After nearly 40 years as a planning department director in Iowa, Les is finally and happily retired! He led the Linn County Planning & Development Department from 2000 – 2021 and, for 18 years prior to that, the Story County Planning & Zoning Department.

Les was an adjunct professor in the University of Iowa’s School of Urban and Regional Planning from 2008 – 2016, and co-chaired the Iowa Smart Planning Task Force in 2011– 2012. Les received his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and Master of
Community and Regional Planning degrees from Iowa State University.

Mary Ellen Miller is a tenth generation Iowan with a life-long interest in sustainable land use, healthy environments and strong public schools.

Mary Ellen grew up in rural Iowa and discovered the value of sustainable land conservation practices while a 4-Her. She purchased her first farm in Washington County in 1975 and for twenty years raised and custom sold organic black angus beef cattle. She currently lives on Rose Haven Farm in Wayne County, which she donated to SILT in 2016, and is focused on developing nut and fruit orchards with the goal of helping a beginning local food farmer get established.

Miller was appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad to the Iowa State Board of Education in 2014. She previously served two terms as a Trustee of North Iowa Area Community College.

In 2018, Mary Ellen was elected as Wayne County Soil and Water Commissioner . She serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the Wayne County Conservation Foundation, Vice-President of the Iowa Nut Growers Association and is a member of the Iowa Farmers Union and the League of Women Voters of Iowa.

Mary Ellen retired as Executive Director of 50-50 in 2020 in late 2018 and now serves as that board’s secretary. She has served on the boards of the League of Women Voters of Iowa, the Iowa Federation of Republican Women, 1,000 Friends of Iowa, Cerro Gordo County Public Health, and Hospice of North Central Iowa.

After 30 years in public health research at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Miller worked professionally as a non-profit fund-raiser and consultant. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration with a minor in environmental sciences.

Mary Ellen chairs the SILT Board Development Committee.

Gina McAndrews grew up an active member of her family’s diversified farm in eastern Iowa, acquiring an interest in ecology and food production systems.

After Animal Science degree at Iowa State University, Gina worked in environmental and agriculture policy for the U.S. Senate in Washington DC, worked in various aspects of agriculture in several other countries and then returned to ISU for a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and to teach courses in Ecology and Agronomy.

Gina is currently a Realtor with Century 21 Signature Real Estate in Ames, and she serves as the vice president of Wheatsfield Cooperative and on the boards of Worldly Goods and the Central Iowa Board of Realtors.

Gina serves on the SILT Land Acquisition Committee.

Joe Henry is a top selling realtor for Iowa Realty based in Des Moines. He serves as the Political Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens Council #307  and is its former state director. A Des Moines native, Joe has always been actively engaged in social and economic issues in his community.

Joe serves on the Land Acquisition Committee.

Stuart Valentine, MBA, explores the boundaries of philanthropy and entrepreneurship in his role as Director of the Sustainable Living Coalition (SLC), a non-profit dedicated to sustainability education, local food production and enterprise design.

Stuart is a financial advisor with 16 years in the social, responsible and impact investment sectors. The Centerpoint mission includes “manifesting the experience of true wealth for clients by supporting the integration of their deep life purpose with their investment portfolio.”

Stuart also plays an adjunct faculty role at Maharishi University of Management in the area of Socially Responsible Investing, Sustainable Community Design and Transformational Entrepreneurship.

I grew up in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Growing up my mom taught me to see our interconnectedness with all life forms around us. Our quarter acre yard was part vegetable garden and the rest was tallgrass prairie. We regularly visited and admired places of prairie around the state.

I learned persistence when my mom and I had to move due to challenges with physical health and mental health, I started working at age 14 to help pay bills. Without land to grow food anymore, my appreciation for local sustainable farmers deepened when a friend gave us half their CSA share through Abbe Hills Farm.

