BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders - ECPv6.18.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20260308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20261101T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20270314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20271107T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261112T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261112T113000 DTSTAMP:20261105T164452Z CREATED:20260930T200717Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261105T164452Z UID:10000785-1794477600-1794483000@www.agandfoodfunders.org SUMMARY:Legal Support as Movement Infrastructure DESCRIPTION:Co-hosted by Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) and Food and Farm Democracy Initiative (FFDI). \n\n\n\nWhen funders think about “supporting legal action\,” many picture only one thing: adversarial lawsuits. But the role of legal support in movement building is far broader. This session will highlight the many ways that funders can resource communities with legal capacity\, including through:  \n\n\n\n\nResources and guidance materials that help organizations and farmers understand their rights and options\n\n\n\n1:1 direct assistance for organizations managing agreements and administrative appeals\, reviewing contracts\, assessing risk\, and making informed decisions\n\n\n\nFacilitated spaces for lawyers and food systems stakeholders navigating legal complexity to convene\, strategize\, and share information\n\n\n\n\nWe’ll show how these and other forms of legal support are interconnected and in motion right now. We’ll also examine why litigation has proven an essential and effective tool in challenging the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts and terminations\, using the recent court decision restoring $127M in illegally canceled USDA Increasing Land\, Capital\, and Market Access (LCM) Program grants as a case study. This win didn’t happen in isolation: it followed months of coordination across organizations\, each supported in charting different but complementary paths forward. We’ll unpack that behind-the-scenes coordination and discuss what’s still ahead as this case continues. \n\n\n\nThis call is geared towards a funder audience but is open to movement partners. \n\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAitalohi (Aita) Amaize\, Administrative Director\, OurSpace World\n\nBio coming soon \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRachel Armstrong\, Executive Director\, Farm Commons\n\nAs the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons\, Rachel Armstrong creates the organization’s innovative approach to farm law education and risk reduction. Her vision for changing the way consumers experience business law has been awarded with two prestigious fellowships: a 2012 Echoing Green Global Fellowship and a 2018 Ashoka Fellowship. As leading authority on direct to consumer farm law she has authored dozens of publications on farm law matters for farmers\, alongside several academic and trade publications for attorneys. Rachel instructs continuing legal education classes for the American Bar Association\, teaches farm law for the University of Massachusetts Amherst\, and is a co-author of “Farmers’ Guide to Business Structures\,” published by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison\, she lives in Northern Minnesota with her family. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nArt Friedrich\, Executive Director\, Urban Oasis Project\n\nA dedicated food activist on many fronts\, Art believes food unites us across all cultures and backgrounds. He sees his passion for healthy food as a spiritual matter as well as a basic human right and need. He builds coalitions with diverse groups that show dedication to improving our health landscape. He recognizes the privilege and opportunity provided his race and gender as well as the responsibility to use that to create a more just system for all. \n\n\nArt has run small food businesses\, and has helped run sustainable farms with his mother in New Hampshire and his sisters in Massachusetts. He met founder Melissa Contreras (now Markham) in 2009 and helped launch her idea into a full fledged grassroots organization. \n\n\nArt also owns and manages Greenthumb Popcorn\, an organic vegan supersnack\, previously sold throughout the Whole Foods Florida region and in many independent retailers nationwide. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMaisah Khan\, Policy & Partnerships Weaver\, Regenerative Agriculture Foundation\n\nMaisah Khan joined the Regenerative Agriculture Foundation as the SHOT Fund Partnerships Manager in December 2024. Maisah came to RAF with over a decade of experience in grassroots nonprofit work and federal policy advocacy. She was the Policy Director for the Mississippi River Network and before that the Water Policy Director for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Prior to that\, she served as an appointee in the Obama Administration for the U.S. Department of Energy\, focusing on international climate change policy and clean energy deployment. Maisah holds a Masters of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Environment. Her family ties to Bangladesh keep her grounded in our shared movement for climate change solutions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSophia Kruszewski\, Deputy Policy Director\, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\n\nSophia (she/her) leads NSAC’s cross-team policy coordination and strategy efforts. She returned to NSAC after 4 years leading the Food and Agriculture Clinic at Vermont Law School\, where she directed a team providing law and policy services to farmers\, food entrepreneurs\, and food system organizations. During that time\, Sophia led the launch of the Vermont Legal Food Hub\, a program that connects farmers and local food businesses with free legal assistance. Sophia previously served as a Senior Policy Specialist at NSAC; her DC experience also includes the Center for Food Safety\, the White House Council on Environmental Quality\, and the federal district court. She holds a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan and a JD from Vermont Law School. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDavid Muraskin\, Managing Director\, Litigation\, FarmSTAND\n\nDavid is the Managing Director for Litigation at FarmSTAND. He oversees our docket of consumer\, worker\, environmental\, and constitutional claims taking on industrial animal agriculture’s abusive practices. He has been a leading advocate against “Ag-Gag” laws\, increasing safety for meatpacking and agricultural workers\, and taking on false advertisements that cover up the reality of BigAg. \n\n\nHe previously worked at Public Justice and Public Citizen and in private practice as a qui tam attorney. He currently teaches agriculture and environmental law at George Washington University Law School\, and has previously taught at Georgetown and Vermont law schools. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Open Registration\n \n "*" indicates required fields \n \n FacebookThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.RegisterName*\n \n \n First\n \n \n \n \n Last\n \n \n \n Organization*Title*Email*\n \n What are you hoping to learn from this webinar?Are you are funder?*\n \n Yes\, I am affiliated with a funding organization.\n \n \n No\, I am not affiliated with any funding organization.\n SAFSF defines funders as staff\, board members\, trustees\, donors\, program officers\, and other professionals from organizations using grantmaking or investments as a core strategy to fulfill their mission.\nEvent Name\nIt may take longer than expected to process your submission\, please only click submit once.\n Submit URL:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/event/legal-support-as-movement-infrastructure/ CATEGORIES:Webinars ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AdobeStock_212949512.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261118T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261118T120000 DTSTAMP:20261105T012437Z CREATED:20260907T221036Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261105T012437Z UID:10000783-1794999600-1795003200@www.agandfoodfunders.org SUMMARY:The Future of Agriculture in a Time of Crisis Part 2: Abundant Soil: Farm Finance as a Catalyst for Equity\, Resilience\, and Regeneration DESCRIPTION:American agriculture is in crisis\, and to date systems have not been put in place to sustain agricultural communities and family farms. This series – The Future of Agriculture in a Time of Crisis – will provide analysis of the current agricultural crisis and insight into real solutions that will not only help farmers today but assist in preventing an agricultural crisis like this from happening again. The series will feature agricultural leaders who worked firsthand in the farm financial crisis of the 1980s\, former USDA officials\, and more. \n\n\n\nPart 2: Abundant Soil: Farm Finance as a Catalyst for Equity\, Resilience\, and Regeneration\n\n\n\nToday’s farm crisis demands immediate action to ensure farmers stay on the land. In times of distress\, targeted loan interventions and technical assistance serve as vital lifelines to extend the timeline of adverse action and preserve an operation’s underlying health. In Part 2 of this series\, hear directly from technical service experts on how grantmakers and impact investors can fund rapid-response financial tools\, advocate for farmers in real time\, and sow seeds of long-term resilience. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART 1 • 10/14\n\n\n\nPART 3 • 12/2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis series is open to all. We encourage participation in all three sessions\, but this is not required. By signing up for one part\, you will be automatically added to all three. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIvy Jean Reynolds \n\n\n\nFounder & Principal Consultant\, Agrarian Policy Center\, LLC\nIvy Jean Reynolds is a visionary leader in agricultural policy with over a decade of experience driving systemic change for family farmers\, ranchers\, and rural communities. As the Founder t of the Agrarian Policy Center\, Ivy Jean provides expert analysis and strategic counsel to organizations navigating the complexities of modern food systems\, translating dense regulatory frameworks into actionable grassroots strategies. \n\n\n\nPrior to founding the Center\, Ivy Jean served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Washington\, D.C. In this pivotal role\, she provided strategic counsel to the FSA Administrator and helped oversee operations for an agency of 13\,000 employees. Her leadership was instrumental in developing innovative programs that enhanced federal assistance delivery and climate-smart conservation practices nationwide. \n\n\n\nIvy Jean holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Technology in Agriculture Business Management from SUNY Cobleskill. She blends high-level executive experience with a “boots-on-the-ground” perspective\, ensuring that the voices of producers remain at the forefront of national policy. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvanne Caviness\n\n\n\nConservation Services Division Director\, Colorado Department of Agriculture\nEvanne Caviness is a proud rancher\, agricultural conservation leader\, and mother of 6th-generation Coloradoans who has been immersed in ranching in the Southwestern U.S. since childhood. She works as the Division Director for Conservation Services for the Colorado Department of Agriculture while co-managing Caviness Farms — her regenerative cow/calf\, hay\, and direct-to-consumer meat operation located in Bayfield\, CO. \n\n\n\nHaving established her operation without intergenerational access to land or capital\, she is committed to improving the landscape for the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Evanne is passionate about farmland conservation and preservation policy and holds numerous roles on nonprofit boards and government councils across Colorado and the Western United States. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nZach Ducheneaux\n\n\n\nFounder\, 5th C Finance\nZach Ducheneaux is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He was the 3rd generation to manage the family beef cattle and Quarter Horse ranch. His professional career started as a farm advocate for the Intertribal Agriculture Council in the 90’s and after a term on his Tribal Council\, he continued to ranch and work with the IAC\, focusing on finance and producer economics. Ducheneaux served as your Farm Service Agency Administrator for the Biden Administration\, focusing on finance\, parity for livestock safety net programs\, equity\, and conservation. \n\n\n\nHis work on finance reform continues through a company he created to demonstrate a better way to empower producers…5th C. Finance for producers should be an investment for the long term if we want long term results. Ag is profitable\, Ag finance\, when done to meet the needs of the producer is not risky. Paying for the use of money isn’t the problem\, paying back the money too fast is. \n\n\n\nDucheneaux will give some examples and share what 5th C is building. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Please fill out this form once to register for this three part series. \n "*" indicates required fields \n \n NameThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.RegisterName*\n \n \n First\n \n \n \n \n Last\n \n \n \n Organization*Title*Email*\n \n Are you are funder?*\n \n Yes\, I am affiliated with a funding organization.\n \n \n No\, I am not.\n SAFSF defines funders as staff\, board members\, trustees\, donors\, program officers\, and other professionals from organizations using grantmaking or investments as a core strategy to fulfill their mission.\nEvent Name\nIt may take longer than expected to process your submission\, please only click submit once.\n Submit URL:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/event/the-future-of-agriculture-in-a-time-of-crisis-part-2-abundant-soil-farm-finance-as-a-catalyst-for-equity-resilience-and-regeneration/ CATEGORIES:The Future of Ag Series,Webinars ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/farmlands-conservation.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261119T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261119T140000 DTSTAMP:20261104T204336Z CREATED:20260727T175419Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261104T204336Z UID:10000775-1795093200-1795096800@www.agandfoodfunders.org SUMMARY:Gather Round | Post-Midterms Huddle: Building Local & State Power DESCRIPTION:The Gather Round Monthly Membership Calls\, held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 1 pm PST / 4 pm EST\, serve as a regular “drop in” space for SAFSF members. These calls are focused on connection and continuing dialogue on topics explored in virtual learning events and other programs hosted by SAFSF during the month.  \n\n\n\nPost-Midterms Huddle: Building Local & State Power \n\n\n\nThe midterm results are in\, and funders are already asking what they mean for the work ahead. Join fellow SAFSF members for an informal huddle to share initial reactions and hear how different funders are reading the moment. \n\n\n\nTogether\, we will discuss how local and state wins build momentum and why they’re often one of the surest paths to federal reform. We will hear from SAFSF member Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) about work they have funded for state and local wins that build toward national change. Then\, open the floor to others to share their post-midterm reflections and the opportunities and challenges they see ahead.  \n\n\n\nBring your questions\, your read on the results\, and your ideas for how funders can work together in the months ahead.  \n\n\n\nThis event is designed for SAFSF members. Registering below will automatically register you for Gather Round each month. \n\n\nTo register for Gather Round\, you must be logged in and a member of SAFSF. \nPlease log in or register for an account. URL:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/event/gather-round-monthly-membership-call-5/ CATEGORIES:Gather Round,Member Only,Webinars ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.agandfoodfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Gather-Round.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR