Rita Mary Hennigan
She/her
Executive Director
Rita@Uprootcolorado.org
Rita stewards UpRoot’s work across Colorado, a place where she has spent most of her time since 2016. She is passionate about helping to create a more just food system that contributes to the health of both people and the environment. Her deep appreciation for farmers and food stems in part from her experiences working on farms in both urban and rural areas. She has also worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA and in other capacities for nonprofit organizations aiming to increase equity in food access. Rita holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College and a Sustainability Certificate from Babson, Olin, and Wellesley Colleges. Rita was a 2023 Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellow. In her free time, Rita enjoys hiking in the magnificent mountains around her, reading, spending time with as many dogs as she can, and delighting in cooking, eating, and sharing food.
Abbey Andersen
She/her/ella
Gleaning Program Manager | Western Slope
abbey@UPROOTCOLORADO.ORG
Portland, Oregon native Abbey Andersen arrived in Paonia in the summer of 2019 for an art residency with Elsewhere Studios and found herself captivated by the many abundances of the North Fork Valley. Before settling in Colorado, armed with a visual art degree from Humboldt State University and an eye for beautiful edible things, Abbey spent more than a decade traveling and tasting her way around the globe. A myriad of WWOOFing stints (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), catering, teaching, and farming work provided her with a unique education about where food comes from—and where it goes. For Abbey, very few things are more satisfying than gathering, sharing, and celebrating abundant good food with her community. In the small percentage of time she’s not plotting life around picnics and kitchen tables, Abbey enjoys adventures in the desert and mountains, drawing, pottery, swing dancing, writing, playing her harmonicas, and figuring out how to make everything a little bit extra special.
Maddie DuBoyce
She/they/Ella/elle
Gleaning Coordinator | Boulder County
maddie@UPROOTCOLORADO.ORG
Maddie is originally from Maryland and until recently, she’s spent most of her life on the East Coast. They studied Environmental Science and Spanish at Dickinson College in rural Pennsylvania, and became interested in food and farming after taking an Agroecology class. After graduating, Maddie developed a passion for sustainable agriculture working full-time at the college’s large organic vegetable farm for two years as an outreach coordinator and a vegetable farm apprentice. This experience helped Maddie gain valuable experience and knowledge about what it takes to grow food and feed a community, while also leaving Maddie curious about smaller scale agriculture in more urban areas. This curiosity led her to Boulder County where she has spent the past few years farming and working in food access. Maddie is very excited to join the UpRoot team to continue to work towards a more just and sustainable local food system!
Katie Hunter
She/her/ella
Administrative Coordinator
Katie@UPROOTCOLORADO.ORG
Katie has been a vegetable farmer in the Roaring Fork Valley for eight years, after moving from New York City in search of a change of pace. She received her B.S in Nutrition and Dietetics from NYU where her community nutrition and urban agriculture courses piqued her interest in how we are connected to our food system. In New York, she started in food systems work by giving tours and cooking demonstrations to school groups at the Union Square Farmers Market. From there she went on to help design school gardens in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. Feeling like she wanted a more direct connection, she decided to work straight at the source of our food; farms.
Emily Larson
She/Her/Ella
Gleaning Program Manager | Front Range
Emily@uprootcolorado.org
As a farmer's daughter who spent her childhood working on a small, family-run organic produce farm in New England, Emily knows firsthand the importance of supporting local producers. After more than a decade working as an Environmental Scientist, Emily is returning to her roots and is pursuing her passion of increasing food equity within the community. Emily believes that access to fresh, nutritious food is a basic human right that everyone deserves to enjoy. Emily hopes to help improve food access and reduce waste within Boulder County, which has been her home for the past 14 years, while supporting small, local farmers. She is excited to combine her passion to feed people with her background in agriculture, the sciences, and her continual involvement volunteering in her community to help further the mission at UpRoot. Emily is also a 2024 RMFU Fellow. In her free time, Emily enjoys trail running and cross country skiing in the Colorado Mountains, adventuring with her two young kids, and planning the next delicious meal to share with friends and family.
Augusto Latorre
he/Him/él
Gleaning & Food-systems Coordinator | Mesa County
augusto@uprootcolorado.org
Augusto was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Houston and Boston before settling in Colorado in 2024. His background includes experience in biological science laboratories, where he contributed to various research projects and publications. He was first introduced to the Western Slope in 2017 while conducting field research on Western Harvester ants.
More recently, Augusto served as an AmeriCorps CivicSpark fellow with the City of Grand Junction’s Housing Division and as Community Engagement Coordinator with La Plaza, a Palisade-based non-profit supporting agricultural migrant and immigrant communities in the Grand Valley.