I was able to go the University of Iowa for engineering. I was able to afford it with federal financial aid, scholarships, work, and privilege. I chose engineering because I saw it was a pathway to help solve the problems of our time that I want to help solve. Now with a mechanical engineering degree, I work designing HVAC and plumbing systems for buildings such as schools and offices, where my most rewarding projects are to meet the people of the building’s goals to reduce or eliminate fossil fuels for heating – steps towards solving the problems of rising fuel costs and rapid climate change.

Beyond that work, I want to help solve more problems to advance ecological health – such as clean water unpolluted by agriculture, soil health for climate resilience and nutritious foods, stronger local-regional food networks, and increasing land stewardship by indigenous people.

As of 2022, I live between Mount Vernon and Tipton with my husband on 2 acres. We are planting native trees and native plants for foods with intent to keep learning how to honor indigenous ecological knowledge of farming and foraging in this bioregion we live in – knowing most sustainable farming practices implemented today originate from the practices of indigenous people.

Lora was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. Though city life did not lend itself to farming, her mom made sure she was exposed to nature and later the farms of her friends. It is a love of nature that compelled Lora to explore and soak up all these experiences. Even though she lived in the big city she had access to 4H and later a horse of her own. Many hours were spent with all things horses.

Lora is a lifelong environmentalist. She has fought the Savannah River nuclear plant, waste dumping into the Chattahoochee River (which provides drinking water and recreation for millions of folks in the Greater Atlanta area) and protested the Bakken Pipeline. Those struggles led her to volunteer and canvas for elected officials who support a cleaner and healthier food system.

In 1998 Lora moved to Iowa to join her mom, Cheryl, who had moved back to her home state. Lora has 2 daughters and now a beautiful granddaughter.

Increasingly Lora found herself getting involved with the local food scene. Watching the foodie movement up close meant she had to acknowledge the downside of big ag and she educated herself about regenerative and chemical-free farming. The quest is ongoing, and she is proud of her work as a member and Board member of SILT.

Lora serves as the Chair of the Fundraising and Outreach Committee.

A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Matthew R. Gilbert, Esq. descends from generations of servant leadership. The Furgerson-Harris-Nash families are well-known for advancing civil rights, education, health and equity for African American communities in Iowa.

An advocate, entrepreneur and ecosystem builder who values cooperation, justice, and historic preservation, Matthew is differentiated by a complement of executive strategies, transactional expertise and transformative resilience.

An experienced advisor for elected officials, public figures, business owners, faith-based leaders and public-private partnerships, Matthew’s mission is to coach and advise families, businesses, and communities in creating generational wealth by leveraging legacy and impact.

Matthew is Founder and President of Iowa C.O.R.E. Inc., Economic Development Chair for the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, and a servant-leader on local, state, and national boards, commissions, and committees. Matthew enjoys mentoring youth, volunteering, and holistic wellness.

“My vision is to develop compassionate leaders who demonstrate a mentality reflecting greatness, influence change, and commit to generational impact in historically disenfranchised communities of color.”

First-year board members like Matthew serve on the Finance Committee.

Maggie McQuown considers herself a life-long learner who is curious, always exploring, eagerly leaning into new ideas, and tackling new challenges.  She grew up on the Red Oak, Iowa, Century farm that has been in her family since 1899.  After graduating in 1974 from Iowa State University with a degree in fashion design & merchandising with minors in advertising and business, she moved to New York City to work in the heart of the fashion and advertising industries.  Clients included Vogue/Butterick Patterns, Cotton Incorporated, Cone Mills – the leading denim mill in the U.S. – plus leading consumer products companies Lipton Tea, Hershey Chocolate, Ore-Ida Potatoes, American Express and Allstate Insurance.  Maggie’s 40-year marketing communications career included stops in Chicago and Dallas.

In 1997, Maggie founded VisibleEDGE Resources – a brand image consulting firm – leveraging her fashion, branding and marketing skills to help businesses and their employees navigate how to project professionalism in the era of business casual.  Seeking her next challenge, in 2007 Maggie became the Development Director for Black Tie Dinner, Inc. – the largest LGBTQ+ non-profit in the country.  Annually, Black Tie Dinner distributes over $1 million to support organizations providing services benefiting LGBTQ+ people in North Texas and nationwide.

Upon inheriting her family’s farm and increasing awareness of the challenges our  environment and farmland are facing, Maggie returned to her Iowa farm in 2012 along with her husband Steve Turman, a native Texan.  They have focused their attention 100-percent on sustainability, soil health, regenerative ag, re-establishing native prairie, planting cover crops, and promoting nutrient-dense, local food systems.

Maggie and Steve manage the Red Oak Farmers market. They are members and supporters of Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), Trees Forever, the ISU STRIPS Cooperators and Climate Land Leaders.  Maggie serves as an Assistant Commissioner of the Montgomery County Soil & Water Conservation District and is a former member of the State of Iowa Soil Conservation & Water Quality Committee.  She was named the 2020 Iowa Conservation Woman of the Year.  In 2018, Steve and Maggie received the PFI Legacy Landowners Award and Trees Forever Environmental Stewards Award.

Maggie and Steve live with Agnes – their extreme mouser cat – in their low-energy PassivHaus powered by a solar array overlooking their produce garden.

Sheila is a founding member of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust and directed the organization for a year in 2017. Growing up in rural Northeast Iowa, it was hiking in the woods and foraging hickory nuts on her parents’ land, that Sheila first bonded with Nature. Working at New Pioneer Coop in Iowa City during her college years introduced Sheila to the importance of organics and sustainable agriculture. Later, working at the Center for Food Safety in Washington DC, when GMOs first appeared in US agriculture, Sheila saw firsthand what the revolving door between Federal Regulatory Agencies and the industries they regulate meant for citizens and the environment. Upon returning to Iowa, Sheila committed to making her home state as sustainable as possible. In 2008, Sheila pursued a Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Iowa, and then a law degree from Drake University Law School. Her study focused on food systems, land use, sustainability, state and local government and conflict resolution.

Sheila currently has a solo-practice law and sustainability consulting business. She is an active volunteer on the Des Moines Citizen Taskforce on Sustainability, whose work is to help craft a Climate Action Plan for Des Moines. She was also on the Advisory Committee for the Des Moines Energy Policy Taskforce, which wrote an energy and water benchmarking ordinance to help Des Moines meet its goals of overall GHG reduction, and the Des Moines Food Security Taskforce that created the website FeedDSM.org where citizens can get information on Urban Farming and the codes affecting it. In her spare time, Sheila can be found in her garden, tending her bees or playing music.

Leland Freie has dedicated the majority of his working career to serving at Foundation 2 Youth Shelter in Cedar Rapids. Growing up on a dairy farm in North Central Iowa, Leland developed a strong connection to agriculture through his involvement in 4-H and FFA. He holds an MA from the University of Iowa and has actively contributed to the Linn County Agricultural Extension Council.

Currently, Leland is involved with organizations such as the Linn County Trails Association and NAACP, focusing on land preservation, sustainability, and the support of small farms that can effectively market to local communities. In his leisure time, he enjoys bicycling and singing with the Cedar Rapids Harmony Hawks Barbershop Chorus. Leland’s diverse background and dedication to sustainable practices make him a valuable member of our board.

Hannah Breckbill founded Humble Hands Harvest, a worker-owned cooperative farm in Decorah, Iowa. As a first-generation farmer without inherited land, creative community-based solutions to land access were key to Humble Hands Harvest’s acquisition of land. Hannah continues to develop and advocate for creative and collaborative strategies for supporting farmers as they feed communities. In addition to the SILT board, Hannah serves on the board of the Oneota Community Food Cooperative, the Decorah Farmers Market, the Iowa Food Hub, and the Farmer’s Land Investment Cooperative.