Gorge Grown Staff

Gorge Grown Food Network is managed and operated by our dedicated year round staff and our wonderful volunteers.

Sarah Sullivan

Executive Director

Sarah Sullivan moved to Portland in 2007 from Hawaii where she taught permaculture and managed various permaculture educational centers. More recently, Sarah directed the award-winning school-garden and scratch kitchen program at Abernethy Elementary and developed a compendium of over 70 garden-based lessons for grades K-12 at www.eatthinkgrow.org. As former Executive Director of both Hawaii SEED and The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, she has extensive experience in movement-building, organizational management, seed saving and agricultural policy. Sarah is an adjunct Professor at Lewis & Clark College, and runs a business called Feast, teaching people to cook wholesome, seasonal meals from scratch at home.

Todd Dierker

Food Access Programs Manager

Todd Dierker is our Food Access Programs Manager. His role is to promote community access by supporting rural farmers’ markets. He is also responsible for programming that increases low-income residents’ access to local food. He managed the Gorge Grown Farmers’ Market from 2008-2012 and was instrumental in developing the Mobile Farmers’ Market project. His 2 terms of service with the US Peace Corps in Southern Africa and Thailand provided a solid foundation for the community development work he continues today. Todd completed a Masters degree in Environmental Education and believes that the dinner table is the best place to start conversations about living sustainably. Todd is an active community volunteer in Hood River, where his family feels fortunate to have settled. He is thrilled by the enthusiasm in the region around local food and loves that his 2 kids are growing up surrounded by farmers and fresh food.

Hannah Ladwig

Communications and Outrach Manager

Hannah joined Gorge Grown as the 2014-2015 a JVC Northwest AmeriCorps Volunteer and became part of the year round staff in summer of 2015. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she attended Marquette University and studied International Affairs, Peace Studies and Spanish. Hannah moved to the Gorge in 2013 and has since worked in areas of youth development, Latino outreach and food access. Her work with Gorge Grown builds on her passions of strengthening local food systems, school gardens and food literacy. Hannah loves the great outdoors and is happiest when hiking, camping and gardening. She is thrilled to be part of the Gorge Grown team!

Allison Vandenberg-Daves

Food Access & Outreach Assistant

Allison joined Gorge Grown in August as the 2015-2016 JVC AmeriCorps Volunteer. Growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Allison developed a passion for environmental and social justice issues from a young age, and is thrilled to have to opportunity to work on some of those issues with Gorge Grown. As Food Access and Outreach Assistant, she runs the Mercado del Valle in Odell, as well as supporting school garden projects in the Gorge. Allison is proud to support the many food access programs run by Gorge Grown, which work to address the local and nationwide inequity in access to healthy, locally-grown food. She is especially passionate about involving youth in local food systems, and promoting cooking and gardening in schools. Allison is excited to be a part of the Hood River and Odell communities this year, and to be a part of the Gorge Grown team! In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, doing yoga, and being outdoors.

Andrew Cushman

Mosier Farmers Market Manager

Andrew joined Gorge Grown Food Network this spring as the 2016 Mosier Farmers Market Manager. He brings experience in youth and adult education focused on ecological and project-based learning. Andrew lives in Mosier with his partner Giulia and their 2 year-old daughter Isla.

Sarah Lange

Farmers Market Assistant Manager

Originally from New York, Sarah earned her B.S. in Community Health from the University of Maryland and her Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. Her studies and previous work have focused on nutrition education and food systems, and she loves getting youth excited about vegetables, cooking, and gardening. Sarah moved to an organic farm in Hood River in the fall of 2015 to gain firsthand experience growing nutritious food. After leaving for a few months to farm in southern California, Sarah is excited to be back in the Gorge as the Assistant Manager of the Hood River Farmers’ Market and feels lucky to live in a community that supports a vibrant food and wellness culture.