In his personal time, Augusto enjoys spending time with his family, rooting for Venezuela’s national sports teams, listening to science podcasts, running outdoor with friends, and exploring nature.
Jensen Miller
They/he/Elle/él
Gleaning & Food-systems Coordinator | Metro Denver
Jensen@uprootcolorado.org
Jensen grew up along Colorado’s Front Range, where frequent hiking, camping, and volunteering and shelters and zoos founded his love for environmental work. As they studied Sociology and Ecology in college, their commitment to community-driven work and systems thinking grew. Their path to food systems work has taken them across borders and disciplines—from volunteering on permaculture farms and wildlife sanctuaries in Latin America to conducting academic research on socio-ecological resilience and informational systems of subsistence farmers. After several years of fighting for environmental justice in Colorado, leading grassroots campaigns and building inclusive partnerships, he found the perfect combination for his skills and passion at UpRoot Colorado.
They’re excited to bring their passion for community care and climate resilience to UpRoot’s work in the Denver Metro region, their home. Jensen is also 2026 RMFU Fellow!
When not gleaning (or excitedly rambling about food justice), you can find him on a trail with their dog, cuddling up with a stack of library books, sharing laughter with friends, or dreaming about their next adventure.
Lindsay Robinson
She/Her/Ella
Gleaning & Food-systems Coordinator | Garfield County & Roaring Fork Valley
lindsay@uprootcolorado.org
Lindsay arrived in the Roaring Fork Valley in 2024 to dive into life on a small-scale organic farm after spending a year and a half traveling the world.
Her love for agriculture started back in college while studying Nutrition and Food Science at Colorado State University. She noticed her studies were void of the agricultural understanding of where food comes from, so she took a job on a local strawberry farm in exchange for fresh produce and the missing knowledge she was seeking. She quickly realized that so much of food’s nutritional value comes from the way it’s cultivated, and this sparked a deep curiosity about farming techniques, sustainable practices, and how to be a thoughtful land steward.
This curiosity took Lindsay to farms across the U.S. and abroad, where she volunteered and worked to learn as much as she could. Combining her passion for agriculture with her background in nutrition and wellness, she’s worked in many different educational spaces hoping to inspire others—especially young people—to think more deeply about food. She believes that understanding our local food systems and how they can profoundly nourish our bodies can serve as a powerful act of land preservation and community resilience. When not obsessing over food, you can find Lindsay mountain biking, hiking, teaching yoga, and planning her next trip abroad.
Chelsea Rutz
She/Her/Ella
Gleaning & Food-systems Coordinator | Arkansas Valley
chelsea@uprootcolorado.org
Chelsea Rutz is a chef, writer, and activist with more than 20 years of experience in the food industry. Her culinary journey began in childhood, when cooking and baking became her first creative outlet and a way to connect deeply with the people and world around her. After training at the Illinois Institute of Art Chicago, she went on to work in acclaimed kitchens such as Girl and the Goat and Meraki where she helped develop restaurant-supported agriculture (RSA) programs and created housemade fermented beverages. Later, she founded Trailglazers Bakery & Cafe in Pueblo, Colorado, a community-centered space that prioritized local sourcing, minimized food waste through thoughtful menu planning, and reflected her commitment to food as both nourishment and activism.
Chelsea's work has always been rooted in justice, whether through supporting farm-to-table and tail-to-snout dinners, collaborating on refugee-led outreach, or writing about food access and equity. In addition to her culinary background, she brings extensive experience in social media, design, and event planning—skills she recently put to work leading marketing and events at Fuel & Iron Food Hall. She currently lives in Pueblo and is gradually developing a future on her 35-acre property in Southern Colorado, where she hopes to grow food, host community-focused events, and continue telling the story of food as a form of resistance through her writing.
Madi Schartz
She/Her/Ella
Gleaning & Food-systems Coordinator | Larimer County
Madi@uprootcolorado.org
Madi is a Colorado native who grew up around the Denver Metro area and discovered her passion for food systems during her first year of college in Bozeman, Montana. She became involved in community-driven work focused on food justice, regenerative agriculture, and sustainability. During this time, she led a volunteer trip to the Youth Community Garden in Moab, Utah, where she saw firsthand how local food systems strengthen community resilience and expand access to fresh, healthy food.
She earned her B.S. in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability from Colorado State University, where she explored global agriculture and resilient food systems. Her studies included fieldwork in Costa Rica examining sustainable chocolate production across local, global, and indigenous systems. Her professional background is rooted in horticulture and food production, including an internship and seasonal gardener role at the Gardens on Spring Creek, where she led volunteer groups and grew around 7,000 pounds of fresh produce for the Larimer County Food Bank.
