainable food.
Nick Perchess
Hello, I'm Nick Perchess, and I steward 45 acres of land using regenerative farming in Avondale, Colorado. My main focus is on nurturing soil health, tending to animals, and ensuring the well-being of our ecosystems in the southeastern part of the state.
I take great pride in being the woman owner-operator of Nola Naturals Farms, where we operate a diverse, pasture-raised meat business complete with an on-site processing facility. Our farming endeavors also include the cultivation of stone fruit from 400 tart cherry trees, production of honey, growth of heirloom hot house tomatoes, and garlic. Within this location, you'll find Pastures of Liberty, a dairy operation that caters to the needs of over 100 families across four counties. I'm a first-generation farmer originally from Chicago, and I've called Colorado home for 24 years, residing along the Arkansas River basin watershed. My experience in agriculture ranges from managing commercial fields for lettuce and garlic farms, assisting with spring calf rounds for branding, to dedicating time for 20,000 milkings.
Currently, I hold key roles in various agricultural and community organizations. These include seats on the Pueblo County Ag Advisory Board, Pueblo County Farm Bureau Board, Pueblo County Stockmans, New Farms (also known as the Excelsior Farmers Exchange, a farmer-owned cooperative), and SOIL Sangre De Cristo.
My mission is to establish exemplary models for future farming practices, paying homage to the wisdom and knowledge of past generations, and passing the torch of excitement to the next seven generations.
Noah Ring
Hello, my name is Noah Ring, with Ring-a-Ding Farms. My brother Adam and I ran an organic wholesale operation which specialized in triple washed mixed greens, packaged and shipped right from our facility. On a smaller scale, we also grew wholesale garlic, corn, heirloom grains, squash, hemp, leeks, tomatoes and peppers, and ran lambs for a couple seasons. In recent years we have transitioned to hay production, and continue to grow heirloom and cherry tomatoes from our greenhouse. It hasn't been easy, this life, but it has been an honor to be a steward of the small slice of land called Ring-a-Ding Farms. It's been the fulfillment of my dreams to have a lived connection with the land. Year after year, through hail storms, droughts and everything in between. I hope to bring that experience with me to SOIL's board, and hopefully can help other community members realize their dreams as well.
PJ Bergin, Chief Ideation Officer (CIO)
PJ developed and ran two successful businesses geared to serving design and architectural professionals nationally for 28 years. After moving to Salida, CO in 2004, she created artwork for health care facilities and private residences. Out of concerns for the accelerating decrease in farm land and access to local food, PJ started SOIL Sangre de Cristo in March 2020. Local dollars are being invested in our communities and food systems. This intersection of investment and concern for environmental health brings new vitality to the region with a strong network of small, independent food producers. PJ balances her artist career and managing SOIL Sangre de Cristo with overwhelming support from the community.
Tiffany Collette, Advisor to the Board of Directors
Tiffany is the owner of Rocky Mountain Garlic with her husband, Mike Colette. Following the organic and biodynamic processes, “RMG” brings over fifteen varieties of the unique crop of high desert garlic to market every year. They have also expanded into other fresh veggies with the newly built greenhouse seen from Hwy 291 as you travel west out of Salida.
