Executive Director: Judith McGeary is an attorney, farmer, and activist. She has a B.S. in Biology from Stanford and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Following a clerkship with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, she practiced as an attorney in administrative law and litigation. She and her husband began McGeary Ranch, a sustainable livestock farm, and she became a passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture. After seeing how government regulations benefit industrial agriculture at the expense of family farms, she left her legal practice to form the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance in 2006. Since then, Judith has spearheaded national coalitions fighting to stop the National Animal Identification System and to protect local foods. She currently serves as a voice for small and diversified farms on the USDA Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health.
Director of Development: A lifelong real food activist and now ag-tivist, Lindsay Gonzales brings 20 years experience in nonprofit fundraising and leadership to advocate for independent farmers and ranchers across the country. Born and raised in Houston, Lindsay pursued a Bachelor’s in ethics and public policy at Hampshire College, a Masters in ethics at Vanderbilt University and then took her passion to work for the common good to Washington DC where she worked in the legislature, politics and for multiple national level nonprofits. Returning to Texas to be with family, she now lives in a small town south of Houston, with a small banana orchard, just enough chickens, three dogs, two sons and her husband. Though she always cared about sustainable agriculture and healthy food systems, her work founding and organizing a local farmers market made the barriers in the current systems for producers and consumers more apparent than ever and she is passionate about bringing people together so we can create new food systems that will improve the health of individuals, communities, economies and the environment.
Communications & Outreach Director: Teresa Davenport returned to Texas to join CHFS in 2016, after 32 years on the East Coast where she was responsible for communications, marketing, and fundraising for several non-profits. She grew up in the Dallas area and received her bachelor’s in journalism from University of North Texas, then worked as a reporter and editor for the Tyler Morning Telegraph. It was during her most recent work at Morven Park, in Leesburg, Va., that she gained experience with issues of rural economic development, sustainable agriculture, and advocacy. Teresa received her master gardeners’ certification from Cornell University and was the founder and first president of the downtown revitalization program in a small New Jersey town where she resided for 20 years.
JOB POSTINGS
Education Program Manager:
The Council for Healthy Food Systems seeks an Education Program Manager to implement several grant-funded programs to help small-scale Texas farmers grow their businesses and implement regenerative agriculture methods.
The Education Program Manager will focus primarily on implementing two farmer-oriented programs: “Profiting from Pastured Animals” and “Promoting Conservation Programs for Beginning & Military Veteran Farmers in Texas.” In addition, the Program Manager will implement a youth advocacy program, under a shared services agreement with our sister nonprofit, the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
This is a full-time, two-year position, with the possibility of extension pending additional future funding.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis starting on March 10, 2022, and will continue to be accepted until the position is filled. Read the full job description and learn how to apply here.
If you have a general question, please email info@healthyfoodsystems.org or call 254-697-2661