Based in Fort Collins, she is passionate about strengthening our local food systems, expanding equitable access to fresh food, and building community through agriculture. Outside of her work, you can find her cuddled up reading, spending quality time with her loved ones, geeking out at trivia, watching films, taking care of houseplants, and exploring our beautiful outdoors.
Board of Directors
A nutritional anthropologist on faculty at the University of Colorado Denver (Emeritus), John’s (he/him) research has focused on dietary decision making, micro-finance, and food security in urban settings in Latin America and the U.S. His current work on localizing the food supply and food security in Denver neighborhoods has led to the realization that the current food system isn’t broken (which could be fixed) but fundamentally unfair, with benefits skewed toward corporate producers and costs piling onto those segments of the population with the least choice. John is convinced that food security will only be realized as the historical and structural inequities in the food system are revealed and changed.
Ilian DeCorte
Teacher, High School Physics and Earth Science
Ilian (he/him) is a high school physics and earth science teacher, residing in Minneapolis, MN. He brings a deep connection to the Colorado agricultural landscape, having spent several years living and working along the Front Range as the Field Manager at Esoterra Culinary Garden in Boulder, CO. In addition to his agricultural and educational background, Ilian possesses experience in grant-based fundraising and strategic development, and has helped UpRoot since 2023. Ilian is passionate about leveraging his technical skills with his small-scale agricultural background to support resilient food systems and increase equitable access to nutrient-dense food.
Beth Fleming
Analytics Strategy Consultant
Beth Fleming (she/her) has spent her career in corporate leadership, solving challenges in organizational management, DEI, and strategic planning. A Duke University graduate with a degree in Women’s Studies, and a focus on cultural anthropology, she is an avid researcher about food systems, nonprofit management, and U. S. agricultural law. Beth is passionate about addressing hunger, food and nutrition insecurity, and the structural inequities in food systems.
Beth volunteers with UpRoot Colorado and Community Food Share, and she makes and distributes soup to unhoused individuals in Boulder County. She has also been a Gold Star fundraiser for Children’s Hospital Colorado. A mom of two teenagers, Beth enjoys all things related to aviation, playing laser tag with her kids, singing with Boulder Pop Choir, and walking her dog on Open Space lands.
Matt Kuebbing, M.S.
Farmer and Owner, The Jolly Radish
Matt (he/him) is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has worked with the land growing healthy, nutrient-dense food for communities for more than 10 years. Prior to starting his own farm, The Jolly Radish at the Treehouse Farm Collective in 2021, Matt was a farm manager at Aspen Moon Farm, an organic and biodynamic farm in Boulder County.
Ciara Low
Program Manager, Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program; Co Founder, UpRoot Colorado
Ciara (she/her) is one of UpRoot's co-founders and worked as UpRoot’s co-director from 2016-2021, developing operations along the Western Slope. Ciara was seminal in the creation of the Safe & Abundant Nutrition Alliance (SANA), encompassing the tri-county area of Garfield, Pitkin, and Eagle and of which UpRoot is a founding member. Ciara has worked as a food-systems consultant and contractor for government and nonprofit organizations focusing on systemic issues and collaborative solutions. She was the volunteer coordinator for both Feeding the 5000 Front Range and Feeding the 5000 L.A. and was a Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellow (RMFU) in 2017. Ciara holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brown University.
As a member of the development team at Outright International (Outright), Jessica (she, they) leverages her corporate background to build and strengthen relationships with Outright's partners to accelerate momentum in advancing LGBTIQ human rights, globally. Through various avenues of advocacy and volunteering, Jessica believes in the power of altruism and works to increase nutrition security, artistic freedom, educational equality, and resource conservation throughout her home state of Colorado. Jessica also harnesses the selfless energy of others as volunteer director for a number of organizations on the East Coast and, as a musician, Jessica works to create safe spaces for all to share in the power of dance, community and self-expression. Jessica holds degrees and certificates from the University at Buffalo and University of California, Berkeley.
Blaine M. Tracy
Associate, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Blaine (he/him) is a real estate and land-use attorney based in Denver. In his practice, he guides commercial real estate projects through many stages of the acquisition and development process. Blaine holds a B.A. in Communications and Political Science from the University of Denver and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. Blaine developed a passion for food production while working on the farm and cattle ranch that has been in his family for generations. He combines that passion with his legal background to help advance UpRoot’s mission