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.
Courtlyn (she, her) grew up in western Colorado where she took full advantage of abundant opportunities to spend time outdoors hiking, biking, and skiing. Her love of the outdoors and concern for the environment led her to study environmental engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, from where she recently graduated with her degree.
Courtlyn has worked on several farms across the United States, and she spent a summer studying food systems in Denmark and England. Not only was this farming experience rewarding, but it also created an appreciation for the hard work that goes into agriculture and the amount of food surplus and waste that exists across the world.
In addition, Courtlyn co-founded a nonprofit organization in 2016 called BridgeUSA that engages college students in virtuous discourse about contentious issues. Courtlyn recently earned her Masters in Environmental Engineering and, in moments of cultivated spare time, enjoys volunteering as a park ranger in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and playing cello at gigs around Metro Denver.
Beth Fleming
Beth’s bio coming soon.
Analytics Strategy Consultant
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.
Matt Kuebbing, M.S.
Farmer and Owner, The Jolly Radish
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.
Ciara Low
Program Manager, Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program; Co Founder, UpRoot Colorado
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.