Officers
Joanne Aggens, President
Constance McCarthy, Vice President
Janet Gable, Secretary
Don Larson, Treasurer
 
Board Members
 
Silvia Abel-Caines
Ruminant Nutritionist, Organic Valley
 
 
Joanne Aggens, President
Management Consultant, Wilmette, IL
Joanne joined our board in 2007. Early in her career she taught elementary school. She is a United Methodist Diaconal Minister. She has been a pastoral counselor. She served The Gallup Organization for 25 years as an analyst and senior consultant. Most recently she served for two years as a Wilmette Village Trustee. An avid traveler, Joanne participates in an annual medical mission team to Senegal. She is an Angelic Organics shareholder.
 
Ruth Fairchild
Program Supervisor for Prisoner and Family Ministry
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI)
 
 
Janet Gamble, Secretary
Farmer, Turtle Creek Farm
 
 
Don Larson, Teasurer
Co-owner, Pine Row Farm, Roscoe, IL
Don joined our board in April, 2009. He and his wife Tresea own a farm in Roscoe, IL. They sell soap made from their goat's milk, eggs from their laying chickens and are partners in a vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Don and Tresea are graduates of the Stateline Farm Beginnings© course coordinated by the learning center (Year 2: 2006-2007). Don got his first agricultural experience doing chores on a friend's conventional dairy farm while growing up. Don is also a musician and music teacher. He holds a Master of Music from dePaul University. He teaches Music Fundamentals and Appreciation at Rock Valley College. He also maintains a private music studio teaching saxophone, clarinet and flute to adults and children. Don plays saxophone for the Rockford Wind Ensemble.
 

Constance McCarthy, Vice President
Linguistic Editor, IBFD, Machesney Park, IL
Constance is a Rockford native, linguistic editor and lawyer who joined our board in 2008. She was educated at Loyola University, where she received her B.A. in French and Political Science and her J.D. After working in Amsterdam as a linguistic editor and later Chicago as an international tax attorney, Constance returned to Rockford in 1998 and resumed work as a linguistic editor. She has also worked as a teacher at Boylan Catholic High School. She is an adult volunteer leader in the Learning Center’s Roots & Wings Youth Leadership and Urban Gardening Network. She serves on the national advisory council for Rooted in Community, an umbrella organization for groups engaging underserved and at-risk youth in food justice work. She is a member of the Local Foods Work Group at the University of Illinois Extension--Winnebago County, and is also a Master Gardener, Master Composter, and Master Food Preserver. She is the president of the Rock River Valley chapter of Wild Ones, a group dedicated to educating people about the benefits of using native plants and natural landscaping in their gardens.
 
 
John Peterson, President Emeritus
Farmer and Founder, Angelic Organics, Caledonia, IL
John is the founding president of Angelic Organics Learning Center and has served as president emeritus since 2004. He runs Angelic Organics, our partner farm and one of the largest community supported agriculture (CSA) farms in the United States, growing vegetables and herbs for more than 1,350 families each year. John is the subject of Taggart Siegel’s award winning feature documentary film The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which has been seen in theaters and television throughout the world. He published Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables in 2006. He is now writing his autobiography and a book of short stories about farming.
 
 
Tom Spaulding (Non-voting)
Executive Director, Angelic Organics Learning Center, Roscoe, IL
Tom is our founding executive director. He focuses on strategic planning, building partnerships, and managing our staff team and facilities. Tom has played a leadership role in several local and regional food policy efforts, most recently serving as co-chair of the 2006 Rockford Food Summit. He was a founding board member of Growing Home and has received a Kellogg National Fellowship from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Prior to co-founding the Learning Center, Tom was associate director for the YMCA’s International Group, where his responsibilities included leadership development and cross-cultural education programs. He received his MA in International Affairs from George Washington University. Tom’s first season as an Angelic Organics shareholder was 1993.