Your board of directors


Gretchen Markiewicz

 

Gretchen recently moved from the Boston area to Walpole, where she grew up, with her husband and young son.  She works as a software engineer for Raytheon BBN Technologies, where she develops applications that use speech recognition and natural language processing.  The abundance of high quality, local food options and the strong sense of community in this area were factors in the decision to move back. 

 

Steve Fortier

 

Steve has lived in Alstead for the past 26 years. Much of his professional life has been focused on the health of young people and communities. He’s a nationally-recognized advocate for health equity and food access, having worked on projects with the CDC, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Voices for Healthy Kids. Steve was GRC’s first President, serving in that role from the original board meeting through 2014 

 

Kimberly Mastrianni

Kim's agriculture background includes a degree in animal science from Texas A&M University and several years managing a horse farm in New York state. After earning a second degree in accounting from the State University of New York and a stint in accounting and finance with KPMG, Duracell and Gillette, she is back in agriculture in Langdon. With her husband Jack and daughter Morgan, Kim keeps chickens, teaches horsemanship, and raises rare Leicester Longwool sheep. She has spoken at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival and NOFA conferences on raising sheep organically. Kim also has prior experience on the Board of Health in Walpole, MA and more recently on the Fall Mountain Regional School District Budget Committee. Kim loves the idea of having a Coop in this area. With so many small producers in our region, she sees an opportunity to connect the local food economy with the community on a broader scale.

 

Karen West

Karen grew up in Upstate New York and moved to New Hampshire in 2007 to work at C&S Wholesale Grocers after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Applied Economics & Management. She currently works as a Sales & Marketing Manager for the distribution division of New Hampshire Industries based in Claremont. Karen and her husband, Jed, who grew up in Bellows Falls, moved to Alstead in 2011 and soon after started their own hobby farm raising chickens, rabbits and bees. 

 

Jacqueline Culbertson-Dicks

Jacqueline is new to the Walpole area, a recent transplant from Southern Indiana where she worked as a small business consultant with True Value Company.  Continuing on her journey with True Value, Jacqueline accepted a Regional Operations position which moved her and her husband to New England where they discovered Walpole and decided to settle.  She has deep roots in farm and fresh food as she was raised on a farm where they had pigs, chickens and a large organic garden.  Her love of great quality fresh food continues as her husband, a classically trained French chef, and her travel the world to experience new cultures and cuisine to incorporate into their lives.  This love paired with a Master in Business has driven her to get involved where local economy meets community.