Co-Op Event Registration

From The Farmers Land Trust

Kristina Villa is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of The Farmers Land Trust, where she works to expand farmland access; protect agricultural land; and create long-term, affordable tenure for farmers and land stewards. Kristina also brings experience in communications, storytelling, fundraising, and coordinating community initiatives. She farms in Middle Tennessee with her family. Her firsthand experience inspires and informs efforts to keep farmland in active, community-centered stewardship.

Ian McSweeney is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of The Farmers Land Trust, where he works to advance innovative approaches to farmland conservation, ownership, tenure, and stewardship. His career has spanned social work, outdoor education, real estate, philanthropy, conservation, and land trust leadership. Ian has worked with many land trusts and communities, helping protect more than 12,000 acres, support over 100 farms, and raise funds for farmland and community initiatives.

From the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project’s FIELD Network

Colleen Hanley facilitates Farm Incubation and Education through Land Based Skills Development (FIELD) Network, a national Community of Practice that brings together farm educators for webinars, resource sharing, technical assistance, field trips, and workshops. Colleen supports educators in teaching, learning, and exchanging experiences with one another, strengthening relationships and helping them bring new insights back to the beginning farmers they serve. 

Caitlin Kenney is the National Technical Assistance Coordinator at the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project within the FIELD Network Program. She pursues outreach to promote USDA programs and land access services for beginning farmer land-based training networks. Her responsibilities include developing educational resources and training materials and supporting the national network. Caitlin collaborated with Colleen on developing case studies in LTLA